NBC's Alleged HiDef Olympic Coverage

[gstelmack]

Day one of the Olympics and the only thing they can show in high definition is the Opening Ceremonies over and over and over and over again? We're going in to primetime and they did not have hi def cameras at swimming or one of the other events they plan on showing tonight? I mean, what excuse do they have for being in the middle of showing the ceremonies for like the fifth time in a row?

[Ragone]

I bet the Basketball will be in high def..

[Mac Howard]

My understanding is that the Greek admin has decided on conventional (low density, 4/3 ratio) coverage except for the opening and closing ceremonies. HD isn't available for anything else. We're told 2008 will use higher technology

[gstelmack]

Well, it looks like they show gymnastics, swimming, and diving tomorrow in HD. Why not tonight (especially since they gave out swimming and diving medals today) is beyond me. It also looks like the USA / Puerto Rico basketball game is not in HD tomorrow (according to nbcolympics.com).

[Glengoyne]

I am sure this is just another thing I am missing out on, but really how big of a difference are we talking about? I have seen a little HDTV, and well, I am frankly not sure what all the fuss is about.

[GoldenEagle]

Does anyone know if the what channel the US vs. Australia women's softball game will be on? ESPN lists it as Bravo while NBC does not list it. Anyone have any clue?

(if it is on Bravo my girlfriend will be pissed as we do not have it).

[Ragone]

I believe its on bravo ge

[ISiddiqui]

I am sure this is just another thing I am missing out on, but really how big of a difference are we talking about? I have seen a little HDTV, and well, I am frankly not sure what all the fuss is about.

No offense, but do you happen to be blind?

[henry296]

The HD is delayed 1 day so that you watch the regular coverage because that is all that counts for ratings and therefore advertising dollars. Nielson does not count HD viewership.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

No offense, but do you happen to be blind?

Agreed. I have a lot of fun flipping between ESPN and ESPN-HD while a game is on to show people the difference. Night-and-day.

Now whether or not gymnastics actually looks better in HiDef is hard to say, but in team sports where they are showing more of the field and lots of people it makes all the difference in the world when trying to see what is going on. All the detail really helps.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by henry296

The HD is delayed 1 day so that you watch the regular coverage because that is all that counts for ratings and therefore advertising dollars. Nielson does not count HD viewership.

If it's really delayed a day, what a waste of high-def equipment. I was just laughing like mad last night when Sony was advertising their HD support on the standard-def channels while the opening ceremonies were playing for like the fifth time on the HD channel. At least they aren't showing lots and lots and lots of sappy stories and are instead concentrating on events this time around. But it looks like they blew it with the HD coverage.

[lynchjm24]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Does anyone know if the what channel the US vs. Australia women's softball game will be on? ESPN lists it as Bravo while NBC does not list it. Anyone have any clue?

(if it is on Bravo my girlfriend will be pissed as we do not have it).

It was on Bravo and it was a bloodbath. That left side of the US infield has a couple of pretty sweet arms over there.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by henry296

The HD is delayed 1 day so that you watch the regular coverage because that is all that counts for ratings and therefore advertising dollars. Nielson does not count HD viewership.

I'm not sure that makes sense, because all other HD primetime programming (networks shows, sports, etc.) is played simultaneously in SD and HD. Surely they just as concerned with the ratings.

This is just an awful decision by someone ... I suspect NBC.

[sachmo71]

I want the Olympics shown in Mos Def.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Agreed. I have a lot of fun flipping between ESPN and ESPN-HD while a game is on to show people the difference. Night-and-day.

Now whether or not gymnastics actually looks better in HiDef is hard to say, but in team sports where they are showing more of the field and lots of people it makes all the difference in the world when trying to see what is going on. All the detail really helps.

Allright, Maybe I am blind, but it might also just be perception. I have only seen normal Network TV in HD. I haven't seen any sporting events. If the sporting events show more of the action at the same time, I can understand what the deal is. To me it simply didn't appear that the difference in appearance or clarity would account for all the fuss. If it is actually shown in a different format, then I understand.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Allright, Maybe I am blind, but it might also just be perception. I have only seen normal Network TV in HD. I haven't seen any sporting events. If the sporting events show more of the action at the same time, I can understand what the deal is. To me it simply didn't appear that the difference in appearance or clarity would account for all the fuss. If it is actually shown in a different format, then I understand.

Much of network TV is not actually in HD (although more and more shows are being converted). The term "HD" can mean something as little as 480p (480 scan-lines of resolution, same as regular TV, but "Progressive Scan" such that you get a full 60 fields per second without interlacing). More typically it's 720p (720 scan-lines progressive) or 1080i (1080 scan-lines, but interlaced). Most HD channels are either 720p (FOX is typical of this) or 1080i (CBS usually).

Until more HD content is out, much of what these channels show is up-converted SD content. So they take a 640x480 picture and convert it to the 720p or 1080i formats. This won't look any better (and sometimes can look worse) than a regular TV picture.

But take something recorded in HD and show it in its native format and it looks gorgeous. This is common sense: basically it's the difference between your computer monitor at 640x480 and at 1024x768 (close enough). There's just more detail.

There is also the widescreen aspects. Instead of a 4:3 ratio, you get 16:9. This means more width to the display. Combine them both, and not only am I looking at more of the football field (or hockey rink or baseball diamond), but I can see the ball/puck more easily, read more numbers on player jerseys, and all the other niceties that come with a higher resolution.

As football season gets rolling, walk in to your local Circuit City / Best Buy / neighborhood TV shop. They'll usually have the same game playing on the HD sets and the SD sets. Come back and tell us if you still can't see the difference so we can mock you some more

One more thing: DVDs in 480p widescreen are sharper (with the interlacing gone) and you lose some or all of the black bars when watching a widescreen movie depending on the aspect ratio the film was originally shot in. To be honest, until HD receivers came down in price, DVD watching was all I did with my TV for about 8 months and it was worth it just for that.

[JimboJ]

I got my HD TV back in Feb, so I haven't watched a football game on it yet. But hockey on the ESPN HD channel is amazing. It makes the puck and the players so much easier to follow.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by JimboJ

I got my HD TV back in Feb, so I haven't watched a football game on it yet. But hockey on the ESPN HD channel is amazing. It makes the puck and the players so much easier to follow.

Football on HD is awesome - but it's tough to beat Hockey. Actually being able to see/follow the puck is great (people who grow up in Canada probably can't relate). I think the compactness of the hockey rink also lends itself to great HD shots.

But definitely looking forward to the football season. Most NFL games this year are going to be available in HD ... well, for those w/ the Sunday ticket anyways.

[Ksyrup]

FYI, DirecTV will be televising about 100 NFL games on the NFL package in HD this season, up from 17 last season. I'm reading about it now in a CE trade mag.

[Tekneek]

I just watched HD stuff for the first time last night. The olympic coverage was good, which I am able to get through DirecTV and the local NBC affiliate. I can also get WTBS OTA and watched a good bit of the Braves game in HD. I'm not that into MLB or the Braves, but watching it in HD can hook me in...