A few months ago, we told you that CBS had finally jumped on board for filming Survivor in HD. They released the date, September 18th. Can’t wait to see this show in all its 1080i glory.
When the new season of Survivor starts shooting this summer, they will finally be doing so in HD. When the show airs early in 2009, it’ll be the first of CBS’s reality shows to be broadcast in better than 480i. Not sure why you took so long CBS but its about time.
Here are some specs….
- New “Floating Screen” compact, lightweight design- fits where others won’t
- Digital Cable Ready (DCR) with CableCARD
- Built-In Analog/Digital Tuner (NTSC/ATSC)
- Samsung Cinema Smooth 1080p Gen-6 HD
- Light Engine- Full HD 1920 x 1080p digital format converter for all inputs
- TV Guide on Screen Interactive Program Guide
- AnyNet™ System Control Solution
- Samsung’s Cinema Smooth Film Mode 3:2 Pull Down
- Purely digital HDTV connections-2 HDMI™ and 2 IEEE 1394 inputs
- AV in (RCA) 3(1 side, 2 rear), S-Video In 3 (1 side, 2 rear), RF In 2, PC in (D-Sub 15-pin) 1 Rear, PC Audio in 1 Rear
- Dimensions: 37.9″ H x 52.4″ W x 15.3″ D; Weight: 80.9 lbs
- Samsung’s Latest Generation DNIe™ Video Enhancer
Reportedly, FSN Detroit has locked up deals with the Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings to “televise nearly all their games — exhibition, regular season and playoff — for at least the next decade.” Apparently, the revised deals will enable FSN to pick up the rights to all telecasts not claimed by a national network, and we’re already told that it’ll air 152 Tigers games this season, with 103 being in high-definition.
Be warned that if you decide to engage in your own format war, you could lose quite a bit of cash. Nikkei is reporting that Toshiba’s losses on HD DVD totaled in 2007 alone: $982m USD. It won’t drive Toshiba under or anything, but you seriously have to ask yourself, was it really all worth it? Ouch.
DISH network has agreed to discuss carriage of PBS HD programming. Both sides sound like they’re open to negotiation, and congresswoman Diana DeGette has even offered use of her Washington office as a meeting location. We suspect DISH will try to accommodate PBS with its proposed 15/30/60/100-percent rollout of HD locals over a four year period. Okay, so PBS is a little thin on HD material; we always like to see HD producers and broadcasters working together to bring out more programming…. Who doesn’t want to see Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird in 720p? 
Coming in April, Deadliest Catch is returning to the Discovery Channel in HD! Woo hoo! According to the release, this year will see quite a few “injuries dominate the crab-fishing season,” and there will also be exclusive content available via the web and Discovery’s mobile portal. The action starts once more on April 15th at 9:00PM ET / PT, but viewers can get brought back up to speed by catching a two-hour “Best of Season Three” recap on April 8th at 9:00PM ET / PT.
