UK Games NOT in Real HD

I've gotten a lot of nasty-grams from disappointed UK fans about Fox Sport South's HD coverage of our beloved Wildcats (or should I say the lack of HD coverage). 

First, let me say that I'm sorry.  I completely agree with you all who have called me out about the imitation HD signal being provided by Fox Sports.

The UK games are not being shot in native HD so they simply are converting the signal from SD and airing the games on their HD channel. As it turns out, my (and most of your) definition of HD is very, very different than Fox Sports' definition. They call it "up-converting" to HD.  I call it SD with annoying bars on the side of the screen. 

Believe me, they made no mention of this little fact when we worked diligently with Fox Sports South to quickly bring you the UK games in HD.  And, since the promised games are not being shot with HD cameras, there is no way for us (or anyone else, for that matter) to deliver the games in true HD.

I plan to communicate my extreme displeasure to some very senior folks at Fox. Once they hear from me, they're going to understand how important UK basketball is to so many Kentuckians.  I don't know if it will work, but I'm going to try to get a commitment from Fox to bring in the real HD equipment for a few games later on.  

I figure they owe us that.

Comments

[Patrick]

Thank you for the explanation. Also - we need the MLB network. Thanks.

[UK Fan]

Thanks!!!!! :)

[MRN]

Thanks for the explanation. That is why Insight needs to start carrying networks that film in HD. Stations like the MLB Network, and The Golf Channel. I hate to say it but most of the HD stations that film in HD are sports related. Most of the stations that were added in the big 5.0 announcement were stations that just "up convert" the material from their sd feeds. That is why Insight should carry "real" HD channels.

[DM]

Michael,

I would like to think that a cable company CEO such as yourself would be a little more informed about the content that you are agreeing to put on the air. I also think that you are trying to deflect criticism onto Fox Sports South when I don’t believe they are doing anything wrong in this situation.

First, let’s go back and take a look at this blog posting, where you proudly proclaimed “Insight is your home for UK basketball in high definition”: http://www.michaelsinsight.com/2009/11/insight-is-your-home-for-uk-basketball-in-high-definition.html

I am a sports fan and in fact sports programming was one of the driving factors in my decision to get an HDTV. Viewing sports programming for the last few years, I recognized that just because a game is shown on an HD channel doesn’t mean that the game will actually be produced in HD. This is especially the case with regional sports programming on regional sports networks such as Fox Sports South.

Because of this, there is a web site that I occasionally check out to see what sports programming is actually going to be produced in HD. That web site is HD Sports Guide (located at http://www.hdsportsguide.com/).

Many HD enthusiasts have known about this site for quite a while. In fact, it was useful for me to see what MLB games were being produced in HD back when Fox’s Saturday baseball coverage consisted of a single HD game production with the rest of the games being produced in 480p widescreen.

So if I have known about this site for a few years, don’t you think a cable company CEO could look up the HD game information so as not to get angry responses after proclaiming HD games would be shown?

You also need to consider the production source of the games, which would be the Big Blue Sports Network. The Big Blue Sports Network, to my knowledge, is not at all affiliated with Fox, Fox Sports, or Fox Sports Regional Networks. It is a local network that produces UK sports programming when said programming is not being produced by another company (i.e. Raycom/SEC Network, ESPN, CBS). It is the Big Blue Sports Network’s decision how they want to produce their games. The Big Blue Sports Network simply has a distribution contract with Fox Sports South to show the games on the network, according to the region. Fox Sports South simply takes the feed they are given (SD) and they then attach borders to the sides of the image and upconvert to HD (which is then shown on their HD channel).

So consider this: Not all Fox Sports South stations carry UK games. I think there were a few stations on Monday evening that were showing an NBA game (Atlanta Hawks) instead of the UK game. Also consider that Fox Sports South shows programming by the SEC Network, which is being produced through ESPN now.

But I’m sure that when you contact Fox Sports South about this “problem” they will communicate this information to you.

[Peyton]

What's funny, is that the Big Blue Sports Network, which simalcasted Monday's game, and Thursday's game on tape delay, were shown in HD (or much better quality and widescreen) on the local WKYT channel.

[DM]

Peyton,

That is interesting. I watched the game over the air on one of the local stations in Louisville and the game was not in HD. Perhaps the station did not have the capability of broadcasting syndicated content in HD.

And I don't want to sound insulting to you, but are you sure it was in HD and not being upconverted and stretched to 16:9? Sometimes stations do that and it is hard to tell if it is really in HD or not. A good indication of this is the position of the game overlay that has the score and clock. If it stretches across the entire screen and information would not be displayed in a 4:3 center cut, then chances are that the content is being stretched.

[Saberj]

Thanks for at least admitting that the prior claims were false. I didn't figure there was much that Insight could do about the situation. Though I do appreciate carrying our voices to whoever is in charge of the production.

So far this hasn't been a great year for UK games. The games have been on Fox Sports or ESPNU so far. Both are terrible channels. ESPNU wants us to pay for their garbage. I love the Wildcats, but I won't pay for a terrible channel just for a couple "crappy" games. I'd rather go watch it at Movie Tavern or somewhere similar.

And the next game or two is on the CBS College Sports channel? I've never even heard of that channel before. Turns out it's on 531 here in Lexington, and it's also a pay channel? And not in HD. There isn't a chance I would be willing to pay for that crap. There are far too many pay channels for sports these days.

UK Sports coverage is getting worse, not better. I was really hoping the ESPN affiliation would help.

[Consumer]

First of all, Go Cats!

Michael, thanks for speaking for us although I do have to agree with a poster above who mentioned that it is in fact not Fox Sports South who produces the content.

Either way, your blog is an excellent communication tool and I appreciate you taking the time to give us feedback in your very busy daily schedule. Not something most corporate officers care to do.

[Peyton]

DM, I'm absolutely sure WKYT broadcasted the games on their local HD channel (912) in HD Widescreen format. The overlay of the clock and games were not stretched across the entire length of the TV, but were only in the portion that the 4:3 format would show. Not only that, but the quality of the picture compared to that of the FSNHD channel was 10x better. You might be right about them not being able to syndicate it in HD though...

[Santa]

Michael,

Thanks for your honesty. Santa still loves you. Have a great Turkey day and enjoy the holidays!

p.s. Santa still have your wish list for Christmas. Remember to keep the chimney clean and put some chunky chocolate chip (my favorite) cookies and a fresh glass of cold milk (full not 2%) by the fireplace.