WBNS-DT10 NCAA MULTI-CAST PLANS

[fwillson]

All,

Please accept my apologies for the lateness in posting this. We had a pretty big distraction on March 4th called the Elections.

The plans for the 2008 March Madness Multicasting will be the same as last year.

For the early rounds, (March 20-23) will be full 4 channel SD multi-cast on OTA and Digital cable. Additionally, cable HD customers will see the game in HD on the regular channels.

For the regional rounds (March 27 & 28) we will have one HD and one SD game for all viewers. Later regional rounds (March 29 & 30) will be offered in full HD across the board.

The remainder of the tournament will be in full 1080i HD.

Many accuse us of punishing OTA and satellite viewers or being "in bed" with the cable companies on the early rounds and the additional offerings. It simply isn't true. We are able to offer both multicast SD feeds and an additional HD feeds to the cable systems due to the additional fiber feeds into their head-ends. We don't have these capabilities with satellite. Additionally, over the air only allows us the 4 SD channels. Some will write us and tell us they'd prefer to see 1 HD game. The only thing I know for sure is if we had done one for the other, the other will tell us we're doing it wrong. We can't please everyone but the regulars on this board now that we try our best.

I'm going to be pretty slammed over the next few days but I am very interested in your feedback. As always, my door is always open. If you respond, please copy me at frank.willson@10tv.com. I'll try to check back as often as I can.

We will have our main/HD game assignments up on 10tv.com throughout the tournament starting late tomorrow (we're still waiting approval on some game change requests.)

As always we GREATLY appreciate all of our viewers and we hope you enjoy the tournament.

Frank Willson
Director of Operations
WBNS-10TV

(p.s., for those that will inevitably accuse me of favoritism... I am not a basketball fan. We choose the games based on what we believe will have the most viewers... I'll be watching NASCAR :) but I will have the games on to make sure we don't botch it :))

[scottc98]

Frank,

Best news I've heard all day!!! nothing beats a OTA tuner at work :) Now I don't need to setup the slingbox at home

[Robbiee19]

Frank,

I have DirecTV, but I like how you have it set up for everyone! You have my full support. What I like is you found a way that works for everyone and you share the news with us.

Thanks

[fwillson]

Robbie,

One thing of note. Due to the way the satellite companies receive our signal, they will get the full 1080i version for the early rounds, not the multi-cast.

If you have a way to receive OTA, you can get the multi-cast as well.

[Robbiee19]

Frank,

I use the OTA for the multi-cast and D* for the HD, so I get both. Its how I did it last year. Thats why I like the set-up!

[Buckeye Nick]

Frank,

I have DirecTV and am glad you said that I will be getting one HD feed of 10TV via satellite. I was afraid we'd be stuck with one SD feed on 10TV since you were multicasting. I was thinking about getting DirecTV's Mega Madness package to supplement 10TV's coverage. Do you have any idea how the blackout rules will work for that?

[mey]

I am a Directv customer. I would rather see the games in HD but this is better than no choices at all.

[jchiso]

... nothing beats a OTA tuner at work ...

That's funny! There seems to be a big corporate push to block workers from watching games online this year. You are ahead of the curve!

[TvPat]

Frank,

I am very happy to hear that you will be sending the multicast over the air this year. I am also happy to hear that I will receiving the 1080i signal on DirecTV. With the OTA capability of my receiver, I will be able to receive all of the games, including an HD game.

I was very disappointed last year when only cable companies received the multicast. This way everyone wins.

Thanks again.

[TvPat]

Time________Teams_________________________________ ______Site___________TV____HD

Thursday,_March_20
12:20_PM____Xavier_vs._Georgia____________________ ______Washington_____10-2__10-1
12:25_PM____Kansas_vs._Portland_State_____________ ______Omaha__________10-4
12:30_PM____Michigan_State_vs._Temple_____________ ______Denver_________10-3

2:30_PM_____Marquette_vs._Kentucky________________ ______Anaheim________10-2__10-1
2:50_PM_____Purdue_vs._Baylor_____________________ ______Washington_____10-5
2:55_PM_____UNLV_vs._Kent_State___________________ ______Omaha__________10-4
3:00_PM_____Pittsburgh_vs._Oral_Roberts___________ ______Denver_________10-3

5:00_PM_____Stanford_vs._Cornell__________________ ______Anaheim________CBSC__CBSC

7:10_PM_____Duke_vs._Belmont______________________ ______Washington_____10-4
7:10_PM_____USC_vs._Kansas_State__________________ ______Omaha__________10-2__10-1
7:20_PM_____Washington_State_vs._Winthrop_________ ______Denver_________10-3
7:25_PM_____Brigham_Young_vs._Texas_A&M_________________Anaheim________10-5

9:40_PM_____West_Virginia_vs._Arizona_____________ ______Washington_____10-4
9:40_PM_____Wisconsin_vs._Cal._State_Fullerton____ ______Omaha__________10-2__10-1
9:50_PM_____Notre_Dame_vs._George_Mason___________ ______Denver_________10-3
9:55_PM_____UCLA_vs._Mississippi_Valley_State_____ ______Anaheim________10-5


Friday,_March_21
12:15_PM____Tennessee_vs._American________________ ______Birmingham_____10-3
12:25_PM____Gonzaga_vs._Davidson__________________ ______Raleigh________10-2__10-1
12:30_PM____Drake_vs._Western_Kentucky____________ ______Tampa__________10-4
12:30_PM____Miami_(Fla.)_vs._St._Mary's_(Cal.)____ ______Little_Rock____10-5

2:45_PM_____Butler_vs._South_Alabama______________ ______Birmingham_____10-2__10-1
2:55_PM_____Georgetown_vs._UMBC___________________ ______Raleigh________10-3
3:00_PM_____Connecticut_vs._San_Diego_____________ ______Tampa__________10-4
3:00_PM_____Texas_vs._Austin_Peay_________________ ______Little_Rock____10-5

7:10_PM_____Oklahoma_vs._St._Joseph's_____________ ______Birmingham_____10-5__CBSC
7:10_PM_____North_Carolina_vs._Mt._St._Mary's_____ ______Raleigh________10-2__10-1
7:20_PM_____Vanderbilt_vs._Siena__________________ ______Tampa__________10-4
7:25_PM_____Mississippi_State_vs._Oregon__________ ______Little_Rock____10-3

9:40_PM_____Louisville_vs._Boise_State____________ ______Birmingham_____10-5
9:40_PM_____Indiana_vs._Arkansas__________________ ______Raleigh________10-2__10-1
9:50_PM_____Clemson_vs._Villanova_________________ ______Tampa__________10-4
9:55_PM_____Memphis_vs._Texas-Arlington_________________Little_Rock____10-3

Saturday,_March_22
2:10_PM_____West_Virginia/Arizona_vs._Duke/Belmont______Washington

4:20_PM_____USC/Kansas_St._vs._Wisconsin/Cal_St._Full.__Omaha
4:40_PM_____Xavier/Georgia_vs._Purdue/Baylor____________Washington

6:40_PM_____Xavier/Georgia_vs._Purdue/Baylor____________Denver
6:45_PM_____Stanford/Cornell_vs._Marquette/Kentucky_____Anaheim
6:50_PM_____Kansas/Portland_State_vs._UNLV/Kent_State___Omaha

9:10_PM_____Pittsburgh/Oral_Roberts_vs._Mich._St./TempleDenver
9:15_PM_____UCLA/Miss._Valley_State_vs._BYU/Texas_A&M___Anaheim


Sunday,_March_23
12:10_PM____Vanderbilt/Siena_vs._Clemson/Villanova______Tampa

2:15_PM_____Miami/St._Mary's_vs._Texas/Austin_Peay______Little_Rock
2:30_PM_____Tennessee/American_vs._Butler/S._Alabama____Birmingham
2:40_PM_____Drake/W._Kentucky_vs._Connecticut/San_Diego_Tampa
2:50_PM_____Gonzaga/Davidson_vs._Georgetown/UMBC________Raleigh

4:45_PM_____Memphis/Texas-Arlington_vs._Miss._St./OregonLittle_Rock
5:00_PM_____Oklahoma/St._Joseph's_vs._Louisville/Boise_SBirmingham
5:20_PM_____N._Carolina/Mt._St._Mary's_vs._Indiana/ArkanRaleigh

[TvPat]

For the early rounds, (March 20-23) will be full 4 channel SD multi-cast on OTA and Digital cable. Additionally, cable HD customers will see the game in HD on the regular channels.


12:25 PM, and still no multicast over the air. I hope they fix it soon or update their web site. I may need to order Mega March Madness after all. Bummer.

[fwillson]

All... My apologies in the time it took to get back. As you can see we've got a change and I've been dealing with this the majority of the afternoon.

This one falls squarely on me. Our Engineering Department informed me that the equipment we have will force us to do HD over the air and multi-cast to cable. I apologize for the confusion.

On a different note, last year we received hundreds of upset e-mails from viewers that couldn't see HD on the OTA signal. So far today I've received 2 e-mails upset that the multi-cast wasn't OTA. Of course its still early in the tournament.

Again, I'm sorry for the confusion.

[festivus]

Yeah, I just did a rescan to find only 10.1. I'm one of the few that likes the multicast deal over the single HD deal. I like to choose which game I want to watch. Not a biggie though.

How long before we can get both?:D

[spudohio]

I certainly did not have an issue with this. I watched the 10.1 broadcast OTA with a digital tuner card in my laptop at work; the picture was beautiful, and the broadcast had several cut-ins to the other games, so I always knew what was happening.

The information you provided on this forum was great, and I for one, appreciate your honesty and candor. Thank you for all of the info.

[mey]

All... My apologies in the time it took to get back. As you can see we've got a change and I've been dealing with this the majority of the afternoon.

This one falls squarely on me. Our Engineering Department informed me that the equipment we have will force us to do HD over the air and multi-cast to cable. I apologize for the confusion.

On a different note, last year we received hundreds of upset e-mails from viewers that couldn't see HD on the OTA signal. So far today I've received 2 e-mails upset that the multi-cast wasn't OTA. Of course its still early in the tournament.

Again, I'm sorry for the confusion.



What good will it do to e-mail and complain, it won't change anything. Cable wins OTA looses, again.

[Scott]

Bummer... Off to buy DirecTV's package.

[Robbiee19]

Frank you brole my heart! I like the multi-cast!

[aaronod]

The multicast on Insight is just terrible. I can't even watch the sd feeds the quality is so bad. Each player is surrounded by a cloud of pixels.

[festivus]

Frank,

Doesn't WOSU have the bandwidth to do 3 HD feeds at once? If I remember correctly? Is it a bandwidth issue at WBNS to not be able to do one OTA HD and a couple of OTA SD feeds? Not criticizing, just wondering.

[Scott]

Frank,

Doesn't WOSU have the bandwidth to do 3 HD feeds at once? If I remember correctly? Is it a bandwidth issue at WBNS to not be able to do one OTA HD and a couple of OTA SD feeds? Not criticizing, just wondering.

If I'm not mistaken, all streams have a maximum bandwidth of 19.4 Mbits/s. WOSU does not run true 1080i on each of their sub-channels. What you are actually viewing is 4 480p channels streaming at 4.2 Mbits/s--thus the horrible PQ (during the day). I think that WBNS is the only local station in town that broadcasts 1080i at the full 19.4 Mbits/s when they are not multicasting. WOSU (obviously), WCMH, WTTE, & WSYX all divide the bandwidth into about 11 Mbits/s for the main HD feed.

[fwillson]

Scott hit the nail on the head. Additionally, programming with a lot of action, like basketball, requires a lot of bandwidth to broadcast.

[esb100]

Mr. Willson - I just called Channel 10 - they said you were out all week, but that they believe that starting this Thursday, March 27, when there are at most two games at a time, Channel 10 over the air will be broadcasting 2 games at a time OTA, on 10.1 and 10.2. Can you confirm that this is true? It would be nice for those of us who get HD only OTA. Also, if this is true will 10.1 be HD and 10.2 be SD? Thanks!

[willcail]

Well When I was turning on my DTV recevier on my EDTV around 5AM. I notice that I was receving WBNS DT 10.2. It was a blank screen with the WBNS DT 10.2 ID in the upper left hand corner. I'm guessing that there will be a simucast of tonight games. I might be worng.

I Check with my HDTV and it was picking up 10.2 as well.

[festivus]

I did a rescan and got 10.2 tonight. But I'm seeing the same game on both channels, both in SD? What's up with that? NO WVU/Xavier? Why fire up 10.2 to show the same game that is on 10.1?

Now 10.1 is in HD, but still the same WSU/UNC game on both channels.

[aaronod]

CBS did a great job of switching to 16:9. :rolleyes:

[festivus]

What a freakin' cluster coverage was/is tonight. Same games on 10.1 and 10.2 then finally after halftime we had different games. Sometimes HD on 10.1, most of the time not.

[spudohio]

I think that they don't have the capacity to multi-cast both games in HD. When 2 games are going, both games are in SD. When there is only 1 game going, the game is on 10.1 in HD.

--Well that's not the case. Just flipped back to HD. Guess they are experiencing those "technical difficulties"!!

[Maurice Clarett]

Obviously you guys are not familiar with how the multicast coverage has worked over the last 5 years. You start out with all different games, and as they go on, CBS, you know the guys in the studio. Will break into a game in say "We'll keep tabs on X vs X for you, but in the mean time check out the action out in X" and they switch game over. Its not WBNS thats doing it, this is just the way its always been. So if there is a really good game on, then you could end up see the same one on 4 channels.

[Scott]

Obviously you guys are not familiar with how the multicast coverage has worked over the last 5 years. You start out with all different games, and as they go on, CBS, you know the guys in the studio. Will break into a game in say "We'll keep tabs on X vs X for you, but in the mean time check out the action out in X" and they switch game over. Its not WBNS thats doing it, this is just the way its always been. So if there is a really good game on, then you could end up see the same one on 4 channels.

Yep. This was the first year I picked up the DirecTV package, and I must say that having the constant feed for the game I was most interested in watching was really nice.

[spudohio]

Obviously you guys are not familiar with how the multicast coverage has worked over the last 5 years. You start out with all different games, and as they go on, CBS, you know the guys in the studio. Will break into a game in say "We'll keep tabs on X vs X for you, but in the mean time check out the action out in X" and they switch game over. Its not WBNS thats doing it, this is just the way its always been. So if there is a really good game on, then you could end up see the same one on 4 channels.

I understand that they flip between games, trying to keep the best game on the primary channel. But, on Thursday night's games, the main feed on 10.1 kept flipping between HD and SD. In the middle of the game, the screen would suddenly sidebar. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for the change; it would just flip.

[jchiso]

Yep. This was the first year I picked up the DirecTV package, and I must say that having the constant feed for the game I was most interested in watching was really nice.
I have always had the DirecTV package, but I thought this year's delivery was dreadful, as there were several times last Thursday that games were blacked out by OTA coverage and then switched out without a corresponding removal of the DirecTV blackout.

I think it would be terrible if one were to order this package thinking he could see an out-of-market game in its entirety and set the game for an unattended capture for later viewing. He would instead be subjected to a series of switches, drops to SD, and intermittent blackouts.

Last night's coverage was similarly underwhelming, in that CBS chose to pull out of the Wisconsin - Davidson game after Davidson built a twelve-point lead with around eight minutes to go. They chose to switch to a four-point game between Texas and Stanford. This shows you how overmatched these network programmers are when it comes to sports: the story of the night was a ten-seeded Davidson College taking down the Big 10 champions. A competitive game between Big-12 and Pac-10 foes holds no particular interest and will likely be forgotten before next year at this time.

My hope is that by next year's tourney we truly get a "constant" constant feed on all of the channels, without blackouts, a la the NFL Sunday Ticket package.

[snodgrass23]

The Sunday Ticket has blackouts too. The biggest difference being that the local feed doesn't generally hop games if you're forced to watch it. I've thought they've done a decent job of switching the games on when the local channel changes games. They don't switch it on for short checkins, but if they really did change to a different game, it was usually available on DirecTV for me to watch.

I still think the package price is a bit high for a few games worth, but I can't stand not being able to choose which game I want to watch. Also getting it in HD is a huge benefit as well.

[jchiso]

The Sunday Ticket has blackouts too...
They dropped the blackouts last season. Hopefully they won't return. As for the tournament switching, it was better this weekend, but horrible for the afternoon games last Thursday and had some sporadic misses last Friday during the day and evening.