Err..they stated it was 1080p, they made no claims of bitrates or anything else. Its satellite television for the masses, not dedicated local media.
Hollywood In High-def
August 5, 2008
Satellite Not Really Blu-ray Quality 1080p?
One of the big selling points of Blu-ray Disc has been that it offers higher level HD -- full 1080p -- than any TV service which until now has never been better than 1080i and is often 720p or less.
But EchoStar's DISH Network is now making a major marketing splash with TV commercials and double-page ads in USA Today and other publications about its new "TurboHD" satellite service offering "100% HD" and 1080p VOD -- "same as Blu-ray Disc quality." (click here for details at DISH Network web site)
But what they don't reveal is whether he frame and transfer rates via satellite compare to Blu-ray, which is generally even more of a determining factor in picture quality than lines of resolution and scanning methods.
Andy Parsons of the BDA (Blu-ray Disc Association) says that while it's nice to see DISH Network acknowledging Blu-ray as the hi-def benchmark standard, BDA is skeptical until they can see the quality and information about the service for themselves.
According to Parsons, 1080p would be possible if the DISH receiver (set-top) box can receive 24 or 30fps digitally and then output 60fps via HDMI. This is how BD players do the job, which makes the bandwidth argument less relevant than it first appears. The real argument, he says, has to do with picture quality, not
resolution (artifacts, softening of the image, etc.).
Although the distinction in a side-by-side comparison would likely be apparent to most customers, unfortunately that level of technical minutae may be lost on most consumers in clever advertising campaigns.
They claimed "Bluray Quality Picture and Sound" in their TV ads.jethro65 said:Err..they stated it was 1080p, they made no claims of bitrates or anything else. Its satellite television for the masses, not dedicated local media.
Unless you have evidence of something different, all that Dish has ever said is "we have 1080p Video on Demand - same as Blue Ray Dish quality"Jack White said:They claimed "Bluray Quality Picture and Sound" in their TV ads.
I guess somebody will try and point out a Bluray Disc that has horrible sound and picture quality to defend Dish. If somebody made a Yugo and claimed "As fast as a Ferrari", and then when they tried to call them on it, if the Yugo guy said "As Fast as a Ferrari in first gear" to defend it, basically that's what Dish is doing.
We have lots of Rolls Royce's (and Bentley's and Maserati's, and you name it) here in Vero Beach and I have never seen one with spinner wheels, and I hope I never do. Anyone doing that to a Rolls should be taken out and put out of their misery.Comparing Bluray to "Turbo HD" is like putting some big spinner rims on a Hyundai and calling it a Rolls Royce Phantom.
Actually, I think it's brilliant marketing.phrelin said:IMHO it is stupid for broadcasters, and the systems that carry them like cable and satellite, to encourage a comparison between (a) what they can offer and (b) what you get when you attach directly to your home theater system a Blu-ray player that costs as much as your satellite receiver and does nothing until you buy or rent a commercially prerecorded disk to stick in it.