A Reality Blog
The High-Def Life: Swanni's 10 Best Shows in HDTV!
Today's stars: ABC's Lost, the Winter Olympics and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders.
By Phillip Swann

Editor's Note: Phillip Swann, a.k.a. 'Swanni' and the president of TVPredictions.com, is writing a diary in 2006 on how High-Definition TV is changing lives, including his own Called "The High-Def Life," the blog includes the latest HDTV news and gossip -- and a peek at what's going on behind the scenes in the high-def industry. It also includes Swanni's now famous observations on how celebrities (and other things) look better or worse in HDTV. And, finally, Swanni will share with his readers what's going on in his own life, particularly as it relates to high-def.

Below are episodes seven and eight. To read past and future episodes of The High-Def Life, click Here.

January 10, 2006 (Episode eight)
Swanni's 10 Best Shows in HDTV!
People who have just purchased a HDTV often ask me which high-def programs they should watch. So, here are Swanni's 10 Best Shows in HDTV! I have chosen each program for its high-def production values and its overall content.

To read Swanni's 10 Best Shows in HDTV, click Here.

NBC Gets Gold Medal for Olympic Plan
NBC has just announced that it will offer a HDTV simulcast of next month's Winter Olympics from Torino, Italy. The broadcast will be available on your NBC affiliate's digital channel. In addition, Universal HD, which is available on DIRECTV, EchoStar and some cable systems, will offer a simulcast HD feed of NBC's coverage on MSNBC, CNBC and the USA Network.

The network says that figure skating, hockey, long and short track speed skating, ski jumping, freestyle aerials and the Opening and Closing ceremonies will be broadcast in 1080i HDTV because those venues will be wired for high-def. In places where NBC says a HD signal will not be available, a 16:9 signal will be "upcoverted."

NBC took a lot of heat during the 2004 Summer Games for failing to provide a simulcast HD broadcast. However, network officials said then that it would be the last time that the HD broadcast would be on a 'tape-delayed' basis. It's good to see that they are keeping their commitment. (Comment?)

Not My Choice!
CBS will air tonight's People's Choice Awards -- but not in high-def. As with most other award shows, such as ABC's broadcast of The Emmys, CBS is apparently unwilling to invest the extra funds needed for the HDTV production. But this is a real shame and very unhelpful in bringing HDTV to the mass audience. Female viewers, who are still uncertain about high-def, love awards shows. If they knew they could see their favorite celebrities in ultra-realistic HD, they might be more interested in getting a high-def set. But once again, the TV industry demonstrates that its priorities are out of order. (Comment?)

Around the Dial
It's 9:40 a.m. ET. Let's see what on DIRECTV's high-def channels:
* ESPN is airing SportsCenter in high-def, which means, of course, that only half of the program in HDTV. The show frequently uses non-HDTV clips in its highlights package. It's annoying, but somehow symbolic of the nation's struggle to switch to Digital TV. We seem to have one foot in the past and one in the future. There's a beautiful HDTV sports highlight and then suddenly there's one that looks like it was shot underwater.
* Universal HD, which is owned by NBC, is proudly showing HDTV highlights of the 2004 Summer Olympics from Athens, Greece. The Women's 400 Meter race was just on. In high-def, I haven't seen so much sweat since John Kerry's acceptance speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention.
* Discovery HD Theater is airing an episode of Insectia, which features crystal-clear close-ups of Scorpions walking on the Sahara Desert. Creepy. If the Bush administration really wants to torture some terrorist, put one of these Scorpions on him.
* HDNet Movies is running the 1993 film, Fearless, starring Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez (whatever happened to her?) Looks good in high-def; better than I remember how it looked when I saw it in the theater.

   
* HDNet is running a commercial for an upcoming concert show starring Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders. Love their music, but oh my God, Chrissie Hynde has so much mascara on that she's starting to look like Alice Cooper. (Comment?)

Swanni's Sexiest Women in HDTV!
TVPredictions.com and Netscape, the online sister portal of America Online, have signed a content deal. The latter will occasionally run excepts and full-length articles from this web site. For instance, check out: Swanni's Sexiest Women in HDTV on Netscape's Celebrity page.

I am excited about this partnership because it will generate more interest in new TV technology -- and more interest in TVPredictions.com. Netscape, one of the world's top ranked sites, gets millions of visitors every week. (Comment?)

January 9, 2006 (Episode seven)
Don't Try This at Home
I'm back from CES, but off to a slow start. The talented and dedicated crew at the U.S. Post Office lost all of my mail last week when I was in Las Vegas. Of course, since I was going to be out of town, I submitted a "Hold Mail" order so I could pick up my correspondence when I returned. However, it appears that the Post Office delivered my mail anyway -- although not to my address. Post Office officials tell me that they are investigating the situation. Well, glad to see that extra two cents per stamp they are now charging will be put to good use.
(Comment?)

CES: Winners and Losers!
In case you didn't see my picks for the companies that benefited most (and least) from CES, click CES. (Comment?)

Click The High-Def Life to read the latest in high-def!

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The Chicago Tribune, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

And click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.