Is Jessica Simpson right?

I think the real problem with those standards is that they don't address acceptable bitrates.

That being said, none of that is on my mind when I watch Jessica Simpson in her Daisy Dukes.
 
DIRECTV to Offer More Than 40 HDTV Channels in Mid-2007

Kind of like this article where Direct is saying that they will have 150 channels if HD. Heck there is not even a 150 national channels of HD so you cant offer it when theres not even a 150 channels of HD. So to me this is misleading basically all they are going to be doing is adding more locals in HD. So do do the math 50 states 4 locals per state would be like 200 HD Local channels. It would be a little more due to some states like CA have more that 4 major cities with locals. But there are not 150 National Networks offering HD Channels. Dish is the HD leader and they have more National HD Channels and adding more locals in HD. So right now Direct as about 9-12 Channels HD to Dish 30.Only way Direct would get close to Dish is if they some how got all of the Voom Channels from Dish. Which I dont see Dish letting them have them sice Direct has not been so nice to Dish. Overall they should clear this up on basically what channels they will offer when really its just local HDs.Dish also will be putting up a new sat sometime next year Direct is playing catch up on getting their new sats up. Heck their new Direct Dish has 5 LBN's that crazy that just goes to show their behind. Kind of like the article says they would not go into details about the channel part.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/hillhd112906.htm

The satcaster's entertainment president makes the disclosure to TVPredictions.com at an industry conference.

By Phillip Swann
New York, NY (November 29, 2006) -- DIRECTV will offer more than 40 High-Definition TV channels by next summer, according to David Hill, the satcaster's entertainment president.

In an interview with TVPredictions.com, Hill was probed for how many high-def channels DIRECTV would provide when its two new satellites were operational in mid-2007.

Would it be 40?, Hill was asked.

"Oh, more than that," he said. However, Hill refused to give a more specific number.

DIRECTV next year is scheduled to launch two satellites designed to increase its national HDTV channel capacity to 150. The satcaster now offers fewer than 10 national high-def networks.

In a keynote speech at the HD World Conference and Exposition in New York, Hill said the two satellites would be ready in "mid-2007."
 
Poke:

Read this very carefully, and I'll show you where you are not reading it properly. Note that I have taking most of the bold text out to make the point stand out:

DIRECTV next year is scheduled to launch two satellites designed to increase its national HDTV channel capacity to 150. The satcaster now offers fewer than 10 national high-def networks.

Please note that the capacity to carry N channels of programming does not mean you will actually have enough channels to fill the space.

It's going to be interesting times, especially when Dish launches their new sat.

Cheers,
 
I know your smart enuff to read but boy you really like to argue w/ the wall. They are listed as they are by the ATSC not what we would like.

In the ATSC standard, it doesn't define those formats as HD formats. Just acceptable DTH formats. The SMPTE 274M defines the 1080i to be 1920 for HDTV. Although all those formats can be used from transmission, they ultimately have to reformat to an SMPTE or ITU standard to get it to your TV.
 
All I know is that, when it comes to HD, Dish is MUCH better right now. They definitely have more national channels, and some of them are quite good. I also get three HD locals, and while I'd like more than that, DirecTV doesn't do any better in this neck of the woods. On top of that, Dish offers a MUCH better HD-DVR (the 622) which is quite reliable and has lots of great features. DirecTV got a very late start on that one, and they still have a long way to go to work out the bugs.

So, for my dollar, Dish wins hands down. Now if you care about sports more than HD, go for Direct, otherwise why waste your money and time on something that MIGHT get better in mid-2007? Once DirecTV gets all the new birds up and running, and announces their new channel line up, THEN I'll give it another look. But I have a feeling that will be much longer than the 6 months they are estimating, and during that time I'll be enjoying great HD on my Dish system.
 
...and one more thing: HD-Lite is here to stay, at least for the forseeable future. We might as well stop ranting about it. I think it's good to keep the facts straight (ie. make it clear what resolutions and bitrates we are REALLY getting), but why keep ranting about something that is unfixable? I mean, if Dish really started dropping channels in order to bump up the bitrates, would we all REALLY be happy? Every channel in the guide has it's fans. So what we are really asking for is BOTH lots of channels and full rez/bitrate. How the heck are they going to do that? Satellites only have so much capacity. Sure they'll launch more birds, but they cost a king's ransom, and there's only so many orbital slots in the sky. As soon as they get a bird up there, an existing one is going to die, or if not, a bunch of new National HD's will need to be broadcast (because the other guy will start offering them), so they will ALWAYS be playing catch-up no matter what. What happens when ALL the stations in our guide go to HD? One day that will happen. How many birds will it take to broadcast all those, or even half of those?

Downrezzing and compression will be the name of the game until an entirely new system of distribution is invented, or some really incredible satellite technology.

I've seen full rez and it's great, but for me, Dish comes really close on many channels, especially on my 720p set. DirecTV HD channels, on the other hand, are noticably degraded. I would be complaining much more if I were one of their customers.

What does tick me off is when these guys advertise "better quality than cable" and 1080i HD. They aren't flat-out lying, but they are leaving out a lot of the truth. It just confuses people. Now anyone who visits this forum knows better, because this place has a ton of useful facts about what's really going on. The bottom line is you have to do your own research because everyone is out there to fool you and take your money.
 
Video Input standards

In the ATSC standard, it doesn't define those formats as HD formats. Just acceptable DTH formats. The SMPTE 274M defines the 1080i to be 1920 for HDTV. Although all those formats can be used from transmission, they ultimately have to reformat to an SMPTE or ITU standard to get it to your TV.
SMPTE 274M is a 1080 input standard and,SMPTE 296M is the 720 input standard (these are listed in table 7.1). Anything between the 2 of these will be an HDTV compression standard. The table on 7.3 gives all of these standards for DTH for HD as well as SD. I'm not advocating for HD Lite just stating the standards as listed by ATSC. Now this document doesn't deal w/MPEG 4 and so far I have not been able to find the standards for it.
 
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Yeah well I think all Direct is going to do is add more locals in HD and maybe offer some nationals in HD that Dish already has. Big thing with Dish is that they have all the Voom Channels. Voom alone has HD Content you cant get any where else but through Voom. Overall Dish just offers more for your money and their DVR is better than Directs.
 
To redman042, the HD-Lite campain started before Dish ( look for Scott report after he met Charlie ) begin adding new HD channels and reduce rezolution and bandwidth same time . That time they MADE the turn, it wasn't force major or God's will. Common man.
 
To redman042, the HD-Lite campain started before Dish ( look for Scott report after he met Charlie ) begin adding new HD channels and reduce rezolution and bandwidth same time . That time they MADE the turn, it wasn't force major or God's will. Common man.

Doesn't matter which happened first. Market forces drive the Satellite provider's decisions, and the market forces haven't changed substantially over the last several years, regardless of the campaign. The great majority of people still want quantity over quality. Personally, I seek a balance between the two, and I think Dish is close to optimal right now given the birds available and planned. I'm happy with 30 national channels of good quality HD. I'd rather have that than 5 channels of pristine HD, and I'd also rather have that than 100 channels of lousy quality HD.

I'm not saying Dish shouldn't strive for better, but we all need to stop expecting it to happen anytime soon. HD is very new and it will take time to get caught up.
 
SMPTE 274M is a 1080 input standard and,SMPTE 296M is the 720 input standard (these are listed in table 7.1).

I agree to with this.

Anything between the 2 of these will be an HDTV compression standard.

This is were I disagree. HDTV is defined by the SMPTE standards as 1920x1080 and 1280x720. Anything inbetween is not HDTV. They may use an HD compression standard or not. Technically DTH doesn't even use the standard 16QAM or 8VSB. While that doesn't change the image quality, the change of pixels does. All is done to help lower the bandwidth over a DTH link.
 
redman042, don't mix fiction's "market forces drive" with E* CORPORATE ( actually VIP) decisions; plus that time the provider made up a lot of lie like 'fiber cable problem' between VOOM and E*. You missed a lot or don't want to know what was that time or just play ignorance.
 
Yeah well I think all Direct is going to do is add more locals in HD and maybe offer some nationals in HD that Dish already has. Big thing with Dish is that they have all the Voom Channels. Voom alone has HD Content you cant get any where else but through Voom. Overall Dish just offers more for your money and their DVR is better than Directs.

Poke your hatred of D* is amussing and makes you blind. Yes D* will add the three national channels E* currently has but will also add the others that E* does not carry. You can spout off aboout Voom but most E* subs I talk to can care less about them. D8 has been upfront with their plans Local HD then National HD summer 2007. What have they done? Added over 25 local HD cities this year for a total of 50 with a dozen more planned this year along with RSN's. What has E* promised this year? Local HD, RSN and A&E HD which none have come about. What is E* plan to add more channels? chirp chip nothing. And finally, how much is E* HD package? 30 dollars for 26 channels...D* 10 dollars for 8 channels. Yea more for the money seems the same. I have nothing against E* but find your continuous bashing on any news or plans from D* annoying. Yes E* has more HD channels then D*, but my question is why doesn't E* add other National HD channels available now? Why is their Mpeg4 channels HD lite?
 
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Wash your nose

Poke your hatred of D* is amussing and makes you blind. Yes D* will add the three national channels E* currently has but will also add the others that E* does not carry. You can spout off aboout Voom but most E* subs I talk to can care less about them. D8 has been upfront with their plans Local HD then National HD summer 2007. What have they done? Added over 25 local HD cities this year for a total of 50 with a dozen more planned this year along with RSN's. What has E* promised this year? Local HD, RSN and A&E HD which none have come about. What is E* plan to add more channels? chirp chip nothing. And finally, how much is E* HD package? 30 dollars for 26 channels...D* 10 dollars for 8 channels. Yea more for the money seems the same. I have nothing against E* but find your continuous bashing on any news or plans from D* annoying. Yes E* has more HD channels then D*, but my question is why doesn't E* add other National HD channels available now? Why is their Mpeg4 channels HD lite?

After that little A kissing you need to wash you nose it is very brown. BTW your statement for what E* has in HD is incorrect. It 30 channels plus 3 premium movie channels in HD. The only ch in HD that E* doesn't have is A & E. We scoff at D* because it has been the same as in the past of being very boastful and then not coming thru w/ the claims. I'm not saying E*'s perfect but I was a dealer for several different sat co's in the past and D* has had a a record of claiming they are going to do something then it never being what really happens in the end. As far as the MPEG 4 it is kinda the pot calling the kettle black.
 

Off air antenna with dish dvr 622

Big Dish for Sat129

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