The Perfect Vision
Dish Network ViP222 Additional Information
Tech Notes
When it comes to sheer volume of broadcast HD programming, nothing beats satellite. Whereas most cable systems offer 10 to 20 HD channels and over-the-air broadcasts top out at maybe 10 or 12 in most areas, both satellite providers—Dish Network and DirecTV—offer close to 40 HD channels as of this writing, and many more than that if you count multiple sports channels that are dark except when games are being played.
One reason the satellite providers can offer so many more channels is the fact that they have switched from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 encoding. (Cable and over-the-air broadcasts are stuck with MPEG-2. Blu-ray and HD DVD can use either one as well as a third option called VC-1.) These encoding schemes, named for the Motion Picture Experts Group that developed them, “compress” the digital data—that is, remove parts deemed to be imperceptible anyway—so it can be more easily sent from the provider to you.
The problem is that the more a digital video signal is compressed, the worse the picture tends to look. MPEG-4 is able to remove much more data than the older MPEG-2 system while preserving the picture quality, which allows the satellite providers to offer more channels. In the case of Dish Network, only a few of the older HD channels are encoded in MPEG-2—specifically, TNT, HD Theater, HDNet, HDNet Movies, ESPN, HBO, Showtime, and one PPV channel. All the rest are encoded in MPEG-4.
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