I guess I made out like a bandit... just got Comcast a few weeks ago for $21.99 per month and that includes the Mountain, Versus, CSTV and Fox sports. What's up with many of you having to pay top dollar for these?

It may just be a location by location deal.

I'm in kind of an unfortunate situation in this respect. I just moved to Texas, where there is absolutely no way to get the mtn., despite the presence of TCU and all. But I was wondering if there wouldn't be a way for someone with the mtn. to set up a server and stream it online? Even if it were lower quality to save bandwidth, it's better than nothing, and it might be a good way to 1) measure demand and 2) force expansion of service.

That is, until the FBI came and got you for rebroadcasting copyrighted material... I'm just thinking that there's gotta be something we can do ourselves until the powers that be fix the distribution problem.

snoscythe wrote:

THEmmb wrote:

It seems that the CSTV/MTN/VS broadcasts are as far from HD as you can possibly get.

I have to disagree here. While not HD quality, I think the picture quality for VS/MTN is better than CBS standard, on par with ESPN/ABC standard, and inferior to TBS standard football broadcasts. Yes, they all suck compared to HDTV, but when you compare apples to apples, the picture quality rates favorably.

Ironically, the least available network aka the MTN has the best broadcast quality as all their equipment is HD ready. Versus is decent, but their graphics engine sucks and really detracts from the flow.

I will, however, agree that CSTV falls far short in the quest for quality. CBS in general has always seems rather bland and grainy, and that fuzziness has carried over to CSTV. Add to that the chaotic scoreboard and tickers and you feel ill after watching for a bit. CSTV has yet to improve much over their BYU-Stanford debut.

Really, I think there is a noticeable difference in quality between the ABC/CBS broadcasts etc and CSTV et al.
On Saturdays when I click through games, the CSTV et al games remind me of a High school broadcast.
In fact during BBall season I would go to my old mans and watch the games, one day I was on his coach watching BYU v. AF and he asked me why I was bumming on his coach watching HS basketball.

Slugger wrote:

I'm behind everyone in getting the satellite companies onboard with The mtn. but my situation is a little different. I've had Comcast cable now for almost two years and last year was able to watch all of The mtn. telecasts but after b-ball season my wife and I decided to downgrade our cable to ease the budget (and because there's nothing good on in summer...golf, baseball...zzz). Anyway, I called Comcast today to see what I will have to do just to add The mtn. and I was told I would need to upgrade my cable which will run me approx $45.00 more per month! And that isn't for the top tier package either. If the decision were mine I would bite the bullet and sign up but the wife says "No way!". I either need an inheritance, a pay raise, or a miracle in order to get The mtn. this year. I think I'm stuck.:pinch:

What she doesn't know won't hurt her.

You just need to tell her that this is an excersize of faith. First you need to buy the more expensive package and then you will blessed with the money to afford it.

redneckjedi wrote:

I'm in kind of an unfortunate situation in this respect. I just moved to Texas, where there is absolutely no way to get the mtn., despite the presence of TCU and all. But I was wondering if there wouldn't be a way for someone with the mtn. to set up a server and stream it online? Even if it were lower quality to save bandwidth, it's better than nothing, and it might be a good way to 1) measure demand and 2) force expansion of service.

That is, until the FBI came and got you for rebroadcasting copyrighted material... I'm just thinking that there's gotta be something we can do ourselves until the powers that be fix the distribution problem.

What i did was get a Slingbox, I'm in Texas too, Houston to be exact, and I said enough is enough. I couldn't handle another season w/o the MTN. so I bought a slingbox and sent it to a friend in Utah with the mtn. I can now watch it all without any slip ups via the internet. The quality is fantastic too. You just have to make sure the person servin' up your mtn delight has decent upload speed. I can't wait for football! I'm totally sold on this Slingbox thing, I didn't think it would work so good, but man is it a sweet alternative to not having anything! Plus it's just a one time fee for the box, but I do pay my buddy a little extra for the hassle.