GAMING
Compression Conundrum: MLB.tv Almost There, But Not Quite
Posted by Seth in GAMING, GENERAL, INTERNET on 06-21-10 No Comments
Last week, Blum and I had a little debate over the usefulness of sports broadcast packages delivered via gaming consoles after ESPN announced a partnership with Microsoft to stream ESPN3 content via the Xbox 360.
I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but one of the concerns I voiced turned out to be well-founded.
Over the weekend, Major League Baseball ran a free preview of its MLB.tv package via the PlayStation 3. It was the first chance I’ve had to check out live streaming content over a gaming console, and while I still think this method of content delivery has some promise, there are definite drawbacks to it as well.
The MLB.tv package definitely delivers an HD picture, but something about the image quality wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it, but it just didn’t look as good as a true HD TV feed. Blum tells me that what I was noticing was the difference in the amount of signal compression between the feed delivered via the Web and the one delivered through my DirecTV dish. It was still a nice, bright image, and definitely watchable, but just not at the full clarity I’m used to.
On another note, I do think the package had better interactive features than Blum gave it credit for. You can rewind a game to any point, and as you’re rewinding, the line score pops up on the screen and it highlights what inning it is. So on Sunday, I missed the Pirates’ two-run rally in the eighth inning that led to their 5-3 win against Cleveland. I rewound the game until the bottom of the eighth was lit up in the line score and was able to stop it right there and watch what I wanted. There’s also an archive, so you can go back and watch games you missed, which is a nice perk. And that rewind function lets you sift through all those games and quickly find the action you’re looking for. One thing I didn’t see was a box score/stats display. That would be extremely useful.
Overall, I was fairly impressed, though I think the compression issue is something these packages will need to solve in order for them to really gain traction.
Considering ESPN3 On The Xbox
Posted by Jonathan in GAMING, INTERNET, TELEVISION on 06-15-10 2 Comments
My heavens, some actual news out of a trade show. Shocker!
Yesterday, sports powerhouse ESPN announced, at the E3 video game confab in LA, that it will enter into a two-year, exclusive deal with Microsoft to stream ESPN3 — formerly ESPN360 — over the Xbox 360 via its premium subscription service. The move answers Sony’s similar hookup with Major League Baseball that streams its live Web service via the PlayStation 3.
Let us step back and behold the stories here:
- We see, yet again, the raw power for sports to command premium subscription dollars in the otherwise barren content wasteland that is the Web. Sports deals, even bad ones (more on that in a sec) now force the hand of even the world’s bad-ass video game box makers. I can’t wait for, say, the NFL to take its content to Apple with an iTunes deal. The fact is that as the great Web 3.0 shakeout continues, sports will clearly not only be a survivor, it will be a winner.
- How crappy a deal is this Microsoft? I will have to double check it when I actually see the service, but from here, all Microsoft is getting is the ESPN3 streaming service that’s already available via the Web. The only plus is that it’ll be on Microsoft’s platform and not a on a competitor’s. Think about that: Microsoft is paying for the mere right to reshow ESPN content on a gaming platform. It is getting nothing unique. Whooa!
- Can Microsoft make good on its promise of adding unique interactive experiences to sports? The real shocker in sports tech is how lame Sony’s efforts have been to add content to the MLB material available on the PS3. Sure it’s cool to get games on a gaming box, but I’ve been underwhelmed at what those games are like, given that the PS3 is one of the most advanced pieces of computer hardware on the market. Can Microsoft bring down the digital Berlin Wall that separates traditional linear sports and its interactive cousins? Or will the two domains remain as separated as ever?
However this breaks, the next 18 months on the Xbox and PS3 will be some of the most interesting in sports technology. In many ways, we are getting a critical early glimpse at what the next era in sports will actually be.
Stay tuned. Or rather stay plugged in.
The NFL Draft Gets Radio City: The NBA Lottery Gets Ping Pong Balls
Posted by Jonathan in GAMING on 05-18-10 No Comments
Excuse me for pointing out the obvious, but …
Can’t David Stern and the NBA do any better than dumb ole ping pong balls to decide the fate of the league’s crap franchises?
Tonight, in Secaucus, NJ, behind closed doors, the league sets up a lottery machine with balls for the 14 teams who did not make the playoffs. These balls are supposed to weight the chances so the worst team gets the highest chance of picking first. But nobody outside the room sees anything; so who knows for sure. The mystery is meant to keep crap teams playing hard till the end of the regular schedule. And the ping balls are actually considered high tech by the NBA. Before that it used coin flips. No kidding.
Obviously, there are other choices for generating truly random results. The number generator on lottery.com is better than balls. And even dice does a better job for a real random number. Or better yet, go to Random.org and learn about the dozens of real ways to make a truly unique pick.
But such is the state of the National Basketball Association that blowing balls is the best they can do. Jackie Moon himself couldn’t make this stuff up.
CFL Fantasy Football!?!
Posted by Dan in GAMING, INTERNET on 04-13-10 No Comments
For those fantasy sports geeks north of the border it looks like your prayers have finally been answered. Someone has gone and started up a CFL fantasy football league and if you got to www.fantaseh.ca you too can get in on the action. Tee site is tentatively scheduled to launch on May first and the site creators are pretty gung-ho about it:
“We at Fantas-Eh Football have created the ultimate Fantasy football experience for you, the loyal CFL football fan. If you enjoy watching CFL football, this is your chance to take this exciting game to the next level. You can now draft individual players and build the team you’ve always dreamed of. Using our state of the art web application, you can now create a league with up to eight teams and engage in head to head competition!”
Unfortunately the site is not free and each league will cost you $79.99, but if you sign up before June 1st you can get in for $59.99.
NBA JAM is coming back for the Wii
Posted by Dan in GAMING on 03-31-10 No Comments
A little while ago we told you about how childhood football video game favorite Tecmo Bowl was being dusted off and redone now comes word that NBA Jam is back as well. I can just hear it now “YOU’RE ON FIRE!!!” will once again be chanted all across the country as large headed video game versions of your favorite NBA stars compete in a frantic game of Two- on-Two hoops. No word on when it is actually coming out but details about the game and why it is coming back can be found here.
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Episode 48 — “Spain’s Putting HGH In The Water”
Dan makes it back from the beach alive, so we break down the cutting edge in NFL Preseason analysis: Old school print mags. Blum is agog at the Triple Crown winner in auto racing. Dan talks up the X-Games. And we wonder what drug is in the water in Span. They’re winning everything, everywhere. (24.1 MB. [...]
Episode 47 — “Lance is Gettin’ Screwed”
Dan takes a much needed vacation poolside so Blum flies solo this week. Seth The Technihilist calls in with the latest scoop on tech tools to keep his Pirates awful. Blum plays the Old Course, on Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, that is. And we throw a techno-bone to Lance: There’s no way he doped [...]
Episode 46 – “Show Em Your Big Fly Stick”
Dan and Blum give it up to King George Steinbrenner. then Blum breaks down some big bats for big home runs. And Dan gives us the skinny on EA’s NCAA Football 11. And finally what a royal jerk Lebron really is. (7/15/2010. 29.1 minutes)
Episode 45 – “They’re All Takin’ Drugs”
Dan, Blum, and Seth wonder out loud what the world needs with Sirius’ new all fantasy sports channel. Dan gets sucked into the Back to the Future vibe and brings us sports technology in 2015. Blum sees an All-Star conspiracy in Kevin Youkilis not getting on the All-Star team. And with Floyd Landis spilling his [...]
Episode 44 – “The age of free stuff is over”
Can Sports Illustrated save themselves with a fancy iPad app? Plus: Why high school can’t afford to protect their football players with modern helmets, a look at what FIFA could do with goal-line technology, and Jonathan found some “interesting” items at the Outdoor Retailer Show. [7/1/2010, 30:29m]
Episode 43 – “This is the geek’s delight”
Seth, the tech nihlist, thinks 3D television is just going to be a rich guy’s thing and has a long way to go. Plus: Jonathan philosophizes on technology and the ever-changing sports medium, Dan got to play with the Xbox Kinect and wants to have its baby, and a little airplane tech from the Red [...]
Episode 42 – “We make the invisible visible”
TSC brings in Ron Imbriale from Flexxcoach to discuss their innovative software/video solution for regular athletes. Plus: The inflatable motorcycle crash suit, a discussion of Abby Sunderland’s failed around the world sailing trip, and we look at what ESPN on the Xbox really means for sports fans. [6/16/2010, 31:32m]
Episode 41 – “I was detained, I was almost ejected”
Jonathan recounts his story of trying to take pictures at Yankee stadium. Plus: Seth, the Tech Nihlist, joins us to discuss the NCAA’s rules on texting and other technology, Jonathan’s ideas on how to do instant replay in baseball, and Dan tells us where and how to watch the World Cup on any device. [6/9/10, [...]
Episode 40 – “This sounds geeky and it is geeky but it’s important”
Jonathan was in his watchtower surveying the TVs of tomorrow and reports back on what we can expect in our homes and stadiums in a few years. Plus: Our feelings about The Danikapolis 500, the controversy surrounding the Adidas World Cup ball, and we take a quick look at Lacrosse equipment technology. [6/2/2010, 27:05m]
Episode 39 – “If you don’t like the game, drop your nachos on it”
The new Madison Square Garden is coming, complete with… skybridges? Plus: What Google TV could mean for sports fans, what kind of gear does it take to climb Mt. Everest (hint: it’s a lot), and why the PGA has their heads up their you-know-what when it comes to allowing new technology in golf. [5/26/2010, 29:42m]
