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Hockey Night in Canada to show select games in 3D

23K views 75 replies 26 participants last post by  james99 
#1 ·
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2010/09/29/sp-hockey-night-panasonic.html


Hockey Night in Canada offers games in 3D
CBC, Panasonic Canada team to bring enhanced viewing experience
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 | 10:02 AM ET
By Doug Harrison, CBC Sports

Listen up, hockey fans and electronics aficionados: Hockey Night in Canada is going 3D.

And the best news is, you have time to search the market for a 3D television that will suit your needs.

The CBC and Panasonic Canada announced Wednesday they will bring the first 3D broadcast of HNIC to Canadian homes on Dec. 11 when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens.

The second 3D broadcast available during the 2010-11 NHL season is scheduled for Feb. 20 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary when the Flames host the Canadiens in the Heritage Classic.

"We are very pleased to partner with Panasonic on this unique and ground-breaking initiative," Scott Moore, executive director for CBC Sports, said in a statement. "Together, we will be bringing an experience to Canadian hockey fans that has never been done before.

"This is a Canadian first and a very exciting time for television and hockey in Canada."
1st slate of games coming

Starting in October, Panasonic will be the official 3D and HD TV sponsor of HNIC.

Having worked closely with Hollywood to develop full HD 3D technology, Panasonic will help bring a new dimension to the HNIC broadcast.

"Panasonic is at the forefront of 3D innovation, leading the charge on developing technology for both industry professionals and everyday Canadians," said Ian Kilvert, general manager, corporate brand management for Panasonic Canada Inc.

"With our expertise and cutting-edge products, it makes sense to partner with the CBC to help bring the first-ever 3D hockey viewing experience into Canadian living rooms."

The first HNIC broadcast of the regular season is Oct. 7, featuring Montreal at Toronto at 7 p.m. ET and Calgary at Edmonton at 10 p.m. ET.

What channel can I watch the 3D broadcasts on?

Bell TV on channel 1933 (Satellite TV) and 1208 (Fibe TV)
www.bell.ca/tv

Shaw Direct on channel 233/ 333 (Classic/Advanced)
www.shawdirect.ca

TELUS Optik TV™ subscribers on channel 656, TELUS Satellite TV® subscribers on channel 1933
www.telus.com/tv

Vidéotron channel 800
www.videotron.com/service/tv

Contact your local television service provider for more information.
 
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#66 ·
Sorry to hear you are laid up. An historic night - that you have to miss workwise due to an injury and shaw cable subscribers miss due to ....? I am a bit stunned that Shaw cable has opted out. I am actually feeling quite let down. Anyone else? Did anyone else know that Shaw cable was not going to carry the 3D version?
 
#67 ·
Well I am sure user Marc can clarify but my understanding is that CBC is choosing to not put out the 3D broadcast OTA in lieu of showing the 2D broadcast OTA instead. They can only air one or the other OTA and not both. They could if they wanted to put out the 3D broadcast BUT then anyone with a 2D teleivision who would tune to the channel OTA wouldn't have a usable picture. The OTA market is only a slight portion of the total audience and of that segment, how many OTA viewers have a 3D TV set? It wouldn't make sense.
Good point, I'm not sure if CBC needs to pay more to transmit a sub-channel (eg. 5-2) but if everyone is transitioning to 3D they have to figure out how to do three transmissions (analog/sd or hd/3d hd), or OTA will be really at a disadvantage. The providers and cable companies aren't best friends last I checked. I anticipate OTA audience to grow for next year's digital transition, hopefully that will be enough to warrant a solution. (We still watch all the ads, send me the signal! :) ) Another question is, how many people actually have a 3d tv set currently? I think we're still in the test phase of TV's future with all the different technology/providers. We'll see where we are in 5 years..
 
#70 ·
One thing is that there aren't any subs in Canada unless you get permisson from CRTC and only one station out in B.C. has requested this and got approval (I am sure someone will chime in to say which station it is and isn't). Also, then there are bandwith concerns, its already hard in the USA for OTA stations to allocate proper bandwith to have 2x HD content.

The real answer is to allow any OTA broadcaster to have a second RF channel if they want for 3D OTA, but that won't be happening in the near future due to costs and CRTC approval...
 
#68 ·
Well that was really cool!

Watched the whole game and had a lot of fun.

Thanks CBC and Panasonic.
 
#69 ·
Would this work?

I have the 3d game recorded on my 630,would I be able to take the 630 over to a friends house (because I don't have a 3d tv) and just plug it in and run an HDMI cable to their tv and be able to watch the game from the 630 that way? That is without having it attached to the satellites,so otherwise use somewhat like a VCR?

I did go to a local electronic shop to watch the first period of the game live in 3d and thought it looked pretty good. The down low shots made you feel as if you were right on the ice beside the players. Except some of the corner shots where the stansions or glass dividers kind of stood out a little strongly,other than that I think I could get to like this technology.

They interviewed Al Trautwig from MSG network (that did a 3d game last year) and asked his opinion on 3d. He thought hockey looked good but said that football and nascar he thought looked the best from the sports that he had seen.
 
#72 ·
Except some of the corner shots where the stansions or glass dividers kind of stood out a little strongly,other than that I think I could get to like this technology.
They talked about that during the game. Essentially, they only had 4 3Dtv cameras vs. 11 HD so they were limited. Also they weren't CBC cameramen so they didn't quite shoot in the style CBC normally employs.

Overall, the down low shots were very neat. We had friends over, who happen to be from Montreal, so we watched a good portion of the game with them

It was also neat that much of the broadcast had no commercials so you got to see what goes on during commercial breaks.
 
#74 ·
'HNIC' in 3D has rough start, shows promise

http://entertainment.ca.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?cp-documentid=26718677

A REVIEW FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS:


Saturday marked CBC's first foray into 3D for "Hockey Night In Canada" — and unfortunately, it showed.

The Canadian Press reviewed the game with a new 3D TV on loan from Panasonic, the sponsor of the inaugural 3D hockey broadcast, and after several days of watching all kinds of different content and seeing how cool 3D can look, "Hockey Night in Canada" was a bit disappointing.

The broadcast had its moments and the potential for using 3D in future games was clear, but the quality of presentation was far from perfect. And CBC's nonstop shilling for the technology made it feel like an infomercial for 3D with hockey squeezed in.

Hockey fans thinking they might want to get in on the next 3D game should know what to expect. Watching a game in 3D isn't about sensing that pucks are coming through the screen — although you might get that feeling if a puck were to be shot straight at a camera. The real experience is the enhanced sense of depth that makes it feel like you can see deep into the screen, like looking out a window, or actually sitting in the stands at the arena.

During scrambles in front of the net there's a better sense of how players jam the outside of the crease and battle for space. The referees also had a knack for getting in the way of the shot, which actually just added to the 3D effect.

Shots from cameras positioned along the glass give an impressive view that competes with sitting rinkside. But it's not necessarily the best angle to actually follow the action — as cool as it is to see —and CBC was guilty a few times of lingering too long with angles that showed off the 3D effect but didn't follow the play well.

For that reason, it may just be that replays are better suited to those really cool angles that maximize the 3D effect.

CBC also had a few other nagging problems that should hopefully be addressed in future broadcasts, like distracting glare and reflections off the sideboard glass, and focus issues that made 3D-enduced headaches feel even worse.

And while CBC did a nice job of putting its onscreen graphics in 3D, the effect was actually too good for the game clock and scoreboard, which sat too far in the foreground and were distracting.
 
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