Fox going HD???

[Cruzer]

From another forum.
"FOX sports in HD. Yes, I said FOX and HD in the same sentence.

According to Broadcasting and Cable, Orlando will get local sports broadcasts in HD. Report says Time Warner (Now BHN) will carry them.
Broadcasts will most likely start at the end of this year with NBA games.
If/When DirecTV transaction with Newscorp goes through they will be also most likely be available from them as well.

Here's the article if you sub to broadcasting and cable:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/in...ay=breakingNews
"
AND

"On possibly a more positive note, FOX Network may even be doing something in HD soon. Although it has not been confirmed yet they have told affiliates to get ready to handle 73.725 Mbs when calculating their digital link budget for the satellite downlink of the network feed. Right now they are at 55.294 Mbs and using 8PSK on satellite to send the network stuff to affiliates. If they are planing to go to 73.725 Mbs it is most likely because they will start using 16QAM. Still no proof of HD but may be it is an indication that they are beginning to get the throughput requirements ready to do HD.

Fox is purportedly supporting 720p.

"

[57U]

Is this because of that "shared transmission tower" near Orlando? I recall several stations using the same tower - ABC in 1080i for example because it's shared with NBC...

edit - I just read on another site that Fox Sports is indeed considering HD

[Eyedox]

FOX is having a panic attack because ESPN-HD is going to kick their ass if they DON'T offer HD ... and no one is going to accept that pathetic FOX WIDESCREEN 480i 16:9 crap. Now if we can just get them to switch their FOX network stations to 720p, life will be grand.

[mhdiab]

There was a note on another forum from the Moderator (and they are pretty much always accurate information).
The info stated the following:

Excerpted from Broadcasting & Cable, by Allison Romano

Fox Sports Net is jumping into high-definition production with some of its local and regional sports coverage.

Time Warner Cable will offer FSN games from Fox's 13 owned-and-operated regional sports networks as part of the MSO's latest free HDTV offerings.

FSN will concentrate its efforts in markets it shares with Time Warner, including Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Orlando, Fla.; Houston; and North Carolina.

FSN will produce the games locally in high definition, and they will be available at no additional charge to subscribers.

Basically four of the FSN areas are going HD - the South being one which gives me ACC in HD (I hope). Apparently they are choosing to start with these, broadcast format will most likely be 720p and the reason they are starting with sports - much less of an issue of copyright since who really cares if they copy a game vs. a movie

[hancox]

FOX vs FSN is apples vs oranges. FSN NY is already HD, and has been for more than a year. Many of the other FSN locals have been HD forever as well.


Also - from a UConn fan, ACC SUCKS!

[Brewer4]

Ditto. Always hated ACC. Gotta love 1999 UCONN beating Duke in the final. The year Duke was compared to a mini-pro team. hehe. New developments in battle for ACC/Big East. Duke and North Carolina rescinding vote and a mediator may be called in to help the feud. Stay tuned.

Rich

[kevinw]

Why 720p? Only 5% of the HD owners can even display it natively. In my case 1080i looks better than 720p converted....As evident of the poor PQ of the NBA and NHL fianls compared to CBS college BB finals and NBC Olympic coverage.
I know everyone is going to say 720p is better than 1080i but I have yet to see it with my setup. But is it really better or just smoke and mirror, any definitive proof?

[mhdiab]

Kevin - I agree that there is no proof and I will actually classify the NBA and NHL finals under learning more than proof against 720p - we will see during the next big events - it might be that neither format is better, just different (and we all know what discussions that can trigger)....

FSN going HD officially signing national agreements with TW is big news even if it isn't Fox regular - it tells you that it is on its way and not just on a local level.

I will mostly leave the ACC thing aside, just remember that UVA,UNC and Duke is not enough to avoid an expansion - need more against. They are also not rescinding - just stating that there are issues that needs to be further discussed. Also - running and hiding behind lawyers is just stupid - there is an established penalty for leaving that is supposed to be all-inclusive if you want to spend $90million on a stadium maybe you should have a decent team first.....or be in a better conference

sorry couldn't resist

[57U]

1. Broadcaststers prefer 720P because it requires less bandwidth.

2. There is a 720P vs 1080i post in the FAQs - a little "pro" 720P, but at least there are good explanations as to why.

3. There was already a huge thread on 720P vs 1080i a little while ago - one of those "discussion" threads.:rolleyes:

4. "Real" 720P (or 768P) displays really do look nicer than 1080i. If they could get the black level of a CRT, there'd be no contest (IMO).

5. Perhaps some people don't get a good 1080i signal from a "converted" 720P signal to a STB or TV, therefore their bias shows, not from what 720P can do, but due to the limitations of their own equipment.

I have absolutely no complaints regarding the "real" HD signals in the NBA & NHL finals (not the SD cameras) as well as some movies I've seen on ABC-HD.

[kojak light]

As evidenced by the "Mariners in HD" thread, there are markets where Fox Sports Net is showing content in 1080i; so it appears to be a market-by-market decision.

And I have been very happy with the PQ in the NHL and NBA finals- well, other than the fact that none of the teams that are playing seem to have "Chicago" written on their uniforms. :rolleyes:

[kevinw]

I understand 720p is "BETTER" but can anyone really tell the difference with the majority of the equipment currently in use. Even the previous discussions did not explain why one was better than the other.

The Broadcasters prefer is pretty weak...currently only ABC broadcasts in that format. If 720p was that much better then why do CBS,NBC,UPN,WB,HBO,DiscoverHD, HDnet , SHOWTIME use 1080i. Why do so few TV's even support it?

57u just because you see no difference using cable maybe others like me do see a difference with OTA signals. Maybe it is your equipment that is limited.
I am not trying to slam anyone but those that are quick to defend 720p , make those with out the ability to see it natively appear to be redheaded stepchildren.
If 720p is so great why is that standard the minority? It seems like snob appeal to me. Then again I am not a technical person and only say what I see.
Joe Kane says it's good so it must be? Why not dump some of the useless shopping channels ETC. and go right to 1080p-the best of both worlds!!

I guess 8-10 years down the road when we all have plasmas to replace are current TVs then 720p will make sense, but until then I would rather have more content.
Maybe this needs to be moved to a new thread...

[mhdiab]

Two seperate items going:
1. Yes FSN is broadcasting locally in HD - the point of my post is that they have signed a national agreement - this is a change in policy and will move over to Fox down the road. We will all (TW-customer at this point and probably comcast soon after) be able to watch the four regions in HD no matter where we live - to me that is great.

2. I fall pretty close to Kevin - 720p has to me not proved itself. However, looking at PBS tells me that there is a lot more that can be done with regular 1080i broadcasts as well. In all fairness it will take quite some time before the different networks are optimized and we can "judge" the different outputs. The true way to compare the two is through closed feed broadcasted without conversion. However, most people have 1080i - in the future I think we will all have both so as long as they come out great I personally can live with a little softer etc

[jjmcgraw]

I am not impressed at all with 720P (when compared to 1080i). While I admit my channels that broadcast 720p look great, the picture does not dazzle or shine with crispness like 1080i - and maybe I'm lucky to be in a good location and put together some good equipment - but I do not the get pixelization with 1080i that others argue about. The football games last year were fast moving action and I had no problems. Like 57U said "720p requires less bandwidth" that translates to me... less picture. In my opinion there is only one word that proves this argument... "HDNET". There is nothing that touches it, and it comes from satellite! (for me) Not even my OTA PBS feed looks as good (a very close second though). Then my local CBS OTA is a close third. Even my wife (who couldn't care less) sees a difference.

Just my opinion.

[hancox]

I'm going to reserve my opinion on 720P vs 1080i when I can see a true 720p picture, and not something upconverted. I'm pretty sure the bias toward 1080i would at least go neutral, if not swing the other way, if more people saw 720P as 720P.


Also - mhdiab - 3 votes WOULD be enough to derail the expansion. With Duke and UNC already on the fence, and UVA trying to shoehorn VT into this whole thing, it's going to get really interesting.

[Eyedox]

Originally posted by kevinw
Why 720p? Only 5% of the HD owners can even display it natively. Well, because FOX has said that if it is forced by the FCC to go HD with its network, it will choose 720p over 1080i because most studies have shown that for high paced action (sports), that progressive scan is better.

[mhdiab]

Since this is now a 720p vs 1080i thread :)
The game last night looked good - might not have been as crisp as 1080i, but I think ABC has shown that they worked out a lot of problems and that it might get a lot better from this....

[Wooger]

You all DO know that ABC was the first network to air an HD broadcast, I forget when it was, but they had some MNF games in 720p and you could tell on the 480i broadcast as well... Apparently, for those that had the ability to see these broadcasts, it was phenomonal!

I just find it interesting that now ABC is perceived as a 'laggard' in the HD arena when they were actually pioneers. Funny.