Today's Gazette
Canadiens fans give HDTV's debut the first star
ROBERTO ROCHA, The Gazette
Published: Friday, October 05 2007The Montreal Canadiens went high-definition last night as sports channel RDS launched its new HD channel in time for the season opener.
The move into high definition has long teased hockey fans, who have been clamouring for Habs games on a wide screen with a picture so sharp, one can follow the puck's every move.
While RDS is a bit late to the HD game - games of other sports teams have been available in high-definition for years - the station had been waiting for a critical mass of HDTV owners to launch the service.
"Sports is the best event for HD," said Daniel Bienvenue, manager of engineering and operations at RDS, part of CTVglobemedia.
"But the real number of viewers was not there yet. We thought this year would be the right time."
Patrons at the Cage aux Sports restaurant immediately noticed the change in picture quality.
It made Habs fan Kevin Lacoste consider getting his own HD kit.
"It's a lot clearer right off the bat," he said between periods last night. "The colour is so much better. It's like being in the theatre."
Joseph Abdulezer, a Dawson College student, called it "the god of all TV."
"Even in HD, the other sports channels are terrible. In French, you really feel they're passionate about it.
"I've been waiting for this day for two years."
Retailers and broadcasters are giddy about having Canadiens games broadcast in HD, hoping that a fuller sports offering will push more Quebecers to buy HD television equipment.
According to Convergence Consulting, a Toronto research group, only 12 per cent of Canadian homes that pay for TV service will be equipped to receive HD programming by the end of the year - that is, they will have an HD television set and the necessary set-top receiver.
The numbers are lower for Quebec, but Convergence wasn't able to say immediately how much lower.
In the U.S., almost 21 per cent of homes that pay for TV will be HD-ready by year's end, a difference that Convergence Consulting ascribes to lower prices and more HD content south of the border.
"The competition between satellite and cable providers in the U.S. is far more robust than here," Convergence's Brahm Eiley said. "They've been more aggressive with promotions. Some distributors offer personal video recorders for free with a subscription."
And the number of HD channels far outstrips Canadian ones.
DirecTV, the largest satellite operation in the U.S., offers almost 100 HD channels. Bell ExpressVu, the Canadian leader, has 58 channels, some of them pay-per-view. Of those, just 13 are in French, which dampens the demand in Quebec.
Vidéotron offers 25 HD channels, and expects to add 10 new ones next year. The cable company says that before its customers can take on more HD, they first have to catch up with the technology. Of its 1.6 million TV customers, most have the outdated analog service. To watch HD, you first need a digital signal.
"So our first challenge will be to upgrade all these people to digital," said Isabelle Dessureault, a spokesperson for Vidéotron.
Bell also has hopes that RDS will push people to spend more on TV, and timed a series of promotional stunts to show the advantages of HD accordingly.
