Day-1 - did Dish provide any promised Olympics HD last night?

[Weezknight]

It's possible that if the Italians are the ones who hold all the broadcast rights and NBC is only getting them from them, than maybe all the highlight reels are only being made available in SD.

I'm looking at it that Charlie actually spoke before he knew what he was getting. Just because the Greeks allowed for HD highlights, doesn't mean the Italians were going to allow it. He was wrong in that he promised something that he wasn't sure he was going to get.

Oh well, so is life. I'm not that upset, he gave us 811 users free Universal HD for the Olympics, so that's cool.

 

[BobMurdoch]

I too was looking for an HD channel with a 3 hour loop like NBC did with Athens. I kept searching through the guide thinking they were hiding it somewhere.

When they mentioned an HD Olympic Channel, I assumed we were talking something AT LEAST as similar to Athens, although I was holding out hope for a simulcast of the main NBC channel.

We went backwards here. The opening ceremonies were the worst. The red lighting looked especiially nasty in compressed mushyvision.

I'm one of the lucky ones in that my 622 gets installed on 2/22 and I get my NYC LILs and this will be the last time I am forced to miss broadcast network HD content.

At least until I start whining about WB, um C&W (that just doesn't flow off the tongue) content in HD next fall......

 

[gadams]

Walt,

I have to say that in general I've disagreed with almost everything you've posted of late, but in this case am in complete agreement. There's a big difference between "a special HD feed just for the olympics" and Universal HD, which just happens to have some of NBC's Olympic coverage a few hours a day (and not terribly compelling coverage, at that, if you're not a hockey fan).

While some of this may be NBC's fault (I'm REALLY not impressed with their coverage this year), Charlie at least owes us a public explanation and apology. Which, of course, he won't ever do.

 

[cjsmigelski]

NBC has paid over a billion dollars for the right to broadcast these Olympics... I don't believe that the Italian's own the Exclusive Rights as to what is broadcast. By the way... Europe has been using a form of HD for quite a while now.

 

[Stacy A]

I f I remember correctly, four years ago for the winter Olympics I was just a few months into being a HD newbie and Mark Cuban had somehow negotiated rights to carry some of the NBC HD highlights on HDNet. I missed out on that because Dish did not yet have HDNet. Then, two years later, for the summer Olympics, Dish managed to swing some kind of agreement with NBC, allowing a NBC-HD channel, but only those in O&O areas could get it. I thought I might qualify because my cheap, weak local NBC had given me a waiver for Dallas locals - which were part of the agreement. But that didn't happen. I figured surely my local NBC would be up and running in HD by the time of the next Olympics, but nope not gonna happen. So, I was excited to have a channel, provided by Dish that was going to have Olympics coverage. I was sorely dissapointed to discover it's just hockey on UniHD. I guess I'll be lucky enough to get to see it someday in HD.

 

[waltinvt]

I'm not "apologizing" for anybody here, I just think there might have been some wrong assumptions made.

Man, I ain't ever going to hear the last of this "apologist" lable sh*t am I ? . I'm sorrrrrrrrry already.

 

[mdonnelly]

Man, I ain't ever going to hear the last of this "apologist" lable sh*t am I ? . I'm sorrrrrrrrry already.

LOL. We're cool now, ok?

 

[waltinvt]

Walt,

I have to say that in general I've disagreed with almost everything you've posted of late, but in this case am in complete agreement. <snip>....

You disagreed with me ??? Must've been your other post . Sorry, couldn't resist. Ok, it's almost 5pm (for me) and I think I've managed to get thru the day without pissing anybody off to bad. Even got a few people to say nice things to me. Time to turn this thing off and go home (that's the other side of my office door)

Tommorow's another day though:devil:

 

[waltinvt]

LOL. We're cool now, ok?

I can't answer you - I already turned my computer off and went home. Oh, ok, I'll turn it back on for you..........yea we're cool

 

[pklong]

NBC has paid over a billion dollars for the right to broadcast these Olympics... I don't believe that the Italian's own the Exclusive Rights as to what is broadcast. By the way... Europe has been using a form of HD for quite a while now.

As with salt lake, the Local OOC (Olympic organizing committee) shoots all the events at every venue from start to finish. NBC picks up that feed and then edits what they want to show etc. I asked some of the camera guys at my venue who they "worked" for and they said the Salt Lake OOC, not NBC. NBC has just paid to bring it to us in the USA, or when they were in the USA to the mass public. The OOC "owns" the content but as I understand it, NBC has bought the right to use it and profit from it. You look at replays from the 2002 Olympics and you will often see credit or acknowledgement to the Salt Lake OOC or even the IOC. The Olympics are HEAVY with politics, the side we don't see. I LOVE the Olympics, but man there is a lot of goings on we don't see.

 

[David_Levin]

I'm with Walt.

I certainly had the impression that Dish said they were going to add an HD olympics channel BEFORE deciding to also let us temporarily have UniHD.

Perhaps Scott could chime in here and clear this up.

 

[Weezknight]

As with salt lake, the Local OOC (Olympic organizing committee) shoots all the events at every venue from start to finish. NBC picks up that feed and then edits what they want to show etc. I asked some of the camera guys at my venue who they "worked" for and they said the Salt Lake OOC, not NBC. NBC has just paid to bring it to us in the USA, or when they were in the USA to the mass public. The OOC "owns" the content but as I understand it, NBC has bought the right to use it and profit from it. You look at replays from the 2002 Olympics and you will often see credit or acknowledgement to the Salt Lake OOC or even the IOC. The Olympics are HEAVY with politics, the side we don't see. I LOVE the Olympics, but man there is a lot of goings on we don't see.

So from what I gather the broadcast goes like this?

Italian OOC owned cameras (HD or SD) ----> International affiliates (CBC, NBC, etc...) ----> Dish Network ----> My house

Very interesting. So if a certain feed is only given to the affiliates in SD than there cannot be an HD presentation of it. I guess that is what's been happening in the Snowboarding events where the HD is just upconverted SD widescreen? Wow! Look how easy it would be to fool people into 1000's of dollars of equipment that still isn't being used to its capacity. Interesting.

IMHO I still believe that Charlie just spoke to soon, without realizing if he'd even be getting HD highlights or not.

 

[mlb]

NBC made it quite clear what was in HD and was not. They specifically mentioned events even. I think you guys are way overboard in complaining about this, as Dish has nothing to do with what NBC is broadcasting.

 

[CDH]

I'm not sure, But, it seems, if I remember correctly, there was a HD only channel during the Athens Olympics on E*. A 4 or 6 hour loop of HD programming. Plus there was a Network HD feed for the local affiliates. OTA. I am assuming that this HD only channel is the channel that we are all looking for. I also would like to know where this channel is at.

I was a Voom subscriber during the Athens Olympics. They had an HD highlight loop that was repeated several several times a day, a day late. It only had a couple of commercials: one for Sony and one for Tostitos (over and over and over!).

I *think* it was only available from the Voom satellite in the O&O markets (the same signal was no doubt available on other providers too). My local NBC affiliate (owned by Hearst/Argyle) used their HD OTA signal to broadcast the same highlight reel rather than the "live" feed going out over their analog signal. This meant I could *only* see the HD highlights a day late! It was actually okay by me, but for many people it could be frustrating.

I would have liked to have an equivalent highlight reel this time around, but if I have to choose between getting the NBC (HD) feed OTA vs. a highlight package I'll pick the OTA option.

I can just DVR the NBC OTA signal (now going out in HD) and fast-forward through the sections I'm not interested in (the commercials, the human interest "backstory" segments, etc.).

Just my $0.02, but I realize that some people in areas without OTA HD feel ticked off that they can't see NBC's hyped "Olympics in HD". A satellite version would be nice for those folks.

CDH.

 

[KeithInDallas]

Ok, it's almost 5pm (for me) and I think I've managed to get thru the day without pissing anybody off to bad.

And to think I almost didn't read the board today... think what I would have missed!!

 

[pklong]

So from what I gather the broadcast goes like this?

Italian OOC owned cameras (HD or SD) ----> International affiliates (CBC, NBC, etc...) ----> Dish Network ----> My house

Very interesting. So if a certain feed is only given to the affiliates in SD than there cannot be an HD presentation of it. I guess that is what's been happening in the Snowboarding events where the HD is just upconverted SD widescreen? Wow! Look how easy it would be to fool people into 1000's of dollars of equipment that still isn't being used to its capacity. Interesting.

IMHO I still believe that Charlie just spoke to soon, without realizing if he'd even be getting HD highlights or not.

Yeah more or less, nice flow chart...I too believe Charlie spoke possible too soon. Though either way, I'm missing any of it in HD...Waiting for 622's, will be my first HD reciever, and then have to wait for HD locals to roll out, Seattle market. Anyone hear when Seattle get's locals?