Here in San Antonio on TWC, I noticed this week that many shows on Discovery are being flagged as HD on the regular SD channel. I noticed this for Mythbusters and then when watching the brand new episode tonight it says "This program also available in HD". Anyone have any information on this?

I have Dish Network. The show on channel 9487 now is widescreen SD (Think "Hell's Kitchen" or "Wimbledon".) It's not even 720P or HD-lite. Some poor sap will see that and think, "That's HD?"

FTR, Discovery launched several HD versions of its other channels. HD theatre still exists. They added simulcast HD versions of Discovery (hence "Mythbusters"), Animal Planet, TLC and Science.

Discovery HD launched yesterday. Dish Network is the only provider with it at the moment.

This channel is different from Discovery HD Theater. It's a simulcast of the SD channel, i.e. much of the programming is SD upconverted.

The new one on at 9PM Wednesday was in HD. They started a new season last week I believe so I assume everything from then on will also be HD - especially now that Dish has the channel to show it on.

I was going to say, it sure looked HD to me.

Absolutely HD, although compressed. Also added today MTV HD, and TLC HD.

Absolutely HD, although compressed. Also added today MTV HD, and TLC HD.


You mean MHD right?? Now don't go confusing people making them think Wild Boys is available in Hd now. :D

Did I read that correctly on DBSTalk? Dish Network has five of their six new HD channels on a single 39.6Mbps transponder for <8Mbps each?

Discovery HD launched yesterday. Dish Network is the only provider with it at the moment.

This channel is different from Discovery HD Theater. It's a simulcast of the SD channel, i.e. much of the programming is SD upconverted.
I want this channel on Cox now! I love Mythbusters.

Anyone know when Comcast is going to get Discovery HD?

Anyone know when Comcast is going to get Discovery HD?
April 7th, 2014

Did I read that correctly on DBSTalk? Dish Network has five of their six new HD channels on a single 39.6Mbps transponder for <8Mbps each?That is almost correct. Actually, it's six of six. Ain't MPEG-4 great? :)

http://www.dishchannelchart.com

You can find where all of Dish Networks channels are on this site.

Did I read that correctly on DBSTalk? Dish Network has five of their six new HD channels on a single 39.6Mbps transponder for <8Mbps each?
But this is in MPEG4. And thats the difference. :)

That is almost correct. Actually, it's six of six. Ain't MPEG-4 great? :)Six 1080i channels in 39.6Mbps? Even with MPEG-4, they must apply a lot of vertical filtering to reach that level.

I guess the fact that much of the content on four of those channels is upconverted SD helps; it will be interesting to see how quality is affected when those channels add more HD.

On FiOS, MTVHD alone is 19Mbps MPEG-2.

Six 1080i channels in 39.6Mbps? Even with MPEG-4, they must apply a lot of vertical filtering to reach that level.

On FiOS, MTVHD alone is 19Mbps MPEG-2.Given the choice, I'd take FIOS too. I don't have that choice, so until then, I'm okay with the PQ I've got. :)

I guess the fact that much of the content on four of those channels is upconverted SD helps.
Not likely. If the SD video is upconverted at the source, it will be sent out at 1920x1080 or 1280x720p, depending on the network. Other than the sharpness, it won't be any different than native HD video. It will take up just as much bandwidth as an HD source.

As far as the encoders are concerned, upconverted SD video (stretched or pillar barred) is HD. We can see the difference, but the equipment can't.

If anything, any downconversion on the SD stuff will make it look more miserable since it was blown up, then rate shaped - throwing away even more resolution than it had originally. What was acceptable SD quality quickly becomes a muddy VHS equivalent.

The only way having mostly SD would help is if it was being sent out at 480i without being upconverted first.

Not likely. If the SD video is upconverted at the source, it will be sent out at 1920x1080 or 1280x720p, depending on the network. Other than the sharpness, it won't be any different than native HD video. It will take up just as much bandwidth as an HD source.
But MPEG-4 is pretty smart about what it's encoding. Soft sources (like upconverted SD) will actually take up fewer bits than more detailed sources of the same resolution. I don't know if that's happening at these bit rates but it's possible.

I was looking at bitrates and upconverted SD content requires significantly less bits. ABR varies from as little as 8-9Mbps (plus null packets) with upconverted SD to 16+Mbps with HD video on CBS-HD.

I saw a snapshot of all the channels with bitrate comparisons over a few minutes time this morning. All the channels are getting between 6 and 7 mb/s at all times. Assuming a 2x improvement in compression over MPEG-2 (not sure if that's true), then that's the equivalent of 12 - 14 mb/s per channel.

But MPEG-4 is pretty smart about what it's encoding. Soft sources (like upconverted SD) will actually take up fewer bits than more detailed sources of the same resolution. I don't know if that's happening at these bit rates but it's possible.
You've got that backwards. Sharper, more detailed video can undergo much more compression before it starts looking ugly. If video starts out ugly, there's nowhere to go.

Fuzzy video doesn't offer as many repeatable bits to throw away, so the only choice is often to do a straight reduction of the whole signal. It's the reason video containing smoke and fog doesn't compress well.

Anyone know when Comcast is going to get Discovery HD?

Huh? Have Discovery HD on Comcast here in DC for at least a year and a half. Do other areas not have it?

Huh? Have Discovery HD on Comcast here in DC for at least a year and a half. Do other areas not have it?

You have Discovery HD Theater - NOT Discovery HD.

Discovery HD is new.

Let's get back on topic....how did Kari look in HD? :)

Huh? Have Discovery HD on Comcast here in DC for at least a year and a half. Do other areas not have it?
No, you have Discovery HD Theater which is a HD only channel with it's own programming. The new channel is the Discovery Channel HD which is a simulcast of the familiar SD channel.

Let's get back on topic....how did Kari look in HD? :)

I'm guessing her t shirt looked a little tight.

Good news this is now in HD, one of my favorite shows on discovery.