As a huge hockey fan, this will likely be the point which my set-up is centered around. I'd like to hear from the hockey fans on the board (if there are any) on the broadcast quality and programming options.

Thanks in advance.

c'mon man, god bless u for keeping some pro sport in San Jose, but man does hockey suck. There should be stuff for u crazy bastards though

Absolutely there are options for Hockey fans. In fact I would count Hockey as one of the sports that benefits most from HiDef. With the higher resolution you can see the puck 10x better than an average broadcast and this solves a ton of problems for the NHL. If you remember some networks resorted to gimmicks to try and help casual fans track the action on tv including a highlighted (streaking) puck shown on Fox. This didnt last long but what it did reveal was a huge problem for Hockey......How do you help people keep track of the on ice action?

Now with HD there are no issues following the puck or debating if a shot reaches the net because 90% of the time you can follow the sport with ease. It will take time but I predict Hockey will make a surge if they utilize HD to drive the sport. Time will tell but it looks great.

The biggest thing that the NHL has working against it is the marketing. Instead of making people want to learn about the game, they try playing to the wrong things. That's why the Fox puck failed. It angered the purists and directed attention away from the action. ESPN's John Buccigross recently said:

"You can't see the puck? Can you see a baseball being hit? How often do you see the football on TV? Can you see when Tiger Woods hits the golf ball outside of the short game? If you are simply trying to follow the puck when you watch a hockey game, you're missing the game."

HD could put the NHL up to where it wants to be. I have known so many people who wouldn't watch it on TV, but went to a game and loved it. Now they just need to market it properly.

hockey was the thing I most wanted to see in hi-def and picture-wise I am not disappointed. Now if I could see more than 2 games a week in high def,.....

even though I have NO love for hockey whatsoever i must admit, for some strange reason, it's one of the best looking sports action in HD to date. I can almost watch a whole game of it because how beautiful it looks in HD, almost.