D* & Mpeg4

[varaonaid]

Hi there,

I was curious if plans were known at this point on D*'s transition to mpeg4. I had heard that they are actively working to transition the remaining 9 or so mpeg2 HD channels over but I was curious as to the long term plans for SD as well. Is that something D* is planning to address in the not-so-distant-future? I finally "got" what the idea of E*'s Eastern Arc theory is supposed to be and wondered if D* is similarly going after all mpeg4.

 

[jcrandall]

I would predict you will be ok with mpeg2 SD until 2010 or beyond.

There is A TON of equipment they would have to replace before they start turning off basic mpeg2 sd. Just this past year they developed new products for basic sd on the 101 sat - the Sat-go for example.

 

[varaonaid]

Oh, actually, it was kinda the other way around...I'm planning to sign up with D* when I move early this summer and since I would have a mpeg4 box was wondering if/when all the SD was going to be converted over. Sounds like it will be awhile, though, if it's post 2010. Is the quality of SD mpeg4 vs mpeg2 much different or is it simply that the compression allows for more channels per transponder?

 

[joed32]

That's right, just more efficient compression, and as a plus, they don't need to compress as much so a better picture as well.

 

[cebbigh]

Once D11 is operational there will be another big increase in MPEG4 HD offerings. I'm thinking that we are getting close to a saturation point. We won't care how the SD picture looks because so much will be offered on MPEG4 HD channels. SD transmitted on the new HD channels looks about as good as SD can look.