Are the .ts posts in the HDTV group as good as the HD discs? (newbie)

Ive downloaded quite a few awesome posts from the alt.binaries.hdtv group and
have
loved them all. Some, like Ladyhawke and 2001, look much sharper than some
others (Excalibur looks a bit grainy) though they might be the same size.

I notice the usual size of .ts movies in that group is around 12-15 gigs for a
2 hour
flick..By contrast, blu ray and HD discs hold more right?..does that mean the
discs
look better because they hold more or is there a ceiling where more space
(compression?)
becomes kind of pointless (*hides from rock throwers*)?

Sorry for my admittedly noob question. I may in fact research making my own hd
material
and uploading it if there is any interest.

Erin ) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
Ive downloaded quite a few awesome posts from the alt.binaries.hdtv group and
have loved them all. Some, like Ladyhawke and 2001, look much sharper than some
others (Excalibur looks a bit grainy) though they might be the same size.

All HD broadcasts are sent at a constant bit rate, but there might be
filler of null bytes and PSIP. You can use various tools to remove
these bytes and save as a true VBR MPEG-2 file.

I notice the usual size of .ts movies in that group is around 12-15 gigs for a
2 hour flick.

That's about right for OTA or satellite.

By contrast, blu ray and HD discs hold more right?..does that mean the
discs look better because they hold more or is there a ceiling where more space
(compression?) becomes kind of pointless (*hides from rock throwers*)?

Yes, after a certain point less compression offers no better picture.
For 1920x1080/60i HD, that point is about 40-50Mbps, which even Blu-Ray
and HD-DVD don't reach. For 1920x1080/24p (which is what is encoded on
the various HD discs), about 25-35Mbps is enough, and that's about where
the discs are. For comparison, OTA and satellite are about 12-19Mbps,
depending on the service.

For 1280x720 HD, if it is film-sourced (24p originally), then even 60p
broadcasts can get by at about 15Mbps for stunning quality.

--
Jeff Rife |
| http://www.nabs.net/Cartoons/RhymesW...ge/BigDogs.gif

AFIK, blu-ray and hd-dvd are using a mpeg4 implementation AAC audio and AVC
video, which gives a 4-to-1 better compression vs MPEG2 (i.e. ts files as we
know them) under ATSC so far. so you can have a 15 gig 2 hour show for 4.4
gigs if you have the cpu or set-top player to decode it. Try a few in the
a.b.hdtv.x264 group. You'll need to buy Core AVC codec and disable the
native codecs in media player classic. The UK is trying out mpeg4 hdtv
broadcast. Easier on the bandwidth. Looks as good to me.

donEsteban ) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
AFIK, blu-ray and hd-dvd are using a mpeg4 implementation AAC audio and AVC
video, which gives a 4-to-1 better compression vs MPEG2 (i.e. ts files as we
know them) under ATSC so far. so you can have a 15 gig 2 hour show for 4.4
gigs if you have the cpu or set-top player to decode it.

Actually, only HD-DVD is using an MPEG-4 variant as of now. All Blu-Ray
releases are MPEG-2.

That said, you'll have to sit down sometime and take a close look at
the fact behind the "better compression" of MPEG-4. Most of the time,
the MPEG-4 file is reduced resolution...you can save a lot of space
by dropping to 1440x1080, or by using 4:2:0 or 4:1:1 color instead of
4:2:2.

Also, most of the time the "better compression" is comparing the full
19.3Mbps 1920x1080/60i OTA MPEG-2 feed vs. a 24p MPEG-4 file. Losing
20% of the frames pretty much automatically guarantees the MPEG-4 has
a head start, plus progressive material compresses better.

--
Jeff Rife | "Damn it, I miss the sound of her voice. I tried
| putting silverware down the disposal, but it
| wasn't the same."
|
| -- Ned Dorsey, "Ned and Stacey"