KSSioux

Thanks for that input. That teaches me to go on what I have heard regarding the feeds. Glad to hear that is the case, so it justifies an upgrade to my system since my receiver and motorized dish system are a little dated.

I am glad that you are recognizing what is known and what is not known. One additional fact everyone should know is that a GOOD FTA system would cost you only 2.5 times what the cable costs that will connect you to the HDMI port on your TV from the computer (a cable that is about ten feet long). Also, the FTA feed was far superior to the FCS picture that we received last year. There are far more FTA customers and UND donors that received this feed that will now have to rely on the internet feed. Right now the internet feed is not good so I do hope it improves quickly. It is not my computer because I get many other live feeds, even in HD, without a problem. I cannot even watch a replay of the UND coaches show without it blocking and delaying. Also, just FYI, a HD FTA system would cost about 3.5-4 times what that cable costs to connect your computer to the HDMI port on a TV. The reality is that there are not many FTA HD feeds yet, so getting that type of a system would not get you much right now. It is true that I hope UND will realize how much not being on television will hurt recruiting outside of the MidCo area. I am glad they are looking at options,

My point with that statement is since the Big Sky conference sports are run through the America One/Big Sky system has that slowed down the efforts to getting an acceptable internet video feed through UND Sports. The America One/Big Sky system is very good, and much better than the UND Sports system. Probably the only video feeds folks will watch through UND Sports is hockey. I did not say that it did slow down the improvements to the UND Sports system, only how much emphasis are the putting into it since it has been the same for a couple of years now. Again, I hope they will fix the issues but if they are still running the current platform I do not have much confidence. I have multiple computers that I have ran it on and it is not good. I know it is not my computer setup because I run other live video feeds through The Blaze, CNN, Fox News, NHL, etc. and do not have an issue with those. Just FYI, The Blaze system is about the best that there is and I believe they modeled it after the MLB system they use for their games and it is a High Def setup.

i apologize as I was too generic in my response. The only point I am inferring here is the deal that everyone is referencing with MidCo, and how great it is to see an increase in football, basketball, etc. coverage. Because of that we should not complain about the REGIONAL hockey coverage by MidCo due to the dissolving of FTA because of that deal. I realize the CBSSN deal is the cause for the loss of FCS national coverage, but that could have been dealt with much better by our athletic department and we should have used our leverage to accomplish that. I would also like to know how much the video coverage of football and basketball by America One (Big Sky licensed) has had to do with the slow response to getting a better video feed on UND Sports for the hockey games. Appreciate you calling me out on that as I was a little zealous in my comment.

Really, everyone who had a TV in the 80's when UND hockey was on PBS could watch it when they wanted. Due to signal strength it was available everywhere in ND, in southern Alberta (including Winnipeg), southern Saskatchewan and eastern Minnesota. My point regarding PBS was the number of viewers was greater than than it is now due to that fact. I am not saying PBS was, or is, the answer but just that coverage has varied through the years and is far worse now. I am sure that did help recruiting in the area, but at that time you could watch Sioux hockey in a greater area than the other division one schools, so it may have. The conversation will continue if things do not get better. To sacrifice hockey for the rest of the sports I do not think was in the best interest of the school. There was no reason the best division one hockey program, and most followed, should have this done to them. At least they could have upgraded the streaming capabilities in all the time that they have had and known this was going to happen. Again, I hope in a month I will see that I am wrong, but with their current system I doubt that.

Well I hope they do not "whine" to Schlossman, but I do hope that they "whine" to Jayson. Your comment regarding my post earlier that basically nothing is anyone at UND'S fault is quite laughable. UND did set up the streaming system and could have dealt with the issues while everyone was "whining" for over two years now. As far as the NCHC and the TV coverage, UND does have enough power to have stated that any game not being telecast by CBSSN they have the rights to. By the way, CBSSN does not just cover the NCHC as they have a game involving Wisconsin on the network as well. Why did the NCHC folks think that was OK? This is a terrible reduction in coverage for those fans across the country and it will effect recruiting. That is actually what I am worried about long term, since I do know how to connect a computer to a television. I actually commented favorably regarding the Big Sky streaming setup in that it "was" very good last year. I have only caught a little this year and it was OK. Far superior to what UND offers right now through the paid coverage on UND Sports. For those that do not remember, back in the early 80's all of UND's home games were on PBS. Coverage equals recruiting and this is going to hurt badly. As I stated, I hope things do get fixed but if they do not there should be a fan uprising that lets folks know what is wrong. People have a right to speak up without being called an idiot.

Those that are apologists for the coverage will likely see the storm about to come in a month when the coverage of hockey starts to implode the system. Trust me, I hope I am wrong on this but it is already starting to be a problem with what I have heard this last weekend and their has been nothing done to the streaming of the games on the UND athletics site that they have mentioned. To see the mass of people that are going to try to get the games on line and watch the system fall apart as we try to watch even an exhibition game I hope will stir more of a fire under folks that are sitting back and have been told to keep quiet. I have the fastest internet speeds outside of Chattanooga, TN (please bing/google it if you actually want to see what I am talking about) and I also know how to hook a computer up to a television. Unfortunately, even the coaches show caused delays. If you try to watch on an IPad, good luck because you cannot. Please do not try to run the Photon App or something like it because the UND system does not support it and the Photon App will not handle the streaming. I know that moving to D1, the Athletic Department was trying to upgrade the Football/Basketball coverage and the Big Sky system was actually pretty good, to very good, last year. Unfortunately, I hear it is not as good this year or maybe the increase in viewers also taxed that system. The UND Media Relations does need to improve things and I hope it will be done quickly for the coverage. Please take a look at the roster on the hockey team and see how many folks are on the team this year, or the past few years, outside of the three state area MidCo covers. Do you think kids actually will PAY for an internet feed rather than watch their parents sport package to see a UND hockey game that used to be on FCS? I know people think folks are just complaining, but it will have a serious effect on recruiting. Those same kids can watch many other games on BigTen Network, NBCSPN, FCS or the other sports channels in their tier. I just hope North Dakota does very well in their few games on CBSSN, because they will be extremely important to recruiting. As far as all this HD stuff that people are bragging to folks about regarding MidCo, my cable system here in Kansas has high school, and junior college football games on in HD and the coverage is far superior to MidCo.

Pattyn deserves the "C" with Simpson a close second choice, but will definitely be an "A". I would say the scond "A" is up in the air and I would not be surprised if St. Clair is not in the running. I think he will be an everyday player and may be moved up to a second line role. Not easy to sit out a whole year and try to get your legs. That commitment is a real positive and I am sure is noticed in the locker room.

I think next years team will be very good and if we stick with line combinations we will be better than good and could make a run. I do not comment on here much, but was upset with all the folks wanting Rocco on the first line. The two top lines should have been Kristo-Knight-Parks and Rocco-Rowney-Caggiula. Rocco has great chemistry with Drake and Parks should have been kept on the first line and did not have a chance after he got back form injury. This is how I would like to see the forward lines next year: Caggiula-Parks-Rocco (I officially dub this line the CPR line to get life back in this team) Gaarder-Mark McMillan-O'Donnell Murphy-Johnson-Tambellini (all freshman line to build chemistry) Rodwell-Pattyn-St.Clair (The best fourth line in the NCHC, and maybe the country) I see Chyzk, Mitch McMillan and Jimmer to fill in. Could easily see Mitch with his brother if he develops chemistry and Gaarder can fill in on the fourth line as needed. I also do not see any other freshman forwards coming in next year unless something else develops. Just my impression, for what it's worth, but I am very optimistic that we could have a great TEAM next year even though it may not be as talented on paper as what other folks have thought.

For those who have been believing all the garbage from the "UND Media Relations" about how things are going to be great, take a look at what we have now. Things will only get far worse next year as I cannot wait for those "surprises" in store for us. We were told to keep quiet about the picture quality and now this garbage happens without their knowledge. FCS has downplayed us since the announcement and the coverage will only get worse. The only folks to get decent coverage will be in the ND-SD-MN area around this joke of a cable company. Those fans outside of the area are screwed.

My guess: Macmillan from Knight and Forbort

Pass it off the goalie, or should I say "Ed Schulz" is one of the reasons I do not respond on here very often. To politicize a video quality issue is out right hilarious. And they did not even have facts straight as Midco indeed is feeding both FCS and NESN. UND Media Relations have said they were working on this, but I cannot get an e-mail or phone number at Midco to contact them directly. We have taken a huge step backwards and those of us outside of the MN-SD-ND area will lose coverage other than a few games on CBSSN and UND internet feed next year. There are many on here who see this problem and I for one am worried about what we will get moving forward considering things are not getting better on FCS.

Thanks Iceberg. I never have stolen a signal, but would love to see it on FTA to compare. I wonder who the apologists for the quality will be now with the blurry picture and now flickering on FCS. What a shame to send this garbage to NESN. I remember watching UND on PBS in the 80's and the picture was about the same as now. I guess as they say my eyes are just use to HD, or maybe I need a 240 Hz LCD to stop the flickering that just started.

I appreciate the comments from Jayson, but there is a problem and it is NOT with our eyes accustomed to HD quality, and it is worse than ever. The contract is supposed to have been signed with PROFESSIONALS that were supposed to know what they were doing. The feed on FCS is far worse than it was last year. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand that it is a feed to FCS issue. It is a digital feed which means you cannot make it better with adjusting a rabbit ear antenna. What you get is what you get. Just like the folks who used to get the feed on a FTA satellite and bragged that their strength was 80 and others were getting 75. The picture is the SAME since it is digital, and as long as it is not pixelating it is strong enough. Watching the UNH game on FCS Friday before the UND game, the quality was about the same, which is really disappointing since that was the same as last year for some of those schools other than UND that were on FCS. The Gophs game on FCS yesterday was much better quality, but I realize that that is because they have HD cameras and even though FCS is not HD in our area, the quality is still good because of that. That is why the HD for next year will npot matter at all to those outside of the Midco area since we will lose the FCS broadcasts. The least that UND could do was to force Midco to give those of us with FTA the coordinates so we could pull in something of better quality since we have the system already in place. That would improve the viewing for some, and they cold actually get some real feedback as to where the quality is deteriorating. That would be the smart thing to do, but sine they do not think it is real I doubt that will happen.

The picture quality on FCS is much worse than it was last year. That is no doubt, but I have been told by the apologists on here to keep quiet and be PATIENT. I watched a college Rugby game on an internet feed of my nephews Friday afternoon (small HD camera you can buy at any outlet big box store), and the quality was multiple times better than the Midco/FCS video. It is too bad we have made these huge steps backwords. I have little hope in the athletic department to keep their word on anything regarding viewing of games outside the ND, SD, MN area in the future. They have been silent on this issue and looks to be ignoring folks.

Ranger you hit it on the head about exposure=money. I travel all around the country and folks know who the Sioux are and some actually will watch a game when I point out where they are on their system. Just look at our roster and tell me that we are a ND-MN team. It is huge that the quality gets much, much better in a hurry. With the NHL lockout, could the NHL network start showing college games? I guarantee they would not pick a UND game up with the quality anywhere what we saw against Manitoba. The CBSSN contract did damage the exposure nationwide unless something is done to improve it for the games that are not on their system. One million dollars over five years is chump change if crowds start to dwindle and kids that would be great prospects do not get a chance to see the team play other than a couple of times a year. What about the UND gear that would be sold with the additional exposure (I know the Sioux brand will never be replaced as a premier ticket item, but that has to be factored in).

Sprig, 82SiouxGuy always thinks he knows best. It is laughable that he thinks that the FTA folks are less than triple digits and he obviously does not understand digital feeds of television. Just because he has thousands of posts does not make him right. Folks like him are the reason that I do not post much and just review what is on here. I guess we are to take what Jayson says as gospel and cower back into a hole and accept mediocrity without voicing an opinion (or fact in this case regarding the video quality). I am done on here as I will try to find a way to voice my opinion to Midcon. My purpose for posting was to get folks that actually have watched the past few years and see the quality difference to voice their opinion. My mistake for trying to actually improve things.

82SiouxGuy I was responding to both of you who commented on my post. Your comment about "all reports are..." is ridiculous as you just have to read some of the comments the last two weeks. I have a cable company that I have gotten FCS the past two years (they covered all of the home SIoux games in my area, and none were missed), as well as a FTA satellite that I was able to watch the Sioux games on. It is true that the FTA feed is clearer due to the lack of a middleman to get you the game. The FCS broadcast during the Manitoba game was worse than any FCS broadcast last year of a Sioux game. That is just my opinion, but also the opinion of MANY others so far. Your opinion is that we are overreacting to this issue. You may like to settle, but I do not when we have been blessed with great coverage in the past. It is a fact though that those of us outside of Midcon's area will not get broadcasts of the games outside of the CBSSN other than an internet feed. UND athletics dropped the ball on that part of the contract on this issue as you can look at the many posts since this was announced. A simple addition to the contract to allow the satellite coordinates to be distributed to FTA folks would have helped this immensely and that feed could have been scrambled for those games that were on CBSSN. There, I gave a partial solution rather than a head in the sand, sit and wait, things will come up roses we promise, TRUST US attitude. I appreciate that you will allow us to voice our opinions.

Wow Southpaw and 82Siouxguy, I guess I have struck a nerve. I was not being personal, just wanting to make sure people did not stick their heads in the sand about this issue. This is a big sacrifice to those that live outside the Grand Forks area and want to continue to watch a game and team we love. I have NEVER criticized the Fighting Sioux hockey team, or even the coach. These are kids playing a game that many of us love. They are arguably the best followed college hockey team in the country based on the national network games that I mentioned. Not my opinion, just the facts. The Midco team should be PROFESSIONALS at what they do (they are getting paid for this). which is a big difference from an amateur kid playing a game while in school (even though most are under scholarship). The UND Media Relations and Faison obviously are not pushing their buttons, so the fans must point out the inadequecies of their coverage. To assume that they will improve without any feedback is nieve at best. It is also a fact that those of us that live outside the GF/Midco area will be without TV coverage next year other than a few games that will be on CBSSN. That means that the internet feed is what we have to rely on and that is horrible right now and we need to make sure they live up to the promises that they made to upgrade the systems. Based on what we have seen so far from the coverage, that is up in the air.

This is a HUGE step backwards for those of us that are not in the ND.SD,MN area and cannot get the games on FCS. I have a FTA satellite to watch the games the past few years and know it can be better. I placed a quick note on the game blog last night about how bad Faison was, and quickly got scolded that it was not Faison's issue, so I left the blog. It is Faison's responsibility, since he is the athletic director. southpaw, if people do not make their dissatisfaction known they will just let things go so I would not recommend that folks "settle down".. College hockey has made great strides and Sioux hockey was a big part of that based on the numbers of folks that watch it across the country when it is on NBCSN or CBSSN. The production value of the Manitoba game sucked, and this just got worse with folks who do not know what they are doing producingthe games. I do not want the quality to be like the UNH-St. Cloud game last night (at least it was on though), but my complaint is not about the announcers. I agree that they will get better, and I will give them time to work out the kinks together. UND media relations say the internet will improve, but no coverage on Apple products like an IPad. The Big Sky coverage from their internet feeds is good and I think that is much better than UND's system so the other sports that they cover is fairly good quality. Bottom line is that the UND Athletics do not seem to care about alums outside of the Midco distribution and just say to "Wait, it will get better". Give us a set date than and tell us exactly what you are going to do because folks will not tune in to this garbage (or not tune in like last night).

82SiouxGuy I understand about the numbers. The issue is that since the tribes did not respond that this was NOT an important issue to them. In a "civil rights" type of issue, if it was important to those supposedly effected, you would think they would speak up. A few folks (not tribes) brought this to the states attention, and I have not heard how they were harmed by the nicknames or logos usage. I will say I do not know whether there were any mascots used by any of the schools either. You bringing up the approximately 20% voters by Spirit Lake also proves my point about the issues relevance amongst the tribes. You must assume that those that did not vote were not passionate enough about this issue to care. That happens in every election. Some folks think that it means that they did not educate themselves enough on the issues to vote, and that may be the case. The issue I have is that the tribes themselves should be bringing up these issues as an organization, which they have not to the NCAA or the states that are taking these issues up. The tribes only have been forced to take stances once the issue was brought in focus and the original stances such as the pipe ceremony etc. were never accepted.

82SiouxGuy I did read the entire article and although I agree with you that there are folks on both sides of this, to let a few folks take down the majority opinion is not the way this country works. Studying something for "six" years does not obviously include getting a vote or a majority opinion to back up the issue. I can get many folks from MSNBC to say that when President Bush used the word "Crusade" to say that we were going after those who attacked us after 9/11, that it was offensive to Muslims. Just because some Muslims find that offensive, should we not tell Holy Cross to get rid of their nickname "Crusaders", because it is hostile or abusive to Muslims?

Here is a tribes reply on this issue in Oregon. Just like the NCAA did not listen to Native Americans, Oregons political people thought they knew what was best for the tribes. Very sad, but I guess we have seen this before. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/two_tribes_call_state_board_of.html

Here is a NY Times OpEd from, of all people Bill Maher, that gives a shout out to the Fighting Sioux. Not a Bill Maher fan, but I think it fits this topic. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/opinion/please-stop-apologizing.html?_r=1&hp

Benny, I guess I will have to respectfully disagree with you on the main premise, but I will agree with your comments. The letter clearly states that the athletes CANNOT wear anything with the logo or nickname in the bullet points. Therefore, why would that statement be in the document to "minimize or eliminate the presence". There is no gray with the athletes to "minimize", and this is to me a clear statement that the NCAA wants UND to direct the fans and supporters to not wear the gear. The "Therefore" statement can also be used to expand upon an original or previous statement, which I believe is the purpose. I am not saying that the NCAA will forfeit UND in fans wear the logo, or shout "Sioux" at the end of the anthem, but I am saying that the NCAA can use this to put pressure on UND and I believe that they will. As I stated, I agree that they do not have control over a public facility, but who is to say that in a private facility that the NCAA would not put out their goon squad to not let folks in wearing the logo or nickname at some point. I am not willing to stick my head in the sand on this issue and if I were the university I would make the NCAA give a statement to the university to say they will not monitor fan clothing. I would hope the recent statement from President Kelley may have sparked something under him that this is bigger than he thought. After everything that the NCAA has put forward I do not trust them at all, and I would hope others do not, and at least request a clarification in writing in that regard.