Olympics broadcast stumbles, recovers.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

High definition television (HDTV) viewers in Eugene-Springfield saw their pictures get a whole lot clearer on Tuesday after KMTR-TV, the local NBC affiliate, fixed a technical problem that had been preventing the broadcast of NBC HD, the network's around-the-clock high definition Olympics channel.

"I'm sorry we missed the first couple of days of the Olympics. ... Hopefully viewers are happy now," said Cambra Ward, vice president and general manager for the station.

High definition is a digital TV signal that offers five times more resolution than standard definition plus CD-quality surround sound. It can be picked up through the air with an antenna and tuner or through a cable box, but viewers must have an HD-ready TV set.

Neither the cable nor antenna HD feeds of NBC's signal were available to local viewers until Tuesday. Videophiles such as Thomas Santee of Eugene began calling Comcast and KMTR shortly after the Games began to complain.

"NBC was making a big deal that they were going to have the Olympics in high definition," Santee said. "I was disappointed."

Santee got over his disappointment soon after he began receiving crisp, high-definition pictures on his 32-inch Sony TV. He watched swimming and was looking forward to the upcoming track and field events. The HD channel will air 24 hours a day until the end of the Olympics.

With their higher resolution, HD sets have a way of making the pictures on the screen appear three dimensional, and some have compared it to peering through an open window. A HDTV set in the lobby of the KMTR offices in Springfield carried a picture so clear, it looked like the male gymnasts were about to vault right out onto the carpet.

"It is incredible," said Mike Kalish, a Eugene Comcast subscriber who began receiving his HD picture sporadically on Monday night. "We were sitting there, looking at this, thinking we never would have believed a few years ago the quality of television would be like this."

Despite all the hoopla over HD Olympics broadcasts, NBC has been widely criticized for the content of its 24-hour HD feed, which has routinely been a day behind the regular feed. Although the network has been claiming to offer more than 300 hours of programming, much of the broadcast is reruns that show on an eight-hour loop. NBC played the opening ceremony in high definition for 27 straight hours.

Even though the 2004 Olympic Games aren't exactly shaping up to be the HD Olympics, particularly in Eugene-Springfield, there has been heightened interest in HD technology. At Video Only, store manager Mark Mealhow says there have been a handful of of people who have upgraded their TVs to high definition specifically for the Olympics.

"They can't believe how stunning the picture is," Mealhow says. `They say, `Oh, I can see why people are switching over.' '

Mealhow says the real rush for HD sets won't come until fall when sports fans start to upgrade for football season.

CAPTION(S):

The high-definition TV set where KMTR receptionist Kathy Bassham works shows a crystal-clear image from the Olympics.