Topic 'Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?' in forum 'Verizon FIOS TV' - dslreports.com

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:22:40 EDT

Miataman posted : I can see from the network's website that it's only a "namechange"
...and I think the new name is Destination America HD...
--
"My hat, my cane, Jeeves".

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:37:53 EDT

FiosTV1080I posted : oh wait my bad , it use to be Planet green and now it's Destinaton HD, guess wasen't an additional add :uhh:

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:35:27 EDT

TitusTroy posted :

said by WhatsHot:

I don't know that Verizon will never convert existing channels, I just know they won't this or next year

ouch!...painful...makes me give serious consideration to switching back to RCN

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:33:33 EDT

FiosTV1080I posted : looks like a new channel was added ch. 668 - Destination HD and also on Sandard ch. 168 , Hopefully more additions will come shortly for HD!

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:50:15 EDT

WhatsHot posted : Thanks, JeepMatt.

I don't know that Verizon will never convert existing channels, I just know they won't this or next year. My understanding is that doing so was initially a consideration, but for many complicated reasons, it came off the table.

I would make the observation that Verizon's recent additions seem to reflect that they understand the need to add HD content. If I knew nothing, I'd assume Verizon isn't going to suddenly un-understand that.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:36:02 EDT

anon posted :

said by ksalper:

I'm fairly sure that the vast majority of prime time programs aired in the US have always been shot on film. There might be the occasional show shot on video -- anything that aired live, like a variety show, for sure, or things like soaps with their short turnaround time -- but the "flat" and cheap look of video means that very little in the way of quality television is made with it. Look at how "different" it looks when you see something like a 30 Rock live episode, even in today's HD -- I'm sure someone will find a couple one-off examples, but film was always the standard, not video.

The biggest issue with most shows in the '80s and '90s is that they were edited on video. So, the may have been shot on film, but the final episode usually only exists as an SD video master. Any HD restoration of the show is going to require they go back to the original film, scan it, and re-edit the episode. If any special effects were used, they would have to be redone or at least recomposited. That doesn't mean it can't be done (look at the HD re-masters for Star Trek: TNG), it just means it's more expensive and less trivial to do many much older TV shows or films.

My hope is that most "landmark" shows get the treatment in one way or another. Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek, Friends, Cheers, and Sienfeld are good examples of that. I really hope that Fox goes back and does the X-Files some day. It wouldn't need quite the level of work as Star Trek:TNG since there are fewer special effects shots, but it would be a bit more complex than a sitcom. It would be amazing though.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:30:27 EDT

ksalper posted : I'm fairly sure that the vast majority of prime time programs aired in the US have always been shot on film. There might be the occasional show shot on video -- anything that aired live, like a variety show, for sure, or things like soaps with their short turnaround time -- but the "flat" and cheap look of video means that very little in the way of quality television is made with it. Look at how "different" it looks when you see something like a 30 Rock live episode, even in today's HD -- I'm sure someone will find a couple one-off examples, but film was always the standard, not video.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 24 May 2012 06:01:00 EDT

c17chief posted : Givin the timing, I wonder if box returns (not service canx) are a little higher then usual follwing the rate increase on equipment. Getting rid of those rarely used boxes or maybe some people ditching dvr for standard boxes, etc.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Sat, 19 May 2012 15:01:43 EDT

prisaz posted :

said by icemannyr1:

said by sbernstein5:

said by WhatsHot:

There are plans. They don't involve conversion of existing channels.

That's as much as I'll elaborate. :-)

Read between the lines "don't involve conversion of existing channels" can easily be read as "new channels will be added as MPEG4"

If thats the plan then FiOS is being counter productive.
All of the HBO and Cinemax channels, with a few exceptions, are MPEG4 being converted by FiOS to MPEG2. Those channels should be MPEG4.

The old QIP-6xxx and earlier hardware does not support MPEG4. Thus the problem here. We all pay for verizon to upgrade others hardware.
»[DVR] Set Top Box price increase

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Sat, 19 May 2012 13:17:50 EDT

icemannyr1 posted :

said by sbernstein5:

said by WhatsHot:

There are plans. They don't involve conversion of existing channels.

That's as much as I'll elaborate. :-)

Read between the lines "don't involve conversion of existing channels" can easily be read as "new channels will be added as MPEG4"

If thats the plan then FiOS is being counter productive.
All of the HBO and Cinemax channels, with a few exceptions, are MPEG4 being converted by FiOS to MPEG2. Those channels should be MPEG4.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Sat, 19 May 2012 12:10:26 EDT

dcowboy posted :

said by knarf829:

said by Steve3:

It is a competitive industry, and more channels attract more customers.

Do you see any provider advertising their number or breadth of HD channels anymore? I can't think of one.

Yes.
Got a fios ad in the mail & it says the plan has 275+ channels including 75+ HD.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Sat, 19 May 2012 12:01:52 EDT

KCrimson posted :

said by WhatsHot:

There are plans. They don't involve conversion of existing channels.

That's as much as I'll elaborate. :-)

I'd be willing to devote a portion of my data bandwidth (which, if rumors are correct will be ~75 Mbs in a month's time!) to an on-demand HD application similar to what's available for XBox/Epix/HBO etc. If Verizon offers every TV subscriber digital internet access to additional HD streams, then everyone should be happy - no? The question remains whether the on-demand channels will be available on mainstream devices like Boxee - THAT would be something that I'd be on-board with. Otherwise, only computer or proprietary hardware viewing would be available.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:25:16 EDT

JeepMatt posted : Greg-
Trust Hot Stuff...they may be new to the board, but are in the know.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:07:42 EDT

knarf829 posted :

said by Steve3:

It is a competitive industry, and more channels attract more customers.

Do you see any provider advertising their number or breadth of HD channels anymore? I can't think of one. If that's what attracted customers, they would be.

Around here, it's Comcast, Verizon and satellite. None of them say much about the number of HD channels in their ads. It's all features, and Verizon's feature is the quality, not quantity, of the channels.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Sat, 19 May 2012 09:23:24 EDT

Greg2600 posted :

said by Steve3:

I am sure that more HD channels will be added. That is why they are moving to mpeg4. I remember years ago, they did a couple of big additions, and will probably do the same. It is a competitive industry, and more channels attract more customers.

Not really, that's why they've done nothing about it.

said by sbernstein5:

Read between the lines "don't involve conversion of existing channels" can easily be read as "new channels will be added as MPEG4"

Given that poster came out of nowhere, I'll stick with our regulars, who have said some channels will move.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Sat, 19 May 2012 08:32:00 EDT

nlk10010 posted : Yes, that's what came to me at first, but the problem is: if there is no space now, how do you add channels without converting existing ones?

Of course, we on these boards know relatively little of the real situation is so I suppose there could be a feasible plan that doesn't involve conversion of existing channels. Just have to wait and see.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:40:29 EDT

sbernstein5 posted :

said by WhatsHot:

There are plans. They don't involve conversion of existing channels.

That's as much as I'll elaborate. :-)

Read between the lines "don't involve conversion of existing channels" can easily be read as "new channels will be added as MPEG4"

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:12:02 EDT

Steve3 posted : I am sure that more HD channels will be added. That is why they are moving to mpeg4. I remember years ago, they did a couple of big additions, and will probably do the same. It is a competitive industry, and more channels attract more customers.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:33:36 EDT

MeatChicken posted : They really don't need that much more space when you think about it .....
As far as non-sports/non-premium HD's that Fios only has currently avail in SD,
There's what, perhaps 6-10 that anyone is requesting (BBC, HLN, GSN, STYLE, TVLand, CARTOON ect..)
More than half of them could probably be added right away, simply from the announced .TV's switch to MPEG 4 ..
Switch just a few more existing channels, Prems & Forign to MP4 & Re-Jigger a few QAMs, & they could probably add them all, including any addtnl HD Sports/Prems, & the remaining non carried adds (NASA) ....

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:33:01 EDT

nowayout posted :

said by JPL:

said by nowayout:

With little capacity to spare, the only other options are IP, 3:1 compression, do nothing (few/no channels), or he/she's wrong.

Those aren't the only options. There's a whole thread on the mpeg-4 conversion that they're doing. Just migrating HD channels to mpeg-4 will free up some 50% of the bandwidth. Then there are other options which they CAN opt for, but probably won't. Like SDV. Or expanding their QAM spectrum to 1 GHz.

Also, not to nit-pick or anything, but on the one post (wasn't written by you) that there's no incentive for them to increase bandwidth because they've stopped their expansion... I disagree completely. Why have they stopped their expansion? What was their stated reason? They want to increase their penetration in markets that they currently serve. How do they do that, exactly, but not improving their product?

I'll also counter that the development of 1.9 (with all its flaws) was another example of them willing to devote a decent investment in improving their product. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it gave them one of the first HD guides in the industry, and improved the overall functionality of their service considerably (adding features like multi-hub). While there are many features that I would still like, and while it's far from perfect, the fact that Verizon devoted that much time and energy into the development of new guide s/w tells me that they're not interested in just letting their product wither on the vine.

I was commenting on WhatsHot's insistence that h.264 conversion wasn't going to take place. IF it were true, those are the other options. (I should have quoted it to be clear.)

SDV was discussed in the past and there was some belief at the time by folks smarter than me that it wasn't compatible with the Fios network, but who knows. If it is compatible, then yes I guess that's an option too.

Raising the spectrum means replacing even the new 7-series STBs. They don't even want to replace the 6-series if they can avoid it. But I'm not sure if they can do this even if they wanted to, as that might run into moca interference. Maybe someone can chime in on that...

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:50:41 EDT

TitusTroy posted : I've said it before and I'll say it again...my previous cable provider was RCN...they realized they could not compete on HD channels alone so they branched out in a different direction...they started differentiating their product by partnering with TiVo to provide their set top boxes...they recently upgraded to 4 tuner TiVo boxes

this is the future...companies need to think outside the box to compete...HD channels mean nothing nowadays when MOST of the 'important' channels are covered by every cable provider...this is not 2004...Verizon needs to find a new way to sell their services...their claims of best picture quality are slowly being eroded...I'm staying with VZ more because of price now versus anything else...but every now and then I get the bug to just switch back to RCN...the superior technological advances of FiOS are a thing of the past

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:24:49 EDT

nlk10010 posted :

said by RBost:

Plans mean nothing at all. I plan on being filthy rich one day.
It is time to crap or get off the pot.

Well, it's not only that plans mean nothing at all but that you can't verify, objectively, that anyone even has plans. I mean, when TJ (late, lamented by some) used to say channels were "in the pipeline", or "planned", or something like that there was no way to prove or disprove the statement. It was therefore something that could be said regardless of what was or was not true.

The only thing that is important is if VZ themselves feel it is time to, as you say, ahem, s**t or get off the pot. Who knows, but my guess is that at least some existing HD channels will be migrating to MPEG4. This is consistent with the Verizon forum post linked to above that only says Verizon is not doing so today. That was posted to make the ineffectual moderators of those Verizon forums, who like to exert their "power" by censoring/deleting/moving posts, feel better about themselves.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:15:34 EDT

JPL posted :

said by nowayout:

With little capacity to spare, the only other options are IP, 3:1 compression, do nothing (few/no channels), or he/she's wrong.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:33:44 EDT

itguy05 posted :

said by Greg2600:

Only really old shows like from the 60's. Most of the 70's stuff through the 90's is on video tape. Converting like that would be done for a Blu-Ray release, and it's very expensive.

I don't know I'd be so sure on that - I've been watching old 80s shows (Knight Rider, A Team) on Netflix now and they look pretty darn good on our 50" TV. Not HD but a lot better than any SD i've seen. They must be getting some of that resolution from somewhere....

quote:
We're still waiting for first run networks like BBC America, G4, H2, and sports networks like CBS College to be added.

The only one I care about of that list is BBCA (would love to see Top Gear in HD). The rest could stay stink-o-vision for all I care.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:45:09 EDT

RBost posted : Plans mean nothing at all. I plan on being filthy rich one day.
It is time to crap or get off the pot.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:13:15 EDT

Acct101 posted :

said by WhatsHot:

There are plans. They don't involve conversion of existing channels.

That's as much as I'll elaborate. :-)

So in short, nothing is happening, what we have is what we get. Take it or leave it.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:32:32 EDT

JeepMatt posted : Wait! That's not my quote! I'm calling the grammar police! ;)
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:22:53 EDT

Miataman posted :

said by Tarheel72:

In fact I fully believe that one day I will wake up and see where Verizon has sold FiOS to some private investment group or to some existing provider, like Dish. I think they will slowly exit the cable and land line business and concentrate on wireless

VZ's biggest "want" is the 45% of VZ Wireless that Vodaphone owns. That's where they want to spend all the cash they make every time they sell a line of business.
But the Brits won't budge on that. From across the pond, all they see is a cash cow that they don't have to do anything with, knowing it's in VZ's capable hands..
--
"My hat, my cane, Jeeves".

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:41:27 EDT

nowayout posted : With little capacity to spare, the only other options are IP, 3:1 compression, do nothing (few/no channels), or he/she's wrong.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:27:49 EDT

Greg2600 posted :

said by WhatsHot:

There are plans. They don't involve conversion of existing channels.

That's as much as I'll elaborate. :-)

what else is there, IPTV?

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:58:34 EDT

MeatChicken posted :

said by blue_trooper:

said by TitusTroy:

said by itguy05:

Depends. A lot of those shows were probably shot on 35mm film. If they do the transfer right you can get HD out of it as 35mm film has tons of resolution

waiting for I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners in HD

I Love Lucy was shot on 35mm film but the Honeymooners was done with the Electronicam (and/or kinescope) and those masters don't have the required resolution.

From what I have read, The I Love Lucy Master films have already been converted by the studio to 1080P HD, but for some reason have never yet been released ...

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:17:22 EDT

WhatsHot posted : There are plans. They don't involve conversion of existing channels.

That's as much as I'll elaborate. :-)

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:40:48 EDT

PaCK Fan posted : ^ that the most sensical thing ive read from a unc guy in a long time.. you must not have been one of those UNC afro studies grads who got good grades for doing nothing? ha ha

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:57:00 EDT

Tarheel72 posted : I like FiOS. It is the most reliable of any cable service I have had and is the most economical for me when you have to outfit 6+ TV's with HD. But I think we have pretty much seen the last of any big HD channel rollouts. We may get one or two here or there but that's about it. Given Verizon's comments about lack of FiOS expansion beyond the current regions I see no real incentive for them to improve offerings much beyond what they have. In fact I fully believe that one day I will wake up and see where Verizon has sold FiOS to some private investment group or to some existing provider, like Dish. I think they will slowly exit the cable and land line business and concentrate on wireless, mostly because of labor issues and the constant increase in the content provider fees. They will then concentrate of providing entertainment via wireless devices over their wireless network and transition some of their carrier rights exclusively to Verizon wireless.

I just do not see any upside for them to roll out new hardware and new HD just to service their existing markets. They are not likely to get that much of a net gain, with constant churn. They are continually faced with rising costs driven by content providers. Hardware advances put continuous pressure on them to keep updating boxes and software. It is a losing battle that can only be mitigated by increasing the number of subscribers, which they have effectively ruled out with no more expansion plans.

I will just be happy to have what I have and enjoy it as long as I can.
--
Go Heels!

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:12:20 EDT

icemannyr1 posted : There is no live Olympics coverage on Universal Sports Network so I don't expect FiOS to add the channel.

Coverage will be on NBC, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network and Telemundo.

There will be coverage in 3D on a next day delay that is being offered to cable, satellite and telco TV providers.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:50:52 EDT

wmcbrine posted :

said by bohratom:

Ill take nycdave's word over a verizon customer support rep any day. According to Dave they are migrating the .TV's to mpeg4.

Any idea when this might happen?
--
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:34:19 EDT

JeepMatt posted :

said by WhatsHot:

They aren't converting existing channels. You can speculate all day long, but it's not happening this or next year and time will prove that, so no point in arguing.

So then can you elaborate for us customers who have been painstakingly sitting here waiting for 2+ years now on how you're going to create capacity for the 50+ HD channels you are missing?

C'mon, you must have some insight... ;)
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:31:03 EDT

WhatsHot posted : They aren't converting existing channels. You can speculate all day long, but it's not happening this or next year and time will prove that, so no point in arguing.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:06:01 EDT

blue_trooper posted :

said by TitusTroy:

said by itguy05:

Depends. A lot of those shows were probably shot on 35mm film. If they do the transfer right you can get HD out of it as 35mm film has tons of resolution

waiting for I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners in HD

I Love Lucy was shot on 35mm film but the Honeymooners was done with the Electronicam (and/or kinescope) and those masters don't have the required resolution.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:08:02 EDT

Greg2600 posted :

said by dcowboy
They also converted "Friends" to 16x9.
+ an SD show on an HD channel still looks better than an SD show on an SD channel.

Yes, them too. I watch all of those on WPIX, WGN America, and TBS in HD.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:04:16 EDT

TitusTroy posted :

said by itguy05:

Depends. A lot of those shows were probably shot on 35mm film. If they do the transfer right you can get HD out of it as 35mm film has tons of resolution

waiting for I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners in HD

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:57:49 EDT

dcowboy posted :

said by Greg2600:

said by itguy05:

Depends. A lot of those shows were probably shot on 35mm film. If they do the transfer right you can get HD out of it as 35mm film has tons of resolution.

Only shows like Seinfeld and Star Trek have gotten that kind of treatment.

They also converted "Friends" to 16x9.
+ an SD show on an HD channel still looks better than an SD show on an SD channel.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:22:01 EDT

Greg2600 posted :

said by itguy05:

Depends. A lot of those shows were probably shot on 35mm film. If they do the transfer right you can get HD out of it as 35mm film has tons of resolution.

Only really old shows like from the 60's. Most of the 70's stuff through the 90's is on video tape. Converting like that would be done for a Blu-Ray release, and it's very expensive. Only shows like Seinfeld and Star Trek have gotten that kind of treatment. The point is TV Land has very little true HD right now. We're still waiting for first run networks like BBC America, G4, H2, and sports networks like CBS College to be added.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:51:58 EDT

itguy05 posted :

said by skohly:

Most of the shows on TV Land are re-runs for 20 or 30 years ago, none of which is in HD. Perhaps "Hot in Cleveland" is but not much else.

Depends. A lot of those shows were probably shot on 35mm film. If they do the transfer right you can get HD out of it as 35mm film has tons of resolution.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:05:51 EDT

KCrimson posted : As I mentioned, that program is VERY popular with adult women in particular (the demographic that controls MOST families' purse-strings). The network has been concentrating on adding original content and targets the Gen-X (80's 90's 00's) audience's shows more-and-more. What this means is that even many of their "retro" shows will be/are available in HD - think Everybody Loves Raymond, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, etc. Not all "old shows" are SD-only, especially for a network like this. Also - they're about to launch a new spin-off of Hot In Cleveland ("Soul Man"), and already have two other prime-time original series running. Verizon can't afford to ignore this major source of HD programming much longer.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:46:26 EDT

skohly posted :

said by KCrimson:

Not having TV Land-HD is a definite problem, and will only get worse. Its become a major source of original programming with the success of "Hot In Cleveland", and wives like my own might prevail when it comes to deciding pay TV providers. :huh:

Most of the shows on TV Land are re-runs for 20 or 30 years ago, none of which is in HD. Perhaps "Hot in Cleveland" is but not much else.

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:37:29 EDT

KCrimson posted : Not having TV Land-HD is a definite problem, and will only get worse. Its become a major source of original programming with the success of "Hot In Cleveland", and wives like my own might prevail when it comes to deciding pay TV providers. :huh:

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:52:06 EDT

Greg2600 posted : So would I, I was being tongue in cheek. Dave's quote, was that his suggestion or what was happening?

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:41:38 EDT

bohratom posted :

said by Greg2600:

Officially they aren't moving channels to MPEG4...

»businessforums.verizon.net/t5/Sh···5#M14534

Ill take nycdave's word over a verizon customer support rep any day. According to Dave they are migrating the .TV's to mpeg4.