Broadcast TV HD Res at DVinfo.net

Harry Simpson · March 3rd, 2012, 07:30 PM

I was thinking that TV stations now broadcast in 1080HD but a friend of mine contends that it is up res 720P - I used to ha Am i watching up rez 720 when I'm enjoying this crystal clear image? i had an older 720 tv and the Philips 1080p I have now is worlds better.

So what is broadcast from the larger TV stations? 720 or 1008?

TIA

R Geoff Baker · March 4th, 2012, 07:08 AM

Some use one, others the other. Same with specialty channels. Both are used, and used widely -- there is no simple single answer. My cable box identifies what the source is, and if I bother I can check to see which I'm watching -- but as my television converts it all to 1080 for display, I don't bother.

And of course most material broadcast is acquired -- so some 720 broadcasters may be converting 1080 material ... and some 1080 broadcasters will be converting 720 material.

Cheers,
GB

Harry Simpson · March 5th, 2012, 03:35 PM

There was some contention that since all HD was braodcast in 720 that the best picture would be in 720 "native" res rather than 1080p "up rez". I was thinking that most of the newer CBS ABC NBC primetime shows were delivered in 1080p and would look better on a 1080p capable TV than on a 720 TV.

Harry Simpson · March 5th, 2012, 03:37 PM

There was some contention by my friend that since all HD was braodcast in 720 that the best picture would be in 720 "native" res rather than 1080p "up rez". I was thinking that most of the newer CBS ABC NBC primetime shows were delivered in 1080p and would look better on a 1080p capable TV than on a 720 TV.

Adam Gold · March 5th, 2012, 04:10 PM

The Fox and Disney (ABC, ESPN) families use 720p, either 30 or (mostly for sports) 60. CBS and NBC (and presumably their local affiliates) use 1080i. To my knowledge there is no 1080p60 in Broadcast or Cable -- it's not part of the spec. And even if they acquire in 24p or 30p, it goes out in 1080i, AFAIK. But things are changing all the time and my info may be outdated.

Dustin Moore · March 5th, 2012, 04:14 PM

There is no 1080p coming over terrestrial broadcast in the USA. It is 1080i
unless the station is owned by Disney (ABC,ESPN) or FOX and then
it is 720p.

The best picture is seen, regardless of the mode, at the TV
station before it gets crushed by the MPEG2 encoder trying to fit four
sub channels into a 19.3 mbit stream. For TV's of the same quality, the visual
difference between 720i and 1080i is not going to be particularly distinguishable
due to all the compression applied by ATSC or DBS satellite broadcast.

Roy Feldman · March 29th, 2012, 04:55 AM

My local PBS station said that my 1080/29.97 DNxHD was the perfect format for them, and it looks good on air.Sent to their ftp.
Each station has their own "ideal" spec but most can use about anything

March 3rd, 2012, 07:30 PM	#1
Harry Simpson Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN. Posts: 581	Broadcast TV HD Res I was thinking that TV stations now broadcast in 1080HD but a friend of mine contends that it is up res 720P - I used to ha Am i watching up rez 720 when I'm enjoying this crystal clear image? i had an older 720 tv and the Philips 1080p I have now is worlds better. So what is broadcast from the larger TV stations? 720 or 1008? TIA __________________ Nashville TN using Canon 5D MK3, Canon 550D, RODE SVM mic, 70-200 f2.8L II IS, 24-105 f4L IS, 50 and 85 f/1.8, Vegas Pro 11, Zoom H4n, Blackbird, Lilliput Monitor, Lightroom

March 4th, 2012, 07:08 AM	#2
R Geoff Baker Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 471	Re: Broadcast TV HD Res Some use one, others the other. Same with specialty channels. Both are used, and used widely -- there is no simple single answer. My cable box identifies what the source is, and if I bother I can check to see which I'm watching -- but as my television converts it all to 1080 for display, I don't bother. And of course most material broadcast is acquired -- so some 720 broadcasters may be converting 1080 material ... and some 1080 broadcasters will be converting 720 material. Cheers, GB

March 5th, 2012, 03:35 PM	#3
Harry Simpson Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN. Posts: 581	Re: Broadcast TV HD Res There was some contention that since all HD was braodcast in 720 that the best picture would be in 720 "native" res rather than 1080p "up rez". I was thinking that most of the newer CBS ABC NBC primetime shows were delivered in 1080p and would look better on a 1080p capable TV than on a 720 TV. __________________ Nashville TN using Canon 5D MK3, Canon 550D, RODE SVM mic, 70-200 f2.8L II IS, 24-105 f4L IS, 50 and 85 f/1.8, Vegas Pro 11, Zoom H4n, Blackbird, Lilliput Monitor, Lightroom

March 5th, 2012, 03:37 PM	#4
Harry Simpson Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN. Posts: 581	Re: Broadcast TV HD Res There was some contention by my friend that since all HD was braodcast in 720 that the best picture would be in 720 "native" res rather than 1080p "up rez". I was thinking that most of the newer CBS ABC NBC primetime shows were delivered in 1080p and would look better on a 1080p capable TV than on a 720 TV. __________________ Nashville TN using Canon 5D MK3, Canon 550D, RODE SVM mic, 70-200 f2.8L II IS, 24-105 f4L IS, 50 and 85 f/1.8, Vegas Pro 11, Zoom H4n, Blackbird, Lilliput Monitor, Lightroom

March 5th, 2012, 04:10 PM	#5
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	Re: Broadcast TV HD Res The Fox and Disney (ABC, ESPN) families use 720p, either 30 or (mostly for sports) 60. CBS and NBC (and presumably their local affiliates) use 1080i. To my knowledge there is no 1080p60 in Broadcast or Cable -- it's not part of the spec. And even if they acquire in 24p or 30p, it goes out in 1080i, AFAIK. But things are changing all the time and my info may be outdated. __________________ "It can only be attributable to human error... This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been due to human error."

March 5th, 2012, 04:14 PM	#6
Dustin Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Rochester NY Posts: 104	Re: Broadcast TV HD Res There is no 1080p coming over terrestrial broadcast in the USA. It is 1080i unless the station is owned by Disney (ABC,ESPN) or FOX and then it is 720p. The best picture is seen, regardless of the mode, at the TV station before it gets crushed by the MPEG2 encoder trying to fit four sub channels into a 19.3 mbit stream. For TV's of the same quality, the visual difference between 720i and 1080i is not going to be particularly distinguishable due to all the compression applied by ATSC or DBS satellite broadcast.

March 29th, 2012, 04:55 AM	#7
Roy Feldman Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Grosse pointe, michigan Posts: 189	Re: Broadcast TV HD Res My local PBS station said that my 1080/29.97 DNxHD was the perfect format for them, and it looks good on air.Sent to their ftp. Each station has their own "ideal" spec but most can use about anything