re: When will fox upgrade their HD signal?

That variable bit rate can be the killer of the crispness of signals. You can go from a high bit rate to a low bit rate in a matter is seconds. Variable from my perspective only works in a post production environment where multiple passes of video can be done without regard to the time it takes to squeeze the unnecessary bits out and get the best picture at the lowest bit rate possible.

For a live presentation, this is nearly impossible even with today’s technology unless you use the newer codecs that can break down the picture in different grids. But they are not ready for broadcast TV until ATSC 3.0 comes out.

Fox stations in our region use variable bit rates:
Biloxi 8-10 mbps
New Orleans 3-13.5 mbps
Baton Rouge ?-12.5 mbps
Lafayette 6-9 mbps
Lake Charles ?-14 mbps

By the way...
I was in Biloxi this weekend at one of the coast casinos and you should have seen the trash that WXXV calls an HD signal. That was blurry, and I could see the pixelation every other second or so in the score box which is pretty much static and that should have been the most stable part of the screen. This was on fairly large TV at the bar. (For those of you wondering, it was the Scarlet Pearl Casino and the TV was not the large LED display board in the center of the casino if you have been there you know what I am talking about. The TV I saw was at one of there many restaurants that had a bar and some LCD TVs all showing the game.)

To be fair I am not sure if the casino was picking up the OTA signal, cable, or a Directv Feed and using either source to feed its own cable system as some businesses have. So, some more video processing beyond the TV station’s control could be at play.