WNEP, an ABC-affiliate serving northeastern Pennsylvania, unveiled a brand-new set last week as part of its planned move to broadcasting the news in HD.

The new set, which made its official debut last Thursday during the station’s 4 p.m. newscast, has a large video display behind the main anchor desk with wings on either side that contain large, flat-screen monitors. WNEP also debuted a new, HD graphics package to accompany the new set.

WNEP’s news director Erik Schrader says that the new set, with its array of video displays, will allow the news team to more effectively tell the day’s stories.

“The Video Wall will allow us to synthesize story video with our anchors much more effectively,” Schrader told TVSpy via email. “The set also gives us better places to place reporters in the studio… allowing us to show video and the reporter simultaneously, which helps us communicate the story in a better way.”

Schrader is looking forward to the HD switch because then WNEP will be able to fully optimize the new studio. “We’ll be able to do so much more visually,” he said. “We’ll just have many more options as to how to tell a story. And the better and more clearly we can tell it, the more information our viewers will get.”

[Photos via NewscastStudio]