Texas First: Mavericks and Stars teams to get first 1080p displays

No one should be shocked that Mark Cuban (complete with Jerry Jones envy) will be the very first NHL & NBA arenas with 1080-line scoreboards in pro sports. He’s known for spending lavishly on his sports teams over the years.

While 1080p has been well established with scoreboards for some venues, like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees stadiums, it looks like the NBA and winter pastimes haven’t joined the 1080 parade, but Cuban plans to change that fact. Diagrams to upgrade American Airlines Center for the 2009-10 seasons are already started up, with four 18- by 30-foot scoreboards being installed into the center display and two 24- by 72-foot walls at the north and south ends.

The sound is also getting a big upgrade, with huge six speaker systems being set up for truly booming performance.

Tonight’s HDTV listings: Tonys, Baseball and Basketball

Yes, HDTV is alive and well, and if tonight’s listings are any evidence, they’re filled with a wide variety of programming to whet any appetite, from sports to crime drama, to awards for best musical.

The Tonys highlight an interesting night of mixed venues, along with the NBA championships airing a game tonight, to nationwide baseball on ESPN. The back-to-back seriously good Law and Order: CI and In Plain Sight air tonight as well in clear 1080i res, and the debut of the wacky Simmons family once again in another season of Family Jewels.

More info and start times here.

A Good Trend: HD sports galore tonight

In looking at the HD schedules on TV the last few months, we’re seeing a very welcome trend of increasing HD sports on TV of late. More and more sporting events are either available locally or nationally on TV, and that trend is only growing. It’s a sports lovers dream, as cable systems and satellite providers gear up to provide more HD coverage.

Tonight for example: Lots of playoff NBA games, hockey games, and baseball games, all in gorgeous HD. Where once there would maybe be 1-2 games a night on in HD, now there 2-4 on average per night.

As an HD lover myself (and a fan of baseball and basketball and football) this is a trend I welcome, and hopefully there will come a time when 3-5 games per night in HD will be a common thing.