AETN to start high def broadcasts

CONWAY (AP) The Arkansas Educational Television Network is to launch a high definition digital channel on Monday, while also broadcasting two standard definition channels.

AETN announced Friday that it will broadcast its primary signal in high-def from 5 p.m. to midnight, Sunday through Friday. AETN Scholar and AETN Kids will be broadcast in standard definition 24 hours each day.

The network said that from midnight to 5 p.m. Sunday through Friday, AETN will multicast four digital channels: AETN, AETN Create/World, AETN Scholar and AETN Kids.

"This arrangement of our schedule will allow for the best in digital picture and sound quality for our audience during primetime hours, while offering alternative programming choices for children, families, educators and students," AETN Executive Director Allen Weatherly said.

AETN's digital channels include: AETN-1, A digital duplicate of the AETN analog schedule; AETN-2 Create/World, a learning channel featuring shows that range from cooking to travel to self-help; AETN-3 Scholar, an instructional channel; and AETN-4 Kids, a commercial-free channel featuring educational and animated programs for kindergarten through seventh grade students.

As the nation makes the change to all digital broadcasting at midnight on Feb. 17, AETN will discontinue analog broadcasts.