4:2:2 Digital

[PopcornNMore]

More and more people are reporting programming using 4:2:2 instead of 4:2:0. What do you need to receive it? Do only PC cards receive 4:2:2 and why?

 

[Mr Tony]

PC cards do have this option but no blind scan
There are commercial receivers that do 4:2:2 but they big money

 

[PopcornNMore]

Thank you Iceberg. If only they made a reasonable priced FTA receiver that offered 4:2:0, 4:2:2, AC-3 audio, Digicipher and analog capabilities built-in.

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

Thank you Iceberg. If only they made a reasonable priced FTA receiver that offered 4:2:0, 4:2:2, AC-3 audio, Digicipher and analog capabilities built-in.

I think you may see FTA receivers start to move in that direction (hopefully). With units like the Pansat 3500s you have a receiver that goes about as far as you can (AC-3, fewer bugs, etc.) with the 4:2:0 only format. Pansat also has a DVR-type unit with a hard drive. So the next logical step would be 4:2:2 if there is a market and if there are no other problems in making this type of device.

 

[Arion]

For any that are using the PCI cards (I use both PCI card and desktop recievers) for 4.2.2 video you need to use the elecard codacs or you will get a black screen.

 

[CharredPC]

For any that are using the PCI cards (I use both PCI card and desktop recievers) for 4.2.2 video you need to use the elecard codacs or you will get a black screen.

I actually haven't had much luck with Elecard here. It shows a much-too-small squished screen with an annoyinglogo in the top-right corner
I have a few codec packs I install that gives me a few different options that produce 4:2:2. If anyone cares, I'll go look at what codecs I use and links.

 

[Arion]

Yes, that would be interesting. I have only had success with the elecard codecs and that is the only set of codecs that I have heard can decode 4.2.2 I did pay the fee to register the elecard codecs and the logo went away. And I agree that with elecard the standard 3:4 format is rather skewed.

 

[CharredPC]

Ok, I'll do a thurough list of the codecs I use and what the results of each are... you'll just have to bear with me while I wait for my dish to arrive Only one I have now (76cm) is hooked up to the Viacast in the bedroom for G10. The new 1.2m will be the living room's (Home Theatre PC, where the Twinhan 102g is).

 

[derdude]

I use TSReader with my Twinhan card and out of the box the TSReader decodes 4:2:2.

 

[Tron]

There are a couple of receivers (broadcast grade) that I know of that decode 4:2:2... The Motorola 4800 series and clones (I have a rebranded 4801 on the way and will do a review of it when I get it up and running) and the Scientific Atlanta PowerVu 9842. I just read that the Tandberg TT 1260 and TT 1280 will also do 4:2:2.

These are VERY expensive when new, however, since they are marketed to broadcasters.

 

[Wayn23]

I actually haven't had much luck with Elecard here. It shows a much-too-small squished screen with an annoyinglogo in the top-right corner
I have a few codec packs I install that gives me a few different options that produce 4:2:2. If anyone cares, I'll go look at what codecs I use and links.

I don't know what software you are using but it might have settings to adjust the picture size, I know in MyTheater and DVBDream you can adjust
it. If you have in video programs for making DVD's you might want to check the codecs that came with them, I have Dazzle and Ulead programs that came with Main Concept decoders that can do 4:2:2. And yes if you pay the
$20 for the Elecard decoder it does not have the logo.

 

[iammike]

I use MyTheatre, and I think the elecard decoder must come with it. I don't get the logo and I can view 4:2:2 content.

 

[CharredPC]

iammike:

Elecard doesn't come with myTheatre.

You probably had some DVD software installed at one point that now automatically works with MT. If you don't have the logo, it's a sure sign you either aren't using Elecard or you have the registered version on your system. Wayn23, I use ProgDVB and MyTheatre. Neither has any settings that fix the Elecard squished screensize (that I've found). As Arion said, it gives a weird 3:4 format. If my dish decides to show up today, I might get a chance to see what (free) codecs I use that work fine for 4:2:2.

 

[iammike]

iammike:

Elecard doesn't come with myTheatre.

You probably had some DVD software installed at one point that now automatically works with MT. If you don't have the logo, it's a sure sign you either aren't using Elecard or you have the registered version on your system.

That's possible, my Dell did come with PowerDVD preinstalled. I also purchased a copy of TheaterTek.

 

[n4bbq]

More and more people are reporting programming using 4:2:2 instead of 4:2:0. What do you need to receive it? Do only PC cards receive 4:2:2 and why?

I wrote PansatUSA and they do not plan to build a 4:2:2 receiver.

 

[CharredPC]

I'd be happy if they'd just enable a PCI DVB card with blind/power scan

 

[Shawn95GT]

I wrote PansatUSA and they do not plan to build a 4:2:2 receiver.

Hehe - silly HD, it'll never catch on.

Maybe they dont' want to invest in the hardware quite yet with new High definition technologies on the horizon (1080p, MPG4, etc).

It's too bad. I wonder if there is some kind of licensing / royalty involved with 4:2:2. The PC hardware is cheap. A STB that'll do the same cost 20x as much.

Shawn

 

[tvdxer]

If you have a decently fast computer (e.g. 2 GHz processor) you should be able to decode MPEG-2 4:2:2 video without too many problems, provided you have a DVB card.

The blind search function could be performed by a blind-scan receiver like a Pansat 2500 or Lifetime Ultra. This should give you the transponder and symbol rate; you might have to play around with what your receiver gives you, because "blind search" isn't that exact.

Another option is the Quali-TV receiver, about $700 from Lee Richardson's Mech-Tech, which does 4:2:0, 4:2:2, AC-3 (without external decoder), and HD, including output to a non-HD TV, but without blind scan, so you'll still want a blind-scan receiver.

Ah well...there's nothing like a rack of gear / receivers, no?

 

[Stefan]

I use TSReader with my Twinhan card and out of the box the TSReader decodes 4:2:2.

Actually, it's not Tsreader that decodes 4:2:2 as tsreader doesn't really decode anything. It simply streams the video to another piece of software or device which handles decoding. Sounds to me like you also have VLC installed on your computer and it's what's doing the decoding.

 

[Wayn23]

Wayn23, I use ProgDVB and MyTheatre. Neither has any settings that fix the Elecard squished screensize (that I've found). As Arion said, it gives a weird 3:4 format. If my dish decides to show up today, I might get a chance to see what (free) codecs I use that work fine for 4:2:2.

I tried this just now with MyTheater 3.25, go into general settings and click
on IVR/OSD tab. If you are using generic video renderer change it to one of the other settings, I get the squished picture with the generic video renderer
setting but the other 3 settings give me full screen display. I know DVBDream has sliders to adjust picture size also.