fifa worldcup 2006

Posted on | June 10, 2006 | No Comments

not that I’m a very big fan of soccer at all, but large-scale sports-events like the championship or the olympics sometimes entail the adaption of new technologies by consumer mainstream. so, here’s the championship 2006 from a geeks pespective…

live broadcasts

the championship is probably the first major sports-event in europe which is broadcasted in HDTV (High Definition TV) besides oldschool analog TV. unfortunately, HDTV is just beginning to get established in a few countries in europe, HDTV-ready devices are popping up in mainstream electronic markets rarely. still, for those living in germany or austria, premiere is live-broadcasting all games in crisp HD-resolution (they also offer HD-devices, starting at 1.400,- EUR).

for germans who are not able to watch the games at home, there are serveral options for mobile access. DVB-T, the up-and-coming digital-terrestrial broadcasting-standard, allows high-quality video-broadcasts for mobile devices (the DVB-T-network currently is covering only 60% of germany, in most other european countries DVB-T isn’t launched at all). using DVB-T interfaces like the Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS, every notebook can be used to watch the games. integrated devices like the MSI Pocket DTV D310 are much easier to transport and, with a price-tag of about 200,- EUR, quite affordable. another way of watching sports on the go is using the cellphone. german provider debitel offers germanys only DVB-T-enabled cellphone, the Samsung SGH-P900 for 200,- EUR plus a 15,- EUR monthly fee for TV-access. hardcore-sports-enthusiasts may also watch the games on IP-based TV-services via UMTS – many providers (f.e. A1) offer monthly TV-packages for about 10,- EUR.

it’s hard to understand for which reason, but again there is no (legal) live-video stream of the games on the net – I bet there are loads of people willing to pay for such a service. As an alternative, I recommend using Orb. Installed on your home PC, Orb allows you to access your digital media-collection as well as any installed TV-adapers (analog or digital) from anywhere on the web!

web resources

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/de – the offical website of the fifa worldcup 2006
http://en.fwc.wap.yahoo.com – the official wap-portal – offering news, schedules and team-infos plus a great live-ticker! special: the portal can send notification-SMS’ when a goal is scored!
http://www.weallspeakfootball.com – great blogging-site, featuring several pro- & amateur-bloggers. don’t miss the video-reports!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldcup_2006 – the core facts + many links

 

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