Digital Television
On June 19, 1996, the Federal Communications Commission awarded WRAL-TV the first experimental high-definition television license in the United States. The station, identified as WRAL-HD, began digital television operations on channel 32 over a month later, on July 23, 1996. The station moved to channel 53 in March 2000.
WRAL-TV was the first in the United States to broadcast live sports program in high-definition (on September 6, 1997), as well as the first HD newscast (on October 28, 1998). CBS utilized WRAL-HD in testing its own high-definition programming some time later, and starting in 1999 began providing the station with a regular schedule of primetime programs in HD. HD Sports programing recorded by WRAL was provided to other model stations as well. WRAL-TV's pioneering efforts in digital television has won wide recognition from within the television industry
WRAL's digital signal, on UHF 48, is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | Main WRAL-TV programming / CBS |
| 5.2 | 480i | 4:3 | This TV |
As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion was completed, WRAL-TV shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009 at 12:55 PM. The station's digital broadcasts remained on channel 48. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers continue to display WRAL's virtual channel as 5.1
Read more about this topic: WRAL-TV
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