Keisha - thanks for the replies. There seem to be 2 distinct issues here in this thread 1 - people who should be seeing the HD content currently offered by Comcast via inDemand, and are not, for whatever reason. 1a - HD means 720p, 1080i/p. NOT 480p, and definitely not 480p that looks like it's coming from the 80s (fuzzy). 2 - why so little (0-2 games daily, max) of NHL Center Ice channels are available in HD. . Those of us on the forum who fall into problem #1 are rightfully upset with not being able to receive what other Comcast customers can. Same holds for #2 but there it's more an issue of being dissatisfied with what Comcast is current offering, than feeling that you are not living up to your advertised standard. From what I've been told by a representative from within the Capitals organization, and also partly relaying communication to them from the NHL, the fundamental reason why so few of the Center Ice channels are HD comes down to insufficient investment on the part of Comcast in the necessary infrastructure to receive and pass on more of the HD feeds that already exist. (Some culpability to the NHL also but there I was told that is more in the satellite TV space with the league choosing not to try to rent the needed bandwidth for more HD, possibly the satellite providers also).
I bought a proper wide aspect 1080p flat panel TV this fall (finally) and was hoping that Comcast would have improved over last year's Center Ice HD service, which I purchased. So far it appears to be exactly the same as last year, and not what I would consider adequate. I'm finding it very hard to justify spending the extra money to continue to pay for what I consider to be an inadequate programming option. As of now I have not purchased NHL Center Ice (although I did upgrade my service to a package that shows NHL Channel, both SD and HD channels - and the games there are 1080i). Right now I'm inclined to make a statement and vote with my wallet and opt out of Center Ice this season and in the future, until at the very minimum Comcast makes some demonstrable progress towards improving the NHL HD programming options, and by that I mean showing more than 1-2 Center Ice channels in HD, and by HD I mean at least a 720p feed with matching content. Not what appears to be lower res content "upconverted" to the 720p signal, as some of the Center Ice "HD" channels now appear to be doing.
I'd prefer not to take this drastic a step, but aside from some polite phone calls promising to pass the matter on to your programming people, I've seen no progress. And while I didn't really expect all of Center Ice to flip over to HD right away, I am going to have to ask for some sort of demonstrable progress. So I'm going to vote with my wallet until Comcast starts taking action to improve their NHL programming product. As soon as we see either better programming or at least some sort of statement or plan to provide this, I'll have to stay on the sidelines. I'll be more than willing to jump back in once Comcast does something tangible to improve the situation. Will be happy to pay more above and beyond the current Center Ice rate if that's what it takes to get to having more NHL HD content.
