HD, HD, where's the HD ?

[Pretzelboy]

Originally Posted by Ken C

Anyhow, are 4 or 5 clear QAM HD channels typical, the rest SD ? And, in my case, only NBC and Fox with any merit. If that's all that's available, not a real need to jump into any digital tuner.

It varies greatly by company. My cable company has 50+ clear QAM channels. It's everything in their standard tier.

[gblinckmann]

Originally Posted by stanger89

ATSC specifies:
1920x1080@ 23.976p, 24p, 29.970p, 30p, 59.940i and 60i
1280x720@ 23.976p, 24p, 29.970p, 30p, 59.940p, and 60p
and 640x480 and 704x480 at the same rates as 1080 but with 59.940p and 60p.

I wonder why you don't see more stuff broadcast at 704x480@60p? It's DVD resolution and still looks very good considering the reduced bandwidth from something like 1080i.

[stanger89]

DVD is actually 720x480@59.94i, and most of the time the content it stores is 24p. Most digital cable/satellite channels are 480i (though usually 544x480@59.94i).

[Elephino]

Originally Posted by stanger89

I think it's far more likely that people will just "do without" the "extra" TVs. Take my parents for example, they've got 3 TVs, if they had to get boxes, I doubt they'd drop their service, but one or two of those TVs would probably go all but unused.

Dish offers a two tv per box setup, even on their basic STB. Output 1 runs into my Sage box which is controlled by an IR blaster (works fine!). I can watch TV in there (my den), or in my living room or bedroom where I split the second output. (The second tuner is controlled by an RF remote, so it works anywhere in the house. Greatest idea ever.) Also, the living room has a little htpc which allows for viewing of my Sage recorded shows and also tunes OTA HD.

Yes, there was some time spent in my attic to get this to happen, but I'm happy. And I'm pretty sure I can keep the same setup should I upgrade to DishHD.

[lobosrul]

Originally Posted by gblinckmann

I wonder why you don't see more stuff broadcast at 704x480@60p? It's DVD resolution and still looks very good considering the reduced bandwidth from something like 1080i.

Actually, I do have some digital broadcasts @ 720x480. In fact, I think all analog NTSC broadcasts are 720xsomething (analog has more lines than are visible).

The thing is though, is it is NOT anamorphic like DVD's can be. Meaning if the program is widescreen some of the 480 lines are wasted by black bars. Essentially, its a 360 line picture.

In many PAL countries (UK for instance), their digital signals are sent out anamoprhically, like a DVD, and have been since the late 90's. I think the US really "screwed the pooch" so to speak by never getting around to this. Maybe it was a limitation in the ATSC spec, I dont know. But now 98%* of the people in the US equate widescreen TV with HDTV, which is a fallacy.

Also, theres no such thing as 60i. The terminology is widthxheight @frames/sec. So 30i is 30 frames/sec interlaced into 60 fields/sec. All color TV broadcasts are slowed down slightly so its actually 30/1001 ~ 29.97.

I know I saw Comcast sending out digital SDTV channels @ 576x480.

* I pulled that number out of thin air. But I bet its about right.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Elephino

Yes, there was some time spent in my attic to get this to happen, but I'm happy. And I'm pretty sure I can keep the same setup should I upgrade to DishHD.

The second TV doesn't get an HD output though, AFAIK.