The tech around Super Hi-Vision technology may not be completely worked out yet, but with that on the way, plus HD for mobile devices and even more streaming, the 88th meeting of the MPEG/ISO standards group in Maui was apparently a busy one as attendees voted to work on a new, better form of compression to replace MPEG-4 AVC. "High Performance Video Coding" (HVC) is just a dream at the moment, but be sure to pencil that in as one more spec to look out for in the future. Of course, they didn't mention a delivery system for 22.2 channel audio, but we'll just assume that's being handled as well.

[Via EE Times UK]

Most of the news that comes out of NAB isn't that interesting to consumers, but these new MPEG encoders from Motorola have a cool new feature that we're excited about as HD fans. As much as we love HD, we accept the fact that most of the world is still living in SD, and sure, for the most part that's there problem. But where is our problem is that many of the programs we watch are produced with SD viewers in mind. The biggest example of this is when sports are framed for the 4x3 aspect ratio of SDTVs. This is really obvious on a football game when we're waiting for the ball to be hiked, and the camera is aimed to ensure there's nothing to see on the sides. While this ensure SDTV fans aren't missing any of the action, those with a wider perspective usually get to see grass in that extra realestate we paid for. Well, these new encoders feature Active Format Description (AFD) which can automatically decide if the content should be letterboxed or cropped. This way the producer can rest easy when directing his camera operators to frame for 16x9, without worrying about all the SD fans at home complaining cause they can't see the action. Of course this means they'll just complain about the black bars, but that's for another discussion.

[Via Media Experiences 2 Go]

European satellite operator Euro1080 announced plans to implement DTS-encoded audio streams into their recently-launched MPEG-4 satellite feeds. Enabling the 5.1-channel audio format broadcast is tech from Coding Technologies, which will put the DTS signal inside the aacPlus feed that will be broadcast along with HDTV picture to Europeans who subscribe to Euro1080 satellite. New set-top boxes to decode the MPEG-4 content are also to be released by electronics manufacturers. American ATSC standards only allow for competitor Dolby Digital's multichannel audio to be encoded, but DTS audio can be found in standard and high-def DVDs

If you're scouting the perfect placeshifting device to cure those television blues while stuck at your TV-less grandmother's house for Thanksgiving, the Slingbox might not be the obvious choice anymore. Granted, it'll probably be awhile before the current king is dethroned, Pinnacle is giving the shifting game its best shot with the PCTV To Go. Sporting built-in WiFi / Windows MCE support, this content liaison works essentially like any other timeshifting device out there, and channels MPEG4 video to wherever you're logged in (or MPEG2 if connected locally). It also allows full control over your attached DVR, giving you the opportunity to schedule a recording for that oh-so-critical rerun of Nick Arcade, Season One. It reportedly works seamlessly with your home entertainment system, acting as a pass-through device that won't complicate things when wiring it up, but there's no word on whether it supports HD signals. The Pinnacle PCTV To Go should be available just before Turkey Day for a very competitive $249.99.

[Via PVRWire]

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Yah ever wonder how the 'tv stuff'' gets from your tuner, could be built-in or set-top box flavor, to your screen. HD1080i has a rather nice explanation of the process, although, we would still like to see a magic school bus episode with that crazy teacher flying through the inside of a DLP cabinet. By understanding what is actually going on, a person therefore can track down and fix issues with the picture a lot easier. Digital signals travel on a sort of transport stream made up of Mpeg signals. It is also this practice that can create those 'blocks' on the screen everyone loves to hate. Those 'blocks' are caused by lack of bandwidth and the hardware trying to produce something for the area affected. Like stated in the hd1080i article, if you see LOTS of block, call your cable company as they might not know there is a problem in your area, but unfortunately, some of these blocks are considered normal. This article might bring to light what is actually going on in that colossal HDTV of yours but we still think a ride in the magic school bus would be better.

Following up on some comments made in this week's podcast about licensing terms, the MPEG Licensing Administrator group has announced the final patent terms for manufacturers wishing to product equipment or content using the VC-1 video standard. By combining the patent portfolios covering VC-1 into one blanket license, the MPEG group has helped businesses license essential products using one license, which is then split up to the entities that contribute patents to the pool.

Details after the break

Who needs blue lasers? Not New Medium Enterprises or Beijing e-world, as they have announced they will be showing off a combo EVD/VMD player at next year's CeBit in germany. Amazingly, while Blu-ray and HD-DVD continue to fight in the streets over who has the birthright to the high definition throne, a little collaboration could be a big boost to two other formats.

EVD (Enhanced versatile disc) is a Chinese backed format that has produced very little since being originally announced in 2003, but promised high definition DVD's with standard red laser technology.

VMD (Versatile Multilayer disc) is a new format pushed by NME, where they say they can increase the storage of a standard red-laser DVD, by adding additional layers, all the way up to 100GB storage (theoretically).

Could all this Blu-ray/HD-DVD posturing be for naught? If these companies can get any studio support and cheap but high quality (MPEG-2 apparently) high definition DVD's on store shelves before the big guys get traction.......2006 will be an interesting year.  Read on for the full press release.

It seems DirecTV is getting the MPEG-4 AVC party started a little early. We knew New York and LA were going to get local channels in high definition, but we thought it would take until January, we were wrong. Starting today, both cities can enjoy their local programming via satellite as long as you have the right equipment.

Subscribers who already get their local channels in HD via MPEG-2 equipment don't worry, nothing has changed (yet) for you.

New York channels:

• WABC/Channel 7
• WNBC/ Channel 4
• WCBS/Channel 2
• WNYW (FOX)/Channel 5

LA Channels:

• KABC/Channel 7
  
• KTTV (Fox)/Channel 11
  
• KCBS/Channel 2
  
• KNBC/ Channel 4