D*'s REALLY trying to get the word out about the MPEG4 requirement

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The FCC mandated that all TV's sold from 2006 forward will have a HDTV tuner in it.

Jimbo

Yep, but some sets get around that rule by calling them monitors, not TV's, monitors don't require a tuner.
 
First, no you did not say I should toss it. I'll ignore the rest of your rant about my 4-year-old sceen. The point is there are a *lot* of people who don't have a built-in tuner but still want to periodically upgrade their D* equipment.

My smaller screens (32 and 23 inches) have excellent pictures and I bought them primarily to use with a D* IRD, not the built-in tuner. I happened to compare each built-in to the H20, and found the H20 far better than a run-of-the-mill built-in tuner.

Why do you have so much trouble acknowledging that D* did a better job with ATSC reception and decode than most tv manufacturers?

D* has a history of pushing people toward OTA for supplementary local programming. Now they've got a lot of people who actually use that portion of their IRD and get worthwhile subchannels. Removing that tuner and telling people it's an upgrade is idiotic... and the tone of other posts supports my assertion.

Rants, hey you're the one that asked if "Are you seriously suggesting that I toss it " which I never said. You have it stuck in your head that D*'s going to discontinue the H20 and all you can get is the H21, I ask again, where has ANYTHING ever been said that D*'s going to discontinue the H20? Earl, which has MUCH better sources then you, has said that D* has not announced any plans to disco the H20. My point, which you can't get though your head, is that D*'s making the H21 as an OPTION for STB's, if you don't need an ATSC tuner you can get the H21, if you do need one you get the H20, what can't you understand about that?

And where has D* said that the H21 is an 'upgrade' I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, and I happen to have an H21 and it's not mentioned anywhere in the documentation.

Read or ignore this response, I don't care, last that I'll mention it.
 
The FCC mandated that all TV's sold from 2006 forward will have a HDTV tuner in it.

Jimbo

Yep, but some sets get around that rule by calling them monitors, not TV's, monitors don't require a tuner.

Rad,
You are correct.
Monitors do not have ANY tuners ....
I have not really paid much attention to the monitor situation but I have not seen that many Just monitors out there ... at least where I buy my audio / video, I don't know if they even sell one, but I am sure they are out there.
I wonder what the percentage of set that are out there are monitors (HD wise) .

Jimbo
 
V,
There is NO provider out there that runs at 1920x1080i on all channels., why are you making out that D* is the one doing this ?, when everyone else does this or less.

Jimbo

Really now?

SO FIOS is downrezzing?

C - Band is down rezzing?

ALL Comcast outlets are downrezzing locals?

And BTW in addition to being wrong you are missing the point. The point being that OTA serves as a benchmark to check how good the picture really is. WHat is your problem with that? I can think of only one reason to have a problem with it or to drop OTA and that is if you intend to downrezz even further and do not want your customers making a comparison.
 
OTA isn't all that, in areas that have a bunch of subchannels.
 
The main problem that I have with getting a pay service without OTA capability, is that you're subject to being used as a pawn in the bargaining for retransmission agreement process between the providers and the station owners. We've all seen it happen, and it's only going to get more contentious as analog is replaced by digital.

By giving OTA capability to the subs, the pay providers can tell the stations to go jump in the lake, we don't need your permission to retransmit. 90% of DBS and cable subs can get digital OTA with rabbit ears, and 50% could probably get a good signal with a paperclip stuck in the antenna input.
 
The main problem that I have with getting a pay service without OTA capability, is that you're subject to being used as a pawn in the bargaining for retransmission agreement process between the providers and the station owners. We've all seen it happen, and it's only going to get more contentious as analog is replaced by digital.

By giving OTA capability to the subs, the pay providers can tell the stations to go jump in the lake, we don't need your permission to retransmit. 90% of DBS and cable subs can get digital OTA with rabbit ears, and 50% could probably get a good signal with a paperclip stuck in the antenna input.

I don't think you are wrong. But these pay providers go after the mass market, not us niche enthusiasts. For that reason alone, they will always have the advantage.

The vast majority of subs WANT TO rely on their provider for locals, and will continue to do so. For the rest of us, we seek the best signal and greatest variety. We are in the minority.
 
The main problem that I have with getting a pay service without OTA capability, is that you're subject to being used as a pawn in the bargaining for retransmission agreement process between the providers and the station owners. We've all seen it happen, and it's only going to get more contentious as analog is replaced by digital.

You've just described every cable system I've ever encountered.

By giving OTA capability to the subs, the pay providers can tell the stations to go jump in the lake, we don't need your permission to retransmit. 90% of DBS and cable subs can get digital OTA with rabbit ears, and 50% could probably get a good signal with a paperclip stuck in the antenna input.

You've made a case for DBS not carrying every affiliate in every market. Unfortunately D* has already spent the $$$ for birds and IRD development to carry HD locals everywhere. So on one hand there is less incentive to provide OTA capability; OTOH having OTA capability and the infrastructure still gives some negotiating leverage and a fall-back position for "must-carry" issues.

I'm not certain that your 90% and 50% figures are accurate though. I suspect there are an awful lot of rural subs who can't get squat with any kind of OTA antenna. All it takes is 50-60 miles and a steep hill to block the path.
 
Ok folks, I dont even know what the arguments are about. However, please try to refrain from name calling and other references to where one can place one's head. Thanks.
 
Really now?

SO FIOS is downrezzing?

C - Band is down rezzing?

ALL Comcast outlets are downrezzing locals?

And BTW in addition to being wrong you are missing the point. The point being that OTA serves as a benchmark to check how good the picture really is. WHat is your problem with that? I can think of only one reason to have a problem with it or to drop OTA and that is if you intend to downrezz even further and do not want your customers making a comparison.

I went back and re-read my post and I NEVER said they were downrezzing.
I said NO PROVIDER is running all channels at 1920x1080i, So why do you see the reason to bash D* if they are running 1440x 1088i, ?

Can you show me where EVERY Channel is being run at 1920x1080i on ANY provider ???

You made it sound like D* was the only one not at 1920x1080i ....

Jimbo
 
Can you show me where EVERY Channel is being run at 1920x1080i on ANY provider ???

You made it sound like D* was the only one not at 1920x1080i ....

Jimbo

He can't show this because nobody is. They don't have to be downrezzing but they arn't all 1920x1080i.
 
I went back and re-read my post and I NEVER said they were downrezzing.
I said NO PROVIDER is running all channels at 1920x1080i, So why do you see the reason to bash D* if they are running 1440x 1088i, ?

Can you show me where EVERY Channel is being run at 1920x1080i on ANY provider ???

You made it sound like D* was the only one not at 1920x1080i ....

Jimbo

Other providers could also be putting the channel up at 1920x1080i but not giving all the 19.4mbs bandwidth it is supposed to have.
 
I know TWC and Comcast claim full pass through, but Comcasts hd here looks worse than D* and E*.

Id say you need to take most of this with a grain of salt. Just because its 1920 doesnt mean itll look the best, and just because its 1280 doesnt mean itll look the worst.

Some people just like to look at data and bitch.
 
Some people just like to look at data and bitch.

:up

Can't tell you how many times I've seen on AVS where there are no posts about bad PQ until someone posts some numbers and then all of a sudden a flood of posts about how much PQ sucks. Those people wouldn't "notice" or complain until you put some numbers out there. Personally I ignore all PQ debates because the only PQ that matters is what I see on my TV setup.
 
Problems with arguing PQ is there is so many things that come into play. Even if you view them on the same tv side by side, you still have opinion.

We had a guy on the bluray forums state that his panasonic looked much better than his ps3. After being asked he said he calibrated the tv with the panasonic. We then explained that he should calibrate each input for each device he acted like it was ludicrous. My OTA, DVR and PS3 video settings are all pretty similiar, but not the SAME.
 
I went back and re-read my post and I NEVER said they were downrezzing.
I said NO PROVIDER is running all channels at 1920x1080i, So why do you see the reason to bash D* if they are running 1440x 1088i, ?

Can you show me where EVERY Channel is being run at 1920x1080i on ANY provider ???

You made it sound like D* was the only one not at 1920x1080i ....

Jimbo
You are playing word games. OK you are correct. No provider sends out every channel at 1920 x 1080i. But some providers do not downrezz any channels. How is that? work for ya? :rolleyes:
 
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You are playing word games. Several providers provide native untouched resolution. Many channels are standard digital and would not be 1920, and some are 1280x720p natively. Its a silly arguement to bring up. As far as bitrate goes C- band HD is way over 19.4 mb/s

I admit to not fully understanding the math behind the signals, but isn't 19.4MBS the maximum allowed per frequency by the FCC? If so, how can some providers on C-Band be "way over 19.4MBS"? If I am wrong, please correct me.
 
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