Time remaining and Mpeg 4

[Cognato]

Are all HD channels now in Mpeg 4?

If so they need address the space remaining counter on the DVRs. It looks like I am getting a little more than 2 to 1 compression benefit on Mpeg 4 compared to Mpeg3. That would give twice the published recording time on the HD calculations that are displayed on the 622 etc.

This was calculated using Local HD sat signals.

Am I reading this right?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

No not all the HD channels are MPEG4. Some of the older HD channels are still MPEG2.

MPEG3 is an audio codec not a video one.

 

[Cognato]

Sorry a miss of the fingers, MP3 is the compressed audio stream imbedded in the Mpeg format (audio layer 3).

There was an Mpeg 3 format but I don't think it was ever released.

 

[tnsprin]

Sorry a miss of the fingers, MP3 is the compressed audio stream imbedded in the Mpeg format (audio layer 3).

There was an Mpeg 3 format but I don't think it was ever released.

MPEG-1,-2,-4,-7 and -21 are the main standards produced by the MPEG of ISO/IEC.

See their mainsite
MPEG Home Page

I don't see a reference to a MPEG-3. But perhaps it was short lived.

 

[navychop]

Short, simple & sweet. Look here.

 

[harshness]

Even if all of the channels were MPEG4, they still come down at different rates. The time remaining will always be a ballpark estimate.

 

[n0qcu]

All channels will never be MPEG4 since OTA will always be MPEG2

 

[navychop]

That has nothing to do with what method the satcos use. They can take an MPEG-2 signal and retransmit it as MPEG-4.

 

[tigerfan33]

That has nothing to do with what method the satcos use. They can take an MPEG-2 signal and retransmit it as MPEG-4.

Yep. If I am not mistaken, all hd locals on Dish are MPEG4.

 

[digiblur]

HD LiLs were the first MPEG4 channels sent to customers.

 

[vegassatellite]

The time estimate is also variable depending on the robustness of the data being sent. Recording a NASCAR race for 3 hours would take more data than recording The Weather Channel for 3 hours. There's a lot of "ditto" commands on content that doesn't have much screen content changes.

 

[Hall]

Smith P did some testing and more or less proved the estimate of time is strictly MPEG2-based. When he recorded all MPEG4 programming, he got double the amount of programming, i.e. ~60 hours.

Problem is, until ALL programming is MPEG4, Dish has to leave the calculation alone. It's better to say there's 10 hours available (when in fact there's 20) vs saying there's 20 hours available when there's only 10. As noted earlier, it's an estimate.

 

[SKrueger]

Yep. If I am not mistaken, all hd locals on Dish are MPEG4.

I may be wrong (and certainly will be quickly corrected), but I thought there were a couple of cities where the LIL HD was MPEG2, Los Angeles being one of them.

 

[n0qcu]

That has nothing to do with what method the satcos use. They can take an MPEG-2 signal and retransmit it as MPEG-4.

Yes, the satco can do that but I am referring to recording OTA which will always be MPEG2.

 

[Cognato]

Thanks Hall that is what I am seeing. I just did not know they still had some MPEG2 channels still up there.

Smith P did some testing and more or less proved the estimate of time is strictly MPEG2-based. When he recorded all MPEG4 programming, he got double the amount of programming, i.e. ~60 hours.

Problem is, until ALL programming is MPEG4, Dish has to leave the calculation alone. It's better to say there's 10 hours available (when in fact there's 20) vs saying there's 20 hours available when there's only 10. As noted earlier, it's an estimate.