MPEG 4

[directvfreak]

I know D* MPEG 2 HD is HD Lite but is their MPEG 4 Locals HD Lite?

[P Smith]

If you mean macroblocking, lack of details, etc - then yes, a few of them has been captured with that.

[RAD]

And others say the MPEG4's look like the OTA signal. IIRC some of the cities that still have the original MPEG4 encoders still have problems where the newer cities with newer encoders are very close to OTA quality.

[Spike]

I know D* MPEG 2 HD is HD Lite but is their MPEG 4 Locals HD Lite?

Here in the Chicago area the MPEG-4 locals are 9.5+ out of a 10 on my personal HD rating scale. It looks great. And my quality standards are high on the eye candy meter!


:balloons:

[Koz]

I'm in LA, which is one of the original HD cities (being an out of market DNS and all) and I think the quality is great. However, I think I remember hearing that they upgraded the encoder a while back, so it's probably not original.

Either way, I can't tell a difference from OTA. Much better than ESPN or TNT on the MPEG2 feeds IMO.

[directvfreak]

Your not getting my question. I hear the MPEG 2 HD is HD Lite with a resolution of 1280x1080i which is not the pull 1920x1080i resolution. Is directv braudcastig the HD locals in an HD Lite format of 1280x1080i or is it 1920x1080i?

[bonscott87]

Your not getting my question. I hear the MPEG 2 HD is HD Lite with a resolution of 1280x1080i which is not the pull 1920x1080i resolution. Is directv braudcastig the HD locals in an HD Lite format of 1280x1080i or is it 1920x1080i?

Ummm, why does it matter if they look virtually identical to OTA quality wise?

[RAD]

Your not getting my question. I hear the MPEG 2 HD is HD Lite with a resolution of 1280x1080i which is not the pull 1920x1080i resolution. Is directv braudcastig the HD locals in an HD Lite format of 1280x1080i or is it 1920x1080i?

AFAIK, nobody really knows for sure except the techs at D*. I don't think anyone's hacked the MPEG4 data stream yet to see exactly what's being send down the sat.

[P Smith]

It was done without hacking and discovered as 1440x1088i (last 8 rows doesn't carry any visual info ).

[RAD]

It was done without hacking and discovered as 1440x1088i (last 8 rows doesn't carry any visual info ).

Can you please provide the details on this???

[P Smith]

All details already posted.

[directvfreak]

Where did you get the info. Is there a link?

[kramerboy]

All details already posted.

What kind of response is that??

[Redlinetire]

These endless 'HD lite' arguments always remind of the old joke:

Old Lady #1: The food here is so bad!
Old Lady #2: Oh my, yes. And such small portions too!

Both my local Fox and ABC broadcast in 720, not 1080 and the local fox - whether on my 'full stream' cable HD or D* 'HD lite' look like crap because their techs don't know how to do broadcast in HD in the first place!

What does it matter if it's 1440 or 1920 when the original signal is crap to begin with? :confused:

[paulman182]

What kind of response is that??

P Smith has repeatedly posted his methodology on this forum. I'm sure he gets tired of going over it again and again.

We should be glad that his curiosity benfits the knowledge bank!

[Earl Bonovich]

Actually... in this case...

Yes... I would like him to post the link again to that discussion, as I don't recall a "methodology" being posted, that definitively proved the MPEG-4 resolution is altered.

As for "being asked over and over and over again"...
This isn't a daily, weekly, or even a monthly post that get's repeated over and over.

[RAD]

Yes... I would like him to post the link again to that discussion, as I don't recall a "methodology" being posted, that definitively proved the MPEG-4 resolution is altered.

+1

[wilbur_the_goose]

I'm in Philly and my OTA and MPEG-4 are of equal quality.

Put it this way - a CBS HD show from WCBS-DT (channel 80 on D*) isn't nearly as good as KYW-DT (Channel 3 on D*) here in Philly.

I can't tell any difference in the OTA for KYW-DT vs. the D* provided KYW-DT.

[LameLefty]

Last October when we got our HR20, the macroblocking on some HD locals were pretty bad. It was very noticeable on the 1080i stations (CBS and NBC). ABC and Fox looked great pretty much all the time, except on the edge of rain fade, just like plain old MPEG2 SD stuff looks. However, since then picture quality has made pretty great improvements. CBS and NBC hardly ever show macroblocking any longer, even on fast-motion, high contrast scenes like the opening credits to CSI: and CSI:NY. I'm quite satisfied, all things considered.

[P Smith]

When I could try to find "methodology" being posted about reserved 50 or 100 GB space on HR20 disk :p.

Actually... in this case...

Yes... I would like him to post the link again to that discussion, as I don't recall a "methodology" being posted, that definitively proved the MPEG-4 resolution is altered.

As for "being asked over and over and over again"...
This isn't a daily, weekly, or even a monthly post that get's repeated over and over.

[MrKlaatu]

Your not getting my question. I hear the MPEG 2 HD is HD Lite with a resolution of 1280x1080i which is not the pull 1920x1080i resolution. Is directv braudcastig the HD locals in an HD Lite format of 1280x1080i or is it 1920x1080i?

If the vertical resolution is 1080 lines then wouldn't the horizontal have to be 1920 if you get a 16:9 picture? Otherwise, wouldn't the picture look stretched?

[P Smith]

Not necessary, usually it have lost 1/4 info in each row and substituted by extrapolated pixels in output buffer of your DVR.