Imagine MLS in DVD quality on a 52" tv. That's what I got today, and it was great. The whole production was great, except that the announcers' sound dropped out for a few minutes. Glen Davis and Marcelo Balboa were very good (given Balboa's inexperence, he did fine and was comfortable; he will, however, improve). Good halftime and post game interviews. The picture was crystal-clear and fantastic--especially when they got field level shots with the crowd/stadium as a backdrop as the play developed. Good use of multiple camera angles, and very sharp graphics, too. Overall, a real treat to watch. The only downside was swithing from this wonderful broadcast to the blurry shootout (Metro/Columbus game wasn't a terrible picture, but did anyone else lose the announcer's there?; the KC/DC picture was awful!) In short, HDNet is how every game should be. I look forward to games shown from stadiums with a bit more atmosphere. I also plan to add surround sound soon (HDNet broadcasts in Dolby 5.1), which will make it just like being there . . . but with my own pizza, beer, dogs, and comfy chair. (By the way, I bought my receiver and HD Dish today (an upgrade from my existing DirecTV system). Several installation companies and DirecTV warned me to get professional installation, but a friend and I handled it without too much trouble (remember, though, that my old dish was already mounted; I just removed it and put the new one up; I didn't have to run cable or anything). Total cost was only about $650.) Thanks, Mark Cuban and MLS!
Please don't spread this kind of disinformation. Fox has been trying to sell the same story for their lame 480p broadcast. HDTV is over 4 times the resolution of the best DVD. DVDs are at best 480p. HDNet is broadcast in 1080i. If you're only seeing DVD quality, then you need to have a professional come in and retune your TV set. Also, the 5.1 sound is a huge part of what makes HDTV special. Back to the real story... The broadcast was stunning. Soccer is the ideal sport to be broadcast in HDTV. I switched back and forth between the MLS Shootout 480i broadcast and the HDNet 1080i broadcast of the game. The widescreen format, coupled with the high resolution was wonderful. You can actually read the players numbers when they are using a wide shot. On a regular broadcast, you have to figure out who the players are by their hair color and the way that they run. The announcers were a little bit rusty and there was a snafu in the sound, but it was still leaps and bounds better than the 480i broadcast. Way to go HDNet!!
This was an excellent production. The picture was nothing less than stunning. The announcers seemed to lose audio around the 20 minute mark, or else they were unusually silent. Nothing major. The rear channels of the audio did not appear to have much in them, not even crown ambience. It was Dolby Digital. Can't wait to see a game in Columbus or LA.
"How many channels?" "Dude, a lot. There's like two just for [soccer]" . . . . "How big is your woofer?" "About 18 inches" "God, that's a big woofer. . . " True. Budweiser.
I have spoken to Time Warner Cable on the phone here in NY, they tell me that they will add HDnet by the end of the month. Lets hope he is not talking about the ESPN hd. I hope it is true and if any one else got in touch with Time Warner as yet.
I have DirectTV here in Houston. I just had to lose the old round dish and get the oval dish and an HD receiver box (both at Best Buy). Installation is not too bad if you have 2 people (walkie talkies made it even easier).
No, they also have S-video out for normal TVs. The image will be shown in a widescreen aspect ratio, with the top and bottom of the screen having bars, just like an anamorphic DVD.
Does Comcast offer HDNet? I know Im trying my best to convince the parentals to get a dish or something. Granted Im 3½ hours away at school, but theyre upping the surround sound and I wanna watch more MLS over the summer break.
Not yet. They are rolling HD packages in various cities (with a new more expensive to rent converter box, as part of their digital cable packages), but no city to date has got HDNET as part of the package. Generally they are just getting the local OTA HD channels, and optionally (by subscription) the HBO and other ppv subscription feeds.
Well Mark have done his job...now Well...Mark Cuban have done his job...Now is time for MLS to show that it really want to be the best league on the planet 1...Increase the quality of the game by have better referees...2 ...raise the expectation on the coaching department...3...Increase the level of fitness of players...4...pay players according to performance, not according to promise...5 ...Fire whoever is not performing on the office or on the field....
Re: charter cable But the question was about Comcast, not about Charter. HDNet games are not available on shootout unless they are also being shown locally on cable or something. That was a question in the original press conference. The text is available somewhere on mlsnet.
Saw the KC/SJ game last night and was very impresseed. The sports bar we mystics went to in Kc had the HDNet version on a few projectors, and ran the metrosports feed on a few other tvs and aanother projector. The difference in picture quality was unbelievable. the only problem was that the HDNet feed was 45 sec. or a minute delayed, so we couldn't let our eyes stray, or else see the outcome of a corner, restart, etc., before it happened. Agree about Davis and balboa being good announcers. The sound did drop out a couple times, too, though. The thing that amazed me the most was the overall production values. they utilized multiple camera angles, cut at good times, and did split screens when showing replays as not to interupt current action. This game was better produced than 90% of the MLS games I've seen on ESPN2.
hdnet and the shoot-out are completely unrelated a game hdnet does could be on the shoot-out or even fox sports world... but it will not be the same feed hdnet uses special cameras and equipment to provide the complete high definition picture and sound