Vudu Will Be Doo-Doo
Despite some media hype, a new set-top that will offer up to 5,000 movies -- and maybe high-def -- will fail miserably.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 30, 2007) -- The New York Times yesterday published a glowing preview of a new Video on Demand set-top service called Vudu.
The box, which will offer up to 5,000 films that can be seen on your TV, is expected to be available this summer for around $300.
"Vudu, if all goes as planned, hopes to turn America's televisions into limitless multiplexes," The Times writes, "providing instant gratification for movie buffs. It has built a small Internet-ready movie box that connects to the television and allows couch potatoes to rent or buy any of the 5,000 films now in Vudu's growing collection."
But, folks, don't get all excited because Vudu will be doo-doo. It will fail.
Let me repeat that. It will fail.
Apple TV even has a better chance of success.
| Read Full Article
Is Cable Ignoring DIRECTV's HD Plans?
The cable industry could once again hand the satellite industry a big advantage.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 30, 2007) -- DIRECTV says it will offer 100 national High-Definition channels by year's end.
But cable TV operators seem oddly unconcerned, although most of them now provide only 10 or 15 national high-def networks.
"Right now we have all the high-def channels that anybody cares about," Comcast President Steve Burke said last week in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
Burke added that the quality of the high-def channels is more important than the quantity.
His comments echo the remarks of other cable executives. Although they say they will soon expand their high-def capacities via new technologies such as Switched Digital Video, they add that it's not necessary to match DIRECTV channel for channel.
However, the cable industry may be underestimating DIRECTV's high-def plans at its own peril. As philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
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TV Antennas Are Back; 5 Tips For Buying One
Many high-def owners are getting local channels directly from the source.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 30, 2007) -- Many consumers are connecting cheap antennas to their expensive new High-Definition TVs to get their local high-def channels.
That's according to a new article from The Associated Press.
Many HD owners are installing rooftop antennas that can capture the HD and standard definition signals of their local stations. Some people can even get local signals with an indoor antenna costing less than $20..
Unlike local HD signals from cable and satellite operators, the antenna-delivered channels are free. And some HD enthusiasts say an antenna offers a better picture, although that's arguable.
"Eighty-year-old technology is being redesigned and rejiggered to deliver the best picture quality," Richard Schneider, president of Antennas Direct, told the AP. "It's an interesting irony."
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Who's the Sexiest Woman In HDTV?
Here's your chance to vote for the hottest hottie in high-def.
By Phillip Swann
Last December, I wrote a feature called, "The 10 Sexiest Women In HDTV."
The article included my picks for the 10 TV actresses who are red hot even when seen through the candid cameras of High-Definition TV.
Although I published my article almost five months ago, I still get comments from readers agreeing or disagreeing with my selections.
It appears that the question of who's really the sexiest woman in High-Definition has hit a nerve. So I thought I would give you a chance to vote on your favorites.
Click Sexiest Women to cast your vote.
Then, come back here and offer your comments on your choice!
| Read Full Article
Weather Channel's HD Snow Job
The network reveals that its high-def channel will not include a real HD picture until 2008.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 28, 2007) -- The Weather Channel has boasted this year that it will launch a new High-Definition channel this September.
However, the network has now revealed that the "HD channel" will not deliver real high-def pictures until next year.
| Read Full Article
What do you like best about HDTV?
Sports? Drama? Documentaries? Comedies?
Here's your chance to let everyone know!
Tell us:
Your favorite show in High-Definition TV!
Yes, if you could only watch one show in high-def, what would it be? And why?
| Read Full Article
Nielsen to Track HDTV Audience
The numbers should reveal how many homes have high-def.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 27, 2007) -- Nielsen said yesterday that it will begin tracking the number of High-Definition homes this November.
The figures, which will first be available in January 2008, will likely also reveal where high-def owners live and their personal characteristics such as income and age.
The information has been coveted by advertisers which has had difficulty getting a handle on the new HD audience.
Although the Consumer Electronics Association reports that 28 million U.S. homes have high-def sets, it's less unclear how many are actually watching HDTV on any given night. Many HD owners have yet to get high-def tuners, which are necessary to display HD channels.
After Nielsen begins its tracking of the high-def audience, it's likely it will also publish separate ratings reports for HD viewers, as it now does for some Digital Video Recorder homes.
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Comcast: HDTV Is Booming
The cable operator says about 20 percent of all subs get a HD or DVR service, or both.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 26, 2007) -- Comcast said today that roughly 20 percent of its 25 million customers now subscribe to a High-Definition or DVR service, or both.
In its first quarter report, the nation's largest cable operator also said that new High-Definition and DVR subs have jumped 72 percent over the last year.
The company said 535,000 customers added either a high-def or DVR service in the first quarter, compared to 310,000 in the first quarter last year.
Unlike most cable and satellite providers, Comcast does not break down how many subscribers have High-Definition TV and how many have Digital Video Recorders. They include both in the same category.
Comcast also countered those who say they will need to offer a large number of high-def channels later this year when DIRECTV expands its capacity. Company COO and President Steve Burke said the 'quality" of the HD channels is more important than the quantity.
| Read Full Article
Movies 4x Sharper Than High-Def?
Sony's new ultra-clear projector is expected to make its U.S. theatrical debut in August.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 25, 2007) -- Sony is rolling out a new digital cinema projector that can display theatrical movies at a resolution four times clearer than High-Definition TV.
That's according to an article by the U.K's Digit Magazine.
Sony hopes that theater owners looking to lure high-def owners back to the movies will purchase the projector and its supporting system.
The company showcased the digital cinema projector earlier this month during the world premiere of Spiderman 3 in Tokyo.
"The result (was) a spectacular image that's a rank above what you might be used to seeing at the movies," the magazine reported. "The projector outputs an image with 4,096-x-2,160 pixels resolution, which is double that of HDTV both horizontally and vertically to result in more than 8 million pixels versus about 2 million on HDTV."
| Read Full Article
Poll: CBS Is #1 for 'NFL In HD'
But the network barely edges out Fox and ESPN in our reader survey for the best high-def picture.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 25, 2007) -- CBS offers the best High-Definition picture to watch National Football League games.
That's according to a poll of TVPredictions.com readers conducted yesterday.
But CBS, which just revealed it will increase its weekly HD coverage of the NFL to five or six games, barely edged out network rivals Fox and ESPN in the poll.
| Read Full Article
We've just started a poll at TVPredictions.com:
Which network has the best High-Definition picture for the National Football League?
Your choices:
CBS
Fox
ESPN
NBC
NFL Network
They're all the same.
Cast your vote now!
| Read Full Article
CBS Doubles HD Coverage Of NFL
The network says it will show five or six games each week in high-def.
By Phillip Swann
CBS Doubles HD Coverage Of NFL
The network says it will show five or six games each week in high-def.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 23, 2007) -- CBS says it will air five or six National Football League games each week during the 2007 season.
That's an increase from the network's 2006 offering of just three games a week in high-def.
Leslie Anne Wade, a network spokeswoman, told TVPredictions.com today that the network has decided to upgrade its high-def coverage.
"It will be up to six games a week," she said.
The additional HD broadcasts will bring CBS up to the same level as Fox, which also airs up to six NFL games a week in HD.
Both networks will sometimes carry seven or eight games a week, meaning some games will still not be in high-def.
| Read Full Article
NBC's Sunday Ratings Hurt By No HDTV?
The network suffers low ratings after going to three non-HD shows on Sunday nights.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 23, 2007) -- NBC's decision to eliminate High-Definition programming on Sunday night could be giving the network low ratings.
Since the beginning of March, NBC's Sunday night lineup has featured three shows that are not broadcast in high-def:
Dateline, the newsmagazine show, airs first at 7 p.m., followed by the game show Deal or No Deal at 9 p.m. and Donald Trump's The Apprentice at 10 p.m.
The lineup seems to ignore the rapid growth of High-Definition TV over the last year. With high-def prices plunging, millions of Americans are bringing home new sets. The Consumer Electronics Association reported this month that HDTV is now in 28 million U.S. homes, although not every home has a high-def tuner, which is necessary to watch HD programming.
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Wal-Mart Orders 2M HD DVD Players?
A Taiwan news service reports that the set-tops are for the 2007 holidays.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 21, 2007) -- A Taiwan news service reports that Wal-Mart has ordered two million discount HD DVD players for the 2007 holiday season.
But the article, which was widely circulated on the Internet Friday, has not been confirmed by Wal-Mart or Toshiba, the leading backer of the HD DVD format.
ETToday.com reports that Wal-Mart made the purchase from a Chinese maker of less expensive electronics and computer supplies.
| Read Full Article
Time Warner: No Analog Means 100 HDTV Channels
The cable operator switches its Staten Island system to all-digital, adding high-def capacity.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 21, 2007) -- Time Warner Cable has converted its Staten Island system from analog to digital, increasing its HDTV capacity there to 100 channels.
That's according to an article in Multichannel News.
The publication reports that Time Warner made the disclosure in papers filed in its HDTV lawsuit against DIRECTV.
The cable operator has accused DIRECTV of falsely claiming it will soon have more HDTV channels than cable. DIRECTV has made the claim because it plans to launch two new satellites that will allow it to offer 100 national HD channels by year's end.
| Read Full Article
Blu-ray Trounces HD DVD Again
HD DVD backers say sales will improve this summer.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 20, 2007) -- Sales of Blu-ray HDTV DVDs once again trounced rival HD DVD in March and the Sony-backed format now has a 69-31 percent sales lead in the first three months of 2007.
That's according to Nielsen Video Scan, which tracks the sale of the new high-def DVDs.
Blu-ray supporters say the widening lead is evidence that the format is pulling away from HD DVD in the high-def DVD format war. The two formats are competing for the new high-def DVD audience.
However, HD DVD backers tell Video Business that its format will rebound due to lower player prices and the release of 70 new HD DVD titles between now and summer. Toshiba, the biggest supporter of the HD DVD format, recently introduced a $399 player.
Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of marketing for Universal, the only studio to exclusively support HD DVD, conceded that Blu-ray would keep its lead until the fourth quarter. But he said HD DVD should perform well then.
“Fourth quarter is really going to be a telling time,” he said.
HD DVD supporters credit Blu-ray's sales dominance to the release of several big titles in the spring, including Sony's Casino Royale, which has been the top high-def DVD seller.
But Blu-ray backers say retailers will start to act accordingly after seeing the sales numbers.
“We think retailers will start to dedicate more space to Blu-ray, rather than split it half and half,” Sony worldwide president David Bishop told Video Business. “That will further send a signal to consumers that it is the dominant format.”
| Read Full Article
DIRECTV Wins Legal Battle Over HDTV
A federal judge denies Time Warner's request to stop the satcaster from running a high-def commercial.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 18, 2007) -- DIRECTV can go back to the future, so to speak.
A federal judge has rejected Time Warner Cable's request to bar DIRECTV from airing a TV spot that said it would "soon" have more High-Definition channels than cable.
The commercial, which was based on the movie, Back to the Future, starred Christopher Lloyd, who played a scientist in the film.
The judge's ruling was reported today by Multichannel News.
The DIRECTV ad said it would have three times more HDTV programming than cable. The claim was based on the company's plans to launch two new satellites this year that will expand its high-def capacity.
However, Time Warner filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the ad, saying it would soon have the technology to provide up to 200 HD channels, even more than DIRECTV, which says it will have 100 high-def channels by year's end.
Multichannel News reports that Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled that Time Warner did not prove that DIRECTV's claim was false.
The judge apparently did not accept the cable operator's contention that it would have as many HD channels as DIRECTV at the end of the year.
“TWC has failed to demonstrate any prospect of success in claiming that the capacity claim is unsupported by the report,” Swain wrote, according to Multichannel News. “Again, the commercial claims that DirecTV will ‘soon’ have more than three times the HD capacity of cable, and the end of the current year, 2007, is certainly ‘soon.’”
Despite the judge's rejection of the injunction, the case is far from over. In addition to the Back to the Future ad, Time Warner has sued DIRECTV over other advertising claims related to high-def, including one in which the satcaster says it has ""all the best HDTV channels" and another that claims it offer a HD picture "superior" to cable.
In February, Judge Swain granted a different Time Warner injunction that stopped DIRECTV from airing commercials in Time Warner markets that said its HD service was better than cable.
"We are disappointed in (today's) ruling but remain confident that we will prevail at trial," Time Warner said in a statement, according to Multichannel News.
It is unclear when the trial will begin.
| Read Full Article
News Feature
Hologram TV: Better Than HDTV?
Companies are rapidly developing technologies to project images outside of the set.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 18, 2007) -- While addressing the 2004 PBS Technology Conference in Las Vegas, I predicted that one day a new TV technology would emerge that might make High-Definition look quaint.
That technology?
Hologram TV.
"In the next 15 years, Hologram TV will permit images to float from your TV screen directly into your living room," I told the attendees. "Coupled with other new technologies, Hologram TV will make television itself even more powerful. Viewers will have more difficulty separating fact from fiction. When you see a character shoot someone your living room, you will ask, “Did it really happen? Or, did I watch it on TV.”
After I uttered those remarks, the reaction from the room was mixed. Many conference goers expressed skepticism that we would ever see Hologram TV become a reality in our lifetime, much less in 15 years.
However, I may have been wrong about Hologram TV being available in 15 years.
It may be much sooner than that.
Several companies are rapidly developing Hologram technologies that could enable home sets to project images outside of the screen in the next several years.
For instance, Peter Simonsen, a Danish inventor, has created a technology called Cheoptics360 that uses four 3D projectors to project a video outside of the set.
The image appears to float on its own in front of the viewer, as a still holographic image does. Even more amazing, the image can be seen from any angle, not just directly in front.
“Cheoptics360 makes it possible to blend fiction and reality in hitherto unprecedented ways. It opens up a world of possibilities for using the medium in films, commercials, and various other types of presentations,” says Simonsen, who heads viZoo, an advertising film company in Copenhagen.
Simonsen's company is currently working to use Cheoptics360 in advertising presentations, saying it will revolutionize product displays at retail.
"With revolving video images, that can be seen 360° in all ambient light conditions, Cheoptics360 brings new life to product launches, demos, and branding in general," the company says at its web site.
The potential for television is mind blowing. Imagine watching a football game when suddenly a linebacker jumps off the screen to tackle a runner passing by. Or how about gazing at a documentary on the Pacific Ocean when a seagull circles in mid-air in the middle of your room.
Of course, getting the technology into a television that wouldn't cost a small fortune is still a tricky proposition. But Cheoptics360 proves that Hologram TV could be a reality sooner than we think.
Popular Science magazine recently chronicled the work of Harold Garner, a biochemist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who has set up a Hologram video display in his lab. Garner says holographic TV images can be produced by filming an event from all sides and then incorporated them into one image that is projected off the screen.
The project has caught the attention of the U.S. Air Force which is interested in using Holographic television to better analyze weapon systems.
But it's just a matter of time before the TV industry takes note.
Philips, in fact, has said it will introduce a 3D TV next year. The set, which has already been exhibited at conferences, can make an object appear to be coming in your direction without having to wear the usual oversized goggles.
The 3-D TV does not require the technical complexity of a Hologram TV. But it will serve up more evidence that a video image does not have to be static.
So, get ready folks. Hologram TV is coming -- sooner than you think.
To see a video demonstration of Hologram TV, go to:
http://www.tvpredictions.com/hologramtv041807.htm
| Read Full Article
Cable Seeks More Capacity For HDTV
Cable operators must keep pace with the satellite TV services.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 18, 2007) -- Cable TV operators are testing several new technologies designed to increase their capacity to offer High-Definition TV channels.
That's according to an article from Reuters.
The news service reports that cable operators are concerned that satcasters DIRECTV and EchoStar will dramatically expand their high-def lineups this year. Spencer Wang, a Bear Stearns analyst, says the cable ops will need to develops new ways to increase bandwidth to stay competitive.
"In the short term, the greatest concern is High Definition TV, given growing HD TV set penetration and DirecTV's plans to offer over 100 national HD feeds by the end of this year," Wang said, according to Reuters.
However, Reuters writes that the cable companies also must increase capacity without overly increasing their expenditures, which could upset shareholders.
Several companies, such as BigBand Networks, are offering solutions such as Switched Digital Video that saves bandwidth by only delivering a channel to the home when the viewer actually watches it.
Reuters reports that BigBand's stock jumped 30 percent last month when it went public with cable TV operators Comcast, Cablevision and Time Warner already signing on as customers.
Time Warner has said publicly that it believes that Switched Digital Video will enable it to offer as many channels as DIRECTV by year's end.
Cameron Cooke, a Janco Partners analyst, tells Reuters that cable will have to invest in companies such as BigBand to ensure it will have the technology to keep pace.
"Cable is going to have to invest in some way in all of these different technologies until they make the leap to full fiber," says Cooke. "I'm thinking about ten years from now you'll start to see cable operators taking cable into the home."
Michael Arden, a ABI Research analyst, says Switched Digital Video could cost each cable system just $5 to $10 per home in upgrade costs.
Vyyo, which is offering another capacity-enhancing technology called Spectrum Overlay, says it can enable a cable operator to increase bandwidth by 3 GHz. However, it could cost an an average of $125 per home, says Reuters.
| Read Full Article
Voom HD For Sale?
Speculation resurfaces that parent Rainbow Media may be sold.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 17, 2007) -- Cablevision may sell its programming arm Rainbow Media, which includes the 15 Voom High-Definition channels.
That's according to Wall Street analysts quoted in today's Financial Times.
The newspaper reports that Cablevision may be preparing to sell Rainbow to make itself more desirable as a takeover target. The cable operator has undergone various struggles over the past few years, in part due to an internal fight over the former Voom satellite TV service.
After Voom folded as a satellite business, Cablevision kept its 15 original high-def channels and added them to its unit Rainbow Media, which also includes the Independent Film Channel and AMC.
Several publications today reported that Time Warner may be interested in buying Cablevision, which is based in New York and serves the tri-state NY area.
According to the Financial Times, Cablevision refused to comment on the speculation. But the newspaper writes that a "major shareholder" says Rainbow could be offered for sale any day now.
FT reports that Time Warner, Comcast and Liberty Media could be interested in Rainbow.
Liberty Media is expected to take control of DIRECTV in the second half of the year. The company secured the satcaster in a stock swap with News Corp. late last year. Voom's high-def lineup could aid DIRECTV's plan to expand its national HD lineup to 100 channels by year's end.
Press reports said last January that Liberty Media may be interested in Rainbow. However, in recent weeks, two DIRECTV executives have been critical of Voom's programming, suggesting it's not top quality. The dismissive remarks could suggest a reduction in interest in the deal.
Comcast and Time Warner could use slices of Voom's programming for their HD On Demand offering until they have sufficient capacity to add more high-def channels.
As of now, EchoStar is the only TV provider in the United States to carry all 15 Voom channels. EchoStar has an equity stake in Voom.
| Read Full Article
Why Isn't the Damn Game In HDTV?
Sports fans continue to be frustrated by the lack of high-def coverage.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 17, 2007) -- In Pittsburgh and other NHL towns, fans this week are screaming that they can't watch their local blades of glory in High-Definition.
Cable TV subscribers are complaining that they can't watch 'Extra Innings' baseball games in HD, although they have paid nearly $200 for the package.
And football fans are holding their collective breaths that CBS will increase their high-def coverage of the NFL from last year's measly three games a week.
What's wrong with this picture, if you'll forgive the pun?
With HDTV in roughly 30 million U.S. homes, shouldn't the networks have a better handle on providing sports in high-def?
After all, we've all been sold that sports is the driver of High-Definition TV; that people are rushing to buy sets to watch their favorite teams in crystal-clear HD.
So why can't we see them in high-def?!
The problem is that people have rushed out to buy those HDTVs a little faster than the networks anticipated. Consequently, TV production teams are simply not ready to provide the kind of HD sports coverage that you would think would be the standard by now.
Take the National Hockey League, for instance, where fans in several cities can not watch this week's opening playoff round in HD on Fox's regional sports channels.
Shawn McClintock, an executive producer at Fox Sports,, tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the network simply doesn't have enough production trucks and crew for high-def coverage everywhere.
"Everything runs through our facility in Houston. They have limited capacity. Additionally, it can be challenging to find an available truck on such short notice. With the quick turnaround, we could not pull it off for the first round," he said. "In the event the Penguins advance, we're making plans to cover as many games as we can in HD."
Think about that. Fox Sports, which is owned by mega-corporation News Corp., can't find a production truck -- one solitary production truck -- so it can broadcast the Penguins in high-def.
But that's the reality of how prepared -- or, we should say, unprepared -- the networks are to broadcast live sporting events in HD.
And it's not just the regional sports channels.
Defending its decision to broadcast just one or two Saturday afternoon baseball games in HD on the Fox network, a spokesman also cited the lack of "truck availability."
And CBS said last year that it didn't yet have the resources and equipment to broadcast more than three NFL games a week in HD. Executives complained about how costly it was to install the infrastructure necessary for both analog and high-def productions for every stadium.
Certainly, we can all sympathize with programming executives who are challenged daily by bean-counters and shareholders. But industry forecasts predicted that high-def sales would boom in 2006 (particularly during the holidays) and it appears that some network executives chose to dismiss them. They concluded that the HD audience would still be too small to justify the extra expense to cover sports in HD like a blanket.
But to not show the first round of the NHL playoffs in HDTV is inexcusable and hard to believe. And to make matters worse, the Versus channel's HD coverage of the game is blacked out in your city because you can watch it (in non-HD) on the regional sports channel, which has the local rights.
While the networks, including the regional sports channels, have increased their HD coverage over the last year, sports fans deserve better.
| Read Full Article
NAB: Cable Will Reduce HD Picture Quality
Broadcasting group CEO says cable operators are purposely diluting the HD images from local stations.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 16, 2007) -- David Rehr, CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, today accused cable TV operators of planning to dilute the High-Definition picture quality of local stations.
In a speech today at the NAB's annual convention in Las Vegas, Rehr said the practice, called "downconversion," will give cable's own high-def signals an advantage over local stations unless Congress and/or the FCC acts.
“What we have here is broadcast discrimination by the cable operators,” Rehr said, according to Multichannel News.
Some cable operators are part of larger corporations that own channels that broadcast in high-def, such as Time Warner's HBO and Comcast's Versus/Golf Channel.
According to Multichannel News, Rehr says the cable services plan to downconvert local HD signals to standard-definition to give their own networks an edge.
The NAB and the cable TV industry have been battling for months over several issues surrounding digital transmissions such as downconverting and multicasting must-carry.
Cable services deny they are diluting the picture quality of local channels and they oppose the NAB's effort to force them to carry multiple digital signals. Some local stations are broadcasting digital channels in addition to their high-def feeds, such as 24/7 weather channels.
Multichannel News reports that Rehr today charged that the cable industry is discriminating against local broadcasters. He said cable TV's opposition to carrying all digital feeds from a local station will deny the TV viewer from seeing important programming.
“This is, in effect, stripping," Rehr said. "They are ripping out programming."
| Read Full Article
Pittsburgh Fans Upset Over HD Coverage
The local newspaper reports that Penguin playoff games are not in high-def.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (April 17, 2007) -- Pittsburgh Penguin fans are hopping mad -- and it's not because the team is behind in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
They are angry because FSN Pittsburgh is not showing the Penguin playoff series against the Ottawa Senators in High-Definition.
That's according to an article in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The newspaper says FSN's failure to carry any of the Penguin-Senators series in high-def has "brought a hail of criticism from viewers with HD sets."
The regional sports network has the rights to carry as many as five first-round games. NBC has broadcast one game in high-def and the Versus channel is showing some games in HD. However, Versus is blacked out in the Pittsburgh area because FSN Pittsburgh has the territorial rights.
FSN executive producer Shawn McClintock tells the Post-Gazette that the network simply doesn't have enough production trucks and crew for high-def coverage everywhere.
"Everything runs through our facility in Houston. They have limited capacity. Additionally, it can be challenging to find an available truck on such short notice. With the quick turnaround, we could not pull it off for the first round," he said. "In the event the Penguins advance, we're making plans to cover as many games as we can in HD."
The Penguins are now trailing the Senators two games to one in the best of seven series.
McClintock added that FSN aired 25 Penguin games in high-def this season and will broadcast 40 Pittsburgh Pirates games in HD in 2007 as well.
| Read Full Article
TVPredictions.com spotlights a new video on High-Definition TV every day. From commentaries by site president Phillip Swann to off-beat TV commercials to instructional videos, the daily TVPredictions.com video will always entertain as well as educate.
You can see past videos by clicking HD Video
Comment on the videos below.
| Read Full Article
DIRECTV to Add Tennis Channel HD
The high-def debut is expected by year's end.
By Phillip Swann
DIRECTV will add The Tennis Channel in High-Definition is late November or early December.
That's according to an article by the Associated Press.
The news service reports that DIRECTV has reached a multiyear distribution agreement with The Tennis Channel that will start with the addition of the non-HD signal this summer.
The agreement, AP says, will double the number of homes that receive the tennis network. About eight million DIRECTV subscribers are expected to get the channel in their programming packages.
"This is a watershed moment," Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon told the wire service. "If you're in the distribution business, this is what clearly and indelibly forever puts you on the map."
Tennis Channel HD will be part of a larger rollout of high-def channels by DIRECTV. The satcaster says it will offer 100 national HD channels by year's end.
Eric Shanks, DIRECTV's executive vice president of entertainment, told AP that the Tennis Channel has "done a great job at acquiring high-profile events."
In advance of the summer launch, DIRECTV will carry the network's coverage of the French Open, which starts May 27.
| Read Full Article
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