DTV HD compression rate?

[Hutch1814]

That's to my point of why have they been installing sd only setups all these years if the plan is to drop sd carriage at some point.

Cause directv is still very far off from SD to HD conversion. Also, there is several places that could get SD but no HD, even though they're very close together it's still an option to install SD only vs losing a customer. I don't see the entire country going MPEG4 ANY time soon

 

[raoul5788]

Cause directv is still very far off from SD to HD conversion. Also, there is several places that could get SD but no HD, even though they're very close together it's still an option to install SD only vs losing a customer. I don't see the entire country going MPEG4 ANY time soon

Why is that?

 

[Hutch1814]

Why is that?

Trees, buildings, anything that could possibly block 99 or 103. It's not often but does happen


Posted Via The SatelliteGuys Reader App!

 

[raoul5788]

I would venture a very small percentage. In the years since 99 and 103 have been used, I remember maybe two or three posters saying they can get 101, but not 99 or 103.

 

[Hutch1814]

I would venture a very small percentage. In the years since 99 and 103 have been used, I remember maybe two or three posters saying they can get 101, but not 99 or 103.

It actually happens more times than some people think. It's not a super common thing but we do get it enough for I to be an issue if we was to go full HD

 

[raoul5788]

I'm not saying they would have to use 99 and 103 for hd. They can switch the channels on 101 to mpeg4, saving a lot of bandwidth. Of course every sd customer would have to have mpeg4 boxes.

 

[goaliebob99]

K9sat - I don't think we are really disagreeing. The three main delivery mechanisms for the off-air stations are OTA (as we both agree, the most common), copper and fiber. You posted that fiber was not used but then you reversed that by saying fiber was RARELY used, used only where distance made it cost-effective and I am sure that's the case.
It's good to see a posting from someone who actually understands how all this works.

broe67 - other than being center-cut from the HD channel (which has its own issues) the "SD signal" could be pretty good quality, but DirecTV actually deliberately reduces the resolution so as to get more SD channels on each transponder.
I think your comments on FIOS are incorrect though. FIOS is the only provider that delivers HD locals in their full OTA resolution (in MPEG2) and you can't do better than that.

Yea sorry if I made that confusing. When I wrote the first post I forgot about our friends in AK, and HI. Porto Rico falls under the same, but I think that might be under the Latin America umbrella. Yes as far as I knew from talking with a few engineer friends over at Fios, fios try's to pass everything as uncompressed as fesable. That doesn't mean that compression isn't happening, they are just more liberal on how much they don't compress.

 

[goaliebob99]

Won't this require every sd sub to have their equipment switched out to hd (mpeg4)? If so, why hasn't Directv be doing this for years?

Eventually yes, there is a cost factor there. Directv is waiting for all of those RCA SD boxes to die off that never seem to die. There is a point where the numbers makes the transition feasible. With upgrades and people now having 3-4 HD sets in a house the SD only box is dwindling, to include MPG4 markets where everyone is given an HD receiver regardless if they have HD or not. There comes a point in time where the bandwidth gained from the 101 slot going HD and customer upgrades makes it worth while to swap out the remaining SD only boxes. If you have seen the new directv protection plan premier which gives you a free upgrade every two years at no additional cost, could be apart of the master plan at moving forward. So not only is every electronic device covered, you also get upgrades free, granted you are paying more for the plan. When you add the cost of the plan over the time span with the upgrade, the upgrade is nearly paid for, leaving the cost of the upgrade dramatically reduced, thus lowering the cost of the transition an all HD system and making the upgrades fesable at the same time.

 

[goaliebob99]

Directv has started rippling out mpeg4 markets. It's a huge under taking to say the least. Lots of man power and resources are used. I don't see directv going away from SD in the next several years though. Takes too much money, and too many man hours to switch a market over once their is 18X20's and round 18's up everywhere

This has already been factored in, and in the end its all about the numbers. There is a point coming up where the numbers say that it is possible to do it. You have to factor in customer upgrades currently and as older sd boxes die, the upgrades that happens then. Also, the new Premier protection plan will help with those upgrades. You also have to factor how many people had Directv and never took down their dish. While it may seem like there are more upgrades out there than what there really is. Directv is closer than what you think to when it comes to starting the sd to hd transition. I would expect to hear more about it in the next few years when it begins.