MPEG4 Transition - What does it mean for BEV subscribers?

  • Thread starter Thread starter I_Want_My_HDTV
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Perfect transmission is impractical with today's TV technology. Digital transmission, by its nature, is lossy. Analog to digital conversion (cameras, film, whatever) is lossy. MPEG2, MPEG4, 256QAM etc. are lossy. Conversion from the original format to your TV's native format is lossy. Your eyesight is lossy (some more than others.) The aim of digital is to reduce the loss of quality to a minimum.

I agree that BDUs should not be processing digital signals in a way that reduces quality. Unfortunately, the CRTC's policies mandate that signal quality be reduced (by mandating simsubs by Canadian broadcasters.) OTOH, the CRTC also mandates no reduction in quality by BDUs. So EV just punts to broadcasters when they can, ignores the rules when they can't and screws their subscribers in the process. Most people accept it as business as usual or don't care. The CRTC definitely doesn't care. As soon as I find a better solution, I'll let you know.
 
Well, as a brand new subscriber - I'm not all that worried yet. I'm still getting more HD channels currently than I would if I had bought my receiver / paid for service from *C, and I get the impression the boat isn't sinking all that fast at BEV. I signed the 2-year contract a month ago, and I have a feeling I'll renew in 23 months.
 
Need at least Tivo series 2 to do that networking stuff
Advantage of tivo series 1 (standalones) tho is that they easily work with a number of fta models

For mpeg4, looks like we'll use a laptop to do pvr & share
 
While I seriously question *C's claim to 100 HD by year end, it's well known that they ARE expanding AND using advanced technology.
8PSK to begin with until MPEG4 plays better with the cable boys.
In addition, while they do surcharge for SOME HD channels, the amount that are FREE is quite satisfying for many.

Plus you can always decipher my cost analysis comparing the 2 by cost per channel and you know darn well it isn't Bell that wins that one.

Each provider will leap frog the other depending upon where you are and where they are in their deployments and your personal interests.

The trouble might be in switching without major penalty when the tides are changin'
 
Then you wont be switching for many years. Rogers seems locked-in with Scientific Atlanta like many other cableco's. No prototypes yet from those clowns, so they're years from anyting substantially different for commercial release.

The best we can hope for is a half-decent looking interface in a few years (which is just a s/w change not a h/w change) instead of the horrible low-resolution clunker it has today. Dont even hope for this to change tho because Rogers would have to spend some money for it.
Even a search facility (what good is a PVR with NO SEARCH, lol) isn't in the cards.

But at least *my* rogers HD PVR crashes only once or twice a week; I understand in the past that crashes used to be a daily occurence (whereas my tivo never crashed or missed/lost/split-up a recording, ever)


Amen. I guess it's kinda more good news too for the FTA crowd. Groan.
 
That is only remotely possible if EV removes ALL their SD channels and claws back the 6 or so transponders currently used by other companies. Currently, EV would max out at about 52 FULL TIME HD channels if all SD channels are shut down and that ain't gonna happen for another 10-20 years. EV is currently MAXED OUT in channel capacity at 91 and 82. They might be able to shuffle a few things around for another 1 or 2 extra HD channels but that's it without major changes. Going to 8PSK would make it possible to increase HD channel capacity by up to 50% but there are no indications that will happen this year. 8PSK+MPEG4 can potentially double HD channel capacity and a new satellite can increase total capacity by another 50%. We now know that neither of these will happen until 2009. It is highly unlikely that EV will go to 8PSK+MPEG4 for SD in the foreseeable future due to the large number of privately owned incompatible receivers. That leaves all of 91 and part of the 82 slot tied up with MPEG2 SD programming for the foreseeable future. So how did you say EV was adding more HD channels?
 
Maybe this company is using transponders currently that can be freed up as they move to their own sat and EV will get extra capacity back?

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/05/09/rural.internet.service.ap/index.html

"WildBlue, which is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, serves about 160,000 customers. It has been using spare bandwidth on a Canadian TV satellite, but in March, it turned on a new dedicated broadband satellite that will boost its potential total capacity to a million subscribers, according to chief executive Dave Leonard."
 
profets, I agree with you 110%, Bells Maanagement are unbelievably clueless. I heard from a Technician freind of mine that the Manager of Express Vu's Home Service's Division didn't even know they had leased the old DirecTv 3 (I think) bird last year and moved it to 82 degrees to assist with issues of rain fade experienced by some customers.!!!!!!

Even at the Fall Road Show last year a Manager stated that they had 3 Sats in orbit and was ridiculed by 99% of the Technicians present for not knowing they actually had 4.....lol

Unbelievable.

Nimiq 1
 
This situation is frustrating. I want to buy a receiver but I don't know what Bell's plans are. I don't want to waste my money for nothing if they are just going to switch to mpeg4 in the next year. I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering of canceling and going with Rogers.
 
Interesting idea for a thread. I would start by breaking it up into 3 teirs of service.

The first is HD and I think is a given at this point to be transitioned first. Just based on numbers.

The second group is what I will call the standard channels. I would assume that would include tier 1 and 2 channels. Possibly more. It depends on what the next group looks like.

The one that is interesting is the "special programming". What exactly is going to be the definition of that? I would assume low volume high margin programming like the forgin languages etc. The fewest people vs the most channels that can get converted is what they will be looking for. And I don't imagine this group needs to go as one block. They could be converted in small peices.

Specialty programming would go before the second group. I wonder if at that point Bev would roll out 8PSK or 16PSK modules for the second group while they waited for new receivers to filter out. I guess it depends on how much bandwidth they need and how fast they need it.
 
I don't see your math there. They wouldn't have to get rid of ALL the SD channels to increase to 65 HD channels. Just maybe a third or so, from what I can reckon.
 
The problem comes down to bandwidth. I'll get up on my soapbox again. Rogers has entirely separate systems serving Windsor, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto, etc. They may be served by the same national feeds from CBC/CTV/etc, but that's optional. Each of these local systems can be optimised to serve only its own customers.

ExpressVu, on the other hand, can't put up separate satellites for each of Windsor, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto, etc. They have to serve 1/2 or 1/3 of the country with one satellite. If they want to add a channel for Toronto, that's one less channel they can add forWindsor, London, etc.

If HDTV wasn't coming, MPEG4 might be enough to save satellite TV. But if people gotta have HDTV, then cable walks all over satellite.

So HDTV can now be accused of killing...
  1. Global TV (ptui)
  2. ExpressVu
These outfits are like silent-movie stars from the early 1920's, who couldn't make the transition to "talkies".
 
Point well taken, ARR.

Although there are plenty of chip set solutions for going one way: e.g. demodulate, decompress, etc., there aren't any (cheap) chip solutions going the other way: compress, modulate, etc.

It is just a shame to throw out all that perfectly good hardware. I am sure the other cable/sat providers will be going to MPEG4/8PSK/16PSK soon too or already have done so.

I don't think there would be a "security" problem. Security, in theory is handled by the smartcard, which has nothing to do with modulation and compression.
 
no, it wouldn't be in the their best interest...if 200,000 customers are thinking about switching to HD, and then decide against it and will wait and see what happens first, that is millions of dollars of lost revenue every month.
 
I guess BEV will be taking that claim of "Most HD in Canada" off their website and ads any time now...
 
Theres lots of discussion going on about how hard of a transition this is for Bell. I didn't know they were up to 1.8 million subscribers, but isn't that peanut sized compared to DirecTV's 17 Million? and Dish's 13 Million?
They seem to be transitioning to Mpeg4 sucsessfully and without too many complaints.
Why are bell subscibers having a hard time with a transition that hasn't even started yet.
 
Does anyone have any solid confirmation that BEV will be unable to add new HD channels with existing technology? Could they not still have some room?
 
You must be referring to the size of their brains, ha ha!

Sure the U.S. boys are a LOT bigger, so is the revenue stream, AND the years of experience.
They probably have a dealer/installer networks capable of entering such a swap, Bell, from what I'm hearing have alienated a great many of those with their policies.
So not only are they in a bandwidth crunch, tied to a big elephant that dictates their technology and have virtually disintegrated their support infrastructure to pull of the ground side of side a task.

The other difference is they can offer insane incentives to make the swap.
They practically give away HD PVR's down there for every man and his dog.

Do you seriously expect Bell to match something like that?

I admire Charlie Ergen, when I watch him of his Charlie Chat, what I see is a business, not unlike Starchoice that is VERY customer focused and EARNS your business each and every day.

If Bell ever pulled their heads out of thier A$$'s and adopted some astute business policies, every move they make might not be so scrutinized.
Seems at every turn, both customer and Bell have the impression that the other is out to screw them!
Why is that?
It's certainly not a winning formula for long term viability to maintain such a caustic relationship with you life blood, the customer.
 
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