Football fans to get the total picture with HDTV

As announcer Bob Pompeani went through his pregame checklist before the Eagles-Steelers exhibition game, he added a task to his usual routine of memorizing player numbers and talking to key players.

He made an extra trip to the makeup department.

"It's in high definition," he said. "People are going to see me like they've never seen me before."

No doubt every player and coach in the league will soon feel much the same way -- NFL games have been televised for a half-century, but never before have they been seen like this.

High-definition television's integration into the American sports landscape speeds up this fall with three NFL games per week -- one each on CBS, ABC and ESPN. For the first time, every Sunday night and Monday night will be in high-definition, plus a weekly CBS Sunday game in selected markets. Most playoff games on ABC, CBS and ESPN are expected to be in HDTV.

Why the rapid expansion, only a year after not a single NFL regular season game was in high-definition? Simple. Just as the driving force in real estate is location, location, location, in the TV industry it's picture, picture, picture.

HDTV is the first technological breakthrough since the color set that has spurred millions to buy new TVs -- an estimated 4 million are expected to be sold just this year.

"NFL games are such unscripted drama, with a backdrop of stadiums filled with vibrant colors and enthusiastic fans, it's a touchdown for HDTV," said Brian McCarthy, the NFL's director of corporate communications. "It's very intense and it's very crisp."

A clear difference

It's also very startling for those who haven't previously watched a game in high-definition. The picture is six times more detailed than those on traditional analog sets and lacks the scan lines so visible when a viewer stands close to an analog TV. Tiny blemishes invisible on normal screens -- a cut on a player's hand, a paint fleck on a helmet -- are very evident in HDTV.

It's a perfect picture, but never before will so many of the NFL's imperfections be seen by its fans.

"Since HDTV gives you a wider shot of the field, you are able to see more action," said Scott Kemper, an HDTV set owner in Lawrence, Kansas. "You can choose to watch the wide receiver lock up with the defensive back as they fight for position down the field. Or you can watch the safety adjust as the quarterback barks out the play at the line of scrimmage. ... It makes watching football more realistic."

It's not just the picture that is better, but the sound, too; the technology also accommodates digital surround sound, a format familiar to moviegoers. As Rob MacKenzie of Alexandria, Va., said, "You are surrounded by the noise of the crowd, the action on the field, the PA announcements."

Even in a society where changes in technology and popular culture that once took years now take only months, the rapid move to HDTV for NFL telecasts is a dramatic metamorphosis for America's most popular TV sport.

Last season, only three playoff games and the Super Bowl were in HDTV. This season, there will be 60-plus HDTV games even before the playoffs, not counting local productions.

Clearly, the fast-expanding availability of NFL games in HDTV is increasing awareness of the technology; sales of big-screen HDTV sets spiked sixfold just before the Super Bowl last winter. It also helps that set prices have dropped quickly; 57-inch rear-projection sets that cost $5,000 in 2000 can be found now for $1,500, about what an analog big-screen set cost five years ago. Sets with 40-inch HDTV screens sell for as little as $1,000.

According to The Yankee Group, a Boston-based research firm, as many as 9 million U.S. households will have HDTV sets by the end of this year. That number is expected to double again by 2005 and, by 2007, when every U.S. TV station is supposed to be broadcasting a digital signal, should reach 41.6 million sets.