Why Is ESPNHD in 1080i instead of 720P?

[TheHammer69]

I saw somebody comment in a thread that Voom was showing ESPNHD in 1080i and nobody responded back to him. So I went and checked, and sure enough, it is 1080i. Why would Voom convert this channel to 1080i when the native resolution of ESPNHD is 720p? And before anybody jumps to conclusions about me having the little red button set to 1080i, it's not, I have my Voom box set to "Native Resolution" (all four bars lit up.)

Hammer

 

[The Stone Man]

All I can think of is maybe Voom is getting ready for ESPN's big HD conversion. I think I saw where that is scheduled for 6/7.

 

[vurbano]

All I can think of is maybe Voom is getting ready for ESPN's big HD conversion. I think I saw where that is scheduled for 6/7.

The new studio is 720p I believe. But it would be better quality if espn went 1080i

 

[madpoet]

No it wouldn't.

-MP

 

[squicken]

You're both wrong. 480p widescreen rocks!

 

[rollerfink]

I like betamax.

 

[DarrellP]

I made the original post about ESPNHD being in 1080i. My pj tells me the rez I'm locked into on the DVI connection. The first time I tuned in ESPNHD was from a Cinema10 show that is at 720P and when I switched, I got the brief "snow" screen while the pj resynced the signal so I hit the Menu button to check the rez and sure enough, it was 1080i. Maybe they are asleep at the "switch" and don't realize what they are doing?

ESPN is staying at 720P when they get the new complex up and running. I hope it happens soon, I don't watch much of ESPN because of the butt-ugly stretch mode they use. I hope once they get their new facility running that they will insert some sidebar graphics into 4:3 material and quit stretching it.

 

[Enforcer]

ESPN-HD is broadcasted in 720p not 1080i

 

[DarrellP]

We know that, but Voom is pushing it out in 1080i.

 

[seandudley]

I read a long time ago that Voom was going to send all the Hi-Def channels out at 1080i regardless of if they originate at 720p or 1080i. At that time I thought, "That's stupid. Let the receiver do the conversion to 1080i if needed, but people who can display 720p would prefer the feed to be provided in its native format." I have a TV that is only capable of 1080i at the moment, so it doesn't personally make any difference for my setup, but if I get a projector or TV in the future that can do 720p, I would certainly want the 720p broadcasts to be presented to me in 720p.

 

[madpoet]

Yep... my native 720p projector is usually happy with a native 720p signal.

 

[vurbano]

its very strange. 720p would save them some bandwidth too.

 

[Dvlos]

Personally I would prefer higher res, over lower res smoother action. However I agree it should be broadcast native and let the user up or down convert as they wish.

 

[slacker9876]

I was watching sportcenter last night and it was making like a distant OTA channel. I attributed this to upconversion and came here to see about complaints. Doesn't matter to me, I am calling (again) to cancel tonight I am very unhappy with the overall picture quality I am getting compared to D*.

I hope Voom does what they need to in order to improve, they have a killer idea with what they are doing but I am not at all impressed with the install or product.

 

[andrzej]

I was watching sportcenter last night and it was making like a distant OTA channel. I attributed this to upconversion and came here to see about complaints....

I am wondering what would be the difference in PQ between "distant" and "close" OTA channels that you’re talking about. I am assuming that you are talking about digital not analog. In this case, there should be no difference - you either have it or not.
Anyway, good luck with D*. I have both, and you will not hear from me complains about Voom versus D*. Sorry to disappoint you.