CBS-58 & HD Net

[John Brundage]

Watched a little bit of HD-Net last night.  Excellent.  Hope the trial run turns into a permanent partnership

[Tom Snyder]

Sigh...

Let me say that I applaud 58's carrying of HDNet during non-HD-CBS hours. Anything to increase the amount of HD available on local channels is pretty sweet.

It sure will be great when Letterman is on in HDTV on CBS, but in the meantime, upconverted SD has been enough to get my to switch from that jut-chinned Jay Lame-o.

While I sure am happy for those of you who don't have DirecTV to have access to the cool stuff on HDNet, it sure is a bummer at 10:30 for me to have two HDNets but just analog Letterman.

[JimHall]

 

Originally posted by borghe:
Jim,

While reading the Tim Cuprisin article I noticed that the compression rates for 58 were given. Do you have any official comment on what 58's future plans are as far as recompression and multi-casting?

The plans for our DTV signal will include both HDTV transmission and multicasting.  We are currently in the very early stages (its really live beta site testing) for data bandwidth compression equipment.  Since we started broadcasting in DTV last March, there have been at least three upgrades that I know about in compression equipment that we are using.  Also, we are just starting to experiment more with statistical bandwidth rates for our multicasting.  Our view is that for our industry, (broadcasting) stations will be looking to increase shelf space, much in the same way that cable has been able to add more channels with its digital deployment through the use of fiber.  And while certain programs may or will require more bandwidth (i.e.; Sports) the majority of programming will not require the full bandwidth to deliver a high quality HDTV 16x9 picture to the home.  I know some of you will disagree with me, but I believe that as time goes on the compression and data schemes will improve and at a certain point the human eye cannot detect any further improvements.

Jim Hall

[borghe]

I won't lie to you in that I am one of those compression zealots. I would love to see all DVDs compressed at a 10Mbps, broadcast HDTV at 19.4, and pre-recorded HD at 28.2Mbps, all CBR, That being said...  

Your CBS signal looks very good. I won't say great for the simple reason that I have no reference to compare it to, but at this point I certainly have nothing to complain about. I am glad to hear you say that sports will probably be a different story, because it probably will be.   I still stand by my opinion that the HDNet signal's colors look a little muted, but Tom has said that this has more to do with how you obtain and condition the signal than recompression of it. I would be interested in knowing more about this.

Here is a thread on AVSForum where Tom and I posted regarding another member who's local station is doing the exact same thing. Another CBS station employee chimed in a gave us a little more technical detail. Sorry about my unavoidable evil comment. Just my fanatacism kicking in.  

Two questions for you Jim. First is the comment the original poster made about the CBS approved 14Mbps. Is this correct? Does CBS place any such requirements on you? Second isn't really a question but an open invitation. I'm sure that all of the other tech geeks here would agree when I say we would certainly be interested in the basics of the compression and transmission hardware you guys are using. In particular when you meantion upgrading three times, even a general summary would be cool.

Ok zealot hat off. I have to admit that I'm taking a guilty pleasure in some of your multi-casting. In particular thank you for channel 41 and its monster movies. I am a HUGE fan of these old movies and they are really unavailable anywhere else except for around Halloween. I'm not ashamed to say that when most of you were watching HDTV last night, I was watching Plan 9 From Outer Space on 58.2 and see 3 more nights of excellent movies coming up, inlcuding a Godzilla one. Even with the super compressed signal it still looks/sounds better than what I can normally get 41 at.

We say it on this board all of the time, but I'll say it one more time. You guys are doing a great job over there. If it makes sense to use this board as a cross section, you are gaining viewers as a result of your actions. I'm not just talking about these board members. In going to Flanner's and American and even Best Buy, CBS 58 gets a lot of "free" promotion when it comes to HDTV. The community recognizes what you and the rest of the local DTV stations are doing. Thank you.

[Tom Snyder]

I have DirecTV so I do have a refernce to compare it to. In my opinion, the picture quality of CBS HD compares favorably to HBO HD.. . on film transfers, I can't see the difference.

While I do see difference between the DirecTV HDNet and the CBS58 HDNet, I understand that because of the conversions necesaary to make HDNet OTA broadcast-ready there is some picture degradation.. but if I didn't have that comparaison available, I bet I'd be perfectly fine with it.

[borghe]

Oops.. By not having a reference to compare it to I was referring to another CBS-HD signal. I feel that comparing CBS-HD to HBO or Showtime is apples to oranges simply because now you are taking the individual HD transfers into consideration. I would need to see a 19.4Mbps CBS broadcast vs. a 14Mbps CBS broadcast to make any sort of comparison. Though I'm certainly not going to critcize the 14Mbps broadcast because it looks terrific and I don't have a higher bitrate signal to compare it to. I do know that when you start getting into the better compression algorithm's you start seeing dramatic bandwidth decreases, so I guess we'll just wait and see what the future holds.

[gparris]

Not to complain either but is Monday Night Football this fall to be on ABC (thought it was FOX) and if so- could HD NET carry it? In addition, does WISN or the Madison ABC station that has HD now, carry it and will it be in HD as an ABC HD broadcast?

[ugyvel]

I'm a little confused on CBS HD net.  I'm going to be hooking up my new Samsung T150 tonite and will want obviously to view all the HDTV options.  Titan TV doesn't show HD Net at all for CBS 58 although I recall reading that it wouldn't.  I also know that it is not shown during prime time.  Do I just tune in 58-1 to see it during non-prime time hours?  Thanks

[Matt Heebner]

I believe that CBS is re-broadcasting HDNet when CBS has no major programming on, or HD programming on. I do not know how long they are planning this joint venture.
I would try tuning in before 7 pm and see if HDnet is on.
Again...hats off to CBS and Jim Hall for being the "point man" of HD in Milwaukee.

Matt

[Tom Snyder]

 

Oops.. By not having a reference to compare it to I was referring to another CBS-HD signal.

OH.. I see what you mean.. sorry.  

[This message has been edited by Tom Snyder (edited 08-14-2002).]

[tenth_t2]

gpharris-- No, MNF is not likely going to be in HD at all.  And you would need to get it from Madison as WISN here is, well, tardy to say the least.

If you have not been to the AVS forum, check it out.  www.avsforum.com

Here's a link to get you started:
 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=7dd13999c614448a954babca762b908b&threadid=157875&highlight=Monday

Greg O.