[baja]

IMO the sky-cam has no place in any of the HD NFL game coverage. How annoying is it when they keep switching back and forth from a beautiful HD image to that awful sky-cam PQ Either get a HD sky-cam or ban it from HD game coverage.

 

[Ken H]

This will not happen. The games are produced with analog audience in mind; they pay all of the bills.

 

[Man E]

Then they should have the common sense - and decency - to put it in a 4:3 frame and shrink it to a size that will prevent us from puking every time we see it. I LOVE the concept of the skycam and it works great on small antique systems, but it really looks pretty bad zoom/ chopped. Heck, they could put the global quardinates and vector information of the skybot in one of the pillarboxes and some other stupid stat in the other one. Only the blessed HD crowd would even see it. The way it is now, they go out of their way to make it ugly. IMO, of course

 

[Joe_R]

One of my party guests referred to it as 'blurry vision'.

None of them though it was worth wild while watching HD.

However, I too am willing to compromise if they can just frame it.

Didn't Skycam come from the XFL?

 

[Man E]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe_R Didn't Skycam come from the XFL?

No. That was boobcam

 

[Ken H]

 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=299582

 

[Karnis]

Even though it's an SD camera, I really like the sky cam & think it provides the most interesting shot of the evening...it really gives a great look of the QBs perspective of the field.

 

[David F]

I like the skycam too, even though the PQ on it is lousy. But the perspective on the field is really interesting and unique.

 

[AnthonyB]

Aside from the fact that Visa sponsors it and that Roone Arledge is probably the innovator of the idea, this, along with several of his other ideas are probably not goint to disappear anytime soon. What you would have better luck complaining about is all the SD cameras on the sideline.

 

[tluxon]

Another vote FOR the skycam. They don't use it much and it does give a perspective that can't be matched by any other camera.


Cheers,

 

[Karnis]

....although I'm waiting for the first time the ball hits one of the support wires!

 

[CycloneGT]

I'm with Karnis, I can't wait for it to interfer with a play. Oh, I don't mind it. The smudgy vision is a little lame. Hopefully it will get framed or upverted or something later on.

 

[tREN]

Im okay with the skycam. I just wish they would use it less considering the quality is so poor (getting better, granted). I really dont need an overhead shot of teams in huddles, or lining up for that matter.

 

[alpha21]

I have no prob with it

It's better than most of the SD on D*

So it's alittle grainy


No way they should do away with it, it helps on replays, you get a better view of the holes and slant routes


ESPN does a better job of using it than ABC (not talking about PQ)

 

[Plasma George]

...but the skycam does nothing for me.

It's piss poor quality, and makes me dizzy watching it sway around.

Show me the LOS cam in HDbeauty, with both teams in the huddle, and let it role from there.

Quit all the graghics, close-ups of coaches, and get back before the snap.


It's like being there, but they're not letting us watch the damn game.!

 

[Knative]

I like the skycam. Yeah, the PQ detracts from the HD. But it does give a unique view of the field. And since it probably looks fine to the SD only folks why not expend the energy on letting VISA know that you'd prefer their skycam to be HD instead of SD? "That HD VISA skycam really lets me feel like I'm on the field" would go over much better than complaining to a forum of mostly like-minded individuals. The wireless technology exists, it was used at the US Open. Let's get VISA to upgrade it to HD.

 

[hpierce]

I HATE the skycam. It should be out of all the coverage, HD, ED or SD! I lose all my depth perception when its on and get nothing but sick from it.

 

[Mark Vidonic]

The Skycam was not a Roone Arledge idea. The first use of it was for the 1984 Orange Bowl on NBC. The company who invented it has a web page:
http://www.cfinflight.com/pages/cfiMain.asp

I think they are from the Philly area, I remember they did the testing for this at Veterans Stadium. I'm not a big fan of the resolution right now, but I love the perspective. The unit used to carry a full-sized handheld (normal SD quality), but I guess using a smaller CCU allows it to travel faster. I was told by a few guys on the ESPN Sunday Night crew that as long as the camera is behind the play, due to the angles involved, the cables will never have a chance of getting hit. It's the NFL. If they had any fear of it interfering, it'd never be there. By the same token, we all need to remember, too. If you can say, for example, there might be a million of us watching in HD, there might be 20 million or so watching in SD. Like it or not, they are not going to cut their show to make all of us HD folks happy. I frankly would miss super-slo replays, even if they are upconverts for now (which probably won't be by next season).

 

[XFactor]

A 4:3 skycam would be much worse. I would find the different aspect ratio to be far more distracting than the poor image quality.

 

[edv]

I sent an Email to skycam this morning and within an hour I had a response that should please most of us.


-----Original Message-----

Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 8:00 AM

To: [email protected]

Subject: Skycam in High Definition




Do you plan to introduce a High Definition version of the Skycam. If so, when can we expect to see it in action.


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


Dear Ed,




I am very proud to say that the Skycam HD system debuted on air this past Sunday for the Tennessee/Oakland NFL match up on ESPN.


We expect by mid-season to bring the second HD system to Monday Night Football. We currently air that broadcast in SD.


Sincerely,



Roland R. Thompson


President, CF InFlight


[email protected]

www.skycam.tv