GEOFFREY MORRISON BLOG

The Bus and the Stones

Geoffrey Morrison  |  Feb 7, 2006

Am I the only one who saw similarities between Jerome Bettis and The Rolling Stones? How often do you see 34-year-old running backs, whose job it is to get hit on every play? By the same line, how often do you see 60+ year-old rock stars? Granted, I think Keith Richards has been dead since the 80s, and I think it’s debatable if Charlie Watts was ever alive, but still. Forty-two years and still going strong, that’s 15 years longer than most famous rock stars are alive.

I thought it was a pretty good game, and I was impressed with the amount of commercials in HD. Well, can I be impressed and disappointed at the same time? I was happy that there were so many, but still disappointed that there were so few.

This was also one of the first football games that I can remember where they didn’t cut to an SD camera for something. Did I miss one, or was the whole game in HD? If so, kudos to ABC for finally getting it right.

I’ve been talking with a few people that felt that the wide shots of the field, from up near the cheap seats, were noticeably less detailed than the close-ups. Did anyone else notice that?

COMMENTS
Mike Sellers's picture
Submitted by Mike Sellers (not verified) on February 13, 2006 - 1:01pm

All the cameras for the Superbowl were HD. I read an article in one of the trade magazines, possibly TV Technology, about ABC's effort to make this the first Superbowl in which every part of the game would originate from an HD source, rather than mixing HD with upconverted SD sources. This means that all the cameras (wireless, super slo-mo, etc.) and all the graphics began as HD. In the past the graphics had been upconverted, along with some of the cameras. Unfortunately I don't have an HD set, but I still noticed a better picture, even in SD. The logo on the monitor in the broadcast booth, just behind John Madden is a great example. It popped, even on my SD screen, because it began as an HD signal, displayed on an HD monitor, and shot with an HD camera, preserving its detail to my set, instead of losing resolution with each step. Between this and the Olympics, my WIFE is practically jonesin' to buy an HD set. The only thing I'm waiting for is SED, but I'm not sure I can wait another year!

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