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HDTV Listings for October 1, 2006
What we're watching: A bunch of HD premieres tonight, including Discovery HD Atlas, (coming soon to Blu-ray & HD DVD). The 60-hour James Spader narrated series kicks off tonight with an in depth look at China. A little closer to home is The CW's new Sunday night high-def lineup (not including America's Next Top Model, no matter what your program guide says), with Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends and all-new show The Game. Showtime is getting in on the act as well, with their brand new show Dexter, featuring a title character who is a cop..and a killer/dismemberer. If all you want is more of the usual, we've got that too, with Patriots vs. Broncos Seahawks at Bears on NBC Sunday Night Football and Desperate Housewives on ABC.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for September 30, 2006
What we're watching: Tonight we have the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, featuring special guest Dane Cook. If you didn't see all of The Class, Jericho, Desire and Fashion House that you wanted to during the week, you can catch recaps of all tonight on CBS and MyNetworkTV. Big Ten college football action rules primetime sports tonight, with Ohio State facing Iowa on ABC while Minnesota and Michigan decide the winner of the little brown jug on ESPN-HD.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for September 29, 2006
What we're watching: The latter half of Numb3rs' two-part season opener airs tonight on CBS, along with new episodes of Ghost Whisperer and Close to Home. As the baseball regular season comes to a close the Phillies face the Marlins on ESPN-HD.Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
Back to the Future coming to UHD
We always give Universal HD a hard time, we make jokes about Knight Rider and other old shows that they choose to fill their schedule with. Sure they have Battlestar Galactica and now Firefly, but even these shows are about 6 months behind the SiFi network. We do realize they're coming around and now they are going to show one of our favorite movies, Back To The Future. It does appear to be a limit engagement so make sure you catch it on October 8th at 9pm EST.[Via AVSForum.com]
HDTV Listings for September 28, 2006
What we're watching: The Office and My Name is Earl of course, although Shark (a.k.a. court-House) gets attention as well. ABC is premiering all-new series Ugly Betty at 8 before Grey's Anatomy and Six Degrees. The CW checks in as they kick off new seasons of Smallville and Supernatural. ESPN-HD has SEC football on tap for tonight as Auburn faces South Carolina while ESPN2-HD features the Orioles vs.Yankees.Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for September 27, 2006
What we're watching: One Tree Hill kicks off its new season tonight on The CW, however we're a bit confused about its partner, America's Next Top Model. The show has not previously been high-def to our knowledge, but a few sites are indicating it is. The CW's official site hasn't seen fit to provide information like resolution and surround sound information for any of their shows yet so we can't confirm, but we'll list it temporarily. Jericho is also back on CBS along with Kidnapped on NBC, we'll have to wait and see if these new shows last. You can get Doom on Xbox Live tonight or watch it on Cinemax, while Arrested Development continues on HDNet.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for September 26, 2006
What we're watching: Since we forgot to mention the season finale of Brotherhood on Showtime yesterday, we'll check out the re-air tonight. New shows include the all-new Help Me Help You starring Ted Danson, and the season premiere of Gilmore Girls on CW. Smith is back on CBS while House and Standoff are new on Fox. Discovery HD is also a solid pick with Inside Look: Crash Test Dummies.
HDTV Listings for September 25, 2006
What we're watching: Finally an HD premiere from The CW, as Runaway, a series about a whole family on the run from the law begins tonight. Also airing for the first time is Heroes on NBC, as everyday people gain supernatural powers. Slightly less fantastic but still extraodinary is the return of the NFL to New Orleans, with the Saints home opener vs. Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip received good reviews for its premiere episode and is back with number two, along with the whole CBS lineup bookended by new comedy The Class and CSI: Miami. If Heroes doesn't fulfill your sci-fi urge, there's still Star Trek: Enterprise on HDNet and Doom on Cinemax.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
DIRECTV's magical, disapearing high-def station
DIRECTV has a crisis goin' on and the only way to resolve bandwidth issues is to turn off high-def stations. Sounds absurd right, but three weeks ago for the first [high-def] Football Sunday of the year, DIRECTV pulled the plug on TNT-HD for a bit. Then last Sunday HDNet drew the short end of the straw and this week Universal was cut during football time. The NFL Sunday Ticket is a major source of revenue for the provider and to be honest, people love the package. Every football game (most of 'em are in glorious high-def now), fast-forward games later in the day, the ability to watch six games at once -- it's the ONLY option for a true football fan but what about the other stations? Not everyone is a football fan and last week TNT-HD featured a NASCAR race, so naturally there were a lot of apprehensive race fans waiting to see if their source for high-def coverage was going to disappear, but instead DIRECTV cut HDNet without warning. DIRECTV has a problem and us, the viewers, are suffering because of it. We just wonder what station will be cut next week?
HDTV Listings for September 24, 2006
What we're watching: Desperate Housewives returns tonight, followed by the brand new show Brothers & Sisters starring Calista Flockhart. CBS is also kicking off brand new seasons of Cold Case and Without a Trace beginning at 9. Sunday Night football is in its appropriate slot as the Broncos face the Patriots at home, we'll see how Tom Brady continues to fare without Deion Branch. TNT has both Kill Bill's again tonight, if you can bear the inevitable stretching.Update: Noted season premieres of Without a Trace & Cold Case (Thanks Peter).Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for September 23, 2006
What we're watching: What game you get on ABC tonight depends on where you are, some will see Notre Dame at Michigan State while west coasters get USC vs. Arizona. If you missed the premieres of Smith, Jericho, Law & Order: SVU or Kidnapped, tonight you'll get a second chance at a first impression. Finally, for those who didn't already watch it via VOD, The Chronicles of Narnia is on Starz-HD.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for September 22, 2006
What we're watching: The only Law & Order without a suffix kicks off its new season tonight on NBC, as well as Ghost Whisperer, Close to Home and NUMB3RS on CBS. Universal HD is reairing Ryder Cup play in primetime while ABC brings back last night's season premiere of Grey's Anatomy and a new ep of Men in Trees. Given the choice between golf and emotionally tormented surgeons, you know what our choice is (Grey's).Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
Battlestar Galactica recap episode coming to UHD, Xbox Live Marketplace
BSG fans get ready, before the third season of Sci-Fi's series kicks off this fall, they will be following the trend of cable shows airing on network television as a recap episode The Story So Far will air on NBC's West Coast affiliates and Universal HD later this month and throughout September. The episode, covering the key events of the first two seasons of Battlestar Galactica, will also be distributed on a bonus DVD at Best Buy, and via iTunes and Xbox Live. It has been confirmed that the Xbox Live download will come in mid-september, free of charge, however they haven't commented on the size or whether it will be available in HD resolution. Either way, it looks like we'll be clearing some space off the 20GB hard drive and getting on the digital distribution bandwagon shortly.[via Joystiq]
Firefly reruns going high-def on UHD
Thanks to series creator Joss Whedon's insistence in shooting on film and in widescreen cult favorite Firefly has made an excellent candidate for the HD treatment and it is finally going to get it. The entire short-lived series, originally shown on Fox, will begin airing in 1080i September 24th on Universal HD. The movie adaptation Serenity was one of the first HD DVDs available, now we just want to know how long until we get a boxed HD DVD release?After this addition you may want to re-evaluate your most wanted network, we can see Universal HD moving up a few lists right now. This show brings it just a little closer to that HD Sci-Fi network so many people would like to see.[Thanks, Edgar]
Universally tough for HD content
When NBC launched its high-definition channel for cable and satellite providers in 2004, they envisioned a place where viewers could see the best of the NBC family of channels in one place, all in HD quality. In the two years since launching, it hasn't caught on quite like they'd hoped. TV Week has a rundown on why they believe the channel has floundered when compared to the original networks where all the content is sourced from. Although there is plenty of great HD on Sci Fi, Bravo, and NBC to fill the channel, it currently shows 1980s standards and last season's leftovers.According to the article, and we bet you could have guessed this after listening to all of our own rants on the subject, it all comes down to money. Because the parent networks have more viewers, they can command more advertising revenue, and therefore it makes no sense for them to move first-run content -- like, say, "Battlestar Galactica" -- over to Universal HD where its ads will bring in less money for NBC. Channels like TNT HD don't face this problem, as they simply simulcast whatever is on the original standard-definition channel with the same ads and all. Of course, they also add some stretch-o-vision to the non-HD shows, much to our chagrin.So, how do the networks manage to launch new HD content without affecting their meat-and-potatoes SD (at least for now) content? Universal HD, for one, is planning to have some live content, like the US Open, which can help bring in some viewers, and certainly adding first-run shows or more popular syndicated programming can help. Also, as more and more households throughout America and the world purchase HDTVs, these channels will most likely be folded back into their original networks, as the fact that they feature HD will be less of a novelty and simply something to be expected in programming. We can't wait to see 100% HD programming, 100% of the time, with 100% surround sound, and no stretching, no fake upscaling, and no pillarboxing (just kidding!)[ Thanks Andrew Yoon ]
Universal HD still on Comcast?
Universal HD disappeared from Comcast's HD line-up as quickly as it appeared after this years winter Olympic. Or did it? During last weeks podcast, Ben and I talked about this disappearing act in relation to to Comcast's addition of ESPN2HD - we were afraid that this station would also disappear after the World Cup. But reader Mark from Connecticut dropped us a note while he was watching UHD on his local Comcast feed. How many other people are receiving NBC's national HD channel? We simply hadn't heard that anyone still had the station on Comcast.
UHD and Comcast was temporary
It appears that now that the Olympics are over so is Universal HD's carriage on Comcast. Comcast customers are reporting in that they no longer receive Universal HD and when one reader called in the customer service rep indicated that the channel was just temporary for the Olympics. I hope you guys enjoyed Battlestar Galactica in HD while it lasted. Adversary D wants to know where he is supposed to go to enjoy Knight Rider in HD? He's welcome to come to my house and watch it via DIRECTV!Did anyone else suddenly lose Universal HD or do you still have it after receiving it for the Olympics?Thanks for the tip Adversary D!
Olympics on DISH Network; new way to look at things
NBC is a huge network and they plan on spreading out their coverage of the Olympics across 5 stations. DISH Network is combining all those stations and another one so fans can find their favorite event. No word if it is going to be available in HD but chances are it will not be. What is going to be in high-def is Universal HD and NBC HD. Together the stations will be broadcasting over 300 hours of the Olympics in high definition. Those stations though are not just on DISH. DIRECTV has Universal and recently Comcast announced they will add it in time for the Olymipcs. NBC, of course, is a national network and their primetime slots are going to be filled with Olympic coverage. With 400 hours of the Olympics total (300 being HD), how much do you plan on watching it? The skiing is cool but other then that, I do not see myself watching much of it.
Comcast to carry Universal HD in time for the Olympics
It appears that most Comcast customers won't be left out during this year's winter Olympics, as reported by the AVSForum. AVSForum is known for breaking news before an official release, so we trust them.Universal HD will be carried on Comcast systems across the nation in time for the winter Olympics, unless of course your regional Comcast has bandwidth issues: you know who you are. For those people, Universal HD's Olympic coverage will be on the channel you expect INHD2 to be on .
Oh boy! Oh boy! Knight Rider in HD!
Universal HD has my number. They are showing "classic" shows in high definition. Sure HDNet has Hogans Hero's but now Universal HD has Knight Rider. Can you believe it? This started a few weeks ago and will be shown every Monday through Saturday throughout the day. But the classic programs do not stop there. Oh no. They also have added Quantum Leap to the lineup. Now this is what I was talking about a few months back. Networks have a huge library to pull from to provide us with quality HD programing. Sure, it will not be new programs, but at least it will be in high definition. There was a survey recently done that asked what their most missed show was. The "winner:" Star Trek. But don't stop there. On the same list was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends, The X-Files and the A-Team. Can you image the X-Files in HD? There is a lot of new HD stations on their way and lets hope one of them will be a high definition version of TV Land.UPDATE: My mistake.I did not know that TNT ran X-FIles in HD but they do!
