Satellite TV company Dish Network has started using the MPEG-4 format to support both standard-def and high-def programming. Dish follows a move some some telco IPTV providers already made, but which other telcos, cable TV operators and satellite firms have yet to initiate. Most notably, Dish's main satellite competition, FirecTV has not made the move to MPEG-4 yet.
New Dish HD customers in the eastern U.S. will be the first target group for the MPEG-4 service. As HD programming continues to find a larger market, and service providers continue to one-up one another to deliver the most HD channels, the bandwidth required for those offerings is likely to set the pace for the broader MPEG-4 format as well.
For more:
- see this coverage [1] at Light Reading's Cable Digital News
Related articles
HD has been seen as a driver for MPEG-4. HD report [2]
MPEG-4 also is an element in global subscriber growth. MPEG-4 report
[3]
Links:
[1] http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=162378&site=cdn
[2] http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/networks-ready-for-hd-programming-pile-up/2008-05-13
[3] http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/global-iptv-to-see-52-annual-growth-through-2012/2008-03-25