Memo to Sports Net: Make your audio in sync with the play

[PeteMoss]

Sportsnet rebrands themselves every couple of years to attempt to steal viewers from TSN but don't seem to realize that having hockey broadcasts that look and sound like they are being done by volunteers with taped intermission segments with no-name McGee do more to harm their status with viewers than how fancy their News set looks like or whether or not the hosts are going business casual.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by drewtastic

Is it delayed? I find that the audio is out ahead of the play.

Maybe we're both wrong. Or maybe Rob Kerr is psychic.

Cosmic.

The audio is ahead of the video. This would make Kerr closer to the play if he's regularly calling normal stuff a little bit late.

I definitely notice the delay when watching the game, but also notice the delay when watching highlights of the game on other networks (that are playing the sportsnet west feed for highlights)

[browna]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

It's delayed because it gives Rob more time to describe the play that's happening. He chooses this to be in place... It's not going anywhere.

I thought this was common knowledge, TBH.

Thought that was a theory originaly when this happened the beginning of last year, but thought the technical side was the issue. That was when the ads were jolting around and fading in and out and really distracting. So they pulled back the video sync to correct that, and it threw off the audio.

As has been mentioned, as soon as they switch to anything but the main camera (which is also the only one that has the ads imposed on), the play is a split second ahead. When the switch is made back to the main camera, you can see the last split second of the play you just saw. So, the audio is basically synced to every angle but the main angle.

But, if Edmonton's broadcast is synced, and Vancouver Snet is snyced, then maybe its no longer a technical thing and its something else.

That said, this isn't a 5 second thing, its a split second, not really enough time for Kerr, if he was behind the play and did in fact need those training wheels, to be able to catch up.

[North East Goon]

Better yet, sync your picture up with Peter Maher's calls.

[psicodude]

I'm on Bell and the delay is obvious. Last night, I knew Iginla scored a solid .5 of a second before seeing the puck go in. Maybe it's an HD only thing?

Also, I am a huge fan of the glass advertising bouncing around and giving me a seizure last night. That was super awesome.

[Erick Estrada]

It's only a split second but the goal calls come before the puck enters the net everytime which is kind of annoying. It's been going on for a while so I'm sure RSN knows about it so the fact that it's still happening tells me they either don't care or they can't fix it and if it's the latter that's just sad in this day and age of technology that you can't sync audio and picture.

[rayne008]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

First time I've seen this (and certainly not to excuse Sportsnet for bad syncing), but I'm quite certain that this was faked. I really really doubt that it would work out well doing a live link like that. Either a track was created that Chris Hadfield recorded himself playing to was created earlier, and then BNL played to the same track while playing later on (I think this is the most likely), or there was only a one way link - i.e. Hadfield had the track, and played along with it, then the combined output was streamed to the stage, where BNL played along with it. (This wouldn't be that hard to set up either) However, even the second option negates the point you were trying to make.

Setting up a two way connection to do something like that is hard to do with two people on earth in different rooms, never mind doing it with one person on a stage, and one person on space moving at 5000 km/h. Even the slightest delay is unacceptable, and makes playing together essentially impossible. One person plays something, and there's a slight delay getting the sound from one person to the other, who plays along with the slightly delayed sound from the first person. however, the sound from the second person going back to the first person, is slightly delayed too, and all of a sudden, the first person is trying to keep in time with a doubly delayed signal, which easily could be a beat off from the original sound.

Haha I was waiting for someone to question if it was live or not.

I agree with you, but it's funny when I watched the video the !st thought I had was that if they could pull this off, why can't the flames broadcast do it?!

That being said, space is cool.

[rayne008]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

It's only a split second but the goal calls come before the puck enters the net everytime which is kind of annoying. It's been going on for a while so I'm sure RSN knows about it so the fact that it's still happening tells me they either don't care or they can't fix it and if it's the latter that's just sad in this day and age of technology that you can't sync audio and picture.

It's also very frustrating knowing the results of breakaways before they are finished. (though in all honestly the last one was with Stajan a few days back...)

[Red Ice Player]

The delay doesn't bother me that much. The thing I cannot stand is the audio feed when games are shown on Sportsnet Flames on Shaw. We won't talk about the fact the Colorado game didn't show up until the second period. That was bad enough.
Sportsnet Flames plays the exact same audio signal through all five speakers. I hate hearing Kerr on the back speakers! This is nothing new. Been happening for at least three seasons. Shaw always feigns ignorance when I complain about it.

[krazycanuck]

Even my fiancee, who almost never watches hockey noticed it last night. I'd love to hear an update from Roger Millions on what is (isn't) being done to correct this.

[Deelow]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

But maybe it is. Bell ExpressVu... No issues. The audio has never been so out of sync that a goal is called before the puck is physically shown in the net. If it's off at all, you can't tell.

I've seen feeds where this issue is occuring, but it hasn't this season on my provider.

I have Bell and I always have the delay.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Deelow

I have Bell and I always have the delay.

Me too and it's annoying as hell. I don't want to know that he's scored while he's still winding up for his slapshot. Amateurish and the only reason I can see for it happening is so that Kerr looks like he's on top of things. It just makes the broadcast look phony and I don't notice this happening on any other hockey broadcast. The same sound coming out of all five speakers should be fixed as well.

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

But maybe it is. Bell ExpressVu... No issues. The audio has never been so out of sync that a goal is called before the puck is physically shown in the net. If it's off at all, you can't tell.

I've seen feeds where this issue is occuring, but it hasn't this season on my provider.

Originally Posted by calgaryred

I also have Bell as by service provider and there's no delay i've ever come across when watching Sportsnet West Flames Hockey.

This, I am also on Bell and haven't noticed this at all this season.

[Ducay]

Its one of those things that once you see it, you wont unsee it. Thats right, Kerr/RSN's audio delay is the hockey equivalent of seeing your grandma naked.

Really depends on the play, if he can see the goal coming, he calls it sooner, increasing the delay. If he is confused and takes a second to process the goal, its less pronounced since the video has caught up.

[dino7c]

shaw direct and HD

have had these delays for years on all the different setups in my home

component, hdmi, through the tv, through the stereo ect.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Sportsnet rebrands themselves every couple of years to attempt to steal viewers from TSN but don't seem to realize that having hockey broadcasts that look and sound like they are being done by volunteers with taped intermission segments with no-name McGee do more to harm their status with viewers than how fancy their News set looks like or whether or not the hosts are going business casual.

A thousand times, THIS.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

The delay doesn't bother me that much. The thing I cannot stand is the audio feed when games are shown on Sportsnet Flames on Shaw. We won't talk about the fact the Colorado game didn't show up until the second period. That was bad enough.
Sportsnet Flames plays the exact same audio signal through all five speakers. I hate hearing Kerr on the back speakers! This is nothing new. Been happening for at least three seasons. Shaw always feigns ignorance when I complain about it.

Oh so that's what happened? I nearly freaked out, but quickly resorted to carrying on living my life and things got better.

[Mightyfire89]

It's very strange that some of us who have Bell as a provider don't have this problem but some do.

[edmontonice]

I'm pretty sure this is a problem for the Oilers broadcasts as well, only I don't think Quinn is as fast as Kerr to yell out "SCORES"

[SofaProfessor]

Here's what I imagine is happening based on my limited broadcasting experience...

There are two different boards used for audio and video. They are most likely delaying the video stream to allow the board op to be able to insert the end glass advertisements when players enter the zone - the delay is so that to you viewing at home, it's not abundantly clear that the ad's are appearing and disappearing out of time. These images will be queue'd up and assigned to a button that the op has to press to insert into the broadcast when the camera is at its appropriate angle. I'm guessing the issue arises because they haven't found a perfect time to delay the audio stream. Rob Kerr, like all of us, is human and he may call the play faster at some times and slower at others.

I could be 100% wrong on this but I thought I would take my stab at an educated guess.