Will the final for the UEFA Champions League be transmitted in HD by ESPN2 this year? I haven't found any indication on HDsportsguide.com

Last year the match between Barcelona and Arsenal was in HD. Will this year's match Liverpool vs. AC Milan be in HD?

That would be nice, however there is nothing on that subject at UEFA.com.
Let's hope that it will be HD, end ESPN2 will show it in Hd, unlike the '05 final, when it was produced, but not shown in HD. There still is almost 3 weeks, let's hope so.

ESPN2's schedule online didnt list it in HD :(. Hopefully that will change.

Shoot, the final should be on ESPN HD.

I've been emailing with Jeff over at HDSPortsguide and he tells me that ESPN claims it is not being produced in HD.

I can't find any documentation that contradicts that for him to send to ESPN, but I'm still looking.

UEFA did last years in HD, while an individual DBS company in germany did the '05 final. Only Germany got that game in HD.

It would suck to not see my reds get #6 in HD.

Man I just don't get. Last year it was in HD, and this year it won't be in HD? So this actually means we are going backwards with HD programming.

I know for a fact they film that game with cameras, the only reason they wouldn't show it in HD is that ESPN doesn't want to pay up.

Man I just don't get. Last year it was in HD, and this year it won't be in HD? So this actually means we are going backwards with HD programming.

I know for a fact they film that game with cameras, the only reason they wouldn't show it in HD is that ESPN doesn't want to pay up.

If you know for a fact that it will be done in HD, show us proof. Statements like yours do not prove anything.

What people have to realize is that Europe is few years back compared to US as far as HD.

In US alone there are more HD production trucks than the rest of the world combined.

If the game will be produced in HD, then I am sure ESPN will have it. It is all up to UEFA which is responsible for Champions final to provide HD feed.

If you know for a fact that it will be done in HD, show us proof. Statements like yours do not prove anything.

"Show me proof"; how senile is that? Frankly I thought people in this forums treated others with a little more respect.

Sky Sports in HD has already announced they will transmit the game in HD. So if the US is so far superior in all it's HD glory over Europe why doesn't ESPN transmit the match in HD as well?

http://sky.com/hd/what-can-i-watch-channels.htm

(click on the Sky Sports HD channel and then go 5 articles down)

"Show me proof"; how senile is that? Frankly I thought people in this forums treated others with a little more respect.

Sky Sports in HD has already announced they will transmit the game in HD. So if the US is so far superior in all it's HD glory over Europe why doesn't ESPN transmit the match in HD as well?

http://sky.com/hd/what-can-i-watch-channels.htm

(click on the Sky Sports HD channel and then go 5 articles down)

What does it have to do with respect. When you make claims that you know something you have to back it up. Your response has no respect at all.

Also this means nothing as Sky Sports HD shows a lot of SD widescreen upconverts. Just check English forums. I asked people today over there, and in the guide it started saying HD very recently.

As far as ESPN, if it really is in HD, I am positive they will show it. Ratings for soccer on ESPN are very, very low. World Cup was more popular, but it was nothing compared to Basketball or Baseball. If it will cost ESPN more money for HD feed, they may not do it, because of ratings.

What people have to realize is that Europe is few years back compared to US as far as HD.


I would like to see some proof on that

I know the stadium is hardwired for HD since the Olympics from 2004.

I would like to see some proof on that

Then do a search right here on this forum. There is big thread updated regularly with number of HD trucks.

UEFA still doesn't even produce champions league games in 16:9 SD which has become the standard in most of europe. UEFA provides the feeds. If a game is not in 4:3 SD that means the team produced the feed instead of UEFA, and for the most part, those are home games by english and german teams. In england, when a 4:3 game is shown on itv it is shown with sidebars. if the game is on skysports and the source feed is 4:3 it is shown with a 4:3 zoom to 16:9, which is less than ideal, picture quality-wise. Most german team home games are available in HD within germany, and most english team home games where the game shows up on Sky Sports will be available in HD within the UK. Other than that, there's not much distribution of HD in europe.

The fact of the matter is, that the home team usually produces the broadcast, and since this game does not have a true home team, UEFA will produce the broadcast. Last season was a test for UEFA producing an HD broadcast, and I guess they determined that the money was not worth producing it in HD again.

HD adoption and broadcasts ARE lagging behind in europe. Several factors are resposible... They are not a big-screen culture. I didn't know anyone in europe with a tv larger than 30". Widescreen tvs (sd) are very prevalent there, and their SD video is 576i, rather than 480i. While there is still a big difference between 576i and 720p/1080i, it's not as big of a difference as 480i to 720p/1080i is, especially at smaller screen sizes. A lot of people just don't feel the need to update to HD.

Also, bandwidth is a concern. On cable, of which there is really only 1 provider, there is only a tiny selection of HD. BBC HD which is one channel, a sampler channel of different BBC shows in HD, and a couple HD on Demand titles. On Sky, the only major satellite tv provider, they have a little more, but the selection is lacking, lagging way behind even time warner cable as far as HD channel selection goes.

I'm not gonna provide proof because I'm not on trial, so if you don't believe me here, I guess you'll have to learn to deal with that. All this stuff can be verified by looking on the internet a bit.

I would like to see some proof on that

The proof is that the US launched its high definition digital terrestrial broadcast system in 1998, when the UK led Europe in launching a standard definition digital terrestrial system (now known colloquially as Freeview). Admittedly HD was quite limited in the early days - but most scripted drama and comedy, and a large chunk of sport, in the US is produced and broadcast in HD.

It wasn't really until last year, at least 7 and a bit years later, that the UK started to have HD broadcast outlets (Sky HD and Telewest - now Virgin Media - HD) - and Premiere in Germany launched their satellite HD service around the same time - triggered by the World Cup being originated in HD. The BBC and Sky are leading HD production in the UK - with Sky Sports HD having a decent slate of HD output for a service only on-air for a year - and the BBC are providing significant amounts of HD sport (UK mainland Six Nations Rugby matches for example) and drama (Silent Witness has gone HD this season I believe, and most new in-house BBC drama - like Holby Blue - and some indy drama is also HD) Glastonbury and the Proms have been HD for a number of years.

However - the US is miles ahead of us - ITV, C4 and Five don't even have HD outlets yet...

On the other hand - the UK OB facilities market is VERY swiftly moving to HD trucks (the BBC have 2 large and 1 medium sized HD truck - and BBC TV Centre has a large and a medium sized HD studio) - though the UK fleet is much smaller than the US in absolute terms, and studios are not re-equipping in HD as quickly as OBs - partially because sport and concerts are driving the UK OB fleet to HD I believe...

I would not be at all surprised if Live Earth (and the concert for Diana) in the UK this year were produced in HD - as Live 8 was partially.

As far as ESPN, if it really is in HD, I am positive they will show it. Ratings for soccer on ESPN are very, very low. World Cup was more popular, but it was nothing compared to Basketball or Baseball. If it will cost ESPN more money for HD feed, they may not do it, because of ratings.

the world cup final drew 17 million viewers in the us, four million more viewers (30% more) than the average nba finals game. it also drew almost the exact same rating as the average world series game and just slightly less than the ncaa basketball championship game.

the ratings for world cup group games exceeded the average rating regular season nba and college basketball games get. the group stage games drew audiences comparable to nba playoff games - a little over three million viewers.

espn's world cup ratings were watered down because they split the audience with univison, who also showed the games. i don't know if univision will be showing the champions league final. if not, then espn should expect a strong audience for the game.

the world cup final drew 17 million viewers in the us, four million more viewers (30% more) than the average nba finals game. it also drew almost the exact same rating as the average world series game and just slightly less than the ncaa basketball championship game.

the ratings for world cup group games exceeded the average rating regular season nba and college basketball games get. the group stage games drew audiences comparable to nba playoff games - a little over three million viewers.

espn's world cup ratings were watered down because they split the audience with univison, who also showed the games. i don't know if univision will be showing the champions league final. if not, then espn should expect a strong audience for the game.

I was only talking about ESPN. I know that soccer ratings are high for spanish speaking population. I like soccer myself and want them to show final in HD, but reality is that champions league has very low ratings.

ESPN should show everything in HD when possible or at least upconverted widescreen if no HD feed available. They have this stupid policy that if no HD, then they do not show widescreen even if they get it that way.

There's always next season.

There's always next season.
You sound like a Chicago Cub's fan.

Can anyone find documentation from UEFA that they are producing the game in HD?

An email to them has done nothing, i got the auto reply to the FAQ.

UEFA has documentation about the HD-1 truck they use and how every Euro '08 game will be produced in HD, but I can't find anything about the Champions League Final.

Does anybody have family or friends in Europe that might be in the know or might even work for UEFA?

I saw someone state that the stadium was "hard wired" for HD after the Olympics, but can that be confirmed?

An email to them has done nothing, i got the auto reply to the FAQ.

I sent an e-mail to ESPN and John Skipper of ESPN was quick to respond.

His respone "Is not in HD - I will work on that for next year" basically says it all. Let's keep our fingers crossed for next year.

HZ

I sent an e-mail to ESPN and John Skipper of ESPN was quick to respond.

His respone "Is not in HD - I will work on that for next year" basically says it all. Let's keep our fingers crossed for next year.

HZ

And John Skipper is pretty much on record as a big fan of soccer so I would take him at his word and not think he is just blowing off the soccer community.

There's always next season.

And memories of last season....which had a few technical problems.

UEFA has documentation about the HD-1 truck they use and how every Euro '08 game will be produced in HD, but I can't find anything about the Champions League Final.


When you say "HD-1" truck - do you mean Visions' HD-1 truck?

And John Skipper is pretty much on record as a big fan of soccer so I would take him at his word and not think he is just blowing off the soccer community.
Agreed. The fact that he took the time forwarding my request to someone else at ESPN and then personally responding once he found out the actual status of the broadcast speaks for itself.

Who knows, we may get to see the semis in HD next year as well. !!!

I'd be surprised that its not being broadcast in HD.. I'll have a scout around when I'm there and see if I see HD equipment.

Really looking forward to Athens

Go on the pool..

When you say "HD-1" truck - do you mean Visions' HD-1 truck?

Not sure, the pdf file just references the HD-1 truck as being on display at the Torino Olympics and that it would be used for all Euro '08 games so they could be done in HD

Not sure, the pdf file just references the HD-1 truck as being on display at the Torino Olympics and that it would be used for all Euro '08 games so they could be done in HD

One truck is not enough to cover all the games. To cover all the games they need minimum 3 or 4.

but reality is that champions league has very low ratings.
maybe the fact that it is aired on weekday afternoons can explain the ratings... my english boss just clicks refresh on the browser the whole match at work. if they count dvr's, then maybe the ratings will be higher.
football's low popularity here in the US helps a little viewing-wise... i can wait to watch the game even until the weekend and not know the result yet.

They don't even count the ratings of all the office people who buy the game online on UEFA.com PPV. That was a great idea by Uefa this season, and hope it expands into Uefa Cup next year.

fwiw...I advanced to Wednesday on my HDTivo and it isn't listed as HD.

:mad:

Just saw an add during SportsCenter and no mention of ESPN2HD

So, still nothing then on ESPN2HD showing the Athens final in HD ? That really is a shame.

What does it have to do with respect. When you make claims that you know something you have to back it up. Your response has no respect at all.

Also this means nothing as Sky Sports HD shows a lot of SD widescreen upconverts. Just check English forums. I asked people today over there, and in the guide it started saying HD very recently.

As far as ESPN, if it really is in HD, I am positive they will show it. Ratings for soccer on ESPN are very, very low. World Cup was more popular, but it was nothing compared to Basketball or Baseball. If it will cost ESPN more money for HD feed, they may not do it, because of ratings.

Yep CKNA you are right that Sky Sports HD1 and Sky Sports HD2 (and the occasional Sky Sports HDX recently introduced for HD overflow when there are three concurrent HD sporting events) often show 16:9 SD and even 4:3 SD material upconverted, they do ensure that their EPG information (which flags HD, Widescreen, Dolby Digital, Audio Description, Subtitles, Copy Prevention/Protection etc. in the programme information fields) is accurate.

Just checked the Sky EPG.

Sky Sports HD1 is listing the Champions League Final from Athens as HD (i.e. HD) - and not just W (i.e. SD widescreen) and their EPG is usually pretty accurate in this regard.

So it looks as if there IS HD coverage of the final available in Europe.

I posted earlier today in a Liverpool forum thread and asked about this. The two replies I received were...

Yup its is.....SkySportsHD 1 are showing it....

Its on SKY Italia HD too... for the rich people in Italy who can afford HD.

Looks like SD in North America and HD in some places in Europe. Hopefully, these and previous finals will be released on Blu-Ray/HD-DVD in the future. ;)

My DirecTV guide shows it on channel 72, ESPN2-HD. Looks pretty definite to me.

My DirecTV guide shows it on channel 72, ESPN2-HD. Looks pretty definite to me.

Lesson #1. Not everything on ESPN-HD or ESPN2-HD is in HD.

Exactly, the show in your guide needs to have an HD logo. There are tons of shows on ESPN2 that are not HD.

And yes, some friends in the UK have confirmed me that SKY will show the match on HD.

I just feel it's a step backwards for ESPN. They show last years final on HD, and this year they decide to snub the event. To many of you that don't know this soccer match is huge. It's nearly as huge as the World Cup. The Champions league is watched all over the world, and people actually get off work to watch it. I know I will.

If it turns out to be true that there is in fact an HD feed for this match available, it is perplexing, and most disappointing, that ESPN is not making it available, especially after last year's was.

There is definitely an explanation owed.

The Champions league is watched all over the world, and people actually get off work to watch it. I know I will.
I was scheduled off, but then ManU lost :(

I'm Tivo'ing it but wont check this thread after it starts. So I'll catch up with ya'll after I watch it.

I'll be watching here at the office (we have multiple TVs here). Was looking forward to using one of our Plasma TVs but I guess I'll just stay downstairs and watch on the old sets.

What a jip!

SD + Side bars + ticker = Craptacular presentation!

Meanwhile this idiotic ESPNEWS commercial where some guy talks sports out of his ass is in HD, real neccessary

So it's definite, no HD on ESPN 2?

Yeah thats pretty sad that theres no HD for this. But alas, I almost come to expect this from espn. Maybe next year.

Yeah thats pretty sad that theres no HD for this. But alas, I almost come to expect this from espn. Maybe next year.

ESPN has nothing to do with that....last year, the final was in HD. If they give the HD signal to ESPN, they will show it to you. Stop whining.

I thought someone in the board said the game was being shown in HD in europe, meaning the feed was available and espn didn't use it. Maybe I have it wrong, definitely not trying to whine.

You sound like a Chicago Cub's fan. :D :D :D :D

Only after a certain point in the season when they can't deny reality anymore.

But going into every season, they actually believe they have a legitimite shot to win the whole thing, no matter how bad the team is on paper, how lousy they were the year before, or how much anyone else has improved in the division more than they have in the off-season ;).

I thought someone in the board said the game was being shown in HD in europe, meaning the feed was available and espn didn't use it. Maybe I have it wrong, definitely not trying to whine.

No, you have it right.

ESPN has nothing to do with that....last year, the final was in HD. If they give the HD signal to ESPN, they will show it to you. Stop whining.

Yes, but if instead of "giving" the HD signal to ESPN, they actually charge money for it (shock), then ESPN says "gee, we can't be bothered because Americans aren't interested in soccer".

Yes, but if instead of "giving" the HD signal to ESPN, they actually charge money for it (shock), then ESPN says "gee, we can't be bothered because Americans aren't interested in soccer".
Which wouldn't make much sense since they showed more games this season.

Which wouldn't make much sense since they showed more games this season.

And are showing Euro Cup for the first time next year.

I thought someone in the board said the game was being shown in HD in europe, meaning the feed was available and espn didn't use it. Maybe I have it wrong, definitely not trying to whine.

HD feed was a SKY HD exclusive production. UEFA feed was 4x3 SD and that is what ESPN gets.

HD feed was a SKY HD exclusive production. UEFA feed was 4x3 SD and that is what ESPN gets. So, Sky would not have provided the HD feed to another broadcaster in a different continent for $$$ ?? Sounds hard to believe...

I was scheduled off, but then ManU lost :(

I'm Tivo'ing it but wont check this thread after it starts. So I'll catch up with ya'll after I watch it.


We gave The Champions (Milan) way to much respect and paid for it. Same thing happened against Chleski in the FA Cup final :(

Champions of England though so a good year :)

Condescending posts removed.

[And are showing Euro Cup for the first time next year. )
The Euro 96 was on ESPN, and I think Euro 92. Until it went to Setanta, and PPV who got as to pay as much as 180 buck for the privilege of seeing it. Previously it was the hispanic channels, Univision mostly, if I remember correctly. At least it wont cost $180.00.

HD feed was a SKY HD exclusive production.Premiere HD in Germany also had it in HD.

This was the third year it has been available in HD in Germany.

Premiere HD in Germany also had it in HD.

This was the third year it has been available in HD in Germany.

So did SKY HD Italia. Still this was done outside of UEFA which only had SD feed.

So, I am a little confused. Is the source feed that ESPN has been getting for this years champions league games a 4:3 SD (576i presumably) or 16:9 SD feed? They have been pillar boxing it, so I had presumed they were getting a 4:3 source. Are they actually getting a 16:9 SD feed but pillar boxing it down to 4:3 anyway? I'd rather they keep the 16:9 if that is possible.

So, I am a little confused. Is the source feed that ESPN has been getting for this years champions league games a 4:3 SD (576i presumably) or 16:9 SD feed? They have been pillar boxing it, so I had presumed they were getting a 4:3 source. Are they actually getting a 16:9 SD feed but pillar boxing it down to 4:3 anyway? I'd rather they keep the 16:9 if that is possible.
A couple of years ago they got an HD feed. I don't know what they got in the years since then but I do know that WS SD is more prevalent overseas than it is here. All I know is this one is showing as HD.

I was most pleased last night when I finally got to whatch the game on my DirecTV DVR that the game was 16:9!! I have no idea it it was 720p source or 720p upconvert, but it was a very good picture and it was so nice to have a full (non streched) 16:9 view for a change! :)

I can say definitively that champions league and uefa cup games are available in hd all across europe. i've seen various screenshots from games throughout the season from different channels. I'm assuming this means either all or most of the games are produced in hd now.

I was most pleased last night when I finally got to whatch the game on my DirecTV DVR that the game was 16:9!! I have no idea it it was 720p source or 720p upconvert, but it was a very good picture and it was so nice to have a full (non streched) 16:9 view for a change! :)This year's game was in HD on ESPN as was last year's game. This thread is about the 2007 final which was in SD on ESPN2.
I can't believe someone posted here 2 years later. lol.

P.S. I was just as confused as the rest of you why they showed it in SD a year after they showed it in HD. I emailed ESPN but never got a response. I found this thread today and finally the mystery is unravled! :p