Friday, January 11, 2008

What Americans are missing out on....

Hold on, Rob's getting ready to go on a rant...

Question: Who made $25 Billion (US) last year, and is keeping over 24 million Americans from watching Torchwood the way it was filmed?

Answer: Comcast, America's largest cable provider, that's who.

If you have Comcast, and many of us do, you won't be able to see Torchwood in HD, because Comcast refuses to carry HDNet, everywhere in the US except for some odd reason, Houston, Texas.

Not to knock BBC America, they're truly awesome, but they are not as of yet a High Definition broadcaster, so not only do they edit Torchwood for language, but they also have to chop down the actual audio and video quality as well as aspect ratio to be compatible with the Standard Definition (NTSC) televisions in the United States... Bottom line, folks with Comcast aren't just missing all of the picture, but all of the quality and sound as well.

HDNet provides Torchwood in HD to both the US and Canada, and will reportedly begin showing Series 2 in all its 1080i, 5.1 Surround Sound glory on February 11th.

If you have Comcast, join me in contacting them and demanding HDNet on your cable dial.

OK I'm off my soapbox now... :)

8 comments:

MissK said...

As a houstonian - I might add that you have to pay extra to get the HDnet channel- so jack up the numbers on who can't see it. Only a small portion of subscribers can.

Anonymous said...

Actually, if I'm not mistaken (which I very well could be), I believe HDNet comes standard with expanded basic cable from Verizon Fios, which is what I have. At least I'm hoping so, because I'd much rather watch the 'real' episodes than the hacked up ones.

Unknown said...

Let us not forget the giant that is Cablevision (Long Island, TriState NY region).
They do not offer BBC America, or HDNet. So, I have to either wait for the DVD release, or "find" the show some other way.

Anonymous said...

@missk -- HDNet is a quasi-premium channel, which is why they run something like Torchwood without commercial breaks. I also pay extra for it ($5 a month for both HDNets plus another HD channel) but I think it's worth it. I do think it's totally reasonable to demand cable companies to make HDNet available, and for a reasonable price, but expecting it to be added without any extra charge is probably not in the cards for most of us.

Anonymous said...

Heh, it isn't that big a deal. Most people don't have TVs capable of taking advantage of the HD picture anyway. I think there are too many complaints! What about being grateful for being able to see the show in the first place?

Anonymous said...

I'll take the HDNet showing of Torchwood over BBCA any day since they show it uncut and uninterrupted. With DirectTV, HD is an added charge as well (due most likely to all the new high-def channels being added on). Anyway, it is definitely worth it and I don't get why Comcast won't carry them.

Anonymous said...

As a former Houston resident, I think I can at least answer the "why Houston?" part of this. Comcast took over the cable contract for the city early last year, and, IIRC, in doing so they had to promise to keep all of the networks Warner had plus improve the service. Since Warner already had HDNet, they got to keep it.

As it is, my roommate won't spring for half the cost with Warner, so I'm stuck with BBCA...and other means...for my Torchwood viewing anyway.

Anonymous said...

I have HDNet as part of my Time Warner HD Extra package. It's not much extra per month and is proving to be worth it because, apart from showing Torchwood (which looks awesome in HD), HDNet is starting to show some decent movies and also broadcasts NASA launches live in HD. Once you'd had HD, regular TV just isn't as satisfying. I only wish that HDNet could get a deal on Dr Who as well.