HomeVideo Savant DirecTV Rumor: Discovery HD Now at Full Resolution
DirecTV Rumor: Discovery HD Now at Full Resolution
Written by Video Savant
Monday, 13 August 2007
There are several potential pitfalls that can undermine HD picture quality, but there's little doubt that one of the most annoying -- and unfortunately most common -- problems for full enjoyment of HD programming is cable and satellite subscription services that reduce picture resolution or transmission bandwidth (or both).
It's safe to say that nothing gets visitors to Internet-based home theater forums more agitated, more quickly than a discussion of HD picture quality that has been purposely compromised. And while there's a general recognition that all pay TV services throttle back picture quality to some degree in order to ration precious bandwidth for other purposes, DirecTV has come to be seen as Public Enemy No. 1 when it comes to this practice.
But now it appears that DirecTV's HD picture quality may be on the comeback trail, as online reports have surfaced that the company has quietly restored the Discovery HD Theater channel to full 1920 x 1080 quality.
Even if these rumors turn out to be fact, there probably won't be any confirmation coming from DirecTV,
as the company has repeatedly taken the position that it already
provides the best possible HD picture quality. In fact, for the
better part of the past year, DirecTV has pounded away with a national
advertising campaign touting its HD magnificence. Predictably, the
online world has been in eye-rolling mode ever since, and competitors
from Time Warner Cable to Comcast have gone to court to counter what
they consider to be false advertising claims.
And if you follow through and read the details at either AVS or
DBSTalk, you'll find that there are still concerns about full
resolution versus less-than-full bandwidth.
But the bottom line here is
that there is a growing focus on picture quality, and DirecTV does seem
intent on improving its reputation in this area. Hopefully this rumored shift toward improved quality is what the future looks like for all HDTV subscription services.
If that happens, it will be a very positive development for all of us who are serious about picture quality.
Video Savant 
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