eball Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 It must really depend on your service provider. When ever I look at the schedule they only have 1 or 2 games listed as HD, and even then your carrier may not show it in HD. It is just another example of why the NHL needs to get a better TV contract. CI probably doesn't make the cable and satellite companies enough money for them to use the bandwidth to show 10 games in HD at once on a schedule packed night. From NHL.com: "HOW MANY GAMES WILL I SEE IN HIGH DEFINITION? The number of HD games you will see in NHL CENTER ICE will vary across cable and satellite providers. For technical reasons such as bandwidth and channel capacity, one provider may choose to air both feeds of a game in HD, while another one may not air the same amount of feeds or games in HD. This is at the discretion of each cable/satellite provider and it can vary across NHL Center Ice distributors and even individual systems of a distributor. In addition, please be aware that for a variety of reasons, not all HD games are available for use in NHL Center Ice across all NHL Center Ice distributors." I'm guessing you're a cable subscriber, because DirecTV carries nearly all of the games in HD. For a given game, there could be up to four channels dedicated to the game (both teams' SD and HD feeds). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 It must really depend on your service provider. When ever I look at the schedule they only have 1 or 2 games listed as HD, and even then your carrier may not show it in HD. It is just another example of why the NHL needs to get a better TV contract. CI probably doesn't make the cable and satellite companies enough money for them to use the bandwidth to show 10 games in HD at once on a schedule packed night. From NHL.com: "HOW MANY GAMES WILL I SEE IN HIGH DEFINITION? The number of HD games you will see in NHL CENTER ICE will vary across cable and satellite providers. For technical reasons such as bandwidth and channel capacity, one provider may choose to air both feeds of a game in HD, while another one may not air the same amount of feeds or games in HD. This is at the discretion of each cable/satellite provider and it can vary across NHL Center Ice distributors and even individual systems of a distributor. In addition, please be aware that for a variety of reasons, not all HD games are available for use in NHL Center Ice across all NHL Center Ice distributors." As others and you have mentioned, the # of HD games will vary by provider. My comments on # of games / # of HD games was in reference to DTV. For the most part I have been happy w/ DTV's service through the years. There have been occassional glitches (primarily having to do w/ the post-game show for those in the Sabres primary market) but not too many. They also have their 'Sports Package' which, for the price of a suite of movie channels, will give you nearly all the regional sports channels in the US (Comcast Filly and a couple other Comcasts being the notable exceptions). The Sports Package doesn't get you the 'major' league games (w/out appropriate CI, ST, EI, etc) but it does get you all the pre & post game shows and most college games. If you're big into sports, I recommend you seriously consider looking into their service. (I will admit, HEAVY rainstorms can screw up some of the HD channels depending upon which transponder they're transmitted on. It's pretty rare to have them mess up a Sabres' game in my area, and rains typically only mess up the picture for a few seconds, though I've seen them mess up a picture for 5 minutes rarely.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloFansR_Crazy Posted April 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 I'm guessing you're a cable subscriber, because DirecTV carries nearly all of the games in HD. For a given game, there could be up to four channels dedicated to the game (both teams' SD and HD feeds). I guess I will be getting DTV next season. My cable provider is awful, but I usually cancel it as soon as the hockey season ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjag Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 I guess I will be getting DTV next season. My cable provider is awful, but I usually cancel it as soon as the hockey season ends. So here is the math, not counting post season games, 160/82 = 51 cents per Sabres game. If they go into the playoffs, that price goes down. How can ANYONE argue with 51 cents per game? I paid 160 preseason, auto rollover. The purists on here will point out some games were covered by Vs, but you get the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloFansR_Crazy Posted April 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 So here is the math, not counting post season games, 160/82 = 51 cents per Sabres game. If they go into the playoffs, that price goes down. How can ANYONE argue with 51 cents per game? I paid 160 preseason, auto rollover. The purists on here will point out some games were covered by Vs, but you get the point. It sounds like a good deal. My only hesitation with switching to DTV is having to sign a 2 year contract and buying the equipment. Plus my internet will go up when I no longer have a bundle deal. Does anyone here have Gamecenter Live and connect it to there TV with a VGA cable? i was wondering how the picture quality is since it won't be in HD. I should probably just win the lotto or ask for a big raise so I don't have to worry about it. Thanks for everyone's info in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodork Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 It sounds like a good deal. My only hesitation with switching to DTV is having to sign a 2 year contract and buying the equipment. Plus my internet will go up when I no longer have a bundle deal. Does anyone here have Gamecenter Live and connect it to there TV with a VGA cable? i was wondering how the picture quality is since it won't be in HD. I should probably just win the lotto or ask for a big raise so I don't have to worry about it. Thanks for everyone's info in this thread. Depending on your ISP options, you might want to consider getting a Roku. I'd never heard of them until this last x-mas (my mom bought me one), but you pay about $100 up front for the Roku box (which is tiny) and then you can stream all kinds of stuff in 1080p. A lot of the channels are free, and others are inexpensive (about $8/month each for Hulu Plus and Netflix), and you can purchase NHL GameCenter Live, which I believe is the same lineup as Center Ice. Only downside I've seen so far is you can't get certain channels you would with cable/Dish/DTV (such as Comedy Central and other things that are free on Hulu), but they are still expanding their offerings and once you buy the box your monthly bill is only the channels to which you've subscribed. You will, however, need a pretty fast internet connection to fully take advantage of the HD offerings. Check it out if you're interested: http://www.roku.com/nhl-partner I haven't fully switched over since I'm still with DTV and already paid for Center Ice this season, but in the summer I'm seriously considering dropping DTV and upgrading my HSI to just go with the Roku. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 So here is the math, not counting post season games, 160/82 = 51 cents per Sabres game. If they go into the playoffs, that price goes down. How can ANYONE argue with 51 cents per game? I paid 160 preseason, auto rollover. The purists on here will point out some games were covered by Vs, but you get the point. Your math is a little off ... should be almost $2 per game with the price going down for playoff games. Still a great bargain ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjag Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 It sounds like a good deal. My only hesitation with switching to DTV is having to sign a 2 year contract and buying the equipment. Plus my internet will go up when I no longer have a bundle deal. Does anyone here have Gamecenter Live and connect it to there TV with a VGA cable? i was wondering how the picture quality is since it won't be in HD. I should probably just win the lotto or ask for a big raise so I don't have to worry about it. Thanks for everyone's info in this thread. So that's a good point. I forget about paying for the receiver, DTV and HD.. The HD is 10/mo and the HD Receiver is 6/mo so that adds to your costs. For me that is normalized into my DTV costs.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloFansR_Crazy Posted April 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Depending on your ISP options, you might want to consider getting a Roku. I'd never heard of them until this last x-mas (my mom bought me one), but you pay about $100 up front for the Roku box (which is tiny) and then you can stream all kinds of stuff in 1080p. A lot of the channels are free, and others are inexpensive (about $8/month each for Hulu Plus and Netflix), and you can purchase NHL GameCenter Live, which I believe is the same lineup as Center Ice. Only downside I've seen so far is you can't get certain channels you would with cable/Dish/DTV (such as Comedy Central and other things that are free on Hulu), but they are still expanding their offerings and once you buy the box your monthly bill is only the channels to which you've subscribed. You will, however, need a pretty fast internet connection to fully take advantage of the HD offerings. Check it out if you're interested: http://www.roku.com/nhl-partner I haven't fully switched over since I'm still with DTV and already paid for Center Ice this season, but in the summer I'm seriously considering dropping DTV and upgrading my HSI to just go with the Roku. Thanks, I'm definitely going to look into this. I don't watch much TV anyways, and this day and age you can download almost any show you want for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodork Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks, I'm definitely going to look into this. I don't watch much TV anyways, and this day and age you can download almost any show you want for free. Very true! I'm not sure they have any kind of arrangement with Versus so we may still be out of luck with that, but for how much cheaper it is per month than DTV (the channel package that includes Versus is almost $70/month), I'd rather just plan on watching those games at a bar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJFIVEOH Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 You guys are lucky. I can't get Center Ice so I have NHL Game Center. Only thing that sucks is when there is a nationally televised game it blocks out the local broadcast. So I'll be stuck listening to the Versus idiots. Grrrrrrrrrrr............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Half the year? $170 for the whole season. Maybe you just mean: half the year == Oct-June. Personally, I will NEVER not get Center Ice again. So cheap in the grand scheme of things. For NFL, the <=10 Sundays that I'm actually at home (not out of town or actually in WNY for the holidays), it's not worth it to get the ridiculous NFL package; catching it at the bar ten times a year is definitely less expensive, and includes beer and food. Yeah, I meant half a calender year. They are making the NFL sunday ticket prohibitively expensive, plus, I don't fancy spending upwards of $400 bucks to watch the Bills kick me in the ballz every Sunday. My weekends are pretty awesome now that I don't bother with football as much anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedblueandgold Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 I got Verizon Fios thinking it was gonna be the next best thing since sliced bread but the only Sabre games I saw in HD were the ones on VS........I'm gonna have to switch to DTV.....If Verizon is an "official sponsor of the NHL", why don't they show the games in HD then?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 As far as HD games goes, this year MSG HD is on CI for DTV so I have watched all but a handfull of games on MSG in HD. For some reason, it seems like games where a US team plays in Canada is generally the one that you have to watch SD on. If you are a new customer, I am pretty sure you can get a sweet deal from DTV where they will pretty much give you the HD DVR for free, and you pay the standard monthly fee. Verizon FIOS charges upwards of 15 bucks a month for the DVR and each box costs more, so the overall cost is about the same really. I have been toying with switching to FIOS TV for a few years now, and everytime I get up to cancel DTV they give me some ridiculous bonus to stay, like the CI package for 21 bucks, and 30 bucks off my bill every month for a year. They do have the most HD channels too, FIOS as of yet cannot compare to thier service. Case in point, Verizon does NOT have MSG HD so as the poster above stated, I would have gotten no Sabres games in HD, which defeats the purpose really... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller's Glove Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Somewhat relevant to this thread, but I was looking on DirecTV last night to set game 1 to record, and I could not find it. Well it showed up on Versus from 9-9:30pm....which obviously is not correct. I did not see the game on MSG either. Anyone know where the game is going to be broadcast on DirecTV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 I'm starting to get worried about this. The only listing I'm seeing on DTV is 9:30 - 10PM Sabres @ Flyers. Joined in Progress. Screw that! WTF! I know MSG is broadcasting this, does anyone know if it will be available, or since Versus is joining in progress (when the game is almost over!)), will it be available to us out of towners? I might just lose my freaking mind if I don't get to see this game. Not fair to watch ALL 82, then get shut out of the playoffs because of bullcrap contract issues. Anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunkard Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 I'm starting to get worried about this. The only listing I'm seeing on DTV is 9:30 - 10PM Sabres @ Flyers. Joined in Progress. Screw that! WTF! I know MSG is broadcasting this, does anyone know if it will be available, or since Versus is joining in progress (when the game is almost over!)), will it be available to us out of towners? I might just lose my freaking mind if I don't get to see this game. Not fair to watch ALL 82, then get shut out of the playoffs because of bullcrap contract issues. Anyone know? I don't know, but you got me worried now too. I might try to call Directv after work to see what the deal is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM8-PL16 Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 as of right now the games aren't listed on the guide for DirecTV... but i'm 99.9% sure they will be there. If not, a phone call will be made and they will have to deal with an insane customer ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 None of tonight's games were listed until this morning, and the Rangers-Caps game is listed on Center Ice even though it is also joined in progress on VS. ... I am sure the Sabres game will pop up with the others on Center Ice eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunkard Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 None of tonight's games were listed until this morning, and the Rangers-Caps game is listed on Center Ice even though it is also joined in progress on VS. ... I am sure the Sabres game will pop up with the others on Center Ice eventually. Cool. I feel better knowing this. I thought I was gonna have to rape the ear of whatever poor person and their supervisor answered my customer service complaint if I didn't get the game. Perhaps they'll be spared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Keep checking this link if you're a DirecTV subscriber. It's obviously still a work in progress, but they've started adding playoff dates and games on the schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Keep checking this link if you're a DirecTV subscriber. It's obviously still a work in progress, but they've started adding playoff dates and games on the schedule. Well that link doesn't do a lick of good. Still shows the game ONLY on 603/4 and at 9:30. I hope the posters above eball are correct! I will implode!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampD Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Well that link doesn't do a lick of good. Still shows the game ONLY on 603/4 and at 9:30. I hope the posters above eball are correct! I will implode!!!!!! That's gotta be a typo. I'm pretty sure you'll get the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 That's gotta be a typo. I'm pretty sure you'll get the game. I know, I would like to see it in the 770's or on 638-1, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 IIRC, last year all Rounds 1 and 2 games were on CI except if it was on VS or NBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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