[opendtv] Re: [Fwd: RE: [oldvtrs] So Much for HDTV]
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, undisclosed-recipients:;
- Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:09:58 -0400
At 3:29 AM -0400 8/19/08, Cliff Benham wrote:
An appropriate compression expression might be: /Just because you can
doesn't mean you should./
......
This is precisely why I have always said, 'Compression is evil'.
Tim Stoffel
Yes compression can be evil, but this is placing the blame on the
wrong issue. You can send an analog signal down 1000 feet of coax and
still see the video at the other end. But if you want that video to
be pristine you need an equalizing DA to compensate for the cable.
There was a time that the TV industry was driven by quality - but
those days are gone, both in terms of the quality of the content AND
the quality of the pictures. Now it is about quantity and controlling
costs. And did I mention cramming in more commercials in any given
time period?
Like any other technology video compression works well if it is used
properly. As John Turner noted, 18.4 Mbps is barely adequate to
deliver a high quality picture ON AVERAGE - when the peak bit rate
requirements hit there will be visible artifacts.
I'd like to think that this situation will improve as compression
technology improves. Unfortunatley each new advancement is being used
to cram in more stuff, rather than delivering higher quality in the
same bits. I heard once that DirecTV kept turning down the quality
until the phones started ringing off the hook.
Then again, we may be too critical. The AVERAGE CONSUMER probably
does not care, or even see some of this crap. In the past we lived
with snow, ghosts (multipath) and interlace artifacts. Now we have a
new set of issues.
One might conjecture that the time may be approaching where people
will pay a bit more for good video quality. This is certainly the
main promotional thrust for Blu-Ray. Unfortunately, it appears that
the videophile market is rather small.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are content to accept the commercial
arrogance of the video-defilers...
Regards
Craig
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