FIOS May Fall Way Behind In HDTV and 4X HDTV Offerings

[rpfeirstein]

Washington, D.C. (October 1, 2012) -- A top DIRECTV executive says the satcaster plans to offer all channels in High-Definition by 2016.

That's according to an article by advanced-television.com.

The web site says Philip J. Goswitz, DIRECTV's senior vice president for space and communications, told last month's Euroconsult conference that all standard-def channels would be converted to HDTV by 2016 using local-into-local Ka-Band capacity.

He added that with standard-def transmissions converted to high-def, it would free up 1 gigahertz of satellite spectrum for upcoming Ultra HD signals, now better known as 4K. Consequently, Goswitz predicted that DIRECTV would begin offering Ultra HD in four years.

The 4K standard purports to offer four times the resolution of current HDTVs. However, most picture technology experts say the improvement can not be seen without a screen at least 60 inches in diagonal.