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Super sports pack

6K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  PC21 
#1 ·
I don't really care for the other sports but it looks like I have no option but to get the Super Sports Pack if I want to get MLB Extra Innings.

I used to have MLB EI with Bell and was quite happy with it, but from reading on this forum it sounds like the number of HD channels is pretty limited.

Some of these posts are several years old so I was curious if anyone can relay their current experiences with the Super Sports Pack.

How many HD channels are there for MLB EI?
Is the total HD channels total shared when two sports are running concurrently?
(eg hockey playoffs and baseball)

Are all MLB games (minus blackouts) at least available in SD?
Is SD still as bad as previous posts have suggested on big screen TVs? (42")

Thanks for any help.
 
#2 ·
Very few HD channels slotted for baseball. If it's the same when hockey and basketball are on simultaneously, there will only be a maximum of four games. However, some nights there aren't even four in any sport. As far as SD is concerned, I guess it depends how the game is being televised, but in most cases it won't be 16:9. Others with more technical expertise could give you a better explanation. The bottom line is Bell's Extra Innings is far better, unfortunately, it's more expensive when you add in NHL Centre Ice, etc.
 
#5 ·
For what it's worth, tonight is Saturday and there was only one HD NHL game on around 8:30 p.m. and that was Chicago at Nashville. No NBA games in HD at that time. There may have been tons of NHL and NBA games in SD, but still unsatisfactory. Fortunately I intended to watch the NCAA semi-final basketball games anyway.
The previous poster mentioned that it depends on where you live what you get. We supposedly just got an upgrade in Peterborough, but I haven't noticed any changes in TV offerings. Fortunately I have Bell but alas the premium sports stuff is going to cost me more. Next month, my 6 month contract for the SSP with Cogeco will expire and I'll cancel it. Gives me more money for Bell's Major League Extra Innings! :p
 
#6 ·
Are the Super Sports Pack channels for Cogeco the same as Rogers? I have noticed that on each site, the PDF link they have, sometimes the channels are the same. Usually, the SD channels are the same but the HD channels are different. This week, the SD channels are different as well.
 
#7 ·
The channel numbers are not the same for Rogers and Cogeco. Again, depending on "availability of channels", you don't get the same number of games on Cogeco as you do on Rogers. Quite often, both carriers show the listing of channels for the upcoming evening's programming, both SD and HD, and it clearly shows that Cogeco does not have the same channel lineup as Rogers. It may show the same number of games, but in my area, quite often the game(s) that is/are listed is not available here in Peterborough. I am not at all impressed with the HD offerings on the SSP.
 
#8 ·
May 2010 press release from VP Ron Perrotta, Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Planning at Cogeco Cable, included the following statement, "Also starting today, the Super Sports Pack will now total 23 distinct HD channels, each one dedicated to a specific sport."

Cogeco has never lived up to this press release. I am told that Cogeco can only carry 4 SSP HD broadcasts at one time. What is even worse, Cogeco has no control over what games are broadcasted and where in the SSP channel line-up they are located. This is all controlled by Rogers, who provides the SSP to Cogeco. I have recorded games only to have them moved in the channel line-up.

The only way that Cogeco is going to improve on this service is if customers continue to communicate with the company. All sports games are broadcasted in HD. Rogers shows all of them in HD; Cogeco needs to do the same; otherwise, they continue to rip us off. We pay the same price for the SSP that Rogers' customers pay.
 
#11 ·
MLB EI here in Kingston have been SD as well. I think 1 game has been HD. I am hoping when basketball and hockey are done their seasons more HD channels are devoted to MLB. I don't see why they are not all HD, though, considering the Mar 2010 press release - which clearly seems to be untrue.
 
#14 ·
This is the response I received from Cogeco corporate office yesterday:

"We are working towards carrying the full Rogers line-up of Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) in the near future. This project is in the planning stages but it is our intent to provide the full Rogers line-up at some point this year. By presenting the 23 feeds for HD content we were able to reserve these locations for each individual sport. We utilize these 23 feeds in our selection of which HD sports to carry at each time and throughout our schedule. While we do have to drop some sports content due to our 4 simultaneous feed limit, most of the time this does not reduce the available HD content we are able to carry.

Rogers also carries 23 plus HD channels but likewise never utilizes all of these feeds simultaneously. Rogers also has limited HD content and does not provide every NHL or MLB game in HD. While they are able to present 8 feeds of simultaneous content, they currently do not provide an HD version of every SD sport."
 
#15 ·
One thing that CSR failed to mention is that Cogeco in most areas have a 2+2 limit in HD. There is 2 feeds that are dedicated to SSP. The other two feeds are the Viewer's Choice PPV feeds which only air SSP games on Sunday (Specifically the NFL Sunday Ticket).

Rogers has an 8+2 feed system where 8 channels are dedicated to SSP and 2 more become available on Sundays (specifically for NFL Sunday Ticket).

While the CSR is correct that Rogers doesn't offer every game in HD, it is certainly far more then what most Cogeco customers get.

I have Source Cable (small indie cable co in Hamilton). They pretty much have the same HD content as Rogers when it comes to the Super Sports Pack.
 
#18 ·
MLB.TV

After getting the SSP for 6 months about a year back and being as dissapointed as everyone else, I cancelled it. Being a big baseball fan I subscribed to MLB.TV last year and was impressed, so I got it again this year. This is probably off topic but I'm just throwing the idea out there.

$125 for the whole season for premium service which includes being able to watch from the PC, all MLB.TV connected devices (XBox, PS3, etc) and IPad / IPhone. So far I love it. But blackout restrictions do apply, so check on the website to see what area you'd get blacked out for certain games. It does take a toll on your monthly internet download cap, so keep that in mind. (I have unlimited)

Cheers.
 
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