Vatican now ready to broadcast in HDTV

November 16, 2010

The Vatican Television Center (CTV) has inaugurated high-definition broadcasting of papal ceremonies and other noteworthy events.

Father Federico Lombardi, the director CTV as well as of the Vatican press office, said that the move to HDTV was an expensive investment but a necessary one. With most television outlets moving to HDTV, he said, if the Vatican did not follow suit, “the image of the Pope would gradually have disappeared from television screens over the coming years.”

The costs of the move could be met, Father Lombardi said, because Sony offered “favorable terms” for the necessary equipment, the Knights of Columbus made a major contribution to the effort, and the CTV had been saving its own revenues for the improvement. At a press conference in Rome announcing the new development, Archbishop Claudio Celli, the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, called attention to new internet offerings from the Vatican, including the “Pope2you” site and a new portal, soon to be unveiled, bringing together the available news reports from the Vatican.

 

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Further information:

• Vatican Television Acquires New Outside Broadcasting Unit (VIS)