(State College, PA, December 2, 2003) - AccuWeather, Inc. today announced the operational deployment of the first high-definition (HD) digital weather system, CustomWeather HD. The new weather system can be found on Newsbytes HD, one of the 21 HD channels developed by Rainbow Media Holdings LLC for VOOM, the Rainbow DBS satellite service launched in October of this year. Targeting the demand of today's rapidly growing but underserved HDTV audience, the new television service is the first to offer a comprehensive array of HD programming, including Rainbow Media's entire package of 21 commercial free, true high-definition channels.
Newsbytes HD features the only high-definition weather updates in the country. They are available 24 hours a day, using AccuWeather forecasts, graphics and on-air talent. Starting in January, Newsbytes HD, along with AccuWeather's forecasting and weather graphics, will add news headlines, compelling feature stories, and sports news and highlights, all in HDTV format. These segments will be presented in a fast-moving format that quickly gives viewers information they need while employing the visual power of HD.
The new CustomWeather HD service on Newsbytes HD includes AccuWeather's weather graphics and animations, along with voiceovers from AccuWeather broadcast meteorologists. This is combined with the very latest audio and video technology to produce a comprehensive system that gives the user a full experience of the rapidly advancing HD television market. The HD format is especially appealing to consumers because of the quality of its sharp picture and CD-quality sound. Clients purchasing the AccuWeather system can be the first in their market to create an HD custom weather show with Newsbytes HD.
"AccuWeather and Newsbytes HD have embarked on a historic endeavor * providing the first-ever custom weather show in the HDTV format," said Dr. Joel N. Myers, founder and president of AccuWeather, Inc. "Offering a channel right now that takes full advantage of this technology will position both AccuWeather and Newsbytes HD as leaders in the developing HDTV market."
