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

]]> http://www.myhtn.com/the-stanley-cup-finals-in-sd-what-is-the-nhl-thinking/feed/ 3 http://www.myhtn.com/dream-setup-for-every-forza-2-racing-fan/ http://www.myhtn.com/dream-setup-for-every-forza-2-racing-fan/#comments Wed, 30 May 2007 01:39:05 +0000 matto http://www.yourhtn.com/2007/05/29/dream-setup-for-every-forza-2-racing-fan/

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.

• 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

Find more HTPC cases

HTPC Systems

HTPC Components

HDTV Capture Cards

HTPC Software

• Custom configurable
• PC Dynamix MP945-VXR Mini Case
• Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 Dual Core 1.66 GHz Processor
• 1GB Dual Channel PC2-5300 DDR2-667 RAM
• Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Graphics
• 100GB SerialATA150 7200RPM 8MB Cache
• Microsoft Windows VISTA Home Premium
• Integrated AC’97 SoundBlaster Compliant 6-Channel Audio
• 8X Dual Layer Multiformat DVD Writer w/Lightscribe
• Logitech Deluxe 650 Cordless Desktop
• Acer AL1917WAbd 19″ Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Display
• USB 2.0 (x4)
• Gigabit Ethernet

Price Comparison ]]> http://www.myhtn.com/pc-dynamix-mini-desktop/feed/ 1 http://www.myhtn.com/apples-mac-mini/ http://www.myhtn.com/apples-mac-mini/#comments Tue, 29 May 2007 03:51:45 +0000 mrHTN http://www.yourhtn.com/2007/05/28/apples-mac-mini/

Price Comparison

• 1.66GHz or 1.83 Intel Core Duo processor
• 2MB on-chip L2 cache
• 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on two SO-DIMMs; supports up to 2GB
• Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
• 60GB or 80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive; optional 120GB or 160GB drive
• Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger (includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools)
• Built-in 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme wireless networking (802.11g)
• Built-in Bluetooth 2.0
• Slot-loading Drive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Ports:
  • DVI-I
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • USB 2.0 (x4)
  • Firewire
  • Optical digital audio input/audio line in
  • Optical digital audio output/headphone out

Price Comparison

• 720p display
• Inputs:
  • HDMI (x3)
  • Component (x2)
  • VGA
  • S–Video (x2)
  • Composite (x2)
  • RF Coaxial (x2)
  • Analog Audio (x2)
  • USB v2.0
• Digital audio optical outputt
• Composite video output
• 8000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
• 8ms response time
• 178° Vertical, 178° Horizontal Viewing Angles
• Brightness level of 550nit

Similar Models at

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

Price Comparison

• 1080p display
• Inputs:
  • HDMI (x2)
  • Component (x3)
  • DVI
  • S–Video (x3)
  • Composite (x2)
  • RF Coaxial (x2)
  • Analog Audio (x3)
  • IEEE 1394 (1 in / 1 out)
  • CableCARD
• Digital audio coaxial outputt
• Composite video output
• Digital signal processing system includes Plush1080p for deinterlacing
  and upconversion to 1080p
• 4D Video Noise Reduction for
  smooth yet detailed images
• Tru1080pâ„¢ for processing the HDTV signals in their native format.

Similar Models at

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

Link to the podcast
Link to the Slashdot post