OMG 1080p rocks!

[SeaClearly]

1080p is the holy grail of HDTV.? Very few sets on the market support it, and there is currently no content available.

585876146[/snapback]

I'm with you and just can't wait after what I saw in person the last Sunday of the NFL season. I saw a live NFL game in 1080p in MPEG4 that ESPN was testing and it was crazy. Far away shots became just as clear as short range shots are with current HD and for once zooming in and out didn't have a jitter or fuzzing with it.

From what I was told by ESPN is that most if not all cable and DBS providers will offer software updates to their boxes to accept 1080p signals in MPEG4 but the box would downconvert it into either 1080i or 720p for current HD sets that don't support 1080p. But for the new HDTV sets that support 1080p the new HD boxes that support MPEG4 coming from both Dish and DirecTV will support decoding of a 1080p MPEG4 feed so a 1080p native set can display without altering.

From what I hear ESPN can change to 1080p broadcasts 24x7 as long as both the cable and DBS providers give software updates to just receive and decode the HD feed. From what they said pretty much all existing cable boxes can decode it just fine but both Dish and DirecTV will need to upgrade customers boxes which from what I hear will be done this year free of charge for all HD customers at least for DirecTV customers.

Also ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD should be full time 1080p including all live sporting events at the start of next years football season when they have Monday Night Football.

Because both Fox, NBC and CBS will have all games in HDTV two years from now ESPN feels that by giving live football in 1080p will increase their viewership along with driving sales of newer HDTV sets for both current and first time HDTV owners.

[metro]

The reason 1080p is not standard is because of the bandwidth needed to push it through the system. 1080i is really 2 sets of 540 lines redrawn every 60th of a second combined. The odd lines refresh every 30th of a second and the even lines refresh in the opposite 30th of a second. This is efficient in terms of broadcasting the signal due to how the lines are refreshed and redrawn. The problem with 1080i is when a screen gets larger in size, the more the screen can flicker due to the refresh/redraw.

1080p rocks because all of the lines are redrawn every 60th of a second and there is less flicker in the larger screens because of this. The only bad thing is the bandwidth requirements for the broadcasters and service providers to send the signal efficiently to a mass amount of subscribers.

Progressive is the way to go, but the only real way to enjoy progressive is through a DVD player that supports it. ESPN may start broadcasting their signal in 1080p, but it is also ultimately up to the service provider if they want to relay that signal. I would hope for the customers sake that DirecTV would not charge for the HD signal upgrade, however I hope that they do so it brings more business to Comcast. More business for Comcast means better job security for me :p

Here is a lil article on 720p sets that I found interesting.

http://www.hdblog.net/index.php/2005/05/02...-720p-not-720p/

[SeaClearly]

The reason 1080p is not standard is because of the bandwidth needed to push it through the system. 1080i is really 2 sets of 540 lines redrawn every 60th of a second combined. The odd lines refresh every 30th of a second and the even lines refresh in the opposite 30th of a second. This is efficient in terms of broadcasting the signal due to how the lines are refreshed and redrawn. The problem with 1080i is when a screen gets larger in size, the more the screen can flicker due to the refresh/redraw.

1080p rocks because all of the lines are redrawn every 60th of a second and there is less flicker in the larger screens because of this. The only bad thing is the bandwidth requirements for the broadcasters and service providers to send the signal efficiently to a mass amount of subscribers.

Progressive is the way to go, but the only real way to enjoy progressive is through a DVD player that supports it. ESPN may start broadcasting their signal in 1080p, but it is also ultimately up to the service provider if they want to relay that signal. I would hope for the customers sake that DirecTV would not charge for the HD signal upgrade, however I hope that they do so it brings more business to Comcast. More business for Comcast means better job security for me :p

Here is a lil article on 720p sets that I found interesting.

http://www.hdblog.net/index.php/2005/05/02...-720p-not-720p/

585890831[/snapback]

A 1080p signal in MPEG4 would use about the same bandwidth as a 1080i signal in MPEG4 so bandwidth won't be an excuse in the future.

[metro]

I am talking about raw signal frequency through a coaxial cable and not an encoded file playable on a computer. A computer is going to interpret the signal differently to a HDTV display than a raw feed from a coaxial cable if you are just simply playing back a file that is already encoded. You also have to figure in that the hardware in the cable box is a converter that mainly converts the signal to mpeg2 at this time, so there are changes that will need to be made in the future for hardware even if mpeg4 will be used in the future.

Also, the bandwidth issue at hand is because of the refresh rates. Because a progressive signal updates more frequently, more bandwidth will need to pushed through the system regardless of any codec being used... I think we are on a different level in terms of technology where the same terminology means different things.

[SeaClearly]

I am talking about raw signal frequency through a coaxial cable and not an encoded file playable on a computer. A computer is going to interpret the signal differently to a HDTV display than a raw feed from a coaxial cable if you are just simply playing back a file that is already encoded. You also have to figure in that the hardware in the cable box is a converter that mainly converts the signal to mpeg2 at this time, so there are changes that will need to be made in the future for hardware even if mpeg4 will be used in the future.

Also, the bandwidth issue at hand is because of the refresh rates. Because a progressive signal updates more frequently, more bandwidth will need to pushed through the system regardless of any codec being used... I think we are on a different level in terms of technology where the same terminology means different things.

585918962[/snapback]

Well my contacts have said that sometime in the next two years ESPN and ESPN2 HD will debut 1080p NFL games which will be aired on DirecTV along with other companies but DirecTV is a sure bet. Also my contact at ESPN has said that DirecTV will be making their upcoming HD DVR and Home Media Center with MPEG4 decoding in mind. Also the DirecTV boxes that will be coming this year will be able to download a software update to allow 1080p output for a 1080p set but I've been told that only the HDMI output on the DirecTV boxes will support 1080p output but as long as the TV set itself can support 1080p and has either a DVI or HDMI input with HDCP support. That means that component outputs will not work for 1080p with the new DirecTV boxes.

Also in case you wanted to know DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket package will have 6 Fox games in HDTV and 3 CBS games in HDTV every week this coming season but it will cost 300/season renewel, 320/season early bird and 350/season regular price.

This is because DirecTV this coming season will have two tiers once called NFL Sunday Ticket and an add-on optional tier called NFL SuperFan which will cost 100 bucks extra for the season. The SuperFan add-on includes the HDTV games and new interactive features that the new HD MPEG4 boxes will support. Now current HD boxes don't support interactive services.

So a customer must buy the basic NFL Sunday Ticket package to be allowed to buy the add-on superfan package.

Basic NFL Sunday Ticket prices = 200 renewel, 220 early bird and 250 regular.

NFL SuperFan Add-on prices = 100 bucks.

To put it this way last years Sunday Ticket will be exactly the same HD wise as this years but this year it will cost an extra 120 dollars.

[metro]

The current Motorola DCT 6412 that we use supports 1080p, however 1080p isn't broadcast in some markets. It is interesting seeing what they have up their sleeves, but I am optimistic that our offerings in the future will be better suited for people. In my market, we are working on going completely digital and adding tons more HDTV content and programming. The main issue is that not many companies broadcast in HD right now, while the technology is already available. It leaves a sour taste in the mouths of people that spend $2,500+ on TV's that they can't fully enjoy due to a lack of content.

I am biased when it comes to satellite tv, and I think it is subpar in many ways just like the limitation with the DirectTV boxes and the ports that 1080p will be supported on. I do know that our DVR has component, DVI, and Firewire outputs with the DVI and Firewire being HDCP protected. Some people have reported being able to interface with the box through Firewire and state they can pull the recorded media out of box and into their computer. I am going to experiment with mine, but the future will be interesting especially since we have a couple new contracts with TiVO and Digeo.

Things are about to get extremely competitive, and I am confident we will lead the race.

[SeaClearly]

The current Motorola DCT 6412 that we use supports 1080p, however 1080p isn't broadcast in some markets. It is interesting seeing what they have up their sleeves, but I am optimistic that our offerings in the future will be better suited for people. In my market, we are working on going completely digital and adding tons more HDTV content and programming. The main issue is that not many companies broadcast in HD right now, while the technology is already available. It leaves a sour taste in the mouths of people that spend $2,500+ on TV's that they can't fully enjoy due to a lack of content.

I am biased when it comes to satellite tv, and I think it is subpar in many ways just like the limitation with the DirectTV boxes and the ports that 1080p will be supported on. I do know that our DVR has component, DVI, and Firewire outputs with the DVI and Firewire being HDCP protected. Some people have reported being able to interface with the box through Firewire and state they can pull the recorded media out of box and into their computer. I am going to experiment with mine, but the future will be interesting especially since we have a couple new contracts with TiVO and Digeo.

Things are about to get extremely competitive, and I am confident we will lead the race.

585922366[/snapback]

Actually a 1080p signal can be sent over component connections but the reason I said that DirecTv will only support HDMI is because that is what ESPN has demanded.  ESPN wants this content copy protected with record-once.  The problem is that ESPN won't even give DirecTV the 1080p feed unless they promise to protect it and to protect the content they need to use HDCP.

[Matt T]

I doubt QT7 for windows will change that much from QT 1-6 for windows in that regard.

585865074[/snapback]

Apple have fixed quite a few bugs and problems with QT7. They certainly did a very poor job with previous releases, but QT7 is much more stable.

Damn, I wish I could see H.264 - my PC's hardware doesn't support it :(

[eAi]

VLC supports H.264, I'm not sure to what extent, but it certainly supports it.

[Vice]

VLC supports H.264, I'm not sure to what extent, but it certainly supports it.

586096207[/snapback]

It does not actually. At least it says it does not on there website compatibility list and I am unable to play it in VLC for Windows or Mac. Maybe you are thinking of the latest Mplayer release.

[Pajter]

Lol, that pic is almost big enough to crash my Windows XP machine :rofl:

[IK47]

what is the minimum monitor resoloution you need to watch 1080p?

[SeaClearly]

what is the minimum monitor resoloution you need to watch 1080p?

586103805[/snapback]

You can watch it at lower resolutions but the best way to watch it would be with a widescreen monitor that supports a resolution of 1920x1080.

[tktino]

You do realize you can see you're transfering a Tiger Disc image of 2.5Gb to a buddy on iChat, right?  :rolleyes:  :no:

585864086[/snapback]

lol, im cracking up