http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/ Engadget HD Comments for Verizon FiOS TV spot boasts of "uncompressed" HD http://hd.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://hd.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 3:20PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 5th 2008 6:31PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 3:37PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 3:16PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
So in the meantime, I will live with crappy compressed Comcast.]]>Apr 4th 2008 3:28PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
ALL HD is compressed. The master is about 50 times more bandwidth intensive than the maximum 19-point-something mbps signal that is the ATSC spec.

What they really mean is "we don't apply ADDITIONAL" compression to the signal. The content originator certainly is compressing it pretty severely. Great article in "Widescreen Review" this month on the topic of video compression.]]>Apr 4th 2008 3:39PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 3:58PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
...and if you had read the entire Engadget post you would have noted that Verizon admitted to that.]]>Apr 5th 2008 12:34AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
They admitted that after being called on it. The commercial is still completely inaccurate, and apparently does not contain that disclaimer.]]>Apr 7th 2008 10:25AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 3:37PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
There's some debate as to when the point of diminishing returns is reached - going from 12 Mbps to 19 Mbps is a much greater improvement than going 19 mbps to 26 Mbps, for example.

Also, the use of more advanced CODECs than MPEG2 (like MPEG4/AVC and VC-1) can yield better results at lower bitrates than MPEG2.

So basically, Blu-ray/HD DVD can, and often do, look much better than HDTV cable or satellite.]]>Apr 4th 2008 3:44PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
A VC-1 or AVC BluRay looks far, far better, because it has a superior compression system and a lot more bandwidth too.

Watch Planet Earth in MPEG-2 HD and then on BluRay (or HD-DVD). There's an enormous difference.]]>Apr 4th 2008 9:37PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 3:37PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 3:38PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
Verizon is paying attn to what's being said.
They are not perfect, but certainly better.

DirecTV has been doing a lot of shots at cable on TV too.
]]>Apr 5th 2008 7:41PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 4:19PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 4:35PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 6:16PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 4:42PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
HDTV, by its very nature, is compressed. We know this. With current technology, it is impossible to distribute totally uncompressed HD video for public consumption.

We also know Verizon aren't the content creators; they receive the content from other people and re-transmit it. We can't expect them to make any representations about the content they receive from programmers, only what they do with the content before they re-transmit it.

We also know that other pay-TV providers have long been re-compressing HDTV channels before re-transmitting them.

Given that we know all of that, how is Verizon's claim that they deliver "uncompressed HDTV" misleading?]]>Apr 4th 2008 4:48PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
If they say uncompressed, it should mean uncompressed. They should have said "no additional compression added", or "not recompressed".]]>Apr 4th 2008 4:57PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
But I agree, the ad in question IS misleading. That said, most viewers would have no clue that their HD signals are "compressed" anyway! Even fewer would understand that they've been watching "compressed" TV for as long as there has been color TV.
]]>Apr 4th 2008 5:20PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 5:46PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
Go to your local grocery store and grab a bottle of Apple juice that says, "No Sugar Added!" and then read the side where it says 35 grams of sugar per serving.

I'd say this is a lot like that. We know apples have sugar in them, so when they say "No Sugar Added!" we just have to assume it's not sugar free.

Saying Verizon doesn't compress the video is much like saying they don't add sugar. We all just have to know that HD Video is already compressed.]]>Apr 5th 2008 12:38AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
Verizon isn't saying "no compression added" in the commercial - they're saying "no compression".

If my apple juice said "no sugar", but had sugar, I'd have a beef (well, not really - I like apple juice). Verizon is basically saying "no sugar".]]>Apr 7th 2008 10:28AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 5:03PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 4:53PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/Apr 4th 2008 6:19PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/04/04/verizon-fios-tv-spot-boasts-of-uncompressed-hd/
If it weren't for my TivoHD working on their network I'd be back at DirecTV by now.
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