Mpeg 4

[purple1184]

Has this been officially announced when it is coming out? What exactly is it going to affect? HD content, standard content or both.

Thinking about getting a 522, but if MPEG 4 is going to kill I am going to wait to get a DVR.

 

[bcshields]

No official word yet. not even a vaugue time of year, like "spring '05" or anything. no official timeline is set.

 

[jergenf]

Has this been officially announced when it is coming out? What exactly is it going to affect? HD content, standard content or both.

Thinking about getting a 522, but if MPEG 4 is going to kill I am going to wait to get a DVR.

It was mentioned on a past Charlie Chat that November-December of this year that the new receivers would be announced. That of course is subject to change. Watch Monday's nights (August 8th @ 9PM) Technical Forum on 101 maybe they'll have another update.

Only people with HD need to be concerned at first but all receivers will be eventually upgraded within the next three years.

 

[Cyclone]

Since DirectTV seems to be gung-ho in replacing all of their STBs with DVRs & MPG4, I wonder if Dish will indeed try to get all theirs replaced in 3 years?

 

[jergenf]

Going to mpeg4 will double the number of channels per satellite so they're certainly going to try their best to transition to it as fast as possible. The real question is how painless will this be for the customers versus how expensive will it be for dish.

 

[rocatman]

Going to mpeg4 will double the number of channels per satellite so they're certainly going to try their best to transition to it as fast as possible. The real question is how painless will this be for the customers versus how expensive will it be for dish.

There is more to MPEG-4 than just doubling the number of channels per satellite. For the HD channels it will allow Dish to at least double the number of channels per transponder (TP) from 3 to at least 6. For SD channels, Dish maybe able to fit 2.5 to 3 times as many channels per TP from 12 now to 30 - 36 with MPEG-4. Recognize though that if Dish converts SD locals to HD you are going from 12 channels/TP to 6 channels/TP which is a reduction in capacity.

 

[jergenf]

There is more to MPEG-4 than just doubling the number of channels per satellite. For the HD channels it will allow Dish to at least double the number of channels per transponder (TP) from 3 to at least 6. For SD channels, Dish maybe able to fit 2.5 to 3 times as many channels per TP from 12 now to 30 - 36 with MPEG-4. Recognize though that if Dish converts SD locals to HD you are going from 12 channels/TP to 6 channels/TP which is a reduction in capacity.

That's good to know. I also heard that it has less pixelation during high motion scenes which is a weak point with mpeg2.

 

[Ray_Air]

So what does MPEG4 mean? The MPEG2 receivers will be obsolete and they can rape us for MPEG4 receivers?

 

[kfried001]

So what does MPEG4 mean? The MPEG2 receivers will be obsolete and they can rape us for MPEG4 receivers?

They maybe able to rape you, but I invested $250.00 in a 942, if I don't get an equal Mpeg4 receiver for free then E* has a legal problem on their hands as I was told that the 942 will beable to receive all current AND future HD programming available from E*. I also have a D* HD receiver that they are replacing for free. I use if for the NFL ticket. I can always go to D* because they have the same HD lineup pretty mush as E*. I don't count Voom because Voom has totally gone down hill.

 

[jergenf]

They maybe able to rape you, but I invested $250.00 in a 942, if I don't get an equal Mpeg4 receiver for free then E* has a legal problem on their hands as I was told that the 942 will beable to receive all current AND future HD programming available from E*. I also have a D* HD receiver that they are replacing for free. I use if for the NFL ticket. I can always go to D* because they have the same HD lineup pretty mush as E*. I don't count Voom because Voom has totally gone down hill.

Don't feel too bad, some people paid $700 for their 942 and $1000 for the 921 (although I got mine for the $550 price).

Not sure where you heard "future HD programming" because mpeg4 was already revealed before the 942 was even available.

If D* will give you a free replacement for ordering NFL ticket then maybe E* might use a simular tactic where if you commit to new programming the receiver is free.

Hopefully they'll reveal their intentions on Monday night's Tech Forum.

 

[jerryez]

The current issue of Home Theater magazine has a great article on defining MPEG and the varuious levels including mpeg2 and mpeg4. In the article, they say that Direct is going to mpeg4 this year and Dish is going to mpeg4 in 2006, which can mean anytime between 1/06 and 12/06, And so far, they have never met a projected start date. Any receiver that you buy now, will be worn out by the time Dish get off their ass.

 

[Stargazer]

Dish Network delaying the rollout of their MPEG-4 receiver lineup could be a good thing in that they could see what DirecTv is doing then go a step ahead.

 

[lilexecutioner]

But also its bad for us i think in getting new channels.

 

[ken]

I would like to see E* hold off on mpeg4. In another 2-3 years mpeg5 will come around and unless it (mpeg4) can be upgraded via software download they would be better off waiting.

 

[kavula]

MPEG2 has been kickin' for over 10 years, so I hardly think E* should do as ken suggests. It's about time that there is some change to make DTH satellite much more efficient. I'm ready for MPEG4, and I think that the sooner all receivers are switched to it so all channels can be switched, the better. I don't want to keep on waiting for the "next best thing"; sooner or later, you have to make stand and switch. Besides, there's only so far you can compress things. Eventually, you just have to develop broader transmission technologies instead of squeaking more data through the same pipe.

 

[Stargazer]

They need to make the receivers upgradable with slots in them just like you do with computers otherwise they will be swapping out receivers everytime a memory expansion or some other enhancement would be needed. By the time the swapout is done something else better will be out there and to simply do an upgrade on the receiver would improve things greatly while keeping costs down.

 

[Purogamer]

I'd like if the whole box was upgradeable...more memory, bigger hard drive, places to mount extra fans without having to mod...

 

[jergenf]

I would like to see E* hold off on mpeg4. In another 2-3 years mpeg5 will come around and unless it (mpeg4) can be upgraded via software download they would be better off waiting.

Although in theory mpeg4 could be processed using software it would require CPU and RAM at extreme speeds to uncompress it in real time. That would increase the price of receivers 3-4 times their present cost. An mpeg4 chip cost less than $35 in quantities and does the job without robbing CPU cycles.
While there's always a chance than someone will develop better compression algorithms I'm sure mpeg4 will remain in effect for quite some time. Mpeg2 will still remain the standard for digital TV broadcasts and DVD's.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

E* has guaranteed that the 942 will receive all future HD programming???

Not that I'm aware of. I didn't buy one specifically because I could find no guarantee that it would decode MPEG4.

 

[jergenf]

You're the second person to report that E* said all the 942 will support all future HD programming. Not sure where you got that info because I never heard that being stated officially.

First of all no one can guarantee the future. Second mpeg4 was announced Jan 2005 while 942 were released during March of this year. Unless you thought the mpeg4 decoder chips were already in the unit which is understandable because some people on these forums really believed that. But it was stated on Charlie Chat that a new type of reciever would be needed when they migrate to mpeg4. They also stated that the receiver migration would be as painless as possible (what that means).