looking to compare MLB EI

[giantsox]

I currently have the EI package (with HD) with Direct TV and love it. I have a friend who is about to make the jump to the HD world by purchasing an LCD and adding the baseball package with Comcast cable here in San Francisco. I suspect that the EI package that Comcast offers is inferior to what I have, but have not been able to find many details on the Comcast website.

Does anyone here know a good source where I can compare the two? I know where to find the Direct TV schedule for MLB which shows everything (channel #'s , HD and non HD). I just in the dark about Comcast's offerings when it comes to EI and specifically EI in HD.

[tonyd79]

I do believe that Comcast has no HD for EI.

Also, Comcast does not do home and away feeds of games as does DirecTV.

A quick example from my Comcast in Maryland. There will be 8 standard definition games on tonight.

DirecTV will have 15 games, 12 of them available in HD with something like 27 SD broadcasts and 16 HD broadcasts.

Both are subject to local blackouts, of course.

DirecTV blows Comcast away on EI.

[giantsox]

wow! That is a major difference. I wonder if comasts SD feed of the EI package looks as bad as Direct TV does? I think the main reason my friend is getting the new TV is that he thinks that he'll be watching baseball in HD. I think that a good number people who have made the jump to an HD television come to find that SD programming can be very underwhelming. I think the TV he has purchased is fairly large also (46" - 52").

I'm also not sure if his apartment building allows Direct TV, eeks?

[Buster1022]

I have Extra Innings on Cable and they offer OTA feeds for a few teams that Direc TV does not. They offer WPIX for the Mets, KTVD for the Rockies, and WKYC for the Indians. I don't have an hd tv so Cox cable here in Phoenix not offering any games in HD doesn't bother me.

[golfnut-n-nh]

I currently have the EI package (with HD) with Direct TV and love it. I have a friend who is about to make the jump to the HD world by purchasing an LCD and adding the baseball package with Comcast cable here in San Francisco. I suspect that the EI package that Comcast offers is inferior to what I have, but have not been able to find many details on the Comcast website.

Does anyone here know a good source where I can compare the two? I know where to find the Direct TV schedule for MLB which shows everything (channel #'s , HD and non HD). I just in the dark about Comcast's offerings when it comes to EI and specifically EI in HD.

This might give you what you are looking for:

http://www.indemand.com/sports/mlb/

[bwaldron]

wow! That is a major difference. I wonder if comasts SD feed of the EI package looks as bad as Direct TV does? I think the main reason my friend is getting the new TV is that he thinks that he'll be watching baseball in HD. I think that a good number people who have made the jump to an HD television come to find that SD programming can be very underwhelming. I think the TV he has purchased is fairly large also (46" - 52").

Tony gave you a good summary above. For (out-of-market) HD baseball, DirecTV is the only choice IMHO.

As to PQ on the SD games...it will vary by provider and how much bandwidth they allocate to the games. Some definitely have better SD quality than DirecTV currently does.

[Paul Secic]

wow! That is a major difference. I wonder if comasts SD feed of the EI package looks as bad as Direct TV does? I think the main reason my friend is getting the new TV is that he thinks that he'll be watching baseball in HD. I think that a good number people who have made the jump to an HD television come to find that SD programming can be very underwhelming. I think the TV he has purchased is fairly large also (46" - 52").

I'm also not sure if his apartment building allows Direct TV, eeks?

Comcast has less HD channels than Dish, they count VOD as HD. A friend has Comcast & HD in Livermore. She just has 25 HD channels.

[giantsox]

This might give you what you are looking for:

http://www.indemand.com/sports/mlb/

Thanks for all the helpful responses. This link shows what appears to the the daily schedule for the Cable EI offering. Then there's is a pdf link in there for the HD schedule. On that schedule, it appears that there might be 1-3 games in HD per day on a channel called "GAMEHD".:confused: Is GAMEHD a channel that HD cable subscribers get. Here's the way it reads for today's schedule. They list what appears to be 2 HD games today.


Wed, 5/7/2008 15:10 NY Mets LA Dodgers GAME9 FSPRIME SAP AVAILABLE - Available in HD on GAMEHD
Wed, 5/7/2008 21:40 Philadelphia Arizona GAME8 FSAZ SAP AVAILABLE - Available in HD on GAMEHD

[tonyd79]

Thanks for all the helpful responses. This link shows what appears to the the daily schedule for the Cable EI offering. Then there's is a pdf link in there for the HD schedule. On that schedule, it appears that there might be 1-3 games in HD per day on a channel called "GAMEHD".:confused: Is GAMEHD a channel that HD cable subscribers get. Here's the way it reads for today's schedule. They list what appears to be 2 HD games today.


Wed, 5/7/2008 15:10 NY Mets LA Dodgers GAME9 FSPRIME SAP AVAILABLE - Available in HD on GAMEHD
Wed, 5/7/2008 21:40 Philadelphia Arizona GAME8 FSAZ SAP AVAILABLE - Available in HD on GAMEHD

They may or may not.

Comcast is not carrying the HD games here and I am pretty sure not nationally either.

BTW, that site was inaccurate for my system. I cross-checked it. It showed games that were not on locally on Comcast.

[giantsox]

They may or may not.

Comcast is not carrying the HD games here and I am pretty sure not nationally either.

BTW, that site was inaccurate for my system. I cross-checked it. It showed games that were not on locally on Comcast.

Maybe what that site shows is the best case scenario for 10 lucky EI cable subscibers somewhere in the US on a given day. Oh well, I guess I'm extra loving the DirectTV EI package now more than I ever was. I think they showed 10-12 games in HD yesterday, and thats not counting the home vs away feeds.

I guess I also never realized how well that information is presented on DirectTV's website compared to the Comcast site. Thanks again peeps!

[tonyd79]

Comcast's website is a mess. But to be fair, DirecTV has a single footprint across the country while Comcast doesn't have the same footprint sometimes within 10 miles. By its nature, cable is a hit and miss proposition and because Comcast built most of its system by buying up smaller systems, it is a much bigger mess.

As for EI, it is a product that is actually delivered to cable systems via a third party (In Demand). What In Demand has is not necessarily all getting through to the end customer for various reasons ranging from the technical (bandwidth) to the absurd (stupidity).

[BigSey]

I have a buddy here in Seattle with Comcast and he's lucky to get one HD game a night and no dual feeds. I almost hate to talk about the package that we have with D* because it is so much better.

[bwaldron]

Maybe what that site shows is the best case scenario for 10 lucky EI cable subscibers somewhere in the US on a given day.

That is a good way of putting it. :)

[n3ntj]

DirecTV blows Comcast away on EI.

...and on just about everything else.