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Comcast Puts the Screws To HDTV

Posted by kdawson on from the applying-a-cold-compress dept.

Todd Spangler writes "Comcast, like every video distributor, compresses its digital video signals. But to fit in more HDTV channels, Comcast is squeezing some signals more than others. The cable operator claims it is using improved compression techniques, so that most subscribers won't see any drop-off in picture quality. But A/V buff Ken Fowler claims the differences between some of Comcast's more highly compressed channels and Verizon's FiOS TV are indeed noticeable. He's posted his comparative test results on AVSForum.com — and the results are not pretty."

2 of 317 comments (clear)

  1. Re:what does this mean for 1080? by interiot · · Score: 5, Informative
    There's a bunch of things that end up degrading the usefulness of 1080 unfortunately:
    • half the stations broadcast in 720p instead
    • it can be hard to tell the difference between a 720p station and a 1080i station except when the source material has been done really well
    • the distance from your couch to your TV can limit the resolution you can see (for instance, I had *one* dead pixel on my 1080p TV, and I decided to not return it because even when I knew exactly where to look, and had a white motionless feed, I still couldn't see it from the couch)
    If you're ever thinking of hooking your computer up to it though, then 1080i/p can be great.
  2. Re:FIOS TV Has one HUGE Limitation IMO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Incorrect. You can still roll your own router with the Actiontec. All you need to do is disable DHCP on the Actiontec and release the WAN's IP.

    There's lots of great FIOS/FIOS TV help over at BroadbandReports: http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/vzfiber