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Rogers reportedly implements more compression on HD channels

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 1st 2009 at 10:08PM

Sadly, we don't have any reason to believe that this is some nasty April Fool's prank. We heard right around this time last year that Rogers Cable was looking to pull a Shaw and compress its HD signals even further, and now, it seems that said smashing has begun. According to Digital Home, a "majority of all Rogers high definition channels measured are now being compressed." Investigation in the matter has found that around 60 percent of Rogers' HD channels in Toronto were compressed, with HBO, The Movie Network, MPix, Nat Geo, CBS West, ABC West, Fox West, NBC West and PBS suffering the most. We're told that those stations saw typical bitrates of around 10Mbps to 13Mbps, while Rogers SportsNet, CityTV, CBC, CTV, Global and Discovery HD saw streams between 16Mbps and 18Mbps. Any locals care to confirm / deny?

High Fidelity HDTV channel suite hits Rogers in Ontario

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 13th 2008 at 12:20AM

Ready or not, High Fidelity HDTV is now vying for your attention on Rogers Digital Cable in Ontario, Canada. The so-called HD Nature & Adventure Package will bring along Oasis HD, Treasure HD, Equator HD and Rush HD, all four of which are currently in "free preview" mode for customers with an HD set-top-box. Conveniently, there's no mention of what happens after the three month window of free viewing closes, but you can phone up Rogers to find out how much it'll cost you to keep looking.

Canadians to have no issues watching MLB playoffs this year

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 29th 2008 at 11:36PM


Apparently Canucks had some serious issues catching 100% of the MLB playoffs last year, but that shouldn't be an issue this go 'round. A new report from The Globe and Mail asserts that there is only a sliver of a chance that MLB playoff games will conflict with hockey tilts on Rogers Sportsnet. For any potential clashes in time slots, it seems the baseball game in question will be available on FOX. Granted, we have all ideas that most Canadians would actually prefer to catch the on-ice action versus America's pastime, but for those who disagree, this should be music to your ears.

[Image courtesy of DayLife]

TiVo having tough time in Canada, looking for options

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 15th 2008 at 10:08PM

TiVo waltzed into Canada all Maverick like last November, with no carrier support, no partnerships and (for all intents and purposes) no hope of success. The Canadian television market is a bizarre one, and given that the Series2 that's available there now can't record HD, TiVo is (obviously) having a hard time gaining traction. Analysts in the country assert that it is "impossible for a third-party PVR maker to gain any traction in Canada without having a major television provider as a partner," and while that may not sound precisely "fair," it isn't far from the truth. Joshua Danovitz, general manager of international business for TiVo, has proclaimed that a deal with Canadian providers could be an option, and that it was also looking at "regulated access to high-definition signals." Even though Canada doesn't have a superabundance of high-def stations just yet, we'd say TiVo better find a way to record the ones already out there. And fast.

Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary celebration makes for a lot of HD VOD

by Richard Lawler, posted Aug 14th 2008 at 2:41PM

Warner Bros. is all over digital distribution in celebration of its 85th anniversary, pushing 85 of its classic flick onto video on-demand, most in high definition and many of them available in HD VOD for the first time. Anyone with Time Warner, Comcast, Cox, Charter, Rogers, DirecTV or DISH Network should have access to flicks including Doctor Zhivago, Casablanca, Chariots of Fire, Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome straight from their remote starting today. Additionally Time Warner has lined up a series of indoor and outdoor screenings in LA and New York so keep an eye out for those. Great films in high quality without having to leave our couch, if we could stop watching the Olympics we'd take a look, check out the full list after the break. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

Rogers Cable to implement more compression on some HD signals

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 4th 2008 at 8:43AM

Bad news for Rogers Cable customers -- word on the street has it that your HD feeds may begin to look a little less fantastic in the coming days. According to Digital Home Canada, the carrier has outlined a plan in a technical briefing sent out by Rogers Network Engineering and Operations that will compress part of its high-definition lineup in order to "deliver more HD channels without having to use more bandwidth." As it stands, 15 HD channels are facing the dreaded HD Lite treatment effective April 9th, but curiously, we're not told which HD networks are actually on the docket to be added. Granted, we've yet to see a definitive confirmation, but given that Comcast has recently caught loads of flack for its decision to shove three HD channels on a single 6MHz slot, we suppose an awful trend could be (re)emerging. Keep a critical eye out, Rogers customers -- let us know if anything changes.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Toronto Blue Jays to get 144 games in HD this season

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 25th 2008 at 2:47AM


No sooner than we get wind of the Huskers' plans to air a handful of its upcoming games in HD, along comes word that Blue Jays fans in Canada will be treated to a whole slew of its matchups courtesy of Rogers Sportsnet. Reportedly, the station will broadcast the season opener followed by around 99 more games on "all four Sportsnet channels and Sportsnet HD." Better still, the rest of the club's games will be carried (in HD, no less) by CBC and TSN, meaning that all 144 televised Blue Jays games will indeed be in high-definition. If only the Orioles / Nationals were so lucky...

[Image courtesy of Mike Carlson / ESPN]

Read - Sportsnet to carry 100 Blue Jays games
Read - Blue Jays 2008 TV schedule includes 144 games in HD

CNN HD heads north to Canada on Rogers

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 16th 2008 at 7:42PM


Canadians, rejoice! Effectively immediately, Rogers cable customers in Ontario can tune into CNN HD on channel 545. 'Course, only certain shows such as American Morning, Lou Dobbs Tonight, Anderson Cooper 360 and In The Money are actually shot in high-definition, but hey, you'll take what you can get, eh? Sadly, there's no word on if / when the station will bleed out to other locales and carriers in Canada, but if you manage to spot it on your lineup (and you're not already situated in Ontario), be sure to drop us a line in comments.

Rogers Cable brings HDNet to Canada

by Richard Lawler, posted Nov 7th 2006 at 12:37PM

Starting today, HDNet is available in Canada on Rogers Cable. Finally our neighbors to the north can enjoy Arrested Development reruns, our good buddy Dan Rather (premiering November 14th), MLS Soccer, Perfect 10 model boxing and more. Rogers HD customers can find a free preview on channel 541 until Januara, no word on how much it will cost otherwise or what packages may be required.


[Via Digital Home Pipeline]

NBA playoffs now showing in Canada

by Matt Burns, posted Apr 26th 2006 at 8:58AM

NBA Playoffs. This is one of best times of the year. Now, thanks to The Score HD, Canadians can enjoy the playoffs in their full HD quality too. What's sweet about this is that the NBA playoffs is the first live high definition sporting ever on The Score HD. This station is currently available via Rogers Digital Cable on channel 507.

This press release was for yesterday and we just didn't get to it. The first game was last night with the Washington Wizards standing up to the Cleveland Cavs. Did anyone check it out. How was it on The Score HD?




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