Let's get right down to the nitty gritty.

Needless to say (than why am I saying it???), do not participate in the poll unless you have reasonable direct first hand experience viewing these channels.

From what I have seen which really is very little I think they look great.

They look good to me. Nationals and locals.

Did this new format just get released today?

Funny that this was brought up as I was coming her to research DirecTV's HD quality.

I just had my DirecTV installed this week...and, needless to say, I've been underwhelmed by the quality of their HD channels. I get the locals OTA in HD and they look MUCH better than DirecTV does...I'm about ready to call and cancel and go through all that....

Weren't the mpeg2 channels the HD-Lite bastardization of HD? I would have to be certain that the newer channels that exist without the constraints of the old delivery system must look much better.

Did this new format just get released today?No, see the two other topics on this subject, stuck at the top of the forum.

This poll should be public. Right now the question that's being answered is how many AVS Forum members are shameless trolls.

The one thing keeping me away from Satellite is picture quality, I am very interested in the results.

Weren't the mpeg2 channels the HD-Lite bastardization of HD?Yes.


I would have to be certain that the newer channels that exist without the constraints of the old delivery system must look much better.No one really knows if D* is applying the HD Lite approach to the new MPEG4 HD channels, or not. The point of the poll is to see what the vox populus thinks.

This poll should be public.I thought it was.

I thought it was.

He means he wants to see the usernames listed under each category.

No, see the two other topics on this subject, stuck at the top of the forum.

Sorry...I didn't get here through the forum...the poll is on the front page.

I thought that the HD locals in MPEG4 we have been getting here in Jacksonville have been at the very least the equal of both the OTA and Comcast feeds--that is to say--quite good.

I think the PQ on USAHD, Smithsonian, some Animal Planet and some Discovery have been some of the best broadcast PQ I've seen recently.

History HD and A&E with their stretching makes them actually unwatchable when they do that. However, I did catch part of a CSI Miami on A&E that looked pretty good.

I was a little hesitant about TBS until the games started. The PQ on them has been excellent.

For me, a real test would be if TNT were broadcast in both MPEG2 and MPEG4 (at Ch. 245). Then we'd be able to do an actual "A/B". I say that only because I've seen different posters claim that 245 is MPEG2 and others claim it is MPEG4.

I think the PQ on USAHD, Smithsonian, some Animal Planet and some Discovery have been some of the best broadcast PQ I've seen recently.

The PQ on USA HD blows corporate sibling NBC HD (aptly nicknamed National Blocking Channel) out of the water.

The PQ on USA HD blows corporate sibling NBC HD (aptly nicknamed National Blocking Channel) out of the water.

lol i agree .. havent really seen much of USA HD myself but football on NBC sucks compared to other channels.

In the old days there was always somebody posting pictures and graphs and other data about HD bits on DIRECTV mpeg 2 signals. How come no one does that now that we have all these new mpeg4 HD channels? I'd like to see if D* is really sending us the best possible HD picture we can get.

In the old days there was always somebody posting pictures and graphs and other data about HD bits on DIRECTV mpeg 2 signals. How come no one does that now that we have all these new mpeg4 HD channels?Because it can't be done with previous methods.

In the old days there was always somebody posting pictures and graphs and other data about HD bits on DIRECTV mpeg 2 signals. How come no one does that now that we have all these new mpeg4 HD channels? I'd like to see if D* is really sending us the best possible HD picture we can get.
That technical ability is not yet available for the new channels. Be patient - someone will figure out either a legit or hacked way to do it.

Edit: Ken beat me to it. I was too wordy.... ;)

It's got to be full resolution and a higher bitrate based on the high quality pictures I'm seeing. The new channels on D* are like seeing HD again for the first time, compared to a few weeks ago.

Looks as good as most of my OTA HD in Dallas. Now if we can only convince the Turner and Discovery channels to quit stretching and/or zooming.

The PQ on USA HD blows corporate sibling NBC HD (aptly nicknamed National Blocking Channel) out of the water.

Well, that's for sure, at least here in Jacksonville where our local NBC affiliate insists on broadcasting a weather sub-channel.

They have fewer artifacts (ringing and macroblocking), but are a bit softer than HD Theather (which still has the best PQ overall for low-motion sources).

The stretchers are mostly unwatchable with SD content.

Smithsonian is barely even HD quality on supposed HD sources.

Overall, a step sideways for PQ, but a step forwards because we get more channels for less bandwidth.

Best HD quality I've seen, and I've seen FIOS, Time Warner Cable, old directv, Voom, and Dish, and OTA.

Much better then MPEG2 but not the "best" just yet

Lets temper the enthusiasm and get some verification of full resolution first before a bunch of HDlite victims proclaim this the best thing ever. It looks good, very good but without comparisons how can we say best ever? This is a scientific forum isnt it?

Best HD quality I've seen, and I've seen FIOS, Time Warner Cable, old directv, Voom, and Dish, and OTA.
better than 19.2 mpeg2 HD OTA????

It handles fast moving scenes much better. I have been watching some live concerts on MHD with strobing and fast motion and see little to no macroblocking. On the old Mpeg2 channels (even full bitrate) they would have been a macroblocking mess so this at least is a step up. I would tend to agree that they might be slightly less sharp but its hard to tell since I have nothing to directly compare them too. It is a step up from the current situation on Directv though for sure!

Closed.

New public poll will open shortly.

Please vote again in the new poll.

new poll is here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=918830