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Superbowl XLI in glorious high definition, if you get it

by Adam Turner

Monday, 05 February 2007

Regardless of whether the Colts or the Bears win the game, the fact the Superbowl is broadcast in high definition means the real winners are those sitting at home on the sofa. Well, at least those who get HD and *get* HD.

The Superbowl was first broadcast in HD in 2000 but, eight Superbowls later, there's still a lot of confusion surrounding HD. CBS is broadcasting this year's Superbowl in 1080i but a disturbing number of people will be sitting at home thinking they're watching the biggest game of the year in HD when they're not.

The fact the crew over at Engadget feel they need to write How to make sure you are watching the Super Bowl in HD says a lot, and they're preaching to the converted. It would seem your average schmuck thinks that stretching an analogue 4:3 picture to fit a cheap widescreen television means you're watching glorious high definition. You'd think even rednecks who don't know the first thing about technology would still take the time to make sure they're watching the Superbowl at its best.

The fact many Americans still don't seem to get it after eight Superbowls doesn't bode well for Australia, with the Ten Network set to broadcast sport in glorious high definition this year. Ten will broadcast its Saturday night AFL match in HD, as well as all games from the Rugby World Cup in France. How many footy seasons will it take before Australians actually *get* high definition?

Digital television has got off to a very slow start in Australia and high definition sport could be the shot in the arm it needs. If content is king, sport is the king of kings - just ask any media mogul. Rupert Murdoch wanted to buy Manchester United to ensure broadcast rights for his pay TV networks, while Kerry Packer went as far as inventing World Series Cricket just so he could televise it.

High definition sport will also finally offer a chance to put the latest high definition televisions to the ultimate test. Sport looks terrible on even the latest and greatest LCD televisions - the close ups of the players look great but the long shots of the play look shocking. It's like watching low-res video over the internet - everything becomes pixelated and the players are surrounded by a blurry halo when they move. If you paid thousands of dollars for a such TV you wouldn't be happy come the footy season.

When sport does look bad on a big screen it's hard to know what to blame, the television or the standard definition broadcast signal. I used to blame the signal, then I saw how good standard defintion sport looks on Pioneer's exquisite 50 inch Pioneer PDP5000EX, a 1080p plasma retailing for a measly $AU15,000. Having seen this plasma in action, now I think LCD televisions are just not up to the job when it comes to sport. Once sport is broadcast in HD they'll have no excuses to hide behind.

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