lawilson2
Premium
join:2001-04-30
Chicago, IL
 ·CCLHosting
·surpasshosting
| [CATV] Comcast SportsNet HD Sucks
Has anyone else noticed this? I'm watching the Bulls game now and the quality is god awful. You can't even see the player's faces when they show the regular game view. When I turn to ESPN, HDNet, etc, the quality is vastly different. This channel is consistently horrible. Why do they use crappy cameras, or is it more of the delivery by RCN (which I doubt. Every other HD channel is beautiful)? |
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NW_DC
join:2007-10-17
Washington, DC
| Many but not all sporting venues are 100% equipped with HD cameras, production and transmission gear. Those that are not 100% equipped with HD facilities give preference to home team coverage. This means the away team either has to haul in their own HD gear or transmit the game in SD. All HDNet productions are in HD because they always haul in their own gear. |
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lawilson2
Premium
join:2001-04-30
Chicago, IL
·CCLHosting
·surpasshosting
| You're most likely right. It was an away game, and they usually don't put away games in HD. I'll pay attention to the next home game to see if there was a difference.
However, if you look at their pre-shows in the studios, the HD quality is horrible compared to ESPN. Take a look at their sportsnite show vs. sportscenter. It looks darker, more grainy, and it just appears that the equipment is cheap. |
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DJ_Kismuth
join:2001-11-25
Chicago, IL
| reply to lawilson2
I agree with everything being discussed: certain away games on CSN look awful. And yes, their studio cam segments always look like those badly upconverted Sunday afternoon TNT movies. I just hope RCN gets a break on their "bill" from CSN whenever they send that phony-looking upconverted broadcast.
So obviously this is not an RCN issue. I would try sending a letter to CSN and complain. I contacted WCIU back in April, because I have never seen a single program air in HD, yet they tout themselves as being an HD TV station. The response was:
"WCIU-TV will have additional HD programming as it becomes available. As one of the last family owned independent stations in the nation, we lack the network resources for HD programming. Currently you will see all home games we televise for the Sox, Cubs and Bulls. Many people have thanked us for that and realize that as the "little guy" we compete against giants and frankly cut us a little slack.
Sincerely,
WCIU-TV, "Chicago's U!"
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Yes, it probably costs millions of dollars to upgrade a TV station to HD but I often wonder why the network evening newscasts at 5:30 aren't in HD. Even though it's painfully clear the evening news demographic is aimed at elderly people, given the type of commercials they air, it would still make watching the news more appealing if it looked better.
Also makes me wonder why "Curb Your Enthusiasm" isn't shot in HD?  |
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lawilson2
Premium
join:2001-04-30
Chicago, IL
·CCLHosting
·surpasshosting
| WCIU, regardless of being family owned, shouldn't have an HD channel if the only things they broadcast in HD are occasional sports games.
As for the evening news, I agree, but I wouldn't want to see some anchors in HD, like the ancient ones on WGN, lol! |
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machpost
join:2002-01-11
Washington, DC
| reply to lawilson2
said by lawilson2  :Has anyone else noticed this? I'm watching the Bulls game now and the quality is god awful. You can't even see the player's faces when they show the regular game view. When I turn to ESPN, HDNet, etc, the quality is vastly different. This channel is consistently horrible. Why do they use crappy cameras, or is it more of the delivery by RCN (which I doubt. Every other HD channel is beautiful)? I don't think it's an RCN issue. The picture quality during Caps and Wizards games, and in-studio shows that are in HD on CSN Mid-Atlantic isn't nearly as clear as what I see on channels like ESPN HD or Versus HD. It must be a matter of camera or production quality, because network shows on CSN in HD, such as college football games, look much better. I would imagine it doesn't vary much among the different regional CSN channels.
I have been surprised to see a few away hockey games in HD this season, though. According to the schedule on their Web site, only home games are supposed to be in HD. |
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