It's even worse on DirecTV and Dish. Were talking 5-8 Mbps. Yes, even those MPEG-4 channels look like crap. Just because it's MPEG-4 doesn't mean it automatically looks good. They use MPEG-4 as an excuse for EVEN lower bitrates than the MPEG-2 channels. Like 4-6 Mbps low. 4-6 Mbps MPEG-4 is equal to like 8-12 Mbps MPEG-2... still crap.
That's a bunch of BS. SciFi on DirecTV is absolutely gorgeous.
There is no telling what bit rate they are using for MPEG4. Nobody knows but DirecTV. However, there is no reason for them to drop quality as low as you are saying. None. They have the satellites. They have the bandwidth. More than Comcast, it would seem.
Besides, I can see for myself that the video quality of the new HD channels is awesome.
HD audio skipping is very bad on several of DirectTV's HD channels, including local stations, HDNet, HBOHD and ShowtimeHD. Sci-FiHD is thankfully clear of skipping.
Don't turn to DirectTV if you want to be free of audio skipping problems - I find most of their HD channels unwatchable because of sound corruption.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eric @ Mar 20th 2008 8:02PM
It's even worse on DirecTV and Dish. Were talking 5-8 Mbps. Yes, even those MPEG-4 channels look like crap. Just because it's MPEG-4 doesn't mean it automatically looks good. They use MPEG-4 as an excuse for EVEN lower bitrates than the MPEG-2 channels. Like 4-6 Mbps low. 4-6 Mbps MPEG-4 is equal to like 8-12 Mbps MPEG-2... still crap.
PeterB @ Mar 25th 2008 4:14PM
So, what cable company do you work for?
Shape @ Mar 20th 2008 10:55PM
That's a bunch of BS. SciFi on DirecTV is absolutely gorgeous.
There is no telling what bit rate they are using for MPEG4. Nobody knows but DirecTV. However, there is no reason for them to drop quality as low as you are saying. None. They have the satellites. They have the bandwidth. More than Comcast, it would seem.
Besides, I can see for myself that the video quality of the new HD channels is awesome.
Todd @ Apr 26th 2008 1:24PM
HD audio skipping is very bad on several of DirectTV's HD channels, including local stations, HDNet, HBOHD and ShowtimeHD. Sci-FiHD is thankfully clear of skipping.
Don't turn to DirectTV if you want to be free of audio skipping problems - I find most of their HD channels unwatchable because of sound corruption.