Hockey Video Quality Issues?

[passit_offthegoalie]

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.

I've seen people that watch the webcast that have said the quality is good. Maybe you should try that, instead of whining and calling people names.

I will keep watching games and hopefully next year, we will have HD. If not, I will survive because the picture is good enough for me and I don't need Dan Hammer to hold my hand and tell me what's happening.

And if we don't have a lot of games on DirecTV, next year, I will try the webcast. I think that the webcast will only get better and will become more of a viable option, going forward.

[Frozen4sioux]

Who is denying the problem?

I have been reapetedly told that the signal looks fine in the press box and that there doesnt seem to be a problem.

that is denying the problem.

[Goon]

I have been reapetedly told that the signal looks fine in the press box and that there doesnt seem to be a problem.

that is denying the problem.

They're working on it, I know for a fact that Katie O'keefe-Hale passed on the concerns to Midco. I also know that the issue is with FCS not Midco. it doesn't do any good to rip the UND Athletic department. The broadcast from Midco are fine, it's the issue is on the back end with FCS. I wold call Fox Sports

[Frozen4sioux]

They're working on it, I know for a fact that Katie O'keefe-Hale passed on the concerns to Midco. I also know that the issue is with FCS not Midco. it doesn't do any good to rip the UND Athletic department. The broadcast from Midco are fine, it's the issue is on the back end with FCS. I wold call Fox Sports

i agree with you about that the problem is on the transmission feed from midco out to fcs or how fcs uses the feed.

The CC wisconsin game was a brutal picture as well last night.

Im not griping about that, where i think there was a bit of culpability on the UND athletic depatments part is the production value of the broadcast in the first place.

some things are good ideas and it is improving but i see many facets of it that are truly negative and i think cast a bad light upon the program. And the responses initially received truly did deny any issues existed, until I started making a stink a huge stink about it, then we started hearing from people that they are working to fiix them.

very much like alot of other things unless a problem is brought to light, it is not acknowledged.

i believe it is here where my critisism is warranted and overall benefitial in the long run.

....................That and the fact that i hate Dan Hammer with the burning passion of a 1000 suns

[Goon]

i agree with you about that the problem is on the transmission feed from midco out to fcs or how fcs uses the feed.

The CC wisconsin game was a brutal picture as well last night.

Im not griping about that, where i think there was a bit of culpability on the UND athletic depatments part is the production value of the broadcast in the first place.

some things are good ideas and it is improving but i see many facets of it that are truly negative and i think cast a bad light upon the program. And the responses initially received truly did deny any issues existed, until I started making a stink a huge stink about it, then we started hearing from people that they are working to fiix them.

very much like alot of other things unless a problem is brought to light, it is not acknowledged.

i believe it is here where my critisism is warranted and overall benefitial in the long run.

....................That and the fact that i hate Dan Hammer with the burning passion of a 1000 suns

I think that Dan Hammer is a better football announcer than hockey.

[hrkac]

Other than the flickering, which resembled the movie The Ring, I thought video was a little better last night. Maybe I'm just getting used to it. Also was better when I messed with the picture color filters to a movie setting.

[iceberg]

They're working on it, I know for a fact that Katie O'keefe-Hale passed on the concerns to Midco. I also know that the issue is with FCS not Midco. it doesn't do any good to rip the UND Athletic department. The broadcast from Midco are fine, it's the issue is on the back end with FCS. I wold call Fox Sports

Midco gets a direct feed so I **hope** its better. But then again folks in the hockey thread itself said they say flickering on Midco

But again what the NON Midco cable company customers (the ones who have say Polar or Sjobergs or Arvig...)are getting sucks then its more than just FCS. I've posted why the FCS piucture sucks (uplink and downlink 3 times will do that) but the feeds the FTA'ers can see isn't the best either

[iceberg]

I've seen people that watch the webcast that have said the quality is good. Maybe you should try that, instead of whining and calling people names.

watching it on a 15:" screen is a helluva lot different than say a 42" TV screen. Some of the feeds I see look "good" on a small screen but sucks on anything bigger than a 25" TV

[siouxforeverbaby]

watching it on a 15:" screen is a helluva lot different than say a 42" TV screen. Some of the feeds I see look "good" on a small screen but sucks on anything bigger than a 25" TV

I hook it up to the tv and it's still fine. It actually looks better on the tv than it does on the computer imo.

[Sodbuster]

Midco gets a direct feed so I **hope** its better. But then again folks in the hockey thread itself said they say flickering on Midco

But again what the NON Midco cable company customers (the ones who have say Polar or Sjobergs or Arvig...)are getting sucks then its more than just FCS. I've posted why the FCS piucture sucks (uplink and downlink 3 times will do that) but the feeds the FTA'ers can see isn't the best either

Midco gets a direct feed so I **hope** its better. But then again folks in the hockey thread itself said they say flickering on Midco

But again what the NON Midco cable company customers (the ones who have say Polar or Sjobergs or Arvig...)are getting sucks then its more than just FCS. I've posted why the FCS piucture sucks (uplink and downlink 3 times will do that) but the feeds the FTA'ers can see isn't the best either

I switched this summer from Polar to Midco just because I wanted to avoid any problems that might arise with UND sports.......one of the few brilliant moves I've made in my life.

[southpaw]

This is the first time I've watched the FCS feed and I was expecting it to suck. But this looks better than last years feed. I'm hoping they made changes tonight and this isn't the same quality as previous games, because this feed looks as good as the gopher feed on FCS minus the fact that it is 4x3.

[Speez]

Best pic this year.

[iceberg]

audio is out of sync ever so slightly though

[southpaw]

Wait... so you're saying they're improving things as the season goes on? No way... that's not possible. This is the same crew that is completely ignoring every criticism and is just going to put out the worst product ever.

[Blackheart]

Wait... so you're saying they're improving things as the season goes on? No way... that's not possible. This is the same crew that is completely ignoring every criticism and is just going to put out the worst product ever.

sarcasm..hmm, interesting ploy...

[siouxkid12]

I get sick and tired of watching the game on TV. Everytime they come back from a break they are already playing! This BS has got to stop, it is not that hard to come back from a break at the excact same time as the puck drops. This is amatuer broadcasting at its best!

[Wildfan]

I saw the end of the game friday while at work on Midco, and the video actually looked really good, there was one angle that looked a little dark looking into the corner, but all the others looked clear and really good, expecially on the empty net goal, the facial hair stood out nicely. But I was watching in Sioux Falls, which is Midco's main headquarter so that could be something, but it sure looked alot better then there SDSU football broadcasts. They did alright the last few years with the SDAHA state tournament so I believe they will get it all straightened out shortly.

I noticed when watching Wild games last year on FSN(non-hd) on my 32" hd tv the video was really blurry, and hard to watch at times, same with CBS on NFL sundays, so even top channels have problems now with the SD feed, but hell anything beats the quality on the screen in Mankato's rink, that thing looked ancient, as my brother took me with him to the Gopher-Maverick game.

[ringneck28]

I get sick and tired of watching the game on TV. Everytime they come back from a break they are already playing! This BS has got to stop, it is not that hard to come back from a break at the excact same time as the puck drops. This is amatuer broadcasting at its best!

There are multiple problems with the broadcasts. They are trying to squeeze 2 commercials in the time for one. It is simple, look at a clock, you have 30 seconds to get back to the game. It is called a hot clock and Hammer needs to get into commercials without all the extra talk. This is broadcast 101. The problem with the colors of the ice are camera operator problems. Do a white balance and that would take care of the problem. But when you go on the cheap, you will not get quality camera operators. Then lets talk about Hammer. This guy is a joke for hockey play by play. UND deserves better, we are a major hockey program and we deserve top quality talent, not high school guy.

[Siouxperman8]

I watched the last two nights on FCS. Not a great picture but I will get by. Just happy to be able to watch the games.

[southpaw]

There are multiple problems with the broadcasts. They are trying to squeeze 2 commercials in the time for one. It is simple, look at a clock, you have 30 seconds to get back to the game. It is called a hot clock and Hammer needs to get into commercials without all the extra talk. This is broadcast 101. The problem with the colors of the ice are camera operator problems. Do a white balance and that would take care of the problem. But when you go on the cheap, you will not get quality camera operators. Then lets talk about Hammer. This guy is a joke for hockey play by play. UND deserves better, we are a major hockey program and we deserve top quality talent, not high school guy.

It is a truck production, meaning they likely run triax, meaning the camera operators have no control over white balance. It was much worse last year, as each camera would have a different white balance. Someone in the truck understands shading but it is doubtful they have a person dedicated to it during game play. That is something that is needed if you want all of the cameras to continuously be balanced and adjusted. Many, if not all, of the camera operators are the same as the FSSN broadcasts.

[iceberg]

There are multiple problems with the broadcasts. They are trying to squeeze 2 commercials in the time for one. It is simple, look at a clock, you have 30 seconds to get back to the game.

I thought the TV timeouts are a minute now?

Then lets talk about Hammer. This guy is a joke for hockey play by play. UND deserves better, we are a major hockey program and we deserve top quality talent, not high school guy.

so true. I mean how hard is it to overlay the audio from the radio broadcast over the video (syncing in up?)

I mean there are teams that do that. Both Alaska teams do that and it works fine

[bincitysioux]

I also know that the issue is with FCS not Midco. it doesn't do any good to rip the UND Athletic department. The broadcast from Midco are fine, it's the issue is on the back end with FCS. I wold call Fox Sports

I'm not so sure I'd agree with that. I've watched the FSSN on FTA satellite for 7 years, and the picture quality was near HD-quality, and far superior to any SD broadcast one could find on DirecTV because the FTA feed is the "1st generation" of the feed. This year's broadcasts that I've seen on FTA are multiple times worse than any other year, and these are the feeds that FCS, NESN, and the independent cable companies are using. I watched parts of the UAA games on both FTA and FCS, and I could barely tell a difference. Prior to this season, the FTA feed was always much better than the FCS feed on DirecTV.

[Mamba]

MIDCO RESPONSE ON QUALITLY OF VIDEO

As I too have noticed the the poorer quality of UND video coverage this year, I sent Midco a note from their website and while I didn't like the answer, they were good enough to respond. I'll share it with you.

- - - - - - Note to Midco - - - - - -

*Topic:

General,

Comments/Feedback:

I am very glad to be able to watch the UND Hockey games, thanks for carrying them. But why are the games broadcast in a narrow video format? It seems to me that in previous years the video was wider and showed more ice. It very much compromises the viewing experience. I just watched your ad for your sports coverage and it was in the wider format and as soon as the game returned we were back to narrow. Thanks again for carrying the games, but please give us the big picture during the game.

- - - - - - Midco Response - - - - - -

Thank you for the feedback. We are currently broadcasting in standard definition, however we will be upgrading to high definition for the 2013-2014 season. Our games will then be broadcast in the high def format.

If you have any further questions please let me know.

[southpaw]

MIDCO RESPONSE ON QUALITLY OF VIDEO

As I too have noticed the the poorer quality of UND video coverage this year, I sent Midco a note from their website and while I didn't like the answer, they were good enough to respond. I'll share it with you.

- - - - - - Note to Midco - - - - - -

*Topic:

General,

Comments/Feedback:

I am very glad to be able to watch the UND Hockey games, thanks for carrying them. But why are the games broadcast in a narrow video format? It seems to me that in previous years the video was wider and showed more ice. It very much compromises the viewing experience. I just watched your ad for your sports coverage and it was in the wider format and as soon as the game returned we were back to narrow. Thanks again for carrying the games, but please give us the big picture during the game.

- - - - - - Midco Response - - - - - -

Thank you for the feedback. We are currently broadcasting in standard definition, however we will be upgrading to high definition for the 2013-2014 season. Our games will then be broadcast in the high def format.

If you have any further questions please let me know.

Mamba,

Midco actually did answer your question, they just should have explained it better. There are three main types of aspect ratios in the US in broadcasting. There is Standard Definition 4x3 which is what Midco currently uses. There is 16x9 Widescreen SD which is what FSSN used. There is 16x9 widescreen HD which is what essentially all HD broadcasts are. For Midco to upgrade to the widescreen SD it would be an expensive temporary upgrade. It is a step back no doubt in the viewing are of the screen. However, it is temporary as it will be broadcast in HD next year. The quality, even on an SD channel will be greatly improved.

[BigGreyAnt41]

I emailed Midco last week and asked this:

Has there been any effort to get MIDCO SN as an available network on DirecTV as part of their Sports Pak? What are the chances of something like this happening?

Here is their response:

Next fall our entire network will be made available for cable affiliates and DirecTV. Please voice your support to DirecTV to pick our network when it becomes available in fall 2013.

Hopefully DirecTV picked it up and we don't miss out on next season's games.