On November 22nd at 4:30 pm ET the CBC will telecast HNIC in HDTV.

To the best of my knowledge this will also mark the occasion of CBC's first programming in HD.

Thats good news but how long do we have to wait for the OTA stations in Canada to go digital. Across the river in Windsor CBC Ch 9 doesn't even have stereo yet.

The game will be played outdoors before an estimated crowd on 55,000 in Commonwealth Stadium. This from CBC

"An estimated 55,000 spectators, an NHL record, will be on site to watch two games coinciding with the Oilers 25th anniversary. At 4:30 pm ET, 'The Mega Stars Game' features #99, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Jari Kurri and other former Oiler stars taking on 'The Flower', Guy Carboneau, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson and some former members of the famed Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

At 7 pm ET, 'The Heritage Game' features the current-day Oilers, led by Ryna Smith and Eric Brewer, battling Saku Koivu, Jose Theodore and the Habs.

For the event, Commonwealth Stadium will be completely revamped. An NHL-regulation size rink, boards, glass, bneches - with heaters - and penalty boxes will be constructed on the field surface.

History will also be made on CBC's hockey Night in Canada, as it will mark the first time an event is broadcast in High Definition Television on CBC Sports.

The telecast will also provide CBC's Hockey NIght in Canada with an opportunity to experiment with new technologies. Executive producer Joel Daring says robotic cameras, cranes with cameras and an Omni-cam, which can be mounted above the glass and moved form one end of the rink to the other, could all be employed".

The above comes from CBC's magazine "November on CBC".

As far as I know the HDTV broadcast will only be available via satellite as CBC does not have a licence as yet to broadcast HDTV OTA - they have applied for one.

HiDefBob

To HiDefBob & Gene,

The event will be available both by satelite and to Shaw, Rogers & Videotron HDTV subscribers as well.

With respect to OTA HDTV, Chum Ltd, who operate Toronto's Citytv, will begin OTA broadcasting from the CN Tower commencing in mid February.

The future is getting brighter ... but slowly.

For those who have Bell ExpressVu, Hockey Night in Canada in HDTV will be on channel 606 this coming Saturday starting at 4:30 EST (1:30 PST).

HiDefBob

Correction to the channel number for Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, November 22.

Bell ExpressVu added channel 631 today. It is labelled as follows -

"CBCHE ... NHL Hockey HD - Sat @ 16:30 ET"

Which means not only will the regularly scheduled Oilers vs. Canadiens game be in HDTV, but also the Old Timers game.

CBC has promised to televise the NHL Allstar Game and Stanley Cup Finals in HDTV.

Also, Bell ExpressVu has added channel 630 - CTVHE

CTV will begin broadcasting in HDTV on November 19th.

That makes 4 Canadian HDTV channels now - CBC, CTV, Discovery HD and TSN HD.

And that make 22 HDTV channels on Bell ExpressVu.

HiDefBob

HiDefBob

Are any of those going to be ota? I live across the lake from Toronto, hoping to get some in.

To Anonymous,

Citytv will be broadcasting OTA from the CN Tower commencing in mid-February.

I don't know the channel number yet but expect you should be able to pull it in from across the lake.

I just got an e-mail from HDNet saying they will be carrying BOTH games live!!!!!!

I watched it and found the coverage sub-standard compared to regular Comcast Flyers coverage. Boy those fans were bailing out after a while!!!COLD!!!

Coverage was OK. I do applaud CBC though. For this being their first HD coverage, it was good. I was more excited about watching the game than critiquing its HD footage. Definately better than SD, but still has some more work for EXCELLENT HD. Thanks HDNet for picking it up!!!!!

The broadcast (on Shaw digital) was excellent. Volume was a bit low, but the picture was superb. Definitely the way to watch hockey!

The camera work was excellent, with lots of distant shots giving the "wide" feel.