Vatican TV to go HD and even 3-D

A CTV (Vatican Television Center) cameraman stands near Pope Benedict XVI during the Pope's weekly general audience at the Vatican in this file photo, Aug. 21, 2019.
A CTV (Vatican Television Center) cameraman stands near Pope Benedict XVI during the Pope's weekly general audience at the Vatican in this file photo, Aug. 21, 2019. (photo: CNS photo/Chris Helgren, Reuters)

Vatican television is about to go high definition and, later on, even 3-D, thanks to a new mobile unit unveiled today by the Vatican.

The director of Vatican Television Center (CTV), Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, said that switching to HD had been an “obligatory decision” given that CTV provides video coverage for leading international broadcasters throughout the world which have already switched over to HD TV.

In the future the unit will be able to record and transmit using 3-D technology, which broadcasts side-by-side images from slightly different viewpoints.

The new mobile unit, created by Sony, was funded with the help of the Knights of Columbus.

HD broadcasts will begin in time for Christmas.

See these VIS and ANSA reports on the new development.

Fr. Lombardi said today it was perhaps the biggest single investment made by CTV since the center was founded in 1983.