The 2006 Turin Olympic games are moving along nicely, but I almost feel as though Americans are missing out on the fun. Coverage by NBC has been spotty at best with the sub par HDTV feed and downright corny commentary. NBC has been broadcasting the Olympic games in high definition, but the signal is being compressed and fast moving scenes look blocky. Bill Hunt of www.thedigitalbits.com www.thedigitalbits.com explains: “I must say, however, that what NBC calls high-def leaves something to be desired. It's 1080i, sure. But talk about digital compression! If you want to know what extreme examples of compression artifacting look like, watch NBC's Winter Olympics coverage. You'll see it just about any time something large moves too fast, or when you get a ton of little somethings moving all at once. When everything's still, the image looks great. But when it gets busy... it's a blocky, UG-LY mess. NBC take note. Broadcasters are just WAY over-compressing their HD signals these days, and it's a real shame.”
When I was watching the Opening Ceremonies last week, I thought there was something wrong with our TV. Yeah, it looked that bad. When Americans are more interested in watching American Idol (three new shows are on this week to compete with Olympic coverage), you have to stop and take notice that the games just aren’t as popular this year as they’ve been in the past. I read last week that viewer ship in the USA is at an all-time low with the 1988 winter games.
I had high expectations in watching these games, but when all the events I want to see are over by the time I get home from work, there’s no real suspense. Sure, I can stop looking up results on the Web, but then I have to sit through 3 and a half hours of coverage at night with tons of commercials. Sometimes I just can’t do that, deciding to look up who won instead of staying up until 11:30 pm. It’s not worth it. I’ve loved watching the Olympics since I was a young teenager. I’ve always thought that the unifying of different people and cultures in one sporting event is wonderful for peace and understanding. However, these winter games appear to be more about the “haves” rather than the “have nots.” Big sponsorship is playing its role—every athlete is hawking some corporate logo. And if I have to see another Bode commercial, I think I might scream. He’s not won a medal and is a bit pompous. Honestly, I don’t care.
But I am enjoying the games, I’m just not so tied into the American athletes this time around. I’m looking forward to watching more hockey and the ladies’ figure skating. It’s just that the coverage in general is a disappointment. Between the poor quality of the HD feed, the horrible commentary, the tons of commercials, and the lack of coverage (there’s no recap that I’ve been able to see on any of the hockey matches during the normal 3 ½ hours of coverage each night), I’m disappointed with NBC’s handling of the games on TV. Maybe the Summer games in China will be better. Though with the time difference being so great, it’ll be another difficult event to watch.
Onto other topics: My wife and I saw The Constant Gardener this past weekend. Rachel Weisz is nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar and I can see why. A powerful movie. I would agree with reviewers who have stated that the best part of the movie is the first part. Once the “thriller” aspect took over, I lost some interest in the film. And I must admit that the ending disturbed me. I woke up wondering why the main character did what he did (I don’t want to spoil anything here for those of you who might want to see the film). After some thinking, I realized why, it is pretty common sense, but I was touched by the loneliness of Fiennes’ character. Granted, the film has a strong message, but it presents no answers and real life is never so black and white. I wouldn’t say that it was the best film of the year. Would I recommend it? Yes, I would suggest taking the time to see the film. It’s a powerful film with strong performances. Definitely, worth your time.
When I was watching the Opening Ceremonies last week, I thought there was something wrong with our TV. Yeah, it looked that bad. When Americans are more interested in watching American Idol (three new shows are on this week to compete with Olympic coverage), you have to stop and take notice that the games just aren’t as popular this year as they’ve been in the past. I read last week that viewer ship in the USA is at an all-time low with the 1988 winter games.
I had high expectations in watching these games, but when all the events I want to see are over by the time I get home from work, there’s no real suspense. Sure, I can stop looking up results on the Web, but then I have to sit through 3 and a half hours of coverage at night with tons of commercials. Sometimes I just can’t do that, deciding to look up who won instead of staying up until 11:30 pm. It’s not worth it. I’ve loved watching the Olympics since I was a young teenager. I’ve always thought that the unifying of different people and cultures in one sporting event is wonderful for peace and understanding. However, these winter games appear to be more about the “haves” rather than the “have nots.” Big sponsorship is playing its role—every athlete is hawking some corporate logo. And if I have to see another Bode commercial, I think I might scream. He’s not won a medal and is a bit pompous. Honestly, I don’t care.
But I am enjoying the games, I’m just not so tied into the American athletes this time around. I’m looking forward to watching more hockey and the ladies’ figure skating. It’s just that the coverage in general is a disappointment. Between the poor quality of the HD feed, the horrible commentary, the tons of commercials, and the lack of coverage (there’s no recap that I’ve been able to see on any of the hockey matches during the normal 3 ½ hours of coverage each night), I’m disappointed with NBC’s handling of the games on TV. Maybe the Summer games in China will be better. Though with the time difference being so great, it’ll be another difficult event to watch.
Onto other topics: My wife and I saw The Constant Gardener this past weekend. Rachel Weisz is nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar and I can see why. A powerful movie. I would agree with reviewers who have stated that the best part of the movie is the first part. Once the “thriller” aspect took over, I lost some interest in the film. And I must admit that the ending disturbed me. I woke up wondering why the main character did what he did (I don’t want to spoil anything here for those of you who might want to see the film). After some thinking, I realized why, it is pretty common sense, but I was touched by the loneliness of Fiennes’ character. Granted, the film has a strong message, but it presents no answers and real life is never so black and white. I wouldn’t say that it was the best film of the year. Would I recommend it? Yes, I would suggest taking the time to see the film. It’s a powerful film with strong performances. Definitely, worth your time.
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