KSSioux

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.

I want to reiterate what the second to last sentance in the letter to the university said, "Therefore, we ask that the university take measures to minimize or eliminate the presence of the imagery or nickname brought to an NCAA championship event". This is after the bullet points about the student athletes, band, cheerleaders, etc, and is definitely a reference to the fans and supporters. For those of you who do not think this is the case, I feel for you. I do agree with the statements above about a public place and freedom of speech and I do not think the NCAA will do anything about it at this event, but are going to be watching and I am sure will be reporting back to the university. I applaud President Kelley for actually making a statement in support of this, as it is quite unusual for him, and is the first support on this that I have seen. This is why I am in support of the Spirit Lake law suit and will continue with them in that battle. It is a freedom of speech issue for me and I do not like the direction our country is going and will fight this fight with them. I may not agree with all of their arguements, but I will be by thier side.

I just want the sweaters to be the old script North Dakota from the 50's, and they could say it is a tribute to the Bill LeCaine era and his support. I pray that those are what they are. I agree they would play in anything, but to say those who are still for the nickname and supporting the Spirit Lake tribe are just going to take down the university and make the sports teams irrelavant is stupid. I again urge those to read the last two lines from the recent letter to North Dakota from the NCAA. They are making an effort to try to have the university stop fans from wearing the Fighting Sioux logo. The battle is with the NCAA and freedom of speech, which is why it is actually bigger than the school, but a stand on how progressive this country is becoming. This will be the first time in 23 years I have not been to the frozen four due to family issues, but I would encourage all fans to wear the Fighting Sioux logo and see if the NCAA says anything. We all want the athletes and UND personnel to comply, but let's keep it going as fans.

I rarely post but have followed this topic for over 30 years. It troubles me to see the banter going back and forth between the nickname supporters and those who want the nickname to go away to "Save UND athletics". Those who think the last two sentences of the NCAA letter does not allow them to tell the venues to ban folks from entering the arena with a Sioux jersey/sweater, or from saying "SIoux" at the end of the national anthem without the threat of forfeiture are the ones with their head in the sand. The NCAA is so disrespectful to UND that they mispelled names in the letter, mispelled North Dakota on the Denver Frozen Four participant shirts (without any apology or replacement), etc. They will do whatever they can to slap down those who will stand up for the proud sobriquet. I have been to over 23 Frozen Fours, along with other North Dakota NCAA championship events and have never seen anything demeaning in the use of the name or logo. Neither has my wife who is part Native American, and although she did not attend UND she loves to wear the logo proudly. I had decided that I would support the Spirit Lake Tribes efforts, although I did not agree with all their tactics in the law suit or the petition drive. They have far more credibility than our president or athletic director and I pray that their law suit will knock down the NCAA. To those who are in the "Save UND Athletics" crowd and think they are superior to those who are with the Spirit Lake effort I will leave you with this. I think it is bigger to stop the political correctness, maintain our liberties, and keep our freedom of speech. Is that not a bigger goal? Please do not watch the left hand while the right hand is knocking you down. P.S. for those who are going to trash me for this, forget about it because I will not respond.

I had to watch on FCS (lucky we now get it in southcentral Kansas. The signal quality on this transponder has been horrid here. I know it is not my system as I can get other sats pretty easy. I doubt they will do anything about it. I guess I need to get a little larger dis (have a 29" now), or build one of those foil cones!! I would love to watch on the sat as I also think i tis a better pciture than the FCS feed.

They told me tp12064 Pol V SR 4880. I tried yours and it was actually weaker on mine. Still get 70+ on the "Occasional Use" tp. Looks like I am screwed this year as long as they stay on this tp. I have had no problems for five years with all their satellite changes and tp changes, and now a poor tp kills watching the Sioux for me. Really sad since my signal rates last year on this satellite for Sioux games were 55-80%. All I need is 40+ for a perfect picture and all I am getting is 30-37%.

Just for my piece of mind, what is the tp and rate you are getting the signal on? I wonder if it different than they told me once you folks blind scanned it. Thanks.

I am having the same problem with the women's game tonight trying to get it from central Kansas. I can get a great signal on the "Occasional Use" transponder, but not good enough to even get a picture on the FSSN transponder. I called them and they basicly said they were getting good signal and that is what they were assigned. I tried tweaking on the strong transponder to get it better and did not have any luck.