Greetings from the Echostar Press Event

[shanewalker]

I'm sorry, but I think its a proper balance that most would say they want...which admittedly is a bit of a moving target. I mean, who wants a pristine HD image of the fishtank and box scores as our only high def channels...right? Given the choice, of COURSE people would say they'd want better image quality over not...but they'd ALSO want content worth watching regardless.

This is the conundrum the likes of E*/D*/C*etc. are in and I think its pretty well understandable--they want to offer compelling content/i.e. killer apps (think "Sopranos" as a lead-in to HBO, etc.) that make people want to subscribe. HD is a killer app in and of itself--but after a couple of minutes watching pretty pictures, folks typically get a bit itchy and want to see real content. I think that's why you saw more uprezzed DVDs on HDTVs in stores rather than HD demos until quite recent (besides cost/logistics that is...). Folks purely intent on PQ are very much the minority--even here, I'd say. The best viewing experience is a combination of factors.

It's an utter shame some suits want to force a PQ compromise and I think its quite reprehensible if not an absolute necessity on their part. But I wouldn't go so far as to say content is 2nd.

 

[Stargazer]

Who wants to bet that porn will be full resolution? Perhaps some future HD PPV's as well. They may even make some movie channels full rez.

 

[joebird]

I've got a question. Maybe there's a simple answer that I'm not thinking of, or maybe I heard the answer already but just forgot.

Dish took over Rainbow-1, which used to transmit 21 channels in MPEG-2 at full resolution (1920x1080i), right?

So why don't they have the bandwidth on that satellite to keep that same resolution and only transmit 10 channels, and 7 more (5 Voom + ESPN2HD + UHD) in MPEG-4, which theoretically uses less bits?

They are mirroring @ 129, so could that be the gating factor (they want the same channels at both locations)?

 

[Ilya]

joebird, welcome to the forum!

No, not all of the VOOM channels were 1920x1080i. I've seen some stating that they were all 1440x1080i, but according to some other reports posted at this forum, at least some of the VOOM channels had full 1920x1080i at least at some point. Personally I do not have any special equipment to verify any of this claims. In any case, even 1440x1080i is better than what Dish Network is currently offering.

Why Dish is not doing the same thing as VOOM DBS? Probably because they have other plans for their bandwidth.
Most importantly: because High Definition was the top priority of VOOM DBS, but it is not the top priority of Dish Network.

 

[John Kotches]

I'm just sorry that Scott had to sit through the E* press conference while seated next to me! Talk about torture

Cheers,

 

[Stacy A]

I'm just sorry that Scott had to sit through the E* press conference while seated next to me! Talk about torture

Cheers,

A true Curmudgeon in Training should never apologize about their curmudgeonliness. For a good mentor, listen to Robert D. Raiford on the "John Boy and Billy Big Show" out of North Carolina.

 

[John Kotches]

Stacy,

This is why I'm in training... still lots to learn about the ways of the curmudgeon