TSN, Discovery launch HD

CTV television brands TSN and Discovery Channel Canada became the first Canadian specialty channels to broadcast programming in high-definition. The occasion took place on Aug. 15 and saw the Montreal Alouettes batter the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Wendy’s Friday Night Football on TSN, and Catching a Killer – The Mystery of Sable Island on Discovery.

TSN will reportedly continue to air CFL games in HD, along with several Sunday night football games for the NFL, which begins its 2003/04 season this month. Discovery will also broadcast several programs in HD, including Sex Files, Race to Mars, Inside Out and One Second.

Rogers Sportsnet will give sports fans a high-def fix with a new channel, Sportsnet HD. The new station will be available across Canada on Sept. 1.

Alias|Wavefront rebrands

Toronto-based 3D animation and FX software manufacturer Alias|Wavefront has streamlined its company moniker to, simply, Alias. The shop makes the change on its 20th anniversary, believing the shortened name will have more impact in the marketplace.

The company was formed in the mid-1990s when Mountain View, CA’s Silicon Graphics acquired and merged Toronto’s Alias Research and Santa Barbara, CA’s Wavefront Technologies. The new entity went on to develop the popular Maya software, used on films from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to The Matrix.