CWG 2010 to be covered in HDTV

In a first for Commonwealth Games (CWG), next year's edition of the sporting extravaganza in the Capital would be covered in High Definition TV (HDTV), to ensure better image resolution, by British company SIS Live for Doordarshan.

At a three-day World Broadcasting Meet to assess broadcast preparations for the Games, SIS Live presented its production and coverage plan for the quadrennial extravaganza.

The company said it will deploy underwater cameras, cameras for aerial shots and specialised cameras for events such as cycling in its High Definition TV (HDTV) coverage, a digital television system which provides better image resolution than a normal TV camera.

The Rights Holding Broadcasters (RHBs) from various Commonwealth nations like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, United Kingdom and Canada also took part in the meet.

The representatives from RHBs visited the Games' venues to observe the progress of work.

The Organising Committee (OC) for the event elaborated on issues such as venue development, technology and communication, security, accommodation and transportation during the meet.

Prasar Bharti CEO B S Lalli, Organising Committee treasurer A K Mattoo and Doordarshan's Director General Aruna Mishra were among those who addressed the meet.

Lalli said the next WBM would be held from April 16 to 18 next year. The RHBs will submit their requirements for the event to Doordarshan by January next year.

"Prasar Bharti has made elaborate and comprehensive publicity plans on TV and Radio to generate awareness for the Games. Pre-Game programming components highlighting a range of activities have also been defined," Prasar Bharti said in a release.

A meeting of Prasar Bharti officials and representatives from OC and

SIS Live was held on Wednesday in which the plans for the build-up to the Games were discussed.

"WBM was a major milestone in the journey of Prasar Bharti to the Commonwealth Games. All participating RHBs and other stakeholders expressed satisfaction and showed confidence in the progress made by Prasar Bharti to cover the event," the statement added.