New Channel 9 Helicopter

[freqscout]

Below is a link to the new OKC KWTV Channel 9 helicopter picture gallery. In the pictures you will see that there is an EDACS radio in the back seat in the console with the new HD video setup. This helicopter is apparently the only all HD airship in the US.

http://newsok.com/more/photos/?gallery_id=1889

 

[Mick]

Hi Def

Hello. Los Angeles and Denver have at least part-time Hi Def news choppers. Here's an interesting news article:
http://snipurl.com/HiDefNewsChoppers

 

[dave3825]

High def choppers are all over the united states

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/tvstations/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001572546

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA600948.html?display=Breaking+News

http://broadcastengineering.com/news/broadcasting_kusa_rolls_new/index.html

this is just a few

 

[fast2okc]

Sky 9

KWTV's claim is:

"...the only FULL Hi Def news ship owned by a television station in the U.S."

The key word in this claim is "owned." KWTV owns their bird. Most television helicopters are leased.

Sure sounds good, though

"Gotcha!!"

--fast2okc

 

[Freqed]

Love that uniden scanner in there too!

 

[Patio_RF]

Live Tornado Video

KWTV got to use their new HD helicopter tracking tornados last night. Did ya notice Channel 5 (KOCO) had helicopter video of the storm for once; they must have borrowed one from an affiliate station again. The "storm coverage" competition is tough (and expensive) here in Oklahoma City.

I wonder if KWTV recorded that tornado video in true HD.

 

[fireant]

I was suprised to see CH 5 with a copter. They should get one but rather expensive to operate.

fireant

 

[woodyrr]

KOCO Helicopter

I was glad to see that KOCO had a helicopter although the video link from the chopper to the station wasn’t the greatest when I was watching.

The truth of the matter, imho, is that people, including me ,complain that they don’t like all the coverage ad infinitum with all the hype and breathless reporting, but I tried to watch something else that night and couldn’t do it. The problem is that it is tough to watch someone standing in front of a radar depiction on a chroma key wall when a few megahertz away, you know that there is live video of mayhem with debris flying by close enough to make you flinch. If KOCO can reliably get that bird in the air with a solid video link during breaking news, especially storms, I think they have a good chance of giving the other stations in this market a run for their money. Yea!

 

[tkjr4160]

I think it was KTUL 8 Tulsa chopper I was in Bristow last night and watched the helo fly down the turnpike about 4:30 last night.

 

[daleduke17]

Is storm tracking really that competitive in Oklahoma for the media? (Don't make fun of me for that, I'm from Illinois). Do the stations show live footage via break-ins, or just during the news?

Just wondering.

 

[woodyrr]

Is storm tracking really that competitive in Oklahoma for the media? (Don't make fun of me for that, I'm from Illinois). Do the stations show live footage via break-ins, or just during the news?

Just wondering.

At least as early as about 1970, television coverage of severe weather in Oklahoma City has been very competitive. Yes, it is that competitive!

For a long time, in Oklahoma City, the fight between the TV stations was who had the most sophisticated weather radar - then the most sophisticated Doppler weather radar. The current "must have" is a helicopter with a very stable very long range video camera - and a pilot capable of watching the weather, providing on air commentary, and flying the ship simultaneously.

At first the stations would be careful to interrupt programming and make sure to cut out before the commercials. Then they started interrupting commercials when necessary.

Now, on days when tornadic weather is possible, the continuous, and I mean continuous (h-o-u-r-s) coverage begins when the first thunderstorm appears on radar and continues without pause until the storms leave the coverage area of the stations. Yesterday, Oklahoma City stations were covering storms in the northeastern part of the state in an area in the Tulsa viewing area, perhaps on the assumption that people in those areas were watching via streaming video on the internet.

To me, it is often captivating entertainment that beats the programming that has been interrupted. You really have to witness the spectacle in order to appreciate it. It's a lot like the beginning to end coverage of police pursuits on cable news.


Edit: I want to make sure that I conveyed that I am describing on-air coverage pre-empting all programming

 

[Freqed]

Is storm tracking really that competitive in Oklahoma for the media? (Don't make fun of me for that, I'm from Illinois). Do the stations show live footage via break-ins, or just during the news?

Just wondering.

I would compare it to a LA police chase being covered in California! On my way home last night I thought it was just that, as people lined the streets and had their camcorders going trying to get a glimpse of the wall could over CH. 8.

 

[Freqed]

Is storm tracking really that competitive in Oklahoma for the media? (Don't make fun of me for that, I'm from Illinois). Do the stations show live footage via break-ins, or just during the news?

Just wondering.

double post

 

[nd5y]

They do the same thing here in the DFW area... and also in the winter when it snows!

 

[dbestfirefighter]

I will try to answer questions about KOCO's helicopter with out giving out sensitive information. It was not KTUL's helicopter, It was not a Sister stations helicopter. On a side note i can remember as a little boy KOCO being the only station with a helicopter and seeing promos for the station as the helicopter is lifting off everyone is giving it the "ok" symbol from their hand....

 

[woodyrr]

IOn a side note i can remember as a little boy KOCO being the only station with a helicopter and seeing promos for the station as the helicopter is lifting off everyone is giving it the "ok" symbol from their hand....

If I recall correctly, the original Sky 5 was of the Bell Jet Ranger genre and then they somehow got a larger and more powerful helicopter. Then, just when helicopters were becoming the news gathering gimmick of the decade, it went away.

For those who are beginning to wonder what this news helicopter business has to do with radio communications; In central Oklahoma since time immemorial, but especially since the tornado outbreak of May 3rd 1999, storm chasing, news helicopters, and radio communications are inseparable terms.

The incessant coverage can sometimes be infuriating, but if that F5 is bearing on my back yard, as the May 3rd tornado was, I am very thankful for the coverage (and that the F5 missed my back yard by about an inch and seven-sixteenths).

 

[CommShrek]

The current "must have" is a helicopter with a very stable very long range video camera - and a pilot capable of watching the weather, providing on air commentary, and flying the ship simultaneously.

Surely there is someone else in that aircraft besides the pilot. Right?

 

[crayon]

I will try to answer questions about KOCO's helicopter with out giving out sensitive information.

ummmm ...

What could be "sensitive" about KOCO's chopper??

 

[woodyrr]

Surely there is someone else in that aircraft besides the pilot. Right?

I know that there is a camera operator who sometimes gets his or her name mentioned on the air.

My point was that the pilot has to be able to keep the thing out of the dirt, away from the tornado and associated inflow / outflow winds, out of the rain and hail and in a good backlit position for photography. He has to do this while chattering over the air about how a devastating tornado is imminent or will be imminent sometime; He has to look for other weather details, keep from getting tangled up with all of the myriad other news helicopters who are trying to shoot from exactly the same spot, and visit with air traffic control once in a while. He then has to figure out which is his best profile for the promotional video to be shot the next day :roll: (I couldn't resist)!

Three or four hours of that is enough to scramble one's brain.

 

[dbestfirefighter]

The tv stations in this market are very tight lipped about how they cover weather. When big dollars are on the table I cant say I blame them.