FYI:

HDNet on 306
HDNet Movies on 552

^ the PQ improvement on HDNet is quite good.

^ the PQ improvement on HDNet is quite good.

Just got done watching a bit of Nothing But Trailers. When watching the trailer for Death Race, which had a ton of fast moving very demanding scenes, the quality was a huge upgrade over MPEG-2. No way that trailer goes through without mass motion artifacting via MPEG-2.

On MPEG-4 I wouldnt say it was perfect, IMO nothing from D* will ever be perfect, but it was an extreme upgrade over MPEG-2.

Very happy to see these channels got moved to MPEG-4. Now if they would just up the bit rates a tiny bit on their MPEG-4 Ill be a totally happy camper :) As it stands I am mostly happy anyways.

Just got done watching a bit of Nothing But Trailers. When watching the trailer for Death Race, which had a ton of fast moving very demanding scenes, the quality was a huge upgrade over MPEG-2. No way that trailer goes through without mass motion artifacting via MPEG-2.

On MPEG-4 I wouldnt say it was perfect, IMO nothing from D* will ever be perfect, but it was an extreme upgrade over MPEG-2.

Very happy to see these channels got moved to MPEG-4. Now if they would just up the bit rates a tiny bit on their MPEG-4 Ill be a totally happy camper :) As it stands I am mostly happy anyways.

Since I am at work I was gonna program one of my HR20's to record Nothing but Trailers. However, D* has not updated their online guide yet. HDNET still shows as channel 79.

^ the PQ improvement on HDNet is quite good.

And we've done a direct A/B comparison with the legacy MPEG2 channel?

I just want to make sure you're not falling victim to a placebo effect induced by first day over-enthusiasm. :)

Since I am at work I was gonna program one of my HR20's to record Nothing but Trailers. However, D* has not updated their online guide yet. HDNET still shows as channel 79.

I watched Hogan's Heroes on channel 306 this morning. MUCH improvement over channel 79.

And we've done a direct A/B comparison with the legacy MPEG2 channel?

I just want to make sure you're not falling victim to a placebo effect induced by first day over-enthusiasm. :)


I dont see why anyone would need to do a side by side.

MPEG-2 HDnet showed mass artifacting during even slightly demanding scenes, and during scene transitions.

MPEG-4 is not having that problem. It isnt rocket science. My 8 year old is really happy with the improvements :)

I dont see why anyone would need to do a side by side.

Because *some* of us don't have MPEG4 equipment yet, and we'd like to hear of some sober comparisons before going through the hassles of "upgrading/swapping."

.... It ain't rocket science ... oh, wait a minute, maybe it is. :D

PS: I reference the infamous is it better at 1920x1080i or 1280x1088i debates from years ago ... many folks were fooled by the numbers.

I've only seen Dan Rather so far, and it looks good, but I need to see something that tests the bandwidth a bit more.

However, the artifacts on MPEG2 HDNET are typically horrendous (and consistently present) - so the improvement should be readily apparent - or not.

I've only seen Dan Rather so far, and it looks good, but I need to see something that tests the bandwidth a bit more.

However, the artifacts on MPEG2 HDNET are typically horrendous (and consistently present) - so the improvement should be readily apparent - or not.

It is very readily apparent. Honestly, anyone with any D* HD experience should be able to look at any demanding MPEG-4 scene and see huge improvements with the naked eye. Check out Nothing But Trailers when you get a chance, this should make it really obvious when you see the super demanding trailer Death Race.

Because *some* of us don't have MPEG4 equipment yet, and we'd like to hear of some sober comparisons before going through the hassles of "upgrading/swapping."

.... It ain't rocket science ... oh, wait a minute, maybe it is. :D

PS: I reference the infamous is it better at 1920x1080i or 1280x1088i debates from years ago ... many folks were fooled by the numbers.

Well, technically I guess it really is rocket science, youre right. The differences on the HDNets are super obvious though. Havent checked on the 720p's yet, but I doubt the improvements will be quite as obvious there.

Im totally sober, btw :) dont drink at all. I have other addictions...lol

Well, technically I guess it really is rocket science, youre right. The differences on the HDNets are super obvious though. Havent checked on the 720p's yet, but I doubt the improvements will be quite as obvious there.

Im totally sober, btw :) dont drink at all. I have other addictions...lol

LOL ... Alrighty then ... seriously I just wanted to make sure we weren't falling into the 'bigger-numbers-so-it-must-be-better' trap again. :)

It will be interesting to see if the grass still appears to be alive and swimming on ESPN HD broadcasts. Cant wait for the next HD game..

LOL ... Alrighty then ... seriously I just wanted to make sure we weren't falling into the 'bigger-numbers-so-it-must-be-better' trap again. :)


I understand, sorry if I came off harsh. I think the positive reviews in the next few days will pretty much speak for themselves.

It will be interesting to see if the grass still appears to be alive and swimming on ESPN HD broadcasts. Cant wait for the next HD game..

That is what I am waiting to see.

It's too bad this upgrade happened after HDnet lost Star Trek: Enterprise and season 3 Torchwood.

I'll wait for Bikini Destinations!!! ;)

I'll wait for Bikini Destinations!!! ;)

Do they even make that anymore.

It's on at 9 & 9:30 tonight.

Blue Sky Beauties is on at 8pm if 9pm is too long to wait. ;)

Ill be watching alot more HDNet now, thats for sure. I used to love that channel when I had my HD thru cable.

When I switched to D* about 7 weeks ago I totally quit watching the channel it looked so bad. My DVR is going to be loaded down with HDNet material tonight once the kids get to bed :)

I see the ch numbers for the HDNets in the first post, now what about the others? Have they changed as well, yet? Or, are the one's in the 200's now in MPEG4?

Seriously, there's too many channel numbers to keep track of. I'm confused. :p

I see the ch numbers for the HDNets in the first post, now what about the others? Have they changed as well, yet? Or, are the one's in the 200's now in MPEG4?

Seriously, there's too many channel numbers to keep track of. I'm confused. :p

All the other channel #'s remain the same. Their are MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 version now though. The 200's are the MPEG-4 versions. 500's for the HBO and Showtime.

All the other channel #'s remain the same. Their are MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 version now though. The 200's are the MPEG-4 versions. 500's for the HBO and Showtime.

Ok, so nothing new has been added yet, just the change in format/location for the legacy channels?

Ok, so nothing new has been added yet, just the change in format/location for the legacy channels?

Right, no new additions yet. They wanted to make sure E* stole all the thunder first I think :)

Ok, thanks. :D

BTW, anyone know why the below thread isn't stickied anymore, at least I thought it used to be anyway.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=914047

So I've noticed that on the new channels, and on the now MPEG 4 channels (like 206 ESPN) I'm getting a lot of skipping and "searching for satellite". Occasionally I get stretches where it's coming in clear.

Is that a sign that my dish is not pointing correctly at the new satellite?

How can I check in the signal strength set up? What dish am I looking for to see what the signal strength is in order to determine if I have a real problem?

Did any of that make sense?

Thanks,

Mike

Yeah the satillite you're looking for is at the 99 degree mark.

99c to be specific.

So I've noticed that on the new channels, and on the now MPEG 4 channels (like 206 ESPN) I'm getting a lot of skipping and "searching for satellite". Occasionally I get stretches where it's coming in clear.

Is that a sign that my dish is not pointing correctly at the new satellite?

How can I check in the signal strength set up? What dish am I looking for to see what the signal strength is in order to determine if I have a real problem?

Did any of that make sense?

Thanks,

Mike

To be fair, the issue is not unique to D*. Errors are famous for causing skipping and severe lip sync issues on E* (not to mention lock up) - as they screw up the output circuits as the signal is converted for output. Directv MPEG2 technology for error free distribution was always much better than E*.

Usually we have several HR20/HR21s left on WABC-DT. I switched these to the MPEG4 feeds earlier this morning. By 4pm when I checked it, Oprah was seriously out of sync. I cannot even remember the last time WABC-DT was out of sync with the MPEG2 feeds, so for this much of an issue within 10 hours show me one might have to change the channels alot with MPEG4 to keep audio and video in sync.

Again, errors are somewhat common in many systems - its just errors with mpeg4 seem to cause much more of a trainwreck in the receiver as it converts them to the basics for distribution to your TV. The errors on D* with MPEG2 were much more forgiving.

Ok, thanks. :D

BTW, anyone know why the below thread isn't stickied anymore, at least I thought it used to be anyway.
It was a 'sticky', but not anymore. I unstuck it.

Due to the number of potentially 'sticky' topics, I'm trying to be more circumspect with sticking.

So I've noticed that on the new channels, and on the now MPEG 4 channels (like 206 ESPN) I'm getting a lot of skipping and "searching for satellite". Occasionally I get stretches where it's coming in clear.

Is that a sign that my dish is not pointing correctly at the new satellite?

How can I check in the signal strength set up? What dish am I looking for to see what the signal strength is in order to determine if I have a real problem?

Did any of that make sense?

Thanks,

Mike

I'm getting some of that too, my signals on 99c are in the 60s which is borderline. I am going to get the alignment adjusted.

i a/b'd meet joe black yesterday. looked better on the new channel. still, it was kind of sad to see the last of the 70's channels go. there was a time not too long ago when the sum of my television watching was confined to the 70's...

It was a 'sticky', but not anymore. I unstuck it.

Due to the number of potentially 'sticky' topics, I'm trying to be more circumspect with sticking.
Way to stick to your guns, Ken... ;) :D

It was a 'sticky', but not anymore. I unstuck it.

Due to the number of potentially 'sticky' topics, I'm trying to be more circumspect with sticking.

Okay, thanks, at least I can strike that off as something my aging memory was failing me on. :D