Is there a device which would allow me to see the resolution (1080p, 1080i, etc.) of signals received from the Dish satellite?
Measuring Picture Resolution
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No 1080p from Dish satellites. Only certain VOD delivered over the internet. 1080i & 720p & SD. Of some interest also is: Is it 1080x1440?
First, there is no over the air or regular cable channel that broadcasts in 1080P. Further, the dish receiver only broadcasts at what ever resolution you have it set to, either 480P, 1080I or 720P. You can find some discussions about compression used and how it affects the picture if that is what you mean. Or perhaps you want to know what the actual channel is broadcasting at, and if it is being upconverted?
By the way, even some OTA channels that you get directly from your receiver to your TV are not always full 1080I or 720P. When our local NBC went to HD it didn't seem as sharp as the other networks. I was able to turn my antenna and get a MA NBC station in HD and it was sharper. I found out the local NBC was not at what would be considered full 1080I, but was at 1440X1080 rather than 1920X1080. They have since changed.
By the way, even some OTA channels that you get directly from your receiver to your TV are not always full 1080I or 720P. When our local NBC went to HD it didn't seem as sharp as the other networks. I was able to turn my antenna and get a MA NBC station in HD and it was sharper. I found out the local NBC was not at what would be considered full 1080I, but was at 1440X1080 rather than 1920X1080. They have since changed.
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Navy, IIRC, I think some 1080p content IS downloaded from satellite, and stored on the receiver as PPV/VOD.
Advances march on. OK, they crawl on. I'll take what I can get. But outside of Blu-ray, I've never watched 1080p.
I've worked for NBC and I think you were incorrectly informed about the output that was being broadcast. NBC is always 1920 X 1080i but the affiliate has the right to run lower bit rates than the full bandwidth. That way they can carry sub-channels like Telemundo.
Not sure I understand, on what was I misinformed. They were transmitting in less of a bit rate, but still at what is considered HD. (1440X1080)
Much, perhaps most, "HD" produced in previous years was actually sourced at the camera in 1080x1440. The network or anyone else can scale it to 1080x1920 or whatever. The most common equipment (cameras) have recorded at 1440 not 1920 to begin with. So it makes "1080x1920" a bit of a slippery thing to define.
Yes, a 1080p television.
Everything will look better on it because the TV will upconvert it to 1920x1080p.
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Whoever you talked to misinformed you on what was being transmitted. The feed from NBC is 1920 X 1080 not 1440 X 1080. The station does not have the equipment to change the resolution but they do have the equipment to change the bit rate that it is running. Now their cameras could have been the 1440 X 1080 as the majority HD cameras are. BTW NBC controls the satellite receivers that the station is using to transmit the programming. That is why there is no way for the station to change the resolution. Now the transmitter encoder will allow adjustment of bit rates for each of the channels carried OTA. This way they can adjust the floating bit rate (newer units are set up with a standard bit rate that has what is know a varibit) between the multicast. BTW varibit is the term for variable bit rate in which the bits are shared by the group of channels. That way if one needs less bits it can be used by a different channel that needs it. Newer encoders like the Net VX from Harris will run 2 HDTV signals in a single OTA channel stream, or it can run 1 HD and up to 3 SD multicast.
Some video may be at 1440, but many series are filmed and they would be full 1920, like any movie shown.
My local NBC used to have an incredible picture. Then they added a sub channel. It was very noticeable when they cut the bit rate down.
My local NBC used to have an incredible picture. Then they added a sub channel. It was very noticeable when they cut the bit rate down.
I am sure they went with the cheapest solution possible. The local CBS cut theirs down too and puts out a poor SD subchannel of the CW. I emailed them once asking why they did not send it out wide screen 704x480 SD instead of letterboxing it in 640x480 and you have black all the way around the picture. They wrote back saying that was all the box they had would do.
With variable rate encoders both NBC/CBS could probably put out a good picture and run the subchannel at a good bit rate too. But, I bet it will be years before they invest in a new box.
One station in the next market over KXII has CBS/FOX both in HD (Fox is the subchannel)
Here is actual resolution of OTA ATSC (best case)- FCC's experts report these color/B&W resolutions for HDTV programming - AVS Forum Archive
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That is really old data (2001 post about a 1990s study). MPEG2 encoders are a lot better than they used to be and displays are a lot better also. They should be able to get much better motion resolution than they could 10-15 years ago with state of the art encoders.
They need an encoder like KLCW/KMYL/KTXQ uses stuffing two 720p and one 480i signal into their 19MB bandwidth with pretty good results.
Not really KLCW is on real channel 43, KMYL on 22, & KTXQ is 46 with the company that is running it on 35 (KJTV). Now they are shoving the all thru the same antenna but they are close enough in freq that they can get away w/ it.
Well I'm not seeing it, if anything it has gotten worse. Been watching since November of 1998. Yeah and better than 400 lines of vertical rez is really saying a lot. Either way Dish and Blu-Ray can blow it away with MPEG4.
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If you see the full network feed it is a great picture. The local affiliates have been butchering the signal. They have figured out like Dish/DIRECTV (and now cable) that people want quantity over picture quality. So, the affiliates are squeezing in a bunch of sub channels to sell more ads on. They already have the tower bought and paid for, so being able to pump out 2-3 channels using the same amount of electricity is just more money.
