Center Ice HD Question

[mrthemike]

Hey guys, I am about to watch a Devils game and I see the game is not broadcast in HD...same with some of the other games...any idea why? Pretty sure it's on MSG+ which should be HD...

 

[mrthemike]

Maybe i'm answering my own question...they are showing the Dallas feed...any idea how they choose which feed they want to show and whether or not it is in HD?

 

[RedWings]

I don't know WTF dish is doing, but compared to DirecTv, they aren't showing sh*t for HD in the center ice package as long as I can see on their schedule.

Last year Dish would have both feeds, and both HD if they could.

Now this is starting to piss me off and looking at DirecTv's CI schedule, I am tempted to jump.

Lack of HD on CI, losing FX/Nat Geo, and all these rate increases is starting to really piss me off.

 

[RichManitoba]

I'm starting to wonder myself wtf is going on. At $160 per year, SD is unacceptable.

Anybody have a guess why this is? Lat night I'm watching Montreal v Toronto and it's in SD, but yet CBC signs on in "stunning HD". Then later, I'm watching highlights of that game on Versus, and they're in HD. :rant:

I HATE direct tv's guide as opposed to dish, but I can learn to like it.

 

[DodgerKing]

Here is the DirecTV CI schedule and as you can see just about every game is in HD and most of the duel feeds are in HD as well. Just about every game has duel feeds

DIRECTV: Sports : NHL CENTER ICE : Schedules

Here is the Dish CI schedule. As you can see, less than half of the game in HD on Direct are in HD on Dish. Dish also does not have as many duel feeds either

http://www.dishnetwork.com/packages/ppv/sports/hockey/default.aspx

 

[Joe The Dragon]

I'm starting to wonder myself wtf is going on. At $160 per year, SD is unacceptable.

Anybody have a guess why this is? Lat night I'm watching Montreal v Toronto and it's in SD, but yet CBC signs on in "stunning HD". Then later, I'm watching highlights of that game on Versus, and they're in HD. :rant:

I HATE direct tv's guide as opposed to dish, but I can learn to like it.

You thing that bad people don't even there games for there in HD on there RSN lot's of the time.

 

[RichManitoba]

You thing that bad people don't even there games for there in HD on there RSN lot's of the time.

Please translate............

 

[blts]

Hey guys, I am about to watch a Devils game and I see the game is not broadcast in HD...same with some of the other games...any idea why? Pretty sure it's on MSG+ which should be HD...[/QUOTE
It seems like Dish is getting worse with its sports programing. I have Direct and it seems like every game is in HD as long as its being broadcast in HD along with both the visitors and home team broadcast. I also have Dish for locals only and I checked out their Center Ice package tonight and I'm glad I don't have Dish for my regular programing any more. I wouldn't pay for the Center Ice package thru Dish.

 

[MuDvAyNe]

Dish network has dropped MSG as of right now. So be happy you can at least watch a Devils game! They better resolve their contract issues soon! Also Dish does not carry MSG in HD either so I am stuck watching the Devils all season in SD... that's if I ever get the channel back. Tonight there is only one game in HD which is the Caps game. I was watching when Pavelec collapsed on the ice. I hope he is ok but it really didn't look good.

 

[RichManitoba]

Dish network has dropped MSG as of right now. So be happy you can at least watch a Devils game! They better resolve their contract issues soon! Also Dish does not carry MSG in HD either so I am stuck watching the Devils all season in SD... that's if I ever get the channel back. Tonight there is only one game in HD which is the Caps game. I was watching when Pavelec collapsed on the ice. I hope he is ok but it really didn't look good.

I know this isn't a hockey site but yes, I saw that too. Pretty strange.

 

[The Fat Man]

I'm starting to wonder myself wtf is going on. At $160 per year, SD is unacceptable.

Anybody have a guess why this is? Lat night I'm watching Montreal v Toronto and it's in SD, but yet CBC signs on in "stunning HD". Then later, I'm watching highlights of that game on Versus, and they're in HD. :rant:

I HATE direct tv's guide as opposed to dish, but I can learn to like it.

What's even more crazy was when I was visiting family in Nigra on the Lake, Ontario, I was flipping through their cable provider (I think it was Rogers) last Hockey season, and noticed that TSN2 carries the American Versus broadcasts in HD. So in the United States we are stuck with sub-par Standard Def Canadian CBC, TSN, Rogers Sports Net, and sometimes RDS broadcasts, while paying a big amount; however, in Canada they get American Versus HD broadcast on a regular channel. I beieve they also get our NBC coverage for free as well (but I'm not sure). Once again, American broadcasters are greedy cheap [EMAIL="b@$+@®d$"]b@$+@®d$[/EMAIL].

I love where I live, and am a proud American, but when it comes to the NHL, it's always better in Canada.

 

[SpaethCo]

What's even more crazy was when I was visiting family in Nigra on the Lake, Ontario, I was flipping through their cable provider (I think it was Rogers) last Hockey season, and noticed that TSN2 carries the American Versus broadcasts in HD.

TSN2 carries many Versus games, yes. Just like the NHL Network carries many CBC HD broadcasts on Saturday nights for HNIC.

So in the United States we are stuck with sub-par Standard Def Canadian CBC, TSN, Rogers Sports Net, and sometimes RDS broadcasts, while paying a big amount; however, in Canada they get American Versus HD broadcast on a regular channel.

CBC and TSN are standard channels, sure. Rogers SportsNet is 5 different RSNs: East, Ontario, West, Pacific, and SportsNet 1 which covers the gaps for each of the 4 when 2 games air at the same time. The regional sports blackouts still apply in Canada.

I beieve they also get our NBC coverage for free as well (but I'm not sure).

Yes, Canadians get the big networks from the US on most of their cable/satellite services.

Once again, American broadcasters are greedy cheap I love where I live, and am a proud American, but when it comes to the NHL, it's always better in Canada.

Strongly disagree here. I have both DirecTV and Shaw Direct Canadian satellite now. With DirecTV a strong 90-95% of all of the games are in HD, save for the games where it's a Canadian team playing a Canadian team.

On Shaw Direct, Centre Ice costs $29.99/mo (so it costs more than on Direct/Dish over the season), only about 40-50% of the games are in HD. The key reason I keep it is that 100% of the games where a Canadian team is playing are covered in HD which fills in the small gap I have with DirecTV.

Canadians have more games on standard TV with CBC and TSN, but if you're going to compare Center Ice games in HD it's no contest. Both Dish and DirecTV are miles ahead of Rogers/Telus/Videotron/Shaw Cable/Shaw Direct/BellTV when it comes to total games offered in HD.

EDIT: To be fair, the Leafs / Habs game yesterday was in SD on DirecTV as well. I had to watch that on my Shaw Direct service to see the HD coverage of the game.

 

[The Fat Man]

TSN2 carries many Versus games, yes. Just like the NHL Network carries many CBC HD broadcasts on Saturday nights for HNIC.

I agree, but NHL Net in the U.S. began carring HNIC only a couple years ago, and rarely give a good Canadian game outside of HNIC. BTW, the late game isn't live, we have to wait for a Sunday afternoon replay for that coverage (that crap began last season). Also, until then we needed CI to get HNIC. Once in a while we will get a TSN game.

CBC and TSN are standard channels, sure. Rogers SportsNet is 5 different RSNs: East, Ontario, West, Pacific, and SportsNet 1 which covers the gaps for each of the 4 when 2 games air at the same time. The regional sports blackouts still apply in Canada.

However, American viewers do get American RSN HD Feeds, so why not the Rogers and SportsNet1 HD feeds as well?

Yes, Canadians get the big networks from the US on most of their cable/satellite services.

Strongly disagree here. I have both DirecTV and Shaw Direct Canadian satellite now. With DirecTV a strong 90-95% of all of the games are in HD, save for the games where it's a Canadian team playing a Canadian team.

On Shaw Direct, Centre Ice costs $29.99/mo (so it costs more than on Direct/Dish over the season), only about 40-50% of the games are in HD. The key reason I keep it is that 100% of the games where a Canadian team is playing are covered in HD which fills in the small gap I have with DirecTV.

Canadians have more games on standard TV with CBC and TSN, but if you're going to compare Center Ice games in HD it's no contest. Both Dish and DirecTV are miles ahead of Rogers/Telus/Videotron/Shaw Cable/Shaw Direct/BellTV when it comes to total games offered in HD.

I get where you are coming from, my statement was based upon simple nation broadcasts, not Regional (and was wrong for lumping Rogers, Sports 1, etc. into the mix). I just feel that U.S. broadcasters rip off the American consumer for Hockey, where in Canada, since Hockey is the number 1 sport, there is a lot more cheap outlets to see an American broadcast, I.E. TSN2. With the exception of HNIC's 7:00 game, we get no live Canadian broadcasts. And quite frankly, the Canadian broadcast are, in my opinion, far more superior to the American National Broadcasts.

EDIT: To be fair, the Leafs / Habs game yesterday was in SD on DirecTV as well. I had to watch that on my Shaw Direct service to see the HD coverage of the game.

I appreciate your reply, because for me it was a snapshot, and I still have never seen the Canadian Centre Ice, so at least you gave me insight into what trouble Canadian viewers face.

 

[Greenwood Luke]

Actually, it's the other way around. MSG has been trying to force Dish to carry a music channel as part of its license deal for MSG and MSG+, which Dish has refused to carry. Additionally, MSG will not make MSG-HD available to Dish for several reasons, not the least because MSG is owned by a cable company that competes head to head with Dish, bad blood from a previous deal, and their claim that as the MSG-HD signal is not available OTA, they don't have to provide it to Dish.

One way or the other, the fans are stuck in the middle, with the first Ranger game of the season tomorrow.

Luke

Dish network has dropped MSG as of right now. So be happy you can at least watch a Devils game! They better resolve their contract issues soon! Also Dish does not carry MSG in HD either so I am stuck watching the Devils all season in SD... that's if I ever get the channel back. Tonight there is only one game in HD which is the Caps game. I was watching when Pavelec collapsed on the ice. I hope he is ok but it really didn't look good.

 

[SpaethCo]

However, American viewers do get American RSN HD Feeds, so why not the Rogers and SportsNet1 HD feeds as well?

We get the US HD RSNs because it makes financial sense to keep the HD feeds going at the uplink centers full time. The RSNs cover MLB, NHL, and NBA games not to mention all of the regional college sports.

When TV providers contract with the NHL for Center Ice, the league provides them with feeds for all of the games. Unfortunately, the league itself only has the ability to transmit the games in SD. What DirecTV and Dish do is contract with both the NHL and the regional sports networks to use existing feeds to make better use of satellite space. So for a San Jose Sharks game, they'd just enable people subscribing to Center Ice to see Comcast SportsNet Bay Area feed that is already being broadcast up to the satellites instead of needing to uplink the game from the Center Ice feed they are getting from the NHL. As an added benefit, they can give access to the HD broadcasts direct from these regional sports networks.

The obvious sticking point here is the Canadian broadcasts. The providers have a choice to use the SD feed they get from the league as part of their contract to carry Center Ice, or if US providers want to get access to the HD feeds they need to contract with Rogers SportsNet, CBC, and TSN directly to get authorization to rebroadcast those games. It seems that for most providers it's not worth it to work on those contracts to carry only a handful of games.

Eventually when the NHL gets the capacity to broadcast the real Center Ice master feeds in HD, then you'll see Canadian games in HD in the states. The NHL finally got their On the Fly highlights show in HD starting this season, so there is forward progress. Maybe in a year or two they'll get everything in place to make the HD feeds available from Canada to Dish and DirecTV.

 

[gdodd12]

Dish really sucks at this point. How do they have LESS HD games than last year??? Pathetic provider.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

We get the US HD RSNs because it makes financial sense to keep the HD feeds going at the uplink centers full time. The RSNs cover MLB, NHL, and NBA games not to mention all of the regional college sports.

When TV providers contract with the NHL for Center Ice, the league provides them with feeds for all of the games. Unfortunately, the league itself only has the ability to transmit the games in SD. What DirecTV and Dish do is contract with both the NHL and the regional sports networks to use existing feeds to make better use of satellite space. So for a San Jose Sharks game, they'd just enable people subscribing to Center Ice to see Comcast SportsNet Bay Area feed that is already being broadcast up to the satellites instead of needing to uplink the game from the Center Ice feed they are getting from the NHL. As an added benefit, they can give access to the HD broadcasts direct from these regional sports networks.

The obvious sticking point here is the Canadian broadcasts. The providers have a choice to use the SD feed they get from the league as part of their contract to carry Center Ice, or if US providers want to get access to the HD feeds they need to contract with Rogers SportsNet, CBC, and TSN directly to get authorization to rebroadcast those games. It seems that for most providers it's not worth it to work on those contracts to carry only a handful of games.

Eventually when the NHL gets the capacity to broadcast the real Center Ice master feeds in HD, then you'll see Canadian games in HD in the states. The NHL finally got their On the Fly highlights show in HD starting this season, so there is forward progress. Maybe in a year or two they'll get everything in place to make the HD feeds available from Canada to Dish and DirecTV.

also a other thing part of that is cables in demand limited room for HD also slow stuff down as they don't have room to show much Canada HD or US HD and that less the need for the NHL gets the capacity to broadcast the real Center Ice master feeds in HD. The sat co just remap there own HD but in demand needs to fiber it in / get it off a sat and up link in.

Comcast is roomer to at least have it's own CSN's on all comcast systems over the next few year so they may be able to use that to get more HD then IN demand gives them.


D* has sportsnet Ontario HD

D* is the best right now most of the RSN are HD 24/7 + they pick up just about all RSN HD over flows. They need to add

CSN NW HD (some times shows up)
CSN Philly HD / Comcast network Philly HD (some times shows up)
SD 4 HD (some times shows up)
other missing cable only RSN's

add missing OTA HD games
Leafs TV HD
TSN HD
TSN 2 HD
CBC HD (I think they can have up to 2-3 HD games at the same time)
CTV HD
Global HD
Sportsnet Pacific HD
Sportsnet West HD
Sportsnet East HD
Sportsnet one HD / Sportsnet one sub feeds HD

• Sportsnet Flames (western Canada, except B.C. and Yukon): 19 regular season games, 2 preseason games[5]
• Sportsnet Oilers (western Canada, except B.C. and Yukon): 16 regular season games, 2 preseason games[6]
• Sportsnet Vancouver Hockey (Canucks) (B.C. and Yukon): 13 regular season games, 2 preseason games[7]
• Sportsnet Sens

can the Canadian feed of WGN HD be used as well? or just feed in wgn 9 HD from the Chicago area that is on D* spot beams It does get used in Canada there on there NBA, NHL, MLB packs.

canadian HD feeds for NBA
Raptors NBA TV HD
CBC HD
TSN HD
TSN 2 HD
The Score HD
Sportsnet one HD

also Sportsnet one HD has some MLB games.