Big changes are happening here at KNOP.

Thanks to recent equipment upgrades, all of KNOP's NBC programming will soon be broadcast in crystal-clear high definition.

Plus, KNOP's sister station, KIIT FOX-5 will have an expanded viewing area, and be available to all of greater Nebraska who receive KNOP.

General Manager Lewys Carlini calls it a "shot in the arm" for both stations.

“So both our stations, KNOP and KIIT will both have the same coverage pattern, it's just that KNOP will be HD in the NBC programming, and then our FOX, the KIIT, will be a standard digital signal to the viewers in the entire viewing area,” said Lewys Carlini, KNOP/KIIT General Manager. 

It's all thanks to this tower of equipment, recently installed in a back room of the KNOP studio.

“This is all just taking what we had in-house and taking our analog master control and up converting it for digital for normal programming, but all of NBC's stuff will be true HD,” said Jaydee Walters, Chief Engineer. 

The best part: viewers won't need to make any existing changes to their current television set-up.

“Folks that have an older TV, like I do in my office here, and are running through a converter box, I'd say that last week of March start rescanning your converter box and all of the sudden you're going to have 2.1, and if you have a high-definition television, you'll be getting high-definition on 2.1 and you'll also be receiving our 2.2 which is our FOX,” said Carlini. 

Carlini is excited to reach more viewers than ever before, all with the clearest signal both stations have ever broadcast.

“So folks who have an antenna in Sutherland and receive KNOP via an antenna, they will get KIIT as our .2 (dot-two) which is great for KNOP and KIIT to begin with, great for the advertiser who's on that channel - they are going to get that much more exposure and coverage with both channels,” said Carlini. 

So, we're where we want to be, and the signal will get no clearer from where that's at once we launch.

Viewers using an off-air antenna will get both stations in their new respective qualities by Monday.

The HD signals will be broadcast on Charter's Cable Systems, too.

Charter is still deciding on which channels to broadcast those signals.