AR
Premium,ExMod 2001-04
join:2000-09-21
Toronto, ON
 ·Rogers Hi-Speed
| Rogers HD vs OTA HD
All of you who pay for Rogers HD - please plug in a rabbit ear antenna into your TV, disconnect the cable for a bit and check out the quality of the OTA signal - it's mind blowing clear, bright and vivid colors.
Rogers must be doing SIGNIFICANT compression. My ABC/CBS/Fox/CW23 channels look stunning. |
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shaner
Premium
join:2000-10-04
Calgary, AB | So how does DiscoveryHD look OTA?
Just asking. |
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HiVolt
Premium
join:2000-12-28
Toronto, ON
clubs:
 ·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Bell Sympatico
| reply to AR
O yeah, Rogers HD looks brutal, especially in the last few months since they further incresed the compression...
My brother lives in a condo right at lake Ontario, he gets over 20 HD channels from the CN Tower and across from New York state. The quality difference is stunning from my Rogers HD at home.
Sadly my HDTV is older and doesn't have an ATSC tuner anyway.
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HiVolt
Premium
join:2000-12-28
Toronto, ON
clubs:
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Bell Sympatico
| reply to shaner
said by shaner  :Just asking. Sneaky Pete, you know there's no Discovery HD on OTA... 
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AR
Premium,ExMod 2001-04
join:2000-09-21
Toronto, ON | reply to shaner
Don't get it OTA. Wouldn't be able to compare either, wasn't subscribing to it on Rogers.
Why, does it stand out qualitywise on cable? |
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AR
Premium,ExMod 2001-04
join:2000-09-21
Toronto, ON | reply to AR
I was in the US and the hotel had DirecTV HD - it was gloriously beautiful.
Is Rogers the only provider which compresses or does Bell do the same with it's satellite service? |
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shaner
Premium
join:2000-10-04
Calgary, AB
| They all compress to varying degrees. That was kind of my point about asking how DiscoveryHD looked. Basically, you have to give something to get something. You have to look at HD as a whole package, not just compare the few channels (or as is the case here in Calgary, no channels) you can get OTA. Compression is the price you pay for having a full slate of HD channels. I'm not saying that Rogers (or any providor) should max out their banwidth and compress as many channels into one stream as possible. But its a fine line between picture quality and availability.
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The opinions in this post are wholly my own and in no way reflect the opinions of, or are influenced by my employer. |
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AR
Premium,ExMod 2001-04
join:2000-09-21
Toronto, ON
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| said by shaner :Basically, you have to give something to get something. The customer pays, the provider provides sub-standard quantity over quality and there is no incentive for them to perform capacity upgrades?
Is Fiber coming to Canada? |
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Hydraglass
join:2002-05-08
Kingston, ON
| reply to AR
Bell ExpressVU HD depends on the show and the channel from what I've seen - I watch 1080p Blu-Rays most of the time - and once in a while something on ABC or CTV in HD looks darn near as good as a 1080p disc - but most of the time I liken it to "almost as good" - of course the best it'll ever be over the air is still 1080i or 720p - so I'm thinking what BEV is giving me in HD is nearly that good. I can't get anything OTA here in Kingston short of putting a massive antenna on my roof to possibly get something from Rochester or Watertown - the ATSC tuner just runs through and says nothing is available.
I have "in-law" family in Scarborough with Rogers HD on the exact same TV model as we have (they liked ours so much they bought one) and I would agree - most of their "HD" content barely looks better than an upscaled DVD -- no where near true HD. They were somewhat disappointed when they first got the TV and weren't getting a similar experience to what they had at our house - but they have since got their PS3 and a supply of BR's and are enjoying 1080p as well now and are much happier.
I don't subscribe to any of the HD packages from BEV - But they throw in all the NBC/CBS/ABC/PBS/Global/CTV with the normal programming packages, as well as the M movie networks in HD when they are subscribed to in standard def - so I don't get to watch Discovery HD, Equator HD, or any of those others -- so I can't say how they look - but if they are as good as M-HD or the network HD feeds, they can't be complained about.
After spending 8 days at an Inn in PEI that had 4 channels on the "ole fashioned 19" TV", wireless internet that didn't work, and cell phone signal that was sporadic at best, I feel like I'm extra-spoiled here at home -- luckily I wasn't in my room very often there - too much to see and do - and I can't watch a Ceilidh every night here at home - even with all these channels!!!! |
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dirtyjeffer
fagetaboutit
Premium
join:2002-02-21
London, ON
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| reply to AR
all of my Rogers HD channels look stunning...perhaps some areas are hit with more compression than others?
and living in London, OTA isn't an option either.
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Best Marketplace Ever: »www.cbc.ca/marketplace/speed_bumps/ |
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joeybee
Joey
Premium
join:2003-08-12
Hamilton, ON
clubs:
| reply to shaner
said by shaner :They all compress to varying degrees. That was kind of my point about asking how DiscoveryHD looked. Basically, you have to give something to get something. You have to look at HD as a whole package, not just compare the few channels (or as is the case here in Calgary, no channels) you can get OTA. Compression is the price you pay for having a full slate of HD channels. I'm not saying that Rogers (or any providor) should max out their banwidth and compress as many channels into one stream as possible. But its a fine line between picture quality and availability. I remember hearing about some kind of agreement Discovery has that it can only be compressed a very very small amount or whoever is providing it will lose their contract to carry it. |
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shaner
Premium
join:2000-10-04
Calgary, AB
| reply to AR
said by AR :said by shaner :Basically, you have to give something to get something. The customer pays, the provider provides sub-standard quantity over quality and there is no incentive for them to perform capacity upgrades? That's why I said there was a fine line between picture quality and amount of content. There has to be a compromise between the 2.
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The opinions in this post are wholly my own and in no way reflect the opinions of, or are influenced by my employer. |
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AR
Premium,ExMod 2001-04
join:2000-09-21
Toronto, ON
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| I am not singling you out, just expressing discontent with the status quo - delay capital and technology upgrades and keep providing substandard quality to milk customers who dont have much choice.
Long term, fiber should come to Canada and shake up things. AFAIK, comcast only started with compression as a response to FIOS. |
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BryceS
join:2007-09-17
Woodstock, ON
| reply to dirtyjeffer
said by dirtyjeffer :all of my Rogers HD channels look stunning...perhaps some areas are hit with more compression than others? and living in London, OTA isn't an option either. Pretty much same location and Rogers and Bell both look fantastic on HD. |
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ArthurS
Watch Those Blinking Lights
Premium
join:2000-10-28
Hamilton, ON
| reply to AR
said by AR :said by shaner :Basically, you have to give something to get something. The customer pays, the provider provides sub-standard quantity over quality and there is no incentive for them to perform capacity upgrades? Is Fiber coming to Canada? Maybe with new construction, but it will be a long time before I see fiber drops for each house in my neighborhood! |
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elwoodblues
join:2006-08-30
Toronto, ON
| reply to AR
said by AR :I was in the US and the hotel had DirecTV HD - it was gloriously beautiful. Is Rogers the only provider which compresses or does Bell do the same with it's satellite service? Rogers is the worse when it comes to compression, they will just suck the life out of every channel they push out.
Satellite is much better, as far as I know they either do no or much less compression the Robbers.
If people actually realized how poor quality the picture on their TV really was.. they'd drop Rogers in a hearbeat.
I've given up on conventional TV and just download HI DEF caps to watch |
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elwoodblues
join:2006-08-30
Toronto, ON
| reply to joeybee
said by joeybee :said by shaner :They all compress to varying degrees. That was kind of my point about asking how DiscoveryHD looked. Basically, you have to give something to get something. You have to look at HD as a whole package, not just compare the few channels (or as is the case here in Calgary, no channels) you can get OTA. Compression is the price you pay for having a full slate of HD channels. I'm not saying that Rogers (or any providor) should max out their banwidth and compress as many channels into one stream as possible. But its a fine line between picture quality and availability. I remember hearing about some kind of agreement Discovery has that it can only be compressed a very very small amount or whoever is providing it will lose their contract to carry it. It doesn't work that way. Discovery is owned by CTV (in Canada) and is a category 1 digital channel, which under CRTC rules is a must carry. |
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Brano
Premium,MVM
join:2002-06-25
Burlington, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·ELECTRONICBOX
edit:
July 21st, @05:57AM
| reply to AR
I'm in Burlington and do not have any TV subscription i.e. cable or satellite.
I'm receiving all the HD stations mentioned here (CN and Buffalo) »www.remotecentral.com/hdtv on one Channel Master 4221 antenna.
...mind, we don't watch TV very often as such don't need any specialty channels etc.
Picture quality is awesome.  (on those true HD channels, not upconverts) |
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dirtyjeffer
fagetaboutit
Premium
join:2002-02-21
London, ON
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| reply to elwoodblues
said by elwoodblues :Rogers is the worse when it comes to compression, they will just suck the life out of every channel they push out. Satellite is much better, as far as I know they either do no or much less compression the Robbers. If people actually realized how poor quality the picture on their TV really was.. they'd drop Rogers in a hearbeat. I've given up on conventional TV and just download HI DEF caps to watch for where i am, i find Rogers to have LESS compression that BEV...not so much in the HD, although, i have to say the HD has ALWAYS looked fantastic and i have read recently some people complaining about the picture on BEV lately, but the SD channels are MUCH better on Rogers than they were with Bell...i think Bell has compressed the SD channels to the point where some of them have become almost unwatchable (unless you have an old 19" 1980's TV).
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Best Marketplace Ever: »www.cbc.ca/marketplace/speed_bumps/ |
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mr weather
Premium
join:2002-02-27
Mississauga, ON
| reply to AR
Funny you should start this thread, AR.
I'm turning in my Rogers HD PVR. I got it as part of a promotion when I bought my Sharp Aquos HDTV last fall. Now the free period is up and I can't justify the added expense. I was reviewing my most recent Rogers cable bill and it was over $100! 
The shows I'm interested in are broadcast OTA and, fortunately, I receive all the US and CA networks using my 4221 antenna on the roof. YMMV of course. 
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"It's all coming down!!" - Mike Holmes |
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