6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: In The HD Zona: ASU 8, Arizona 3

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Saturday, May 29, 2004

In The HD Zona: ASU 8, Arizona 3

We just got a Sony 42" WEGA LCD projector TV, and man, is it fabulous. Aside from the huge image -- which, as one of my female friends pointed out, is a definite turn-on for guys -- the image quality is immensely improved, especially over NTSC, the current standard in North America. There's some drawbacks, though: first, the price (our unit was about $2,500 or so from Ken Crane's), availability (the Sony unit we got was backordered, so it took us a month to actually take delivery), and technical issues. Most HDTVs on the market now are either plasma or LCD direct-view flat panels, or LCD rear projectors. Plasma inexorably leaks the noble gases that fill the display (and don't believe the salesmen who tell you otherwise -- at $12,000 a pop you have every right to be concerned). The LCD direct display units are damn expensive. And, the LCD rear projectors require expensive ($250) bulbs every 2,000-3,000 hours (about once every two years with typical viewing). Still, at the price point, the LCD rear projectors are a way better deal than the plasma units.

There isn't much HD content out there yet, despite the fact that Time Warner Cable has about a dozen or so channels dedicated to the format. Tonight, during a fit of wine-induced insomnia (weird, I know), I turned on an ASU/Arizona State game.

Things are a little different at this level. For one thing, coaches allow their starters to get into deep pitch counts, and by deep, I mean, halfway to China. Arizona starter Koley Kohlberg threw 145 pitches over 7.0 innings. This is not unusual. If you're a Moneyball purist, you've gotta wonder just how much will be left in those young arms after their college managers get done with them.

For another thing, bad umpiring seems to be about par for the course. The players accept this without complaint. At one time, an Arizona batter took a pitch directly on the arm -- it hit him square and obviously to the camera -- yet the umps didn't give the base, the manager didn't come out and argue the call or even ask for assistance, and the player barely spoke a word. In the majors, that would have been grounds for a bench-clearing brawl.

Then there's the dugouts. No protection. None. During the game, a foul ball got hit into one of the dugouts, but not surprisingly, the team was all standing so they scattered pretty quickly. Sitting invites a foul ball in the face.

Did I mention errors? They're a big part of the game here. Arizona made three, ASU one. It happens.

But man -- the camera work. Beautiful, as good as any major league game, and likewise the announcing. Better, in fact, than the Braves' or Chisox -- the two worst I've heard in the bigs. It makes you wonder who's getting paid off, or who's sleeping with whom.

Recap

// posted by Rob @ 6:00 AM link // 3 comments