Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2002 11:50:51 -0400 From: To: rxg@nwlink.com Subject: Satellite & HDTV Hi Richard, I was reading over your site and just had to throw my $0.02 worth in.... About the satellite and HDTV, I totally agree with your statements about the standard definition channels leaving something to be desired. This is especially true in the case of DirecTV with it's mpeg-1 encoding, is just an abomination of picture quality. Dish Network's SDTV is dramatically better, but with a good monitor (I have a Sony 34-XBR800) you really see every flaw and artifact. I still prefer DishNetwork's mpeg-2 stream to the slightly sharper, yet full of analog distortion of the lousy cable I have access to... But perhaps I digress... Dish Network also has sparse HDTV offerings, but having Discovery HD Theater makes them a better choice. Discovery HDT is just stunning. Not all good 1080i content, but there's enough to score highly on the "wow" factor. As for the HBO HDTV and Showtime HDTV, I think Bob Wetherill made a few mistakes. First off, both Showtime and HBO have redigitized lots of movies from film to 1080i. Though this does not have the same "wow" effect as an HD Digital Cameras capturing 1080i, it is still far and away the best way to watch a movie. Higher picture quality then watching a good DVD, on a good progressive DVD player on my 480p capable TV. As for Mr. Wetherill's comment about the Sopranos, he needs to read the fine print there a little closer. It says that the SAP (second audio program) is not available on HDTV. For what it's worth, I made the exact same error the first time I watched it, but when the show came across in HD, I read the words closer next time. The Sopranos are INDEED in HDTV. BUT, it is again converted film to 1080i, not shot digitally in HDTV (as in the case of say the Jay Leno show or CSI). It is still the BEST way to see the Sopranos (you can see every pore on Tony's face and every hair out of place on Carm's head...) HBO and Showtime have not converted all their content to HDTV. HBO seems to be a great deal further ahead in this department (in both quantity of HD content and quality of HD content.) Yet even if the show or movie has not been converted to HD, it still looks a lot better then the signal that the satellite SDTV signal for the exact same program. So as far as HBO1 and Showtime1 go, I always watch the HD feeds. OK, I'll climb down from my soapbox now... ;) Take care, Joe Graff