Hockey has never been a television friendly sport, and its dismal TV ratings prove the NHL has a long way to go. Most fans will agree that seeing a NHL game live doesn’t even come close to watching a game on TV. However, the increasing amount of HDTVs in people’s homes could increase the NHL’s TV viewership. In fact, high def technology is going to benefit hockey more than any other sport.

Hockey is just to fast a sport for standard def video. For example, I was watching a game on standard def recently where a player took a slap shot and hit the post. Even, when the network replayed the shot in slow motion, I still could not see the puck hit the post. Any casual fan would get frustrated with the quality and change the channel.

Slap shots can reach over 100 mph. A 1080p HD feed will double the frame rate and increase the resolution of the puck four times if interlacing is taken into account. Also, the shape of a rink is perfect for a widescreen TV. The pictures below are a good example of how much clearer and sharper HD video is over SD video.

Watching a hockey game in SD is almost unbearable after watching a game in HD. The Stanley Cup finals are on VS, which are carrying a HD feed on VSGLF HD. The problem is barely anyone gets VSGLF HD, so everyone is stuck watching the game in SD. The NHL should be smart enough to realize the importance of showing the Stanley Cup finals in HD on an easily assessable channel. Until then, the NHL’s TV ratings will continue to suffer.

H D		HD vs. SD Examples: Winter Olympics Speed Skating: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3, Ex4, Ex5 Figure Skating: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3 Downhill: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3, Ex4 Ice Hockey: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3, Ex4 Football Super Bowl XL: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3, Ex4, Ex5 Monday Night: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3 USC vs. Texas: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3, Ex4 Popular Shows Lost: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3 American Idol: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3, Ex4, Ex5 Grey’s Anatomy: Ex1, Ex2, Ex3, Ex4, Ex5
S D

This is another home theater setup I wish I could afford. Forza 2 allows for split screen so I’m guessing this guy has 3 Xbox 360s. The picture is from Gizmodo’s website.

Kingwin SN-213HTS Supernova Silver Desktop
Price Comparison	System Board Style: Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) LCD disply system monitoring System volume adjustment switch knob 3.5″ internal bays = 3 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 2 3.5″ externally accessible bays = 1

ThermalTake Bach Media Lab Black Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) LCD disply system monitoring 3.5″ internal bays = 5 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 3

Zalman HD160XT-B Black Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2), memory card reader Touch Screen LCD disply System volume adjustment switch knob 3.5″ internal bays = 5 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 1

Antec NSK2400 Silver Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) 3.5″ internal bays = 2 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 2

SilverStone SSTLC17S
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x1), memory card reader 3.5″ internal bays = 6 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 2 3.5″ externally accessible bays = 1

Antec FUSION Silver Media Center Case
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) LCD disply system monitoring 3.5″ internal bays = 2 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 1

ThermalTake Tenor Black Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) LCD disply system monitoring (optional add-on) 3.5″ internal bays = 3 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 3 3.5″ externally accessible bays = 2

Origen AE X15e Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2), memory card reader Touch Screen LCD disply System volume adjustment switch knob 3.5″ internal bays = 5 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 1

SilverStone LC10 Silver Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x1), memory card reader 3.5″ internal bays = 4 5.25″ internal bays = 1 3.5″ externally accessible bays = 1

ThermalTake Mozart Media Lab Black/White Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x1), memory card reader LCD disply system monitoring 3.5″ internal bays = 5 5.25″ externally accessible bays = 3

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Similar Models at

Panasonic 32″ TC–32LX700	Samsung 32″ LN–T3242H	Sony 40″ KDL40XBR3	Toshiba 26″ 26HL67

Similar Models at

Samsung 46″ LNT4665F	Sony 46″ KDL–46V2500	Sharp 42″ LC–42D62U	Toshiba 37″ 37HL67

Our 2008 - The Year Internet TV Became Mainstream post was on Slashdot a few days go, and is also the first topic discussed in Slashdot review news.

Link to the podcast
Link to the Slashdot post