Flushing Meadows, New York. It was a first. The first US Open to be broadcast in High Definition television - absolutely striking images thanks to the new technology. Bexel Broadcast Services was there for this historic TV accomplishment, providing the majority of the broadcast equipment for CBS Sports, including the HD control room facilities for the CBS international coverage of Courts 1 and 2.

For the eleven courts that were not broadcast in HD, the standard-definition feed was shot in 16:9, instead of 4:3, which makes for a smoother transition in the early days of the tournament, when USA and CBS switch among the two stadiums and the outer courts.

"A lot of Europe is now watching the coverage in high-definition via Eurosport, and then they have a lot of sub-licensees," says Steve Gorsuch, director of broadcast operations at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open. Gorsuch continues, "In the second week, WOWOW, the Japanese broadcaster, will broadcast the semifinals and finals in HD...All of the cameras from Courts 1 and 2 get sent over to international distribution point, and they hand off feeds of whatever anybody needs," Muro explains. "We hand it off once to them, and they handle the downstream distribution."

In its entirety, the production used 40 cameras, about half of them HD, including four robotic cameras. In addition, 14 EVS devices, two Avid rooms with LAN unity, three Vizrt graphics systems, four HD Pinnacle 3000s, two HD Kayak switchers, and two Yamaha digital audio consoles operate behind the scenes "“ a real testimony to Bexel's command of the compound.

But, HD wasn't the only first in 2008 - traditionally, the sports audio packages are handled by another vendor since, in the past, Bexel did not promote itself as a "˜sports audio specialist'. All of that changed in 2008, as Craig Schiller and the Broadcast Services engineering group aligned with Bexel ASG to create a rather formidable audio presence in the area of sports broadcast packaging. Under Schiller's direction and with Bexel Broadcast Services Director Lee Estroff on-site at the event, Bexel ASG provided a vast amount of audio and RF audio equipment for the 2008 event. According to Matt Leshner (A2 for the event), "The Bexel/ASG RF package that I used at the US Open is the best ever...Very nice work!"