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'The Amazing Race' on CBS HD - Page 2

post #31 of 1159
2/20/11 at 6:28am
My wife and I have been watching TAR for years, since about season 7. We're looking forward to seeing the scenery in HD finally, when they're not showing us closeups of the contestants in the back seats of cabs, that is .
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post #32 of 1159
2/20/11 at 1:36pm
You guys are missing one of the best parts about this show returning.

Now we get to discuss it here since it is in HD!!!
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post #33 of 1159
2/20/11 at 5:02pm
looks good. on WTVF in nashville.
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post #34 of 1159
2/20/11 at 6:08pm
I'm so happy to finally see The Amazing Race in HD, been a long time coming. HD quality was fantastic (watched on WFSB in Hartford/New Haven), crisp and clear picture with bright color. This shows perfectly why this show needed to be in HD, it was a benefit for Survivor, and now even more so for TAR.
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post #35 of 1159
2/20/11 at 6:16pm
Looked great OTA on WSPA out of Spartanburg SC. Gorgeous shots of Sydney harbor!
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post #36 of 1159
2/20/11 at 9:22pm
Wish my PQ was as good as all of yours. Iwatched the show on both a new Panasonic plasma and my old standby Sony LCD and on both sets the closeups of the cast looked pretty murky and pasty. Long shots looked much better. Watching on Comcast on KPiX in SF Bay Area.
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post #37 of 1159
2/21/11 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 
Looked fine on WCBS-TV though Time Warner Cable HD-DVR on my four-year old 47" Olivia 747 HDTV (watched it late at night after clearing the DVR from the USA "Law & Order: SVU" marathon). I was worried that compression issues would mar or break-up the close-ups or fast-paced cuts the show if famous for. Nothing like that... this week. I was never a "TAR" fan that demanded the show move to HD, it was fine to me in SD. Seeing it in HD for the first time though, just WOW. That little beach where Phil (wearing that silly hat ) waited for the teams looked just pretty-enough to make me want to go there, and the show never makes me want to go anywhere (happy to be a couch potato).
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post #38 of 1159
2/21/11 at 8:51am
I tuned in late. I've never seen the show since it wasn't HD until now. Naturally I was confused a few times. Why would a team tell another team what the answer to a clue is?
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post #39 of 1159
2/21/11 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scowl View Post

I tuned in late. I've never seen the show since it wasn't HD until now. Naturally I was confused a few times. Why would a team tell another team what the answer to a clue is?

This happens occasionally when teams may want to "work together later", or be 'owed one' or they just "like" the other team ... (they socialize & have a lot of "down time' together off camera & get to know each other .. Dinners/drinks, hotel, plane rides ...
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post #40 of 1159
2/21/11 at 11:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dad1153 View Post

Looked fine on WCBS-TV though Time Warner Cable HD-DVR on my four-year old 47" Olivia 747 HDTV (watched it late at night after clearing the DVR from the USA "Law & Order: SVU" marathon). I was worried that compression issues would mar or break-up the close-ups or fast-paced cuts the show if famous for. Nothing like that... this week. I was never a "TAR" fan that demanded the show move to HD, it was fine to me in SD. Seeing it in HD for the first time though, just WOW. That little beach where Phil (wearing that silly hat ) waited for the teams looked just pretty-enough to make me want to go there, and the show never makes me want to go anywhere (happy to be a couch potato).

It was really nice to have the show in HD finally. It definitely showcases the locations and presents them as they should be shown, and adds a lot to the visual impact of the show. However for me it didn't come without some drawbacks... I can't remember ever being bothered by or complaining about fast cuts etc on any shows, but I have to say that watching TAR last night the sheer speed of the pans and frantic cutting became very annoying and detracted from my viewing pleasure . Even though our local CBS affiliate doesn't run any subs, my PQ here was not great because they have an old inefficient encoder which is further compounded by my watching via Comcast. But I don't think that was really the problem. As I was watching I was thinking about it and I really think the old blurry SD combined with the smaller scope of the 4x3 image actually muted the super fast panning etc and made it seem less harsh and "in my face" . I just kept thinking, "Geez, I sure hope they tone down the light speed panning after they see the early 'dailies'" .

Interesting impressions from Plane #1 contestants regarding the heart attack situation. The comment from the one Globetrotter expressing genuine concern for the victim first over the game at hand reminded me of how they seemed to keep things in perspective in their first go-round. They may not have been the best players, but they seemed to play with class and made a concerted effort to stay above the fray and not get nearly as caught up in the petty stuff as many of the other contestants did.


ron
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post #41 of 1159
2/21/11 at 11:16am
Thread Starter 
Nielsen Overnights
'Amazing Race' Starts Slow On Slow Presidents Weekend Sunday
By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline.com - February 21st, 2011

Fox's comedy block edged out competition on a quiet Sunday night, which was probably impacted by viewers' Presidents Day weekend-related activities. It was a photo finish demo race, with Fox averaging a 2.4/7 in 18-49, ABC a 2.3/7 and CBS a 2.2/6. With no football, NBC was a distant fourth with a 1.6/5 (It aired Dateline and an SNL special). In total viewers, CBS was once again far ahead with 10.4 million viewers.

The spring cycle of CBS' The Amazing Race (2.4/7, 9.1 million) was down 14% from the February season premiere last year. It was tied in the 8 PM hour with another reality veteran, ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2.4/7, 9.5 million), which was up a big 50% from last week's low against the Grammy Awards. CBS' Undercover Boss (2.6/7, 10.6 million) was down 21% from its most recent original on Jan. 16 when the show aired against NBC's Golden Globes but CBS' lineup benefited from a football lead-in that night. CSI: Miami (2.2/6, 10.5 million) was down a tenth in the demo from its most recent original on the same night, Jan. 16.

After hitting two consecutive series lows with its two most recent originals that aired against the Golden Globes (3.1/8) last month and the Grammys (2.6/6) last week, ABC's Desperate Housewives (3.1/8, 10.5 million) rebounded 15% from last week to match its second lowest-rated telecast. Brothers & Sisters (1.9/5, 6.9 million) was up a tenth in the demo from its series low against the Grammys last week.

Fox's comedies were all up slightly from last week when they were impacted by the Grammys. American Dad at 7:30 PM (2.0/6) was up 5%, The Simpsons (2.8/8) up 8%, Bob's Burgers (2.2/8), up 5%, Family Guy (3.3/8) up 3% and The Cleveland Show (2.6/7) up 8%.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/02/rati...eekend-sunday/
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post #42 of 1159
2/21/11 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by R11 View Post

I can't remember ever being bothered by or complaining about fast cuts etc on any shows, but I have to say that watching TAR last night the sheer speed of the pans and frantic cutting became very annoying and detracted from my viewing pleasure .

Does this show normally have non-stop "dramatic" music during every second whenever anyone is doing anything? It really got old after ten minutes.

Quote:


Even though our local CBS affiliate doesn't run any subs, my PQ here was not great because they have an old inefficient encoder which is further compounded by my watching via Comcast.

Remember KOIN keeps the bit rate around 15 mbps as if there were a subchannel. I didn't notice too many PQ problems although I did get a screen of blocks during one quick scene change.

Amazing Race was recorded in 60i unlike Survivor which is recorded in 30p so motion would take a little more bandwidth.
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post #43 of 1159
2/21/11 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scowl View Post

I tuned in late. I've never seen the show since it wasn't HD until now. Naturally I was confused a few times. Why would a team tell another team what the answer to a clue is?

Stupidity?
Naivety?
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post #44 of 1159
2/21/11 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by R11 View Post

It wasEven though our local CBS affiliate doesn't run any subs, my PQ here was not great because they have an old inefficient encoder which is further compounded by my watching via Comcast.

I wonder if my PQ issues were the same combination here in the Bay Area? I really tuned up the Plasma set this morning and ran the DVR recording of TAR on it and the LCD at the same time. It looked better than last night but still wasn't up to the HD standards that I would expect.
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post #45 of 1159
2/21/11 at 2:26pm
I like the Globetrotters. They were one of the few teams that remained likable throughout their first race (although their end was disappointing).

As far as shamelessly promoting the Globetrotters, is that really necessary? That would be like 2 Disney World employees racing. Is there really anyone that hasn't heard of the Globetrotters?
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post #46 of 1159
2/21/11 at 2:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CPanther95 View Post

I like the Globetrotters. They were one of the few teams that remained likable throughout their first race (although their end was disappointing).

As far as shamelessly promoting the Globetrotters, is that really necessary? That would be like 2 Disney World employees racing. Is there really anyone that hasn't heard of the Globetrotters?

I don't know, does the younger crowd today know them? Are they making guest appearances on some modern equivalent of Gilligan's Island and Scooby Do like they did 30 years ago? Honestly, would those under 30 know about them?
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post #47 of 1159
2/21/11 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sirjonsnow View Post

I don't know, does the younger crowd today know them? Are they making guest appearances on some modern equivalent of Gilligan's Island and Scooby Do like they did 30 years ago? Honestly, would those under 30 know about them?

They're still a popular act/team. They still have yearly tours all over the country playing exhibition games just like they did in the good old days of Meadowlark Lemon. Whoa, I'm old.
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post #48 of 1159
2/21/11 at 4:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scowl View Post

They're still a popular act/team. They still have yearly tours all over the country playing exhibition games just like they did in the good old days of Meadowlark Lemon. Whoa, I'm old.

I saw them in Paris back in '78 or maybe '79 during a Jr. High field trip, so they must be worldwide - or at least they used to be.
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post #49 of 1159
2/21/11 at 5:37pm
I saw the GlobeTrotters (hmmm...the name must mean something here) in Nice, France in '85 and the small arena was packed to the rafters. The fire marshall must have been off duty that night. People were sitting on the steps. I remember them being on the Wide World of Sports always beating up on that pathetic Washington team. But nowadays, I don't see much publicity for them.
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post #50 of 1159
2/21/11 at 6:37pm
Last night did NOTHING to change my opinion of the Trotters team, namely that they are two dopes that certainly are NOT TAR all-stars.

I'm surprised after they were so dumb and they had to quit in their org season that people still found them likeable.

And then last night they didn't do themselves any favors in the likeability dept. Why? Because they stopped halfway through decoding the flags and admitted on the broadcast that they were going to follow the bunch of a few other teams and just get someone to give them the answer. And lucky for them, Zed and Justin, who showed up this season with Trotters shirts, were happy to oblige. Not sure how that helps the Trotters likeability that they openly admitted to quitting and resorting to asking for an answer to keep the pace rather than just suck it up and do the challenge. I know Kynt and Vixsin asked a team for clarification on the answer, but they didn't go the sea captain with the intent of asking for help. The Trotters openly said on the broadcast [watch it again if you don't believe me] that they only did half the flag stuff and then just followed everyone else with the intent of getting someone to give them the answer. And that makes them likeable??

Not to mention, the confusing part is why on Earth would Zed and Justin want to form an alliance with the Trotters? You form alliances with intelligent teams, not the physically strong teams. The Trotters proved on their season that they are stupid (and really with their World travel experience, they should have been the first to get Quantas), so they don't really have anything to add to Zed and Justin. I see that alliance as being one way only in terms of help. I don't think the Trotters are ever going to figure something out that requires brainpower/intelligence/knowledge and then be able to share that with Zed and Justin. Zed and Justin are better off becoming allies with Ronald and Christina or the Cowboys, if those teams would have them as an ally.

Loved the show in HD, but for some reason, Survivor's PQ at times seems sharper than anything I saw last night. Was it soft at times to anyone?

P.S. Oddly, and not explained, Kynt now goes by Kent.

Amazing Race 12 announcement with Kynt: http://tv.ign.com/articles/829/829815p1.html

Amazing Race 18 page on CBS with Kent: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/
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post #51 of 1159
2/21/11 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CPanther95 View Post

I saw them in Paris back in '78 or maybe '79 during a Jr. High field trip, so they must be worldwide - or at least they used to be.

August 22, 1951, the largest audience for a basketball game (exhibition of course) was the Harlem Globtrotters in the Olympic stadium in Berlin in front of 75,052 people.
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post #52 of 1159
2/22/11 at 5:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pappy97 View Post

Why? Because they stopped halfway through decoding the flags and admitted on the broadcast that they were going to follow the bunch of a few other teams and just get someone to give them the answer. And lucky for them, Zed and Justin, who showed up this season with Trotters shirts, were happy to oblige. Not sure how that helps the Trotters likeability that they openly admitted to quitting and resorting to asking for an answer to keep the pace rather than just suck it up and do the challenge. I know Kynt and Vixsin asked a team for clarification on the answer, but they didn't go the sea captain with the intent of asking for help. The Trotters openly said on the broadcast [watch it again if you don't believe me] that they only did half the flag stuff and then just followed everyone else with the intent of getting someone to give them the answer. And that makes them likeable??

Teams work together all the time. The Globetrotters rolled the dice and it worked.
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post #53 of 1159
2/22/11 at 6:06am
Picture quality looked good (not as good as say Survivor in my opinion but good).

I was stunned how bad the Cowboys did. They were such a strong team last year and this time it is like they just fell apart on that first task.
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post #54 of 1159
2/22/11 at 7:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sirjonsnow View Post

I don't know, does the younger crowd today know them? Are they making guest appearances on some modern equivalent of Gilligan's Island and Scooby Do like they did 30 years ago? Honestly, would those under 30 know about them?

My kids - early teens down to about 5 - were not aware of the Globetrotters until after they saw flight Time and Big Easy on the Amazing Race the first time around. After that race, we went to see them play. So, the marketing ploy was successful.

It was kind of funny - after the game, the players sign autographs. I'm telling the kids, "That's Curly Neal - he's a legend. You gotta get his autograph!" Their response: "Who is Curly Neal?"
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post #55 of 1159
2/22/11 at 7:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pappy97 View Post
P.S. Oddly, and not explained, Kynt now goes by Kent.

Amazing Race 12 announcement with Kynt: http://tv.ign.com/articles/829/829815p1.html

Amazing Race 18 page on CBS with Kent: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/
Yeah, I was puzzled about that too, then found out that he switched back to his legal name after his father died.

I actually missed seeing the first HD TAR episode since I completely forgot that it started on Sunday, and had to catch it on CBS's site. With the NFL done I have no reason to watch CBS--or any TV on Sundays for that matter, it becomes a Blu-Ray night for me--so TAR just slipped out of my mind.
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post #56 of 1159
2/22/11 at 8:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scowl View Post
Does this show normally have non-stop "dramatic" music during every second whenever anyone is doing anything? It really got old after ten minutes.
The soundtrack for TAR can get very annoying. Try listening to it without the picture and you can hear how dynamically compressed it is. It's as though the producers don't believe that the show is inherently interesting and so needs to be constantly hyped with overly dramatic - and loud - music cues.

That said, I usually enjoy the show, and having it (finally!!) in HD is a big plus.
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post #57 of 1159
2/22/11 at 9:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by d3193 View Post
The soundtrack for TAR can get very annoying. Try listening to it without the picture and you can hear how dynamically compressed it is.
You know I think that's what bugged me. It sounded more like a mono or stereo mix made for old televisions instead of a modern 5.1 mix. The music would be loud until someone would say something, then they'd crank the music down so you could hear the dialog, then they'd crank it back up to 11 again. Up down up down during the whole show. The "right" way to do this is keep the music level the same in the side speakers and rely on the center speaker to deliver the dialog. It did take Survivor a season or two to get this right.

For a minute or two our Fox station switched to the SD feed to run an alert. Now that audio was painfully compressed, as bad as the worst FM radio station I've ever heard. I couldn't wait until the 5.1 sound came back.
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post #58 of 1159
2/22/11 at 10:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CPanther95 View Post

I like the Globetrotters. They were one of the few teams that remained likable throughout their first race (although their end was disappointing).

As far as shamelessly promoting the Globetrotters, is that really necessary? That would be like 2 Disney World employees racing. Is there really anyone that hasn't heard of the Globetrotters?

Did I miss something? Where was this shameless promotion?


Quote:
Originally Posted by pappy97 View Post

Last night did NOTHING to change my opinion of the Trotters team, namely that they are two dopes that certainly are NOT TAR all-stars.I'm surprised after they were so dumb and they had to quit in their org season that people still found them likeable.

And then last night they didn't do themselves any favors in the likeability dept. Why? Because they stopped halfway through decoding the flags and admitted on the broadcast that they were going to follow the bunch of a few other teams and just get someone to give them the answer. And lucky for them, Zed and Justin, who showed up this season with Trotters shirts, were happy to oblige. Not sure how that helps the Trotters likeability that they openly admitted to quitting and resorting to asking for an answer to keep the pace rather than just suck it up and do the challenge. I know Kynt and Vixsin asked a team for clarification on the answer, but they didn't go the sea captain with the intent of asking for help. The Trotters openly said on the broadcast [watch it again if you don't believe me] that they only did half the flag stuff and then just followed everyone else with the intent of getting someone to give them the answer. And that makes them likeable??

Not to mention, the confusing part is why on Earth would Zed and Justin want to form an alliance with the Trotters? You form alliances with intelligent teams, not the physically strong teams. The Trotters proved on their season that they are stupid (and really with their World travel experience, they should have been the first to get Quantas), so they don't really have anything to add to Zed and Justin. I see that alliance as being one way only in terms of help. I don't think the Trotters are ever going to figure something out that requires brainpower/intelligence/knowledge and then be able to share that with Zed and Justin. Zed and Justin are better off becoming allies with Ronald and Christina or the Cowboys, if those teams would have them as an ally.

Loved the show in HD, but for some reason, Survivor's PQ at times seems sharper than anything I saw last night. Was it soft at times to anyone?

It's not an all star show. The season is being called "Unfinished Business". Or just for you pappy, "Continued Irritation" . The ultimate goal is to make it to the end first. The intermediate goal is to not finish last in the legs to avoid elimination, and finish each one as fast as possible to build up a time advantage for the next leg. However that gets done is fair game. In some cases it would make much more sense to get help than fall behind working on something when you don't need to. Much like survivor, there is a social element involved not only with other teams, but with the public they interact with as well. Interesting that you pick the cowboys as a good team to ally with, since they looked so "dumb" on the flag task . I agree that the PQ was quite soft. Even the static shots were not sharp for me.


Quote:
Originally Posted by CPanther95 View Post

Teams work together all the time. The Globetrotters rolled the dice and it worked.

Exactly. It seemed to me that the majority of the teams got help from or worked with other teams on that task.


Quote:
Originally Posted by scowl View Post

You know I think that's what bugged me. It sounded more like a mono or stereo mix made for old televisions instead of a modern 5.1 mix. The music would be loud until someone would say something, then they'd crank the music down so you could hear the dialog, then they'd crank it back up to 11 again. Up down up down during the whole show. The "right" way to do this is keep the music level the same in the side speakers and rely on the center speaker to deliver the dialog. It did take Survivor a season or two to get this right.

For a minute or two our Fox station switched to the SD feed to run an alert. Now that audio was painfully compressed, as bad as the worst FM radio station I've ever heard. I couldn't wait until the 5.1 sound came back.

Man I hate those stupid alert crawls KOIN does. If I want to see alerts I'll watch the news or check the internet. When I'm watching TV I want to see the picture and hear the sound unmolested


ron
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post #59 of 1159
2/22/11 at 10:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scowl View Post

I tuned in late. I've never seen the show since it wasn't HD until now. Naturally I was confused a few times. Why would a team tell another team what the answer to a clue is?

MeatChicken already covered most of this question, so I'll just mention that one game strategy is to help out a weak team (that you think you can beat in the final stages) so that they take up a slot and get stronger teams eliminated in the early stages.
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post #60 of 1159
2/22/11 at 11:26am
Kynt, or Kent, looks like he is much better shape this time around. It still looks like Vyxsin could kick his ass, but at least now it looks like he could put up a fight.

I have to say that HD is not kind to Vyxsin. Granted, she's not what many, if any, would consider a classic beauty, but I have an odd attraction to her. Plus, if you've seen any of her modeling pics, you'd see she has one hell of a body on her. Seeing her in HD though really makes her look bad.
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