MPEG 4 Encoders

[charlesrshell]

Has Dish TV said when they think the MPEG 4 Encoders will be installed and up and running. I am holding off ordering Dish TV till the 622 is fully functional.

 

[goaliebob99]

Has Dish TV said when they think the MPEG 4 Encoders will be installed and up and running. I am holding off ordering Dish TV till the 622 is fully functional.

The 622 is fully functional..

 

[charlesrshell]

So everything is now MPEG4 from the 622? All the the HD and local channels are operational now,etc. Do you think it is safe to order now or wait a couple of months fo most of the bugs to be fixed?

 

[RobertsD]

No, all the new channels are still MPEG2 with MPEG4 headers, but the 622 is fully functional and recieves all those channels.

 

[charlesrshell]

So is it going to stay that way? (MPEG2 with MPEG4 headers) If not, when will it be MPEG4 all the way? I am new to satellite and just don't know what all this stuff is. I was just thinking maybe of waiting till everything is ironed out.

 

[Pepper]

charles' concern, if he doesn't mind my clarification, is whether the 622 still be fully functional when true MPEG4 content is uplinked. I too am concerned about the possibility that they never get MPEG4 encoded in such a way that the preexisting ViP receivers can decode it properly, thus requiring another "real MPEG4-capable receiver" purchase or lease.

 

[Cyclone]

Don't forget that decoding is the easy part. Its encoding at real-time speed that is the issue. Kinda like how it takes hours to put together a jigsaw puzzle, but only moments to take it apart.

I have not heard that there are any problems with the MPEG-4 decoding chips, just the high dollar encoders.

 

[navychop]

No, the decoder chips meet the spec and are fast enough. It's the encoder chips that cannot compress the stream enough to be worthwhile- in real time. By the end of the year, I'd hazard a guess, there will be some improvement. But mostly it'll be 2007 and 2008 that will see faster, more efficient MPEG-4 real time encoder systems.

It's harder to encode than decode. On the decode side, you are kinda provided with the info about how it's encoded. On the encode side, the system must figure out what's best and how to encode that particular video stream.

It's very unlikely that there will be a need to change out MPEG-4 decoders. The specs are known, stable and tight. The holdback is fast enough hardware and software to do the encoding in real time.

On edit: I see Cyclone answered while I was working on my answer. I like his explanation better than mine.

 

[dr0doom]

I don't see what all the hu-bub is about concerning MPEG-4. From what I've
been hearing, the end user will not get a better picture from it. It only compresses
the signal more so that E* can jam more channels into the bandwidth. I'm
wondering if the picture will actually degrade some (at first).

 

[mdonnelly]

I don't see what all the hu-bub is about concerning MPEG-4. From what I've
been hearing, the end user will not get a better picture from it. It only compresses
the signal more so that E* can jam more channels into the bandwidth. I'm
wondering if the picture will actually degrade some (at first).

It has. That's why all the new channels are MPEG-2, with MPEG-4 headers to fool the old receivers.

 

[Smith P.]

There are nothing what FOOLING old receivers; MPEG-2 still MPEG-2; those "MPEG-4 headers" is urban legend !
Dish using other feature of system tables what telling do or do not accept certain channels, like HD channel for SD receivers.
Nobody fooling you or your receiver .