# The unofficial NBC Olympic coverage thread



## invaliduser88 (Apr 23, 2002)

Let the flames begin!

30 minutes into the opening ceremony and I already getting annoyed with the cuts to commercials!


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## I_Machine (Dec 2, 2003)

AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How could NBC screw this up so badly!??!?! The same freaking Sony ad, the commentary is by a couple douchebags who wouldn't just SHUT THE HELL UP!! Does NBC have any idea about letting the moment speak for itself? They did this same crap on MSNBC during the Reagan Funeral Ceremony; it was why I kept it on CNN, where they handled it with much more respect, and ZERO INANE BABBLE!!! Seriously, did we need a freaking play-by-play on Bjork's song!?!?! The dumbass even insinuated that Korea was going to break out in a softball game in the middle of the field; great English skills there, ass! And did we need a note on our war efforts in every country we have troops in? I was fearing Iraq's entry, because I didn't want to even imagine what the morons were going to say.

Sorry for my rant, but this couldn't have been any worse. I can't imagine 16 days more of this kind of torture.

edit: thought I heard them say 60, thought that was a bit much...


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Well, isn't this thread off to a rousing start.  Perhaps the chronic complainers will pardon me if I have a different take - so far.

The Opening Ceremonies in HD were/are absolutely breathtaking! I'm up early this morning watching the OC again. What a show! Having been at the Atlanta Games in 1996, I can fully appreciate the visual "magic" that is created in these Olympic stadiums for the OC every four years. Each time I think it is the greatest opening ever and can't be topped, but somehow it happens again each succeeding year. This year's OC blows me away. When that huge monolith floated apart like a giant-sized weightless onion being peeled, I'm like _'How did they do that?'_

Yes, the Sony spot was clever the first few dozen times, but you would think their ad agency could come up with more than one. I hope they don't repeat it over and over for the next two weeks. :eek2:

But I'm still looking forward to the events and will be watching as much as I can. Regarding "Bob", my RC has a 'mute' button, and with all the coffee I'll be drinking to stay awake, I can always use another courtesy plumbing break. 

Oompah! Enjoy!


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

I agree with Nick. The opening ceremonies were fantastic! I was also amazed when the giant sculpture broke apart. The makeup, costumes and overall artistry were something to behold especially in HD.

I lived in Greece on the island of Crete for 6 years (1986-1992). The Greeks aren't perfect and like everyone else, they have their problems but when they get their heads together, they know how to do things right. I was pleased to see they went for a more artistic and symbolic look rather than a glittering firework spectacle like we do here in the states. A pleasant surprise.

I must admit, I'm a little biased. After living there for 6 years I've always felt that I left part of myself behind. It's a beautiful place (the Greek islands). It almost never rains during the summer and the sunsets over the sea are breathtaking. It warms my heart to no end that I can now watch beautiful high definition pictures from the place I left behind so many years ago. Gotta love progress.


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## bluegreg (May 10, 2004)

I would say greece did a great job on the ceremonies. BUT NBC dropped the ball they didnt make the final event. that was terrible just one big commercial and poor comentary. all the money thay spend and that was horrible...


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## ramy (May 18, 2004)

I wish I could have watched it. Directv won't let me have it even though I get the distant locals. Anyone else have this problem?


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## BFG (Jan 23, 2004)

It turns out per NBC, the only people that get the feed are those in the specific eligible markets, the distants wont work, sorry


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## I_Machine (Dec 2, 2003)

Oh, don't get me wrong; the ceremonies were absolutely beautiful! I absolutely loved it! It just seemed that NBC cared so little for the HD broadcast, even resented that they had to carry it. It seemed like sabotage. I had the SD broadcast on another set and Bob Costas was doing commentary as well, but wasn't being nearly as annoying.


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## invaliduser88 (Apr 23, 2002)

Oh, I agree, the opening ceremony was great in HD!

But, Sony Bob will soon be the most hated person on the earth though! !Devil_lol


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## FarNorth (Nov 27, 2003)

ramy said:


> I wish I could have watched it. Directv won't let me have it even though I get the distant locals. Anyone else have this problem?


Yes, all of us with distant locals. As I said in another thread, I don't understand. NBC and Dish and Direct have already determined that folks who get distants can't get 'local locals;' that's why they are eligible for distants. If they can't get SD locals and therefore qualify for SD distants, wouldn't the same thing apply for HD? If you can't get an SD local, you obviously can't get an HD local so why can't Dish or Direct give you HD via the HD dedicated channel?


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2004)

I am disgusted with NBC. I sent an email to them expressing my frustration over their HD broadcast. I harbor no false belief that it makes any kind of difference...but, at least I feel like I expressed my opinion. Here is the email I sent:

Having just setup a HD home theater, my family and I were very excited to watch the Olympics in High-Definition (HD). Sports definitely showcase the amazing quality of a HD broadcast, and what greater spectacle than the 2004 Summer Games. As a DirecTV Subscriber, I thought I was finally going to start reaping the rewards of my investment for expanded HD programming.

Well, needless to say, I am extremely disappointed at the decisions NBC has made in their coverage. I was able to deal with the fact that the Opening Ceremonies were a one hour delay, and carried a different commentary team than the Standard Definition (SD) broadcast. They truly were amazing in HD! Then, on the first full day of coverage, the Over-the-air (OTA) HD broadcast is the same as the SD broadcast. Channel 84 on DirecTV is looping the Opening Ceremonies all day. And, now I find out, channel 84 will broadcast the primetime SD broadcast one day late, and then loop it for a full day!

This simply adds to my frustration with NBC and your lack of a commitment to HD. Your HD programming is weak, no where near the level of CBS. Your local station in Philadelphia (WCAU) has yet to upgrade to a full-power broadcast. As a result, even though I am only about 5-8 miles from the transmitters, I receive spotty reception OTA. And, now, you are using the Olympics as a showcase for HD technology instead of making it a part of your primary broadcast and committing full resources.

NBC is rapidly losing credibility with an expanding HD viewer base. I, for one, will be watching less NBC programming until I see a reversal in your commitment level to utilizing the most current technology.

pete


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

The rules seem to be very weird. I get Colorado Springs locals along with Denver, LA, and NYC distant networks ("distant locals" is a non-sequitor - if you really were getting them, you'd be getting all the trivial channels from that market, too). As for why I can get 3 sets of distants, all I can think of is I'm great-grandfathered in from the C-Band days. Anway, I guess I've got NBC waivers from way back when - or something - because I can get the NBC-HD feed - even though Colorado Springs told me I wouldn't.

BTW, screw KOAA (Colo.Spgs. NBC) for not letting folks have NBC-HD even though they aren't carrying it. and also screw KRDO (Colo.Spgs. ABC) for taking away my distant ABC feeds.


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## QualityIsJobOne (Apr 29, 2002)

Here's a few random thoughts....

...The Opening Ceremonies looked just amazing on StarChoice HD4/WDIV DT Detroit....they have been replaying this all day today. :sure: 

....I watched most of the OC earlier last night on CBC TV....not HD, however, CBC's Peter Mansbridge, Brian Williams & crew had much better commentary than what was dished up later on NBC HD

....You would think that if NBC paid megabucks for the Olympics rights they would be on the air almost 24/7 with it 

....CBC gets it on live....when I switched on StarChoice very early this morning CBC was live....while NBC sleeps!!!

...I don't really understand why NBC won't pump out both HD & SD feeds of the same programming....those Nielsen rating dudes should also measure HD viewers IMO


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I recorded it overnight (SD) and watched it in the morning. Very good ceremony and I only wanted to slap Costas' mouth shut about 12 or 13 times.


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## music_beans (Mar 21, 2003)

About that NBC interactive showcase. The NBC Window still shows the Olympic Showcase on 147 rather than the actual NBC feed.


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2004)

NovaCat91 said:


> I am disgusted with NBC. I sent an email to them expressing my frustration over their HD broadcast.... Your local station in Philadelphia (WCAU) has yet to upgrade to a full-power broadcast. As a result, even though I am only about 5-8 miles from the transmitters, I receive spotty reception OTA.


Well, I'm going to counter by sending an email to NBC praising their coverage. It seems people are far more interested in *****ing about the broadcasts because they doesn't meet their own specific desires than they are in understanding and appreciating the effort NBC is putting into their Olympic coverage. Obviously NBC can't make everyone happy. But with the huge amount of coverage they are providing, complaining like this seems absolutely and utterly silly to me.

By the way, I'm about 35 miles from Philly, and I get a rock-solid OTA digital signal from WCAU.


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2004)

Happy Viewer said:


> Well, I'm going to counter by sending an email to NBC praising their coverage. It seems people are far more interested in *****ing about the broadcasts because they doesn't meet their own specific desires than they are in understanding and appreciating the effort NBC is putting into their Olympic coverage. Obviously NBC can't make everyone happy. But with the huge amount of coverage they are providing, complaining like this seems absolutely and utterly silly to me.
> 
> By the way, I'm about 35 miles from Philly, and I get a rock-solid OTA digital signal from WCAU.


Then maybe you can explain to me what the point of the HD broadcast is? They are showing it 24 hours after the actual broadcast. The results are already known. And, the broadcast is of lesser quality other than the picture...no #1 broadcast teams, no graphics and information, no background pieces. So, I guess I am suppose to tune in after the fact just to go "ooh" and "aah". I really enjoy the picture, but I more enjoy the drama and the action of the competition.

The only reason NBC is doing this is because of their screwed up structure. The local affliates own the broadcast rights, and they have been unable to come up with an agreement to allow for better, more complete broadcasts. So, they resort to what they are doing now. I think it is pathetic, and puts them way behind CBS and ESPN. ESPN has no problem broadcasting baseball, hockey and football in both formats simultaneously, so why can't NBC?


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

NovaCat91 said:


> ...ESPN has no problem broadcasting baseball, hockey and football in both formats simultaneously, so why can't NBC?


You're messing with us, right? ESPN's HD stuff is a joke. It's not even 16:9, and as far as PQ goes, worse than Happy Days reruns on TVLand. The NBC HD PQ is stunning.

You've got to be kidding us. Very funny. :lol:


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## invaliduser88 (Apr 23, 2002)

If you haven't tried yet, you can only access the video on the nbcolympic.com web site if you have a Visa card (Mastercard, AMEX and Discovery don't work). Not that it costs anything, it's there way to make sure only US addresses get to watch the video on the site.

So much for me, since all I use is Mastercard.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

...to be honest, not having the background pieces on the HD feed could be considered a *good* thing.


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## homeskillet (Feb 3, 2004)

You have to remember that NBC doesn't have their camera's in Athens, they have to pass through what the HOST BROADCASTER provides. NBC gets to send some commentators to the venus but the camera feeds are from the Host Broadcaster. Not sure who that is, probably a Greek broadcasting firm. I'm sure NBC fills in with some side reports with their own crews.

Here is a story that was printed in some broadcasting trade magazines about the Olympics Coverage:

------------------

NBC Universal Sports and Olympics has announced an unprecedented level of coverage for this summer’s Olympic Games from Athens.

The network plans 24-hour coverage totaling 1204 hours on seven platforms, including NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Bravo, Telemundo and an NBC HD platform. The network plans to provide more than 70 hours of Olympic coverage per day for the 17 days of the games (Aug. 13-29).

This year’s Summer Olympics marks the first time a U.S. broadcaster will provide HD coverage. NBC's HDTV affiliates will offer separate coverage in HD from several venues in Athens. The HD coverage on NBC digital affiliates totals 399 hours and accounts for the vast majority of the increased coverage.

NBC's digital affiliates will provide delayed HDTV coverage of six sports from the only main Olympic venues provided in HD by the ***Olympic host broadcaster***. Those sports include swimming, diving, gymnastics, track and field, medal rounds of basketball and the men's soccer gold medal final. The coverage will be a separate production from the SD broadcast on the network. NBC has 124 HDTV affiliates with the potential to cover 86 percent of the country.

USA Network will provide 49 hours of Olympics coverage, and Telemundo's Spanish-language broadcast will provide the first exclusively non-English language Olympic broadcast in U.S. television history.


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## Joe Capitano (Aug 13, 2002)

homeskillet said:


> You have to remember that NBC doesn't have their camera's in Athens, they have to pass through what the HOST BROADCASTER provides. NBC gets to send some commentators to the venus but the camera feeds are from the Host Broadcaster. Not sure who that is, probably a Greek broadcasting firm. ...


Athens Olympic Broadcasting is the name of the host broadcaster, if I recall. Whomever it is, they're using the same graphics package from Salt Lake City 2002 and possibly Sydney 2000 - with Athens-specific pictograms. Nice looking and straightforward. And how about the virtual overlay graphics used in swimming? Cool.

As to NBC, while they have numerous "camera's" of their own in Athens to supplement the SD host feed, especially at the marquee event venues, outside the studio HD is entirely world feed if I recall correctly.


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

djlong said:


> I recorded it overnight (SD) and watched it in the morning. Very good ceremony and I only wanted to slap Costas' mouth shut about 12 or 13 times.


Agreed. I couldn't watch the OC live so I recorded it. I found it much more enjoyable at 4x speed. No sound and while things were sped up, it helped out during some of the slower times.

And I hope I never hear "Such and such is representitive of so and so." Not everything has to be announced as being a symbol for something else.


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## buzzdalf (Jan 27, 2003)

Does anyone know where I can get a printed out schedule of what each NBC channel will be airing when for the entire Olympics. I tried NBC's website, but I can only seem to get it for a single day.
I want to plan my TIVO time out better.


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2004)

Nick said:


> You're messing with us, right? ESPN's HD stuff is a joke. It's not even 16:9, and as far as PQ goes, worse than Happy Days reruns on TVLand. The NBC HD PQ is stunning.
> 
> You've got to be kidding us. Very funny. :lol:


My feed is 16:9...fills my whole widescreen...watched the baseball game last night...same with Sportscenter...not sure what you are watching.

Also, ESPN feed has much less artifacts than the NBC feed. NBC feed i svery good...but, not as good as the feeds I ave watched for Hockey and Baseball.

I am watching on a Hitachi 57" Director's Series (X500).


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2004)

invaliduser88 said:


> Let the flames begin!
> 
> 30 minutes into the opening ceremony and I already getting annoyed with the cuts to commercials!


The HD footage, especially the "travalog" aerials used between segments are spectacular. Especially that home/castle or whatever built on top of the rocky spire.

And with the multi-screen stuff we can watch on our 721 in the other room, it's pretty dang cool coverage.

But to borrow an oft-flamed term.... "compelling".... I'm just not excited about the games and have just been sampling each night.

I think the games have been hyped beyond belief and there is no way the actual content can live up to expectations.

-Earl
Yankee born Southern bred and yawning in HD.


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

I do agree it sucks to have delayed coverage on HD. I just do not understand why they do this. Are they afraid of losing ratings by all the people who are watching HD instead?

Overall though, there coverage has been pretty good. I'm no huge fan of the human interest stuff and think they overdid it for Salt Lake but the mix seems better this time. Plus, Athens is 7 hours ahead of us so it is not like thy can show us much live stuff except on weekends. Even then, they are running tons of live feeds of certain events on the other channels

2 things I noticed about the HD coverage. first, the NBC logo is about 50% opaque instead of the near 100% on teh SD coverage on all the networks. It would be nice if they would drop the brightness down on all the coverage as I'm sure people with HDTV's will watch plenty of SD coverage as well. Second, I watched the OC in HD for a while, then changed to SD toward the end of the country intros when we went upstairs. It seemed like the countries were in different order on both broadcasts and that the HD coverage even showed a few countries twice. I'm not sure if there was a glitch in teh coverage or something or if the braodcasts were that much different.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Lee L said:


> I do agree it sucks to have delayed coverage on HD. I just do not understand why they do this. Are they afraid of losing ratings by all the people who are watching HD instead?


Yes. The local non-O&O affiliates are the problem.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

For 32 years I've been trying to watch team handball. In '72 ABC show a brief bit of one of the games and it looked really interesting. Ever since then, every Olympiad, I've been trying to find it broadcast somewhere, to no avail.

FINALLY! MSNBC had the Russia - Korea game on MSNBC this morning and I got a chance to watch and see if memory-nostalgia made it seem more appealing than it actually was. I rather liked the game - and it didn't hurt that this particular game had a David/Goliath element to it.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2004)

djlong said:


> For 32 years I've been trying to watch team handball. In '72 ABC show a brief bit of one of the games and it looked really interesting. Ever since then, every Olympiad, I've been trying to find it broadcast somewhere, to no avail.
> 
> FINALLY! MSNBC had the Russia - Korea game on MSNBC this morning and I got a chance to watch and see if memory-nostalgia made it seem more appealing than it actually was. I rather liked the game - and it didn't hurt that this particular game had a David/Goliath element to it.


Some of us here are old enough to remember back to 1960... I still remember the Winter Olympics coverage from Lake Placid on our black and white TV from a Green Bay station.

We were amazed at all the coverage!

A generation later... it's in color of course.... on six channels and depending on your provider... you can see a multi-screen shot and pick and choose what event you want to watch.

Working late? No sweat with DVR technology.

And you can do your own instant replays and freeze the action.

And for folks with HD... even though delayed... the video is extraordinary.

In another 40 years we'll be complaining about only having one hologram channel and still not being able to switch to each and every camera used at the games with our remote control.

Come to think of it.... we have it pretty darn good all in all.

-Earl
Yankee born Southern bred and appreciating the technology.


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## Fredfa (Mar 27, 2003)

Why that 24-hour Olympics HD delay?

It only took Broadcasting&Cable five days to catch on to what many HD viewers felt starting at 8 pm ET last Friday: confusion and unhappiness over the HD coverage of the Olympics.
And in the next to last paragraph there is an interesting tidbit that we hadn't heard before from NBC about its HD delay.
And that in itself indicates NBC is very aware of, and responding to, complaints about the delay from HD viewers, which is very good news.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonus HD Baffles Some

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/18/2004 10:05:00 AM

Some NBC HD viewers who tuned in at 8 p.m. for the Athens Summer Olympic Games opening ceremonies last Friday were surprised to find themselves in another place and in an entirely different season, watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City two years ago.
While the regular analog coverage of the ceremonies did begin at 8 on NBC, the HD coverage that went to the 124 HD-capable affiliates wasn't scheduled to begin until nine due to a pre-planned hour delay.
Instead, between 8 and 9, NBC put together some bonus coverage in the form of an HDTV highlight reel of the Salt Lake City opening. But with no crawl to explain the old footage, some viewers were left collectively scratching their heads.
The HD coverage was always listed as beginning at 9, said NBC Sports spokeswoman Cameron Blanchard, "but some people tuned in early and stumbled on to [the Salt Lake footage]. We got a few calls from viewers asking, 'what's going on?"
Under the heading of "no good deed goes unpunished," the confusion even prompted one viewer to call the NBC station in Washington, then corporate in New York, then a Washington radio station talk show to vent.
On the up side, it at least demonstrates that there are people out there receiving an HDTV signal.
After Friday night, it was all Athens, all the time, with the HD coverage delivered 24/7 in an eight-hour loop repeated thrice daily.
All the HD coverage was on a delayed basis (the opening ceremonies by an hour, the rest of the coverage by a day) due to restrictions from the host broadcaster, whose feed NBC was required to use for HD, according to Blanchard.
Not so the 2006 winter games in Italy says Blanchard, where NBC plans to use the same feed and announcers for standard and HD broadcasts.


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## Redster (Jan 14, 2004)

Have we already discussed how annoying that 1 and only one Sony commercial is ? the scenery is beautiful around Greece but come on NBC,, change something. I bet those 2 people walking up to the ruins are awfully tired after 3 days.


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## roblewis (Jun 22, 2004)

As imperfect as my 921 is, the Sony commercial alone has made me (and my wife) appreciate having it. 

- Rob



Redster said:


> Have we already discussed how annoying that 1 and only one Sony commercial is ? the scenery is beautiful around Greece but come on NBC,, change something. I bet those 2 people walking up to the ruins are awfully tired after 3 days.


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## Redster (Jan 14, 2004)

guess its just me that is tired of seeing it every 15 mins along with the scenery shots. I suppose I could just record 4 hours worth and skip commercials.


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## invaliduser88 (Apr 23, 2002)

Sony Bob must die! :bang


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## ogre (Feb 5, 2004)

My local provider, WTOM Cheboygan, Mi, does not feel that we are worthy enough to warrant providing us with a HD signal so I can't comment on the HD service beyond the fact that WTOM and Raycom can stick it where the moon don't shine. However, I can comment on the SD side of the house and I can't believe for one minute that anyone could possibly consider what we have seen from the NBC organization as adequate. Let's start out with the fact that everything is seven hours old and then consider the fact that they can't edit down the evening content to end at eleven PM. I have to stay up late on a week night to watch their up close and personals: no way. While I once considered the Olympics one of the finest endeavors and a must watch, I don't anymore. I am already aware of the winners and losers because when I sit down at 8 pm EDT it is 3 am and the next day in Athens. I just want to see some of the action and not at midnight but during normal evening viewing hours. Like most I have to get up and work in the morning. Skip the up front and personals and let's see some athletic competition during normal night time hours. I do have picture in picture and have the ability to watch multiple windows at the same time. NBC announced this wonderful partnership with multiple cable outlets. I don't think it's a new concept, in fact I believe there is a name for what I'm thinking about, it's called simulcasting. In spite of all of the partnerships and the ability to show multiple events in parallel NBC single strings evening coverage out to the wee hours. I know the local affiliates control and the revenue is enormous but please let's think that we could see the fraction of the events seen approach the fifty percent mark. I know that it takes a lot of resources to coordinate the voice overs, the transmissions, the editing, and the graphics but the basic video provider is not NBC. We have not seen half of the venues or competition and NBC as the pass through agent is to be lauded? Good job: I don't think so. It's still a highly edited highlighted presentation with many venues and most of the competition passed over in a highly compressed almost single threaded methodology. When there are multiple cable channels going simultaneously during daylight hours typically the one channel is locked to say boxing exclusively with the other between the commercials, the up close and personals, and the medal reviews, showing about five minutes of competition a half hour. Good job: no way. And finally, is there another person beside his mother that likes Bob Costas?


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

I seem to remember the term simulcasting as applied to a TV show where the audio was also sent out on FM stereo radio. This was from the days before Stereo TV (guess I just dated myself there, eh?).


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## invaliduser88 (Apr 23, 2002)

Watching the last night...Is this the Olympics or is this the History Channel?


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## mallu2u (Jul 23, 2004)

I really liked the fact that the entire coverage was in HD but was disappointed that it was a day late.


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## SAEMike (May 29, 2004)

I missed the Sony commercial because there were a few thousand people outside my house asking if they could watch the Olympics in HD. 

What was the commercial about?


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