One masochist notwithstanding, we're pretty sure you haven't sat down for days straight to watch the Summer Games from Beijing, but we're wondering if the superabundance of high-def Olympics programming has changed your perspective on the entire spectacle. Here at Engadget HQ, we've found ourselves captivated by more Olympics footage in the first week than we can ever remember in Games' past, and there's no question that having the events in high-definition caused us to keep flipping back. Is the same phenomenon happening at your house? Are you inexplicably anxious to come home and check out some of the world's greatest athletes in beautiful high-def? Tell us how the HD onslaught has affected your Olympics viewing (if at all).

[Image courtesy of Yahoo! Sports]

Just because there are 3,600 hours of Olympics coverage being beamed out in one form or another this year doesn't mean you actually need to watch all 3,600 of them. For one particular pain lover, however, he consumed 24 straight, and thankfully, he had the decency to write about it. Starting at midnight ET on August 12th, he flipped on NBC just in time to catch Alexander Artemev save the bronze for the US in men's gymnastics. 24 hours later, he watched the women's team disappointingly snag a silver in the same sport. Nearly every minute in between is chronicled in the read link below -- seriously, this is a read you can't afford to miss.

With Michael Phelps spending a great deal of time in front of the cameras between 8:00PM and midnight ET each night, it's hardly a shock to hear that USers are tuning into the Olympics like its 1976. According to preliminary numbers, NBC Universal is reporting that an average of 29.1 million viewers are flipping on the Olympics, which is the "most highly rated broadcast of the Summer Games held outside the United States since 1976." When seeing figures like this, the obvious question emerges: why? Contrary to the beliefs of Big Media, the internet is actually somewhat to thank. Many believed that internet broadcasting would whittle down TV ratings, when in fact, it seems that quite the opposite has happened. Interestingly, it appears that all the high-def footage really isn't getting the credit it deserves. Be honest -- would you have stayed up until 1:00AM watching men's gymnastics had it not been in HD?

Read - Olympics ratings
Read - The internet influence

What we're watching tonight:

• NBC (1080i) continues primetime Olympics coverage with live swimming finals at 7 p.m.
• Universal HD (1080i) airs Olympics boxing at 8 p.m.
• TLC (1080i) has Flip That House and the series premiere of Hope for Your Home at 9 p.m.
• Sci Fi (1080i) premieres Monster Ark at 9 p.m.
• HBO (1080i) brings Transformers at 8 p.m.
• Cinemax (1080i) premieres The Brave One at 10 p.m.
• ESPN2 HD (720p) has IndyCar @ Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. followed by NHRA Nationals Qualifying at 8:30 p.m. and US Open Series Tennis at 10:30 p.m.
• NFL Network (1080i) has Bills/Redskins at 7 p.m.
• HDNet (1080i) brings MLS with Chicago Fire/New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m.

There's no doubt about it, no matter what the air quality -- or the political climate -- is like, these will be the best Olympics ever to watch from home (maybe 2012, eh Oscar?) With every moment captured in high definition and available right away, viewers will have their choice of sports to watch at all times, on a number of different platforms. Whether you're new to HD -- and are absolutely sure your HDTV is set up properly -- in the last four years or still have nightmares punctuated by "We've got chips...and salsa" (we've formed a support group for the survivors of 2004) we'll do our part to make sure you're equipped to get the most possible out of the 2008 Olympic Games.

We'd say the flood gates are officially open. Not only are the two major fiber players in America making sure subscribers get their fill of the 2008 Olympics, but a swarm of cable companies are doing the same. Aside from Comcast, Charter, Mediacom and a few others, we've now learned that Blue Ridge Communications will be launching USA HD, CNBC HD, Olympic Basketball HD and Olympic Soccer HD (saywha?) on August 8th. Bright House Networks has revealed plans to light up NBC Universal HD (at least in Michigan), while Time Warner Cable tosses in USA HD and Universal HD for places not already gifted. Gee, thanks guys, you shouldn't have.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
[Image courtesy of Sports Photo]

Read - Bright House Networks expansion
Read - Time Warner Cable expansion
Read - Blue Ridge Communications expansion

Charter doesn't have the greatest reputation in Ventura, California (or most anywhere, for that matter), but the company is apparently trying to garner some love by throwing in two undisclosed NBC stations in high-def just before the Olympics kick off this Friday. Customers will still be waiting until 2009 to see video-on-demand, but HD junkies will be thrilled to know that more channels are on the way. According to company spokesman Del Heintz, nine more HD channels will be added to the lineup in September, though your guess is as good as ours as to which ones will go live. So, who's up for watching to see if it actually delivers on said promise?

Mediacom subscribers won't totally miss out on the Olympics (although you might be, unless you got up early to catch the U.S. Women's Soccer team take on Norway this morning), since the cable company signed up for the NBC HD VOD package seen on so many other systems. You should be able to grab more than 800 hours of HD on NBC, Universal HD and USA HD on the HDTV Family Package, and plenty of daily update from Beijing on video on-demand. Better get that DVR ready.

Just in case you thought only AT&T and DirecTV are the only ones lining up HD video on-demand offerings for the Olympics (scheduled to kick off tomorrow with women's soccer ahead of the August 8 opening ceremonies), as Comcast and Charter just dropped some details on their plans for the Beijing Games. For the most part HD VOD plans seem identical to the offerings from other providers, with 15-20 daily updates and highlights sorted by sport, while Comcast promises more than 700 hours of HD on NBC HD, Universal HD and USA HD, plus multiple live NBC feeds on Comcast Central. Charter however has highlighted a few different features , with plans to carry the NBC Olympics Soccer Channel and NBC Olympic Basketball Channel in HD on top of the NBC and Universal HD feeds, plus foreign language TV coverage. Since no one person can hope to keep up with all the coverage (and don't forget the 2,200 hours of streaming video planned for the NBC website), plan for HD VOD to be the lifeline keeping you updated with your sport of choice.

Read - Comcast PR
Read - Charter PR

Universal HD hopes to pump up its lineup around the Beijing Olympics, featuring Olympic Trials highlights in "Olympic Athlete Weekend" on August 2 and 3. Beyond just the coverage around the events in China there will also be plenty of extreme sports and boxing coverage all month. The news that season 4 Battlestar Galactica premieres on the station next month would be more exciting if this were last year and the Sci Fi HD simulcast hadn't launched already, but in case you didn't/don't have the station yet, there you go. Hopefully when the offices are moved from LA to New York -- along with Sleuth and Chiller -- NBC Universal will find some more compelling original content to fill the time after the Olympics are over.

Read - Universal HD presents an Olympic themed August in honor of the Beijing Olympics
Read - Emerging nets moving to New York

While GTA TeLeGuam's HDTV service is still "coming soon", competitor MCV Broadband just announced it is it is bringing high definition television broadcasts to the island beginning July 10. The launch channels are ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, Discovery Theater HD, A&E HD and Universal HD; a relatively meager number but considerably more than the zero available previously. All MCV Digital TV customers should have access to the new channels, although it's not mentioned if new equipment might be necessary, although we're sure that would be a small inconvenience to be first with HD.

Not like you couldn't piece this one together yourself, but NBC Universal isn't going to let this opportunity pass it by. Just like the run-up to the SuperBowl, it's planning on using the Olympics as a campaign platform for HD. Reportedly, affiliates will be "provided with on-air, direct mail and bill stuffers to promote HDTV content sales, as well as material designed to retain current HDTV subscribers." In other words, expect to see an onslaught of ads coaxing folks into making the jump to high-def if they haven't already. Gotta love those marketing gurus, eh?

What we're watching tonight:

• Fox (720p) presents the Coca Cola 600
• Universal HD (1080i) has the previously unaired series finale of Big Apple at 6 p.m.
• Showtime (1080i) brings The Tudors at 9 p.m. followed by This American Life
• HBO (1080i) premieres an original film, Recount at 9 p.m.
• TNT (1080i) has Game 3 of the WCF, with Lakers/Spurs at 8:30 p.m.
• History (1080i) has Ax Men at 10 p.m.

Listen up, audiophiles -- we know you've already pored over Universal's Blu-ray plans, but for those thirsting for more details in the world of audio, you've found your oasis. Sitting down with The Man Room, Universal made clear that its first wave of BD releases on July 22nd (all films from The Mummy franchise) would actually include Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio tracks. Yep, that means you'll be getting more than just a lackadaisical port should you snap these up on Blu-ray. The studio also mentioned that it was looking forward to DTS-HD MA becoming "the Blu-ray standard" at its headquarters, so we're hoping to see (er, hear) a lot more lossless from these guys in the near future.

What we're watching tonight:

• ABC (720p) brings the Lost at 9 p.m., followed by a new Eli Stone
• NBC (1080i) features the series premiere of Lipstick Jungle at 10:01 p.m.
• CW (1080i) has new Smallville and Supernatural starting at 8 p.m.
• TNT (1080i) has a hoops doubleheader, with Cavs at Rockets at 8 p.m., followed by Bulls at Warriors at 10:30 p.m.
• HBO (1080i) continues In Treatment at 9:30 p.m.
• HDNet (1080i) hits the ice with an NHL matchup of Islanders at Penguins at 7:30 p.m.
• ESPN HD (720p) continues rivalry week with West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh at 7, followed by Indiana v.s Illinois at 9 p.m.
• Mojo HD's (1080i) money night lines up Wall Street Warriors, Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist and Start Up Junkies, starting at 9 p.m.