Ron Schenone

Direct & Dish Network Offering 1080p Broadcasts

Posted by on Jul 31, 2008 | 11 Comments

It seems that both DirectTV and Dish Network will be offering true 1080p broadcasts, but it will cost you. Both satellite companies are expanding their offerings of HD channels with DirectTV offering 130 channels and Dish Network hitting 100 channels by tomorrow. Currently both companies are broadcasting in 1080i, which is a step down from 1080p. According to this article from the NY Times:

Until now, 1080p programming could not be transmitted because the signal contains too much information to squeeze into the available bandwidth. Instead it’s only been available on recorded media, such as Blu-ray. So the programming you get with an antenna or cable is usually sent in the less-high-definition 1080i (for interlace) resolution.

Which is why Thursday’s announcement by Dish Network that they will start showing 1080p content is potentially significant. In its press release, the company says that in addition to a host of 17 new national high-definition channels, it will also offer pay-per-view movies in 1080p. The first, available on Friday, is “I Am Legend,” the Will Smith sci-fi film.

While the satellite company may be the first to sell 1080p content, they’re not the first to announce it. Those honors go to DirecTV; on Monday the company said it would launch an additional 30 national high definition channels by the middle of August, bringing its high definition total up to 130 (Dish says it will have 100 high-definition national channels by Friday). And DirecTV announced it will also offer 1080p pay per view programming later this year.

Though both promise Blue-Ray quality broadcasts, until it actually becomes available, it may be difficult to make a decision on the quality of the broadcast.

If anyone tries this, let us know your results.

Comments welcome.

Source.

  • garybeafl

    I think Direct TV is a bad company just like HP, Norton, Real Network, You get the picture. I will never do business with them again. They suck.

  • Ray

    I have nothing by praise for Direct TV. Quite the contrary my
    experience of them compared to HP, Norton, et. all has been
    extraordinarly wonderful.

    I suspect it’s much the same as automobiles, some love their
    Fords while others love their Chevys or Chryslers

  • Don Naphen

    Hmmmm …. “garybeafl” and “they suck” comment is quite a generalization towards 4 companies, and without giving us a clue as to why he feels that way. Does he mean the service, the products, or what? I’ve been with Direct TV for several months now, and have no complaints whatsoever Ron. Their follow-up after the installation was excellent, and their response to one problem I had was also excellent. I have nothing but praise for them, especially after some negative run ins with Comcast!

    I would think that anyone who makes a blanket condemnation of a company or product should at least be prepared to explain why.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Ray,

    ‘Fords while others love their Chevys or Chryslers’

    True, so true, except may I add, I love my KIA :-)

    Hi Don,
    Thanks for the clarification. I haven’t heard many negatives about Direct, nor Dish for that matter. For the most part the satellite companies have a pretty good rep. compared to cable companies which have a endless list of horror stories. Some of the horror stories I can attest to, having been the victim of crappy service for years before heading to the sky!

  • GiM

    Technically speaking, 1080i is not of “lower” quality, and proper equipment convert back to 1080p.

    1080i means 60 frames per second, each having just 1/2 of image, and using hardware or software you can restore 30 frames per second full image. This is how I have the TV movies recorded, first step is de-interlaced, them compressed to store on hdd. After de-interlacing, you can have both higher compression rates and better quality for a progressive video (will code a real 8×8 pixels and not half of 16×8 pixels).

    This means a little more than the 24 frames per second of a classical HD / Blue-Ray disk.

    Now, if for some reasons the cable company is sending 30 frames per second interlaced (a cheaper technical solution, and I never hear of such real transmissions), when de-interlace we will have 15 frames per second progressive scan, which is at the lower limit of eye sight regarding frames looking like real action…

    My option? A good hardware TV (or a tuner + pc), de-interlace included, no need to upgrade from 1080i to 1080p direct at the provider service…

    And remember, cheaper TV will do not accept 1080p, but will accept 1080i. The next step is to know what is the real definition of the image display – if you TV will have 1080×1920 pixels, no matther the 1080p or 1080i the input signal, you will have a good image in front of your eyes!

    Also the provider can say “hey, we have 60 fps 1080p images…”, well since my eye cannot see any difference from sources having more than 12 fps, who cares?

    Having more is useful only to a scientific process, to study at “relanty” some very quick processes.

    So a 60fps with 1080i or a 30fps or even 24 fps with 1080p is just excellent! And if your TV is displaying true 60 fps 1080i, it will be a little better than 30fps 1080p, since the 60fps will be more “flicker-free” than the 30fps… Strange but true!

    I do not “support” an interlaced transmission versus a non-interlaced=progressive one – as I said I record just progressive video, but is better to understand where the signal quality will over-run many times the human physiology, from there we will speak only as technical issues…

  • GiM

    I continue…

    - Having a box receiving only 1080i is just fine !
    - Having a display of 1080×1920 is just fine !!!
    - Having a display with refresh rates higher than 30 fps is just fine !!!!!
    - Having a box that is able to de-interlace is just fine !!!

    But remember, the higher the refresh rates, the less eyestrain you have. Some TV offer a higher refresh than original source like 120Hz refresh (re-play same image twice or more), believe me, it worth if you a using for many hours daily…

  • Troy

    My friend has a 47″ 1080p LCD and just purchased the so-called TurboHD with 1080p from Dish Network, he only gets 1080i; Dish Network, once again, fails to deliver on their promises.

  • VinMan

    dish network broadcasts 1080i; unless you purchase a movie at 1080p…misleading …indeed

  • steve

    no mater what provider you have cable or dish the refresh rate such as 120hz or 240 hz only comes into play on blu ray dvd movies only all providers cable or dish are at 60hz even the pay per view 1080p 60hz movies for dish network

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  • http://www.dealerlicensetraffic.com Graig Nadine

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