Olympics - Real TV
A few posts back I complained about Bell Canada and their disorganization around the five free high-def Olympic channels they were making available to their TV subscribers. The good news is that I was able to subscribe to the five and I have enjoyed watching them.
Every second of the Olympics (if not, very, very close to every second) is available, live, in amazing high definition. Bell is taking the feeds from the various media consortium cameras that are spread out at all the venues. The experience reminds me of why I prefer reading a book to watching a movie based on a book.
When reading I enjoy dressing the characters in clothes I have made up. I imagine the rain coming down, the action, the fight, the love, the argument, the dinner. They are personal and that much more real to who I am at that moment. I don't need to adapt to someone's interpretation of the words and scene. They are mine...and only mine. It seems to exercise my brain a bit more as I am part of the story - not just an uninvolved viewer of some film. In my mind reading tops movie-watching.
So what is the link with these five Olympic channels? There are no commentators. It is the live feed. The entire event is broadcast and the sounds of the venue are all you hear. No adverts that come on when some unknown non-contender is sliding down the track. No Molson Canadian ad while we wait for the puck to drop. No annoying commentator making a big deal out of some small event that nobody would have noticed. I get to see the six minute warm up skate that figure skaters have. I see the zamboni spend ten minutes cleaning the ice. I hear the skates on the ice, the puck hit the boards rather than the voices of colour commentators.
I got to see Danny Silva from Portugal come in 95th, dead last, in the Men's 15 km free cross-country skiing event. I got to hear the crowd roar and cheer an athlete who came in 15 minutes and 55 seconds after the gold medal winner. I was there, had my virtual ticket, and stayed for the entire event...as I would have had I had an actual ticket. No producer in the media centre decided that Danny was not worth watching.
He was....and that is what made the Olympics. He may have come in last, he may have not had a chance but he completed the race, participated in the Olympics, was cheered like a champion and was watched on television by me and maybe many more.
That is great stuff...no complaints.
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