re: Cox Launches ESPNU in HD

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quote: ESPNU HD is a 720p high definition simulcast of ESPNU so it is low def with a hi def border/graphics basically WRONG. 720p IS considered HD. Virtually every HD channel you have is 720p or 1080i. Those are both HD. All ESPN HD programming is broadcast in 720p. There will not be any side bars on your screen.

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ESPNU HD and FIOS <3 LSU

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WRONG. 720p IS considered HD. Virtually every HD channel you have is 720p or 1080i. Those are both HD. All ESPN HD programming is broadcast in 720p. There will not be any side bars on your screen.

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Exactly, 720p/1080i is the standard for HD programming and 480i/480p is the standard for "low-def" programming at this time.

ESPN and most other sports networks choose to broadcast in 720p because of "progressive" scanning (that's what the "p" stands for). Progressive scanning is much better than "interlaced" scanning in 1080i for fast motion in sports.

Also, 1080p for mass broadcasting is not feasible at this time due to the huge amount of bandwidth it takes up. Hopefully, by upgrading our networks and compression technology we'll be able to watch sports in 1080p one day.



BTW: Japan already has experimented with UHD "Ultra-High Definition". The resolution is 4320p or quad-HD, which is actually 16x the resolution of 1080p and is near the maximum resolution that our human eyes can theoretically process. But don't expect his anytime soon. This technology is at least 20 years away before we'll see this our TVs and probably a lot longer for broadcasting.