More latest news on 4K HDTV test on Ku band

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There's already plenty of bandwidth for DVB-S2, or even DVB-S, to deliver superb quality 4K video.

It's just a matter of getting competent people together to uplink it. I think DirecTV would rather continue to cheap out and keep cramming a billion channels onto one transponder @ 4 Mbps instead of dedicating that transponder to a single beautiful 4K channel.

PC gaming and Internet video will be the drivers of this new tech this time around. Traditional television distribution will have to play catch up and it is going to take years for a successor to Blu-ray to be completed. Console gaming won't be able to do anything other than 4K video for another 7 years of course. The new video game consoles can't even do 1080p games properly. :rolleyes:

But PCs are ready to go with 4K and most Americans have access to an Internet connection fast enough to stream 4K video at good bitrates if they choose to subscribe to that speed tier. It's all about a company like Netflix getting the willpower to take advantage of peoples' connections instead of catering to the lowest common denominator. Dedicated receivers will take years to be rolled out but PCs have long had the power to process 4K video. My laptop can playback 4K videos without breaking a sweat...
 
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most Americans have access to an Internet connection fast enough to stream 4K video
I'd add, if close enough to a backbone or HS Fibre, which I'm not. I don't expect it out here in the boonies anytime soon.
 
I'd add, if close enough to a backbone or HS Fibre, which I'm not. I don't expect it out here in the boonies anytime soon.

Keyword is most. You are in the minority.

At least 51% of the American population lives in areas served by either fiber optics, a cable provider which offers DOCSIS 3.0 speed tiers, or AT&T U-verse. That is the majority, or "most."

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is when city dwellers on the cable company's cheapest package have the audacity to cry about having a terrible connection even though they have the option to subscribe to a faster speed tier if they wanted to. The rural residents who don't have the option I can understand.

Comcast has speed tiers up to 300 Mbps and the second largest cable ISP in the US, Time Warner, offers a 50 Mbps tier in all of their markets. 50 Mbps is fast enough to stream 4K video that isn't bitrate starved. Unfortunately, Netflix's implementation probably will be bitrate starved...

Time Warner is actually working on upgrading their 50 Mbps tier to 100 Mbps for no additional charge in 2014:
http://www.twcableuntangled.com/2013/10/get-the-download-on-twcs-internet-speed-upgrade/

There's always going to be some people left behind when it comes to a new technology. We can't hold the progress of everyone else back to accommodate them.
 
The number of people with UHDTVs today would fit in a restaurant function room.

Maybe in a couple of years, probably more.
 
The number of people with FTA satellite equipment (at least in America) today would fit in a restaurant function room.

Unlike FTA satellite, 4K has nowhere to go but up.
 
You realize of course you are posting in a FTA forum and thus are trolling? Back off.

No.

I am pointing out the hypocrisy of noting how niche a technology is when posting on a FTA forum.

3D television is a larger niche than FTA satellite here in the U.S.

And that's a good thing. If FTA satellite were more popular we would be seeing even more encryption.
 
FTA done legally is mostly a hobby for many, with relatively small numbers of individuals who view FTA just because it offers free TV viewing. Therefore comparing numbers of those experimenting with FTA with the commercial introduction of a new technology like 4K or 3D TV is not logical. It's like comparing numbers of amateur radio operators with numbers of smartphone users. At least, Mr. Spock would say this.
 
I live 26 miles from the nearest city and until a month or two ago, the only option for internet connections have been old copper telephone wire phone lines or unwired broadband like a microwave dish. However, now a fibre optic cable is being installed into my small subdivision (50 homes) and it will be available to all at a minimum of $50 month for an
Expected throughput: 12.0 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up*.

Things and times change, but as long as I'm here I'll have satellite FTA dishes.




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More and more fibre optic cable is being laid in rural areas thanks to government subsidies. My nephew has a hunting cabin in northern Michigan. The property is 4 miles from the nearest utility pole. Three years ago, they brought in a fibre optic cable for phone and internet. He opted for the phone only for $14.00 per month (modem is solar powered).
 
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