HD and Simsub

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satuser

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I did three search attempts to find this topic and failed.

Are the HD channels simsubbed like the networks are on digital?

For example, if I were to subscribe to the HD channel(s) would I get the U.S. feed of the SuperBowl and thus the U.S. commercials?

Thanks.
 
In general, the HD channels are simsubbed.
But last year's Super Bowl was not simsubbed on the HD channel. Only the SD feed was simsubbed.
 
Odd, I did a search for "simsub superbowl" and it was very easy to find the relevant threads. For example:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=58166

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=56966

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=38390

Along with many others.

What happened last year will likely have no impact on what the service providers will do this year, so do not gauge based on 2005, 2006, 2007, etc. There will be an official superbowl simsub thread again this year once the time comes.
 
I'm w/ Rogers and they don't simsub... ever. It's rather nice. Something that makes me think twice about BEV. :o
 
They will simsub this year beacuse I finally have HD and it's just my luck....sigh. :(
 
Can someone please explain what the big deal is with simsub?

Is it really to watch American commercials? I record everything I want to watch on my DVR so I don't have to watch any commercials, so I couldn't care less if they were American or Canadian. Even once a year for the Super Bowl, I can watch all of the US commercials online the instant after they are aired.

The need to simsub just seems so obvious to me. If a Canadian broadcaster pays for the rights to a show for Canada, they have the right to show their commercials.
 
Its very easy to explain the problems with simsubs. And no, its not the commercials.

Its when they screw it up and they usually do. I hate it when they cut out too early to go to commercial.
They they cut back at the wrong time
then there's the screwed up audio problems.
AND I really really hate it when they just cut off the ending of a show.
and shameless self advertising over top of the previews for next weeks shows.

Then there's logo bug problems. AND SO ON.
 
Very good points, TomF1.
Other issues are: The same Canadian commercials repeated endlessly.
On CSI after EVERY commercial break they have a warning about violence etc. that gets very tiring after the 5th replay in the same show.
In the past the PQ has suffered, especially with global.
I LOVE watching the superbowl with the American ads in full HD widescreen on my 119" screen. Half the time the commercials are better than the game itself.
 
It's a fact that people watch the Superbowl for the commercials. I don't think I will have the guys over to watch the game in HD only to say...you have to wait so I can record it and skip the commericals..............
And of course the PQ suffers when CTV cuts in.
 
I was actually doing a broader search: I wanted to know in general whether or not subscribing to HD channels would eliminate the simsubbing, for all the reasons noted by others in this thread. Superbowl was just one example.

When I did the search for the broader topic I did it three times, three ways, and came up without anything relevant.

I am a fairly sophisticated internet searcher.

I don't mean to criticize this search engine, but I do find from time to time that you have to get just the right way of framing the question before you get hits.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful responses.
 
Well, the reality is that there is no such thing as free TV. Network TV is paid for by commercials. If a Canadian broadcaster has bought the rights to an American show, why shouldn't they be allowed to show their commercials?

It really is all about the commercials. As far as mistakes and timing, the more sim subbing there is, the better they will get at it.

One TV event a year when everyone wants to watch the commercials and because of this, everyone whines about sim subbing.

Get used to it, because it is here to stay, as regulated by the CRTC. And frankly, it is perfectly acceptable from a business perspective. But there is just no pleasing all the folks all the time.
 
I agree with Tom. It's not so much about the commercials as the screwups. (Though Superbowl fans have a good point.) First the BDU screwsup the programming by starting the simsub at the wrong time and using poor quality equipment. Then the Canadian broadcaster screwsup the program with sound and/or picture problems and cutting off portions of the programming. Then the BDU screwsup again by ending the simsub at the wrong time and using poor quality equipment. If we are really lucky, they don't simsub our favourite US network program with the wrong show at least once a week. Then there is that incredibly annoying as...I mean...announcer on CTVeeeeeeeeeeeee.

PVR owners have more issues. Recording programming on US networks is unreliable due to simsubs but recording US shows on Canadian networks is even more unreliable. Canadian networks have so many programming conflicts, they keep moving their programs to different time slots, sometimes from week to week. Some shows even get delayed for a week or more and are shown on different nights. People like me rely on their PVRs to record shows reliably so they can be viewed later. With Canadian networks, that frequently doesn't happen. :confused:
 
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