Trojan Vision moves to high-definition TV
Trojan Vision, USC’s student-run television station, is now broadcasting in high definition on channel 8.1, though students with older television sets will not be able to see the new format.
The updates in USC’s broadcasting reflect Trojan Vision’s goal to remain at the forefront of technological advances on campus, said Karthik Ravishankar, Trojan Vision distribution and news media manager.
Picture perfect - Cassie Bussing, a sophomore majoring in cinematic arts and the executive producer for Trojan Vision’s show The Cutting Edge, works at the student-run station. Trojan Vision will now broadcast in a new high-definition format on channel 8.1. - Mannat Saini | Daily Trojan
“High definition is clearly the direction broadcasting is going in, and as a college TV station, we want to keep up with the times,” said Ravishankar, a senior majoring in business administration and economics.
Trojan Vision viewers will also have to keep up with the times. The television station will now only be accessible from high-definition TVs.
Students with digital, HD TVs will need to reprogram their setup and rescan for channels on their TVs to be able to watch, which Ravishankar said is an easy process.
Though students will be unable to access Trojan Vision from outdated televisions, Olivia Bonin, the station’s promotions manager, said the majority of viewers watch online at Trojanvision.com.
“Recently, there have been more viewers per day, and they’re watching for longer periods of time,” Bonin said.
Bonin estimates the online traffic to be approximately 1,000 viewers daily.
Trojan Vision attracts a range of non-USC viewers, mostly because of the popularity of its talk show CU@USC, Bonin said. Weird Al Yankovic and Chris Colfer, from the show Glee, have been among featured guests.
Still, the aim of Trojan Vision is to target USC students.
“We want Trojan Vision to be the center of USC and to reflect the interests of everyone on campus,” Bonin said.
Ellen Kaster, a freshman majoring in public relations, said she watches the show Platforum online to learn what people are talking about and to hear varying student perspectives.
Kaster said she preferred to watch Trojan Vision online before it was in HD.
“The quality of online broadcasts is sharp. It’s great to see that quality in the television broadcasts with the new station,” Kaster said.
Before the television station’s update to high definition the team had to downgrade the quality of their footage for the old television station.
“Now when we get great footage at the red carpets, we can shoot in HD and actually air in HD,” Bonin said.