Fortec 4:2:2 HD Receivers are coming... To Europe

[Davage]

I've been having a blast using my Fortec Lifetime Ultra receiver scanning the skies to see what I can find. I've found quite a few feeds that I believe are 4:2:2, and since I don't have a PCI tuner card or one of those USB DVB World receivers I decided to email the folks at Fortec Star to see what their plans are for a 4:2:2 receiver. In their email response to me they said that they plan to launch an HD 4:2:2 receiver in Europe in the 1st quarter of next year and then "later" in North America.. (I guess that proves that the European market is still ahead of North America for FTA) I don't know what their definition of "later" for North America means for a timeframe, but I hope it is within the next year, and I also hope that the price of the unit is reasonable. The HD processors will handle the 4:2:2, but their current processor's won't. I don't know if they are planning on releasing a standard definition 4:2:2 unit or not. It sure would be nice to see 4:2:2 stuff without having to feed it through a computer first.

I am not well versed on the HD technology because I haven't taken the HD plunge yet, but is the HD technology that much different in Europe than it is here in North America? Wouldn't a European unit with a voltage converter on it work fine on a North American set?

 

[Tron]

Europe uses the same resolutions for HD as the United States does, and since the receiver is DVB it should work here. The power shouldn't be hard to work around, and many power supplies are autoranging and will work with whatever they're plugged into (100-240V). An adapter would probably be required for the plug, an easy find at any electronics shop.

Problem is, we've all heard about the upcoming HD/4:2:2 receivers, but we never see them

 

[ftarock]

Not really correct. Same resolution but different framerate.
720p@50 and 1080i@25. You can't just buy a HDTV DVB-S box designed for Europe with a hope that it will work in the US unless you you are 100% sure they support the US framerate standard that is 60. That's also the reason why the QualiTV 1080 can be used in the US but other newer model such as Pace HDTV DVB-S2 can't.

Europe uses the same resolutions for HD as the United States does, and since the receiver is DVB it should work here. The power shouldn't be hard to work around, and many power supplies are autoranging and will work with whatever they're plugged into (100-240V). An adapter would probably be required for the plug, an easy find at any electronics shop.

Problem is, we've all heard about the upcoming HD/4:2:2 receivers, but we never see them

 

[Tron]

Yes, I forgot about the framerates. With any luck, the receiver would support both framerates, but you would have to check the specs first. (make sure of its ability to do 1080 @60i, 720@30p)

 

[techno935]

plenty of slowpokes in the HD arena. Just wait til everything analog shuts off, then these schmuch TV manufacturers are gonna have to do something for us and stop charging so much for these HD sets. Let alone SD sets.

 

[ftarock]

I assume you are talking about OTA analog shut-off? Analog shut-off does not play a factor in this case. Programs are still gonna be uplinked in SD. OTA HD does not mean you will get 100% of HD programs. You will get up-converted HD from SD.
If you are talking about satellite satellite analog, it's happening. Majority of the uplinked FTA are digital.
Analog shut-off might be a factor for "cheaper" HDTV set, but not for satellite FTA market.

plenty of slowpokes in the HD arena. Just wait til everything analog shuts off, then these schmuch TV manufacturers are gonna have to do something for us and stop charging so much for these HD sets. Let alone SD sets.

 

[updatelee]

I dont beleive satellite is exempt from that ruling, when the us gov sais 'everything must be HD' Im pretty sure they mean ota and sat will both goto HD, not just ota.

anyone clarify ?

 

[ftarock]

The analog cut-off date does not apply for Satellite. Though by then sat analog would be all gone, but not because it's required by the regulation. Simply it costs more if using analog instead than digital.
"Everything must be HD" is not correct. It should be "everything must be ATSC" (OTA digital). OTA ATSC can still be SD.

I dont beleive satellite is exempt from that ruling, when the us gov sais 'everything must be HD' Im pretty sure they mean ota and sat will both goto HD, not just ota.

anyone clarify ?

 

[updatelee]

thats totally bizzare, that fcc in the usa baffles me to why they do things the way they do.

 

[Stefan]

thats totally bizzare, that fcc in the usa baffles me to why they do things the way they do.

The whole point of the analog to digital transition is to reduce the amount of spectrum used by OTA tv and to sell off the portion of the spectrum that's freed up to wireless companies. It has nothing to do with HD, satellite feeds, or cable. It's about the goverment making some money off the freed up spectrum. That means cable and satellite providers could, if they wanted to, continue to use analog. Of course there are economic reasons that will likely motivate them to not do that and they will likely eventually switch to digital also. Cable will probably be the last to switch over completely.

 

[updatelee]

The whole point of the analog to digital transition is to reduce the amount of spectrum used by OTA tv and to sell off the portion of the spectrum that's freed up to wireless companies. It has nothing to do with HD, satellite feeds, or cable. It's about the goverment making some money off the freed up spectrum. That means cable and satellite providers could, if they wanted to, continue to use analog. Of course there are economic reasons that will likely motivate them to not do that and they will likely eventually switch to digital also. Cable will probably be the last to switch over completely.

ahh that defn makes more sense. looking at it from a business perspective rather then from a consumers eyes it makes it all clear, hehe thanks.

 

[Tron]

I still have analog basic cable eek, and it seems every week that they are removing a less-frequently watched analog channel to free up some bandwidth for the digital tiers. Compress the heck out if it, and they can squeeze in 5 or 6 channels where that one channel was. That fact will motivate cable in the changeover to digital.

By the way, the original deadline for the OTA analog shutoff was going to be sooner, but got pushed back.