Digital MCG

This week the MCG has announced additional facilities to be implemented progressively through 2015.

It all looks very grandiose and colourful — unless you're a Barcodes, Tiggers or Bombers fan, and Saints fans will get 66% of their colours.

A wifi solution is certainly useful as it's been difficult to view on a smartphone the information that is displayed on the gigantic HD scoreboards. Despite our facaecious comment, we do applaud this development.

The club-themed lighting we're not too sure about, although modern LED lighting does lend itself to these customisations. We'll wait and see how the G looks decked out in red and darkness . . .

And the IPTV screens? There are certainly plenty of locations without access to the HD scoreboards, so screens are (almost) essential to the modern fan — for those times when it's too much trouble to actually watch the game.

It's to be hoped that Mark Evens has had a think about the goal line video review process and it'll be a rarity to need an HD picture to tell whether the goal umpire hasn't had the courage to do what they're paid to do.

And no mention of repeaters for radio broadcasts. Radio reception, on AussieRulesBlog's experience, is pretty patchy and inconsistent. Digital radio can be a little clearer, but the delay is disconcerting at best — oh, hang on, the Hawks are just scoring a goal in the 2014 Grand Final on my digital radio. I wonder who'll win . . .

Still, we can be reasonably sure of some things. Food and drink will almost certainly still require a bank loan each week. Yeah, the clamour for free (?) wifi must have drowned out the tiny amount of discontent over catering price gouging.