HD Don't Come Easy

DISH Network HDTV VIP622 DVR

The universal obstacle was, and to some extent still is, cost. HD televisions and the set-top boxes required to receive and decode the signals were expensive to build and expensive to buy. HD programming production costs are high with limited financial incentive for studios and content providers. And finally, there’s the enormous amount of bandwidth cost required to deliver HD programming. One HD channel consumes the bandwidth required to deliver nearly seven standard-definition (SD) channels.Even the seemingly simple task of getting HD programming to a home is not a trivial task.

HD programming is typically delivered via over-the-air broadcast, Cable TV, and Direct Broadcast Satellite TV (DBS). Because analog cannot carry a high-definition signal, the HDTV revolution began with the FCC mandate that allover-the-air network TV broadcasts transition from analog to digital. A common misconception is that the broadcast transition is to HD,when in fact it’s not. HD represents a high-quality option within our new digital standard.Networks are still undergoing this digital transition today.  

The Digital Advantage

Like the original over-the-air broadcasts, cable’s infrastructure was and largely still is analog. In order to expand its SD program offering and be capable of delivering HD content, a major system upgrade is required and occurring to-day. In contrast, DBS always has been digital,making the adoption of HD programming a much more natural transition.

The most valuable commodity a content provider possesses is bandwidth (or the pipe)used to deliver programming—the larger the pipe, the more programming and services that can be delivered. This is often considered a key advantage of DBS.

To maximize efficient use of bandwidth, signal compression is applied when delivering digital programming. MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) was charged with developing standards that would allow large amounts of data to be compressed and sent using a small amount of bandwidth. MPEG-2 was the result.A rapidly increasing demand for programming helped bring about a more efficient compression solution: MPEG-4. MPEG-4 is a newer,more advanced compression platform, which offers bandwidth savings that will continue to improve in coming years as encoding technology is refined. 

HD Technology

DISH Network, with a national subscriber base of more than 12.2 million, was one of the first to release an MPEG-4 compatible receiver.The latest ViP622 receiver is a fully loaded DVR that can record up to 30 hours of high-definition, or 200 hours of SD programming. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound support, and the ability to independently record and display programming on two televisions, makes this one of the most advanced receivers available today.This combined with an HD programming line-up from the likes of HGTV HD, ESPN HD, HBOHD, and Discovery HD––included in the more than 29 HD channels currently offered––has made the growing pains of HD seem distant. 

DISH Network leveraged its all-digital DBS advantage, MPEG-4, advanced satellite space-craft technology, and sophisticated dish antenna designs to provide subscribers with the most HDTV programming available today. The future of HDTV has even more to offer. DISH Network continues to add to its national HD channel lineup and offers local HD program-ming to more and more cities—26 markets to date. DISH Network is committed to satisfying the demands of HD fanatics everywhere.