Questions on HD Bell v. SC Mpeg4 and receivers

[bjf]

Can anyone help me out with some information about HD MPEG4 and how
SC and Bell are currently sending out their signals.

Have either begun to only offer HD channels via MPEG4 like Directv has in the the states?

I see where the DISH 211 box is MPEG4 ready but I can't find any info. if they only offer HD in MPEG4.

If everything is still MPEG2 any idea when the switching is supposed to occur?

Can anyone tell me which HD (receiver only) box has the better interface, ease of use, etc. The 6100 or the 211?

And finally is there a list somewhere that tells me for both SC and Bell which channels they are sending out native 720P or 1080i without reconverting? Example if ESPN HD is 720P do they give it to me in 720P and not a reconvered 1080i and lowering with the bitrates also.

Are either SC or Bell going to add more HD or more satellites this year?

Thanks in advance for your help to my many questions

bjf

 

[scrooloose]

BEV's current HD receivers are the 6141 (equivalent of the Dish 211) and the 9242 (equivalent to the Dish 622, except it's black). Both receivers are MPEG4 capable.

Neither SC or BEV is broadcasting using MPEG4 yet. No dates for either, although it's rumored BEV may start next year.

BEV converts almost everything to 720p, whereas SC converts everything to 1080i.

BEV is launching Nimiq 4 later this year and Nimiq 5 next year. SC has no plans for new satellites.

-Mike

 

[Satellite Expert]

The only 1080i channels on Expressvu are CBCE and CBCW.
All other channels are sent in 720p with average data rate of 9 MB

BEV is launching Nimiq 4 later this year and Nimiq 5 next year. SC has no plans for new satellites.

-Mike

BEV & SC own NO satellites. There are NOT launching any new satellites. Both companies own or lease transponders from Telesat. BEV on the Nimiq series, SC on the Anik series.

Telesat is scheduled to launch N4 to the 82 slot in 08. It's beam will be more focussed to the west coast of Canada than the present satellites at that location. The present beam is so weak there that BEV could not reliably implement 8PSK or MPEG4. This will result in N4 having a footprint that does reach as far south (or will be weaker) than N2

N5 is going to 72.5 slot. Due to the low look angle, the beam will be focussed to the north west. Minimal or zero reception can be expected in the southern US.

 

[bjf]

Is it possible to find out which channels can't be received with Bell in Oregon and Northern California, Southern Idaho.

I'd hate to go Bell and then find out the sd & hd channels I want can't be received.

Thanks, bjf

 

[bjf]

Hi,

Regarding the native HD 720p/1080i.

So SC only has the two CBC channels that are native 1080i.
All others on SC are reconverted from native 720P.
Is this correct?

I've read the forum here and someone said that as of last fall Bell
is really overcompressing the HD. So is there still an advantage of Bell HD
if most of the channels are done in "Native" 720P?

Or is that advantage moot because of Bell's overcompression?

BTW, aren't a couple US tv networks native in 1080i?
Why is SC reconverting those into 720P?

Lastly, does anyone know if SC has any MPEG4 channels or are they still 100% MPEG2 that they are sending out?

Thanks, bjf

 

[SJ44]

No

BEV converts almost everything to 720p, whereas SC converts everything to 1080i.

 

[Jumbo Dumbo]

Hi,


So SC only has the two CBC channels that are native 1080i.
All others on SC are reconverted from native 720P.
Is this correct?

No only Fox + ABC locals are 720p converted to 1080i. All other feeds are received and uplinked as 1080i

 

[bjf]

So on Starchoice all 1080i sources get resent out to viewers as 1080i.

Only the Fox and ABC get reconverted 720P to 1080i.

Are many of the channels Bell has native in 720P or most start out as
1080i get converted to 720P and then are also bit starved and more compressed. And worse since last fall.

So with sports does Bell look terrible almost not viewable?

Like when NBC showed the Olympics and it pixelated every time there was action.

Or is Bell not so terrible.

It's just SC looks a "lot" better.

Can anyone who's used both fairly recently give me your opinions.

Any opinion on the DSR530.
Is it still plagued with problems from a year back.
I'd read it was and the 505 was the better way to go with SC.

Thanks, bjf

 

[Kryspy]

My take,

I've owned both.....

ExpressVU is getting more and more compressed as they are stretched to the max for bandwidth right now........hence the name CompressVU

If you own a 1080p set then SC is a nice choice at 1080i as the TV then just de-interlaces and shows it at 1080p as opposed to having to upconvert a 720p signal.

Sports looks awesome to me on SC without any motion blur..... I own a Toshiba non 120 Hz 1080p LCD panel.

I have had a DSR 530 for over 8 months now and it was bought as a refurb and I have zero show stopping problems with it.... no more than I had with the ExpressVU 9200

Native mode (0000) is nice on the 530 and 505 receivers that allow the signal to be passed untouched to your TV and allows the TV to do the scaling as opposed to the STB. The F0 update that just came down fixed a vertical bar problem when using native mode.

Kryspy

 

[bjf]

Thanks for the details.

Thanks, bjf