Talkback
-- Multichannel News, 11/2/2009 2:00:00 AM
Packet Loss Can Blur the Picture
(RE: “Golden Eyes,” Oct. 28) When Todd and Discovery Channel and NBC executives comment that “… HD is the de facto standard — signals must be compressed for delivery … a process that often degrades quality … anyone with a 60-inch display can notice blurring or blockiness. … defects that used to hide in the dark come out … and bite you … they actually miss something important that you (dear reader/audience) and I know only too well: compression degrades quality in subtle ways but problems with the signal transmission blow great big holes into the viewing experience. Compression doesn’t introduce artifacts though it may amplify artifacts that already exist in the uncompressed video. Packet loss in the digital signal transmission world — that is what produces the jaw-dropping artifacts, the disconcerting blockiness, and the fractured and frozen images that can make video un-watchable and un-useable.
Most often, the quality of the content isn’t the problem. It is the quality of the network carrying the content that causes the problems. Take care of network packet loss and just watch how things improve.
Brett McAteer, VP, marketing, iPeak Networks, Ottawa
Why Don’t Basic Subs Need a Digital Set-Top?
(RE: NYC, Yonkers Weigh In on Cablevision Encryption Request,” Oct. 23): The rationale for the prohibition on encrypting the basic service tier (so that consumers can access the BST without equipment) no longer makes sense following the broadcast [digital television] transition. With DTV, the government required every analog TV to have equipment in order to continue to receive free over-the-air signals, and over 60 million boxes were purchased by consumers (with government subsidy) — yet they require that consumers be able to continue to access those same channels without equipment on cable?
Ted Forde, Connecticut
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