NBC NFL - Opening Game

[Tom Snyder]

Motion artifacts are making this hard to watch. Even my wife noticed it, but was afraid to mention thinking it was just our TV.

Was wondering if that was the case.. but there are 4 pages of how crappy the PQ is over at AVS... trying to figure out if the common thread is just NBC in general or if it's affilates who are sucking up bandwidth for the Weather Plus channel that nobody watches.

If that's the case, maybe Mark Strachota needs to call Jim Hall and get a lesson on allocating as much bandwidth as possible for the stuff people really care about. A couple years ago, now, but Jim Hall ran a secret test with us here to help them adjust between WMLW and the main CBS feed for sports.

[wireblsam]

Not the best look for Opening Night....

[AndrewP]

Not good start for NBC.
BTW, Chicago signal is the same bad one. :eek:

[Tom Snyder]

WMAQ Uses 5-2 for Weather Plus, too...

[SRW1000]

It would be nice if they could do a second-tier version of Weather Plus while their running HD programming.  Even if it were something as simple as a rotating 5-day forecast, without audio.

Especially during sports, they need every bit of data they can get.

Scott

[Ralph Kramden]

I watched the second half on my projector, but I didn't notice any motion artifacts. But I noticed the picture quality was not as good as the HD games on ESPN or FOX.

[murdoc]

I also was hoping I was the only one seeing this...well not really I guess.  Hopefully they can get things cleared up a bit.

[tekdredger]

I agree, very disappointing picture quality.  I noticed it during the preseason broadcasts and was hoping things would improve but, unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be the case.  I noticed the low angle shots, mostly handheld sideline cameras were worse.  The picture gets grainy when there is alot of motion in the frame.  A freeze-frame during DVR viewing really shows just how grainy the picture is.  During one shot there was a slow zoom-in on a Pittsburg player on the sideline and the mesh fabric of his jersey danced and sparkled with beat patterns.  I really expected better from NBC since their studio programs like the Tonight Show look so good.  I suspect they may be having some trouble with the local production equipment and doing too much signal manipulation in the truck.

I haven't seen the AVS forum threads but I hope if enough folks complain to the right people maybe things will improve or this may prove to be a very long season. :bang:

[tencom]

Channel 4.1DT appears to be having problems with there DIGITAL ENCODER, which is likely to be a software issue, and bringing, it to there attention bought no results.

[gopheralex]

Motion artifacts are making this hard to watch. Even my wife noticed it, but was afraid to mention thinking it was just our TV.

Was wondering if that was the case.. but there are 4 pages of how crappy the PQ is over at AVS... trying to figure out if the common thread is just NBC in general or if it's affilates who are sucking up bandwidth for the Weather Plus channel that nobody watches.

If that's the case, maybe Mark Strachota needs to call Jim Hall and get a lesson on allocating as much bandwidth as possible for the stuff people really care about. A couple years ago, now, but Jim Hall ran a secret test with us here to help them adjust between WMLW and the main CBS feed for sports.

I recorded brief clips of 4-1 & 4-2 onto my computer and this is what I got:

4-1: 16.84Mbps
4-2: 0.49Mbps

That sounds reasonable to me, 16.84Mbps is higher than even 36-1 (13.3Mbps) which makes it the highest-data-rate HD channel in the area.

[Tom Snyder]

I'd be curious to see a full list of all the locals.  

But with a full available bandwidth of 19.4 Mbps, I'm even more curious to know what's happening to the rest.

[GBK]

there is something wrong with their national feed for football..  the picture has too much grain at least for me.  when it goes to HD ads then the grain goes away.  I don't even want to mention the motion artifacts ... which I also believe is a national issue... that's just 1080i with fast moving motion.  But that's what I think... I could be wrong.

[VoidXero]

I don't even want to mention the motion artifacts ... which I also believe is a national issue... that's just 1080i with fast moving motion.  But that's what I think... I could be wrong.

Considering that the other 1080i NFL network, CBS, looks just as pixelated I would tend to agree. BTW, who has the Superbowl this year. Last year's on ABC was mostly artifact free but they are 720p, of course.

[Tom Snyder]

CBS is carrying the SuperBowl this season.