Notable HD: Initiatives From the Hi-Def Arena

Weather Channel launched earlier this month its first two daily programs in an HD simulcast, "Your Weather Today" and "Evening Edition." More programs will transition to the net’s new HD studio as summer progresses, until all studio programming originates from the 5000 sq-ft studio. An online virtual walkthrough of the studio is available thanks to a partnership with Cisco, and can be viewed at weather.com/studio. The HD version is available to viewers with the Weather Channel HD from their cable or DBS provider. Charter, Comcast, Cox, DISH, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable are among those carrying the net. — According to Discovery Comm pres, domestic distribution and enterprises Bill Goodwyn, “In just the first four months of this year alone, we’ve seen over 13,000 HD feed launches by both cable and telco TV headends across the country. And now that Blu Ray will be the accepted HD format for DVDs, there will be even greater momentum for HD adoption.” — FSN will transition all of its RSNs to 24-hr HD telecasts in 1Q09. — CBS.com and the CBS Audience Network will deploy over the next few months new video player features such as HD streaming, full-screen viewing and embeddable clips. — FiOS TV plans to add this summer more than 60 new channels, including 25 HD nets such as Lifetime, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel and Smithsonian Net.