[SonicBee777]

I've been told that is true. And also that MPEG-4 has the potential of being better than MPEG-2.

When the Dish L.A. HD locals are stable, they're pretty darned good.

At the present time, however, our Dish HD locals (Los Angeles area) seem the most prone to video and audio problems. Is that due to MPEG-4 itself or just to MPEG-4 teething pains? I can't tell you for sure, but suspect the latter.

 

[SonicBee777]

Hmm, that's not good... what sort of video and audio problems are they? Are they pretty bad?

Are they pretty bad? Well, KNBC seems to have macroblocking and audio stuttering/dropouts most often for us. Frequency 2-4x in 30 minutes is not high IMO, and for me it's more annoyance than serious problem. And it doesn't happen all the time either.

Severity varies all over the map, from minor glitch you could miss if you blinked to full-screen macroblocking with audio stuttering lasting 2-3 seconds. Some of it is triggered when show goes to commercial, so I miss some of the commercial - not a problem in my book. But it also happens during the show. My life doesn't revolve around TV, and I'm perhaps more willing than some to wait to see if it improves over time, which I believe it will.

When these glitches DON'T happen, which statistically is most of the time, the picture and sound is quite good.