The MAIN issue regards to PICTURE QUALITY is Variable Bit Rate.
Foxtel might put 8 channels on 1 transponder that beams out to your TV. The
latest encoders they're installing will dynamically give one channel greater
bitrate if it's got a more complex scene than the other channels I saw on some
news recently. It means the quality of moving scenes increases OR they squeeze
an extra channel or 2 out to your TV. This is not as possible for the standard
channels, as when the standard definition that FOXTEL transmits in on a channel
which has SDTV has a complex scene, chances are the HDTV simulcast is on the
same complex scene, which will break up the Standard Definition channel.
It would be easy an easy thing to do, and that is that someone should compile a
list of all the FOXTEL channels and their bitrates; which would be a useful
thing to have but the settings can change from time to time so it would quickly
become outdated. However we have found that many of the channels average around
3 Mbps. I believe the bit rate of pay TV channels is what results in the
inferior quality and when you consider Australia is still catching up to the
rest of the world in technology terms FOXTEL is doing great.
I think that bitrate is the CRITICAL issue at present. If FOXTEL increased the
bitrate there'd come a point later on where the picture would benefit more from
a better resolution. (if you increase the resolution there's more data, so have
to have a higher bitrate unless you compress it even more!)
Examples of typical bit rates:
FTA HDTV(1440x1080i): 12.8Mbps
FTA HDTV(720x576p): 9 Mbps
FTA SDTV(720x576i): 6-7 Mbps
DVD's SDTV(720x576i) (typical): 5.5-9.8 Mbps
Foxtel SDTV(720x576i - Showtime): 4 Mbps
Foxtel SDTV(544x576i - Sky News): 3.2 Mbps
Foxtel SDTV(544x576i - TCM): 1.9 Mbps
Good examples. Sky News and TCM are 4:3 too.
2. CAN YOU GET A BETTER SIGNAL?
We find the main problem here is, FOXTEL compresses the signal a lot - so the
quality goes down. Meaning they get to give you more channels down the cable or
satellite, but when there's lots of movement the picture blurs, you get lines on
the screen, fading scenes such as sometimes colours and shades have
noticeable steps. Scenes with flashing lights and smoky effects look really bad.
YES you can't buy a better STB from FOXTEL because it's the FOXTEL signal, not
the box. If you buy a DVD burner and plug in your FOXTEL STB it will be decoding
a better signal therefore better picture quality which we did as we could not
stand to see the lines especially paying OVER $110 a month for the service.
3. WHY DO I NEED THE PHONE LINE?
ANSWER ; YOU DON'T
Our FOXTEL digital cable unit would not dial dial properly. It keeps dialling
and dialling the number but no answer. FOXTEL knows how to fix this and knows it
but they still say it is not possible and is a secret. Well not really to fix
this problem you call them up and tell them you do not want the box to auto call
especially if you have no landline. Then what happens is they will tell you it
has to, so then you disconnect your landline and tell them so. Upon doing this
they will tell you you have to call a 1300 number to order movies and the like
from now on. This is ok because instead of your bill ending up huge with
unidentified numbers you just use the 1300 they give you.
If you really want to have your phone line taken over and not know how the box
is calling have a look on channel 998 it is the setup for your modem most if not
all boxes will be dialling the number 0198308025 which looks like Adelaide
SA phone number but it is not it is the new equal of a local call e.g. 1300
number.
Setup of the modem and all the gadgetry including the phone line and STB is
usually performed by the FOXTEL installer. When we hooked up they screwed it up
and had to come back several times but got their in the end as they were only
new on the job. I understand they are supposed to ask questions about if your
telephone line has ADSL, call blocking alarms or other services like cable
internet but they did not. Just like a PC's modem there's all sorts of setup,
etc to do.
So if you're having trouble after reading the handbook, *call 131999*.
4. WHY DOES MY FOXTEL BOX TURN OFF?
ANSWER ;
The STB has a slow OLD processor in it like computers 5 years back and if you
jump from channel to channel or play to many games it will re start. It will on
the game called penguin mania lockup if you play to long. Not exactly sure why
but it does. The other reason is when the kind people at FOXTEL forget to let
people watching know they are doing an upgrade which we all should understand is
hard to do with everyone watching at one time or another.
Though Foxtel is being paid around $270 million a month we all have to remember
they are having to stick to a budget just like most of us. When they launched
the new line up of channels etc on digital 2 years ago it was and still is
pretty much the same as the AUSTAR from 8 years ago line up. The price for this
was $55 the reason the price is now double is because FOXTEL had to do a bit of
tweaking to improve some of the features and also that dreaded foe inflation.
We hope this clears up some misconceptions and misunderstandings people have
with FOXTEL and allows them to enjoy the viewing experience more so than before.
The statements made hereon this page and others alike are for the betterment of
the viewer and are based entirely on actually experience with FOXTEL and AUSTAR
over the past 11 years. In no way does this have intention of harm nor does the
article support either kind of TV endorsement.
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