"Survivor" sharpens up with high definition (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Survivors ready ... for HD?

The eight-year-old reality competition series is finally getting upgraded to high definition. Next falls 17th outing will be the first time the shows exotic locations, elaborate challenges and gruesome bug bites will be available in the widescreen HD format.

CBS announced the production upgrade at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The first programs to adopt HD were highly rated sports events like the Super Bowl and scripted dramas that attracted affluent demographics such as NBCs "The West Wing" and HBOs "The Sopranos." In recent years, top-shelf reality shows have gotten in on the act. Fox launched "American Idol" and ABC debuted "Dancing With the Stars" in standard definition, then upgraded the shows to HD once they proved popular enough to warrant the additional production cost.

Nearly all primetime broadcast dramas and comedies are shot in HD, and roughly half of unscripted shows use the format. In recent seasons, "Survivor" has often ranked as the highest-rated primetime show shot in standard definition. Fans have clamored for the globe-trotting show to get an HD makeover, but there were a couple of stumbling blocks.

For a while, HD cameras were still considered more clunky and less reliable than their standard-definition counterparts -- not a good fit for being dragged around a rainy tropical beach, shooting physical competitions where capturing every second counts. Additionally, the cost of upgrading an elaborate on-location production like "Survivor" to HD is higher than a studio-based series like "Idol" or "Dancing." All told, "Survivor" uses about 20 cameras, with some for shooting underwater and from helicopters.

During the past couple years, HD camera reliability has improved greatly, and the cost has become more comparable to standard-definition equipment.

CBS has not announced plans to upgrade their other reality travelogue, "The Amazing Race." But the higher-rated "Survivor" going HD should be an encouraging sign for "Race" fans.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter