Future TiVo Update to Support 1080p?

[BrennanU]

I was looking at my new TiVo HD and saw this. Does anyone know if TiVo plans to support 1080p in the future with a software update or something?http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=9907&d=1199110142

[brnscofrnld]

very interesting. One would have to think that 1080p broadcast would be coming down the pipeline sometime in the next few years.

[rainwater]

One would have to think that 1080p broadcast would be coming down the pipeline sometime in the next few years.

1080p sent directly to the end user would not be possible for a long time.

[DancnDude]

Maybe for downloadable content, ie. future Amazon Unbox movies if they ever get to offering stuff in HD?

[dubluv]

yeah, that would be pretty nice. just bought a new 1080P tv, and fought with myself over the need for it over 1080i. afterall, where's the 1080P content? just hddvd or blue ray, and most of my hd dvd's are in 1080i anyway. i was shocked while watching Planet Earth that it was outputting in 1080i. why did i buy that 1080P tv? we're such suckers for new technology. you know, you gotta have it otherwise you will be sorry you didnt pay the difference and get the better display bs. sure worked on me. moved our 37" 1080i tv to the den, and bought the new sony 1080P for the living room. :p

[shady]

1080p sent directly to the end user would not be possible for a long time.

Hooking up my laptop to my 1080p TV and watching photos looks fantastic.

Having a 1080p Photo Viewer for TiVo doesn't sound beyond the realms of possibility in the short term future!

[MickeS]

yeah, that would be pretty nice. just bought a new 1080P tv, and fought with myself over the need for it over 1080i. afterall, where's the 1080P content? just hddvd or blue ray, and most of my hd dvd's are in 1080i anyway. i was shocked while watching Planet Earth that it was outputting in 1080i. why did i buy that 1080P tv? we're such suckers for new technology. you know, you gotta have it otherwise you will be sorry you didnt pay the difference and get the better display bs. sure worked on me. moved our 37" 1080i tv to the den, and bought the new sony 1080P for the living room. :p

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a 1080i TV.

And the BBC version of Planet Earth is in 1080p, FYI (the Discovery version is 1080i). Not all players output 1080p though (mine only outputs 1080i), maybe that's what you were referring to.

[BanditWS6]

1080p is used for HD-DVD and Blu-ray output as well as video game systems, but I thought it was not used in television because of the bandwidth required?

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a 1080i TV.Those of us who bought HDTVs before the advent of 1080p have "1080i TVs."

[MickeS]

Those of us who bought HDTVs before the advent of 1080p have "1080i TVs."

Do they display the full 1920*1080 resolution? I didn't think any except the 9" CRT RPTVs did that.

[bkdtv]

The hardware in the TiVo can support 1080p24 output, although the current software on the TiVo does not. There is no programming broadcast in a 1080p24 carrier at this time, and even if there was, most TVs cannot accept 1080p24 input.

The TiVo hardware cannot output at 1080p60, which is the 1080p format that most displays require.

1080p is used for HD-DVD and Blu-ray output as well as video game systems, but I thought it was not used in television because of the bandwidth required?A 1080p24 signal requires no more bandwidth than 1080i60.

As noted above, the problem is that very few TVs can accept 1080p24 input. Blu-ray and HD-DVD disks contain 1080p24 on disk, but the players repeat those 24 frames to produce a 1080p60 signal. The hardware in the TiVoHD and Series3 cannot do that.

Many hope that TiVo will add a chip with true 1080p60 deinterlace and true 1080p60 output to a future-generation TiVo. It would be great for those with 1080p TVs that cannot correctly deinterlace 1080i (http://www.hometheatermag.com/hookmeup/1107hook2/). To get that, TiVo would need to incorporate an extra $10-$15 chip like the Silicon Optix ReonVX VX-50 (http://www.siliconoptix.com/contentEngine/dspDocumentDownload.cfm?PCVID=2d4893ca-f663-2e08-c62e-314dbfaf0518) or the Anchor Bay ABT2010 (http://www.anchorbaytech.com/docs/pdf/ABT_2010_032907.pdf). They would need to create a modular logic board design, sort of like Toshiba did with its HD-DVD players, with this chip being the only design difference between low-end and enthusiast versions of the product.

[rainwater]

Hooking up my laptop to my 1080p TV and watching photos looks fantastic.

Having a 1080p Photo Viewer for TiVo doesn't sound beyond the realms of possibility in the short term future!

Yes, but 1080p content over cable isn't happening anytime soon.

[BanditWS6]

Do they display the full 1920*1080 resolution? I didn't think any except the 9" CRT RPTVs did that.Well, technically no. My TV is a 7" CRT rear-projection that's 540p native (it converts 480i/480p to 540p, and 720p to 1080i). I just meant from the standpoint that it handles a 1080i signal but not a 1080p signal.

[CrispyCritter]

Do they display the full 1920*1080 resolution? I didn't think any except the 9" CRT RPTVs did that.Sure. I've got a 56" Hitachi 1080i TV. I believe the technology is such that it doesn't make any sense to have a 1080i LCD TV, but Hitachi still makes 1080i plasma TVs. For example, Circuit City (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Hitachi-50-Plasma-HDTV-P50S601/sem/rpsm/oid/190719/catOid/-12867/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do)

[TolloNodre]

Well, technically no. My TV is a 7" CRT rear-projection that's 540p native (it converts 480i/480p to 540p, and 720p to 1080i). I just meant from the standpoint that it handles a 1080i signal but not a 1080p signal.

They make a 7 inch rear-projection TV? :eek:

[bizzy]

They make a 7 inch rear-projection TV? :eek:

They are talking about the three CRTs generating the image that gets projected on the screen.

[BanditWS6]

They are talking about the three CRTs generating the image that gets projected on the screen.Right, I mean the size of the CRTs themselves, not the screen. ;) The screen is 57".

[Stephen Tu]

1080p24 is part of the ATSC spec so is theoretically allowable for broadcast, but no one uses it since a lot of the ATSC receivers out there would probably choke on it. Don't know if Tivo is one of them. I agree Unbox HD @ 1080p would be cool.

yeah, that would be pretty nice. just bought a new 1080P tv, and fought with myself over the need for it over 1080i. afterall, where's the 1080P content?

Well, it's hard to even find a 1080i TV anymore. The only true 1080i TVs are the old style direct view CRTs, and rear projection CRTs, have you even seen one in a major store in the past 6 months?

For most people buying flat panel / microdisplay RPTV fixed pixel sets the choice is between a 1920x1080p set and a "720p" set (often 1366x768, or some such res from computer world), and here a 1080p set should be better for displaying 1080i material as well, not just 1080p material, since you don't have to throw away resolution, just deinterlace. Should be noticeable, depending on viewing distance vs. screen size (Though certainly many people end up buying too small set for their viewing distance to notice & could have saved money getting 720p). And in principle 1080i sourced from film, if the TV has a proper film mode deinterlacer (though most currently don't, as the article bkdtv linked to tested), should give identical results to 1080p24.

Unfortunately there are lot of clueless electronics salesmen going around and confusing people by calling such 720p/768p sets "1080i" sets, though they only accept 1080i as input, not actually display it as such.

[Luke M]

1080p24 is part of the ATSC spec so is theoretically allowable for broadcast, but no one uses it since a lot of the ATSC receivers out there would probably choke on it. Don't know if Tivo is one of them.

It's unlikely that any receiver gracefully handles switching between frame rates, so the broadcaster has to pick one mode that is suitable for all content. 1080i can carry (low frame rate) 1080p content, but the reverse is not true.

[SuperRob]

I think you're all missing the point. For some of us with 1080p TVs that happen to have a poor on-board deinterlacing circuit, being about to have the TiVo do the deinterlacing/scaling would be helpful. So it isn't really about broadcast content, or any other kind of content, really. It's about choosing which hardware to have process the signal.

For the record, my receiver will scale/deinterlace, but only over component, since HDMI forbids the conversion. Since I prefer to connect by HDMI, yet another reason I'd like the TiVo to do the processing.

[Luke M]

I think you're all missing the point. For some of us with 1080p TVs that happen to have a poor on-board deinterlacing circuit, being about to have the TiVo do the deinterlacing/scaling would be helpful. So it isn't really about broadcast content, or any other kind of content, really. It's about choosing which hardware to have process the signal.


The point wasn't missed. Read bkdtv's post.

[MickeS]

Sure. I've got a 56" Hitachi 1080i TV. I believe the technology is such that it doesn't make any sense to have a 1080i LCD TV, but Hitachi still makes 1080i plasma TVs. For example, Circuit City (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Hitachi-50-Plasma-HDTV-P50S601/sem/rpsm/oid/190719/catOid/-12867/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do)

Thanks, I didn't know that. Good to learn something new. :)

[dubluv]

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a 1080i TV.

And the BBC version of Planet Earth is in 1080p, FYI (the Discovery version is 1080i). Not all players output 1080p though (mine only outputs 1080i), maybe that's what you were referring to.

i have the bbc version of planet earth, but my 1080P toshiba A30 shows 1080i when i press the display button. i also searched the menus on the toshiba for some setting that would control output, but i couldnt find any. maybe its my sony? i have a sony bravia kdl46V3000, which is 1080P. ???

[AbMagFab]

Sure. I've got a 56" Hitachi 1080i TV. I believe the technology is such that it doesn't make any sense to have a 1080i LCD TV, but Hitachi still makes 1080i plasma TVs. For example, Circuit City (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Hitachi-50-Plasma-HDTV-P50S601/sem/rpsm/oid/190719/catOid/-12867/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do)

No, that's a 1080p set. All plasma is 768p or 1080p, in that it displays the full 1080x1920 frame at once, deinterlacing 1080i signals if it has to.

What you mean is that it only accepts 1080i as an input, and won't accept 1080p. That is different that what and how it displays content. And sets are referred to by how they display content, not the myriad of inputs they accept.

(For example, the old 720p DLP sets that accepted 1080i input were not referred to as 1080i sets, they were referred to as 720p sets, since that's what they displayed.)

The only true 1080i *displays* are the old CRT and CRT RP's, back in the early HD days.

[Luke M]

No, that's a 1080p set. All plasma is 768p or 1080p, in that it displays the full 1080x1920 frame at once, deinterlacing 1080i signals if it has to.


Look again. The Hitachi plasmas really do use an interlaced display technique.

[MickeS]

i have the bbc version of planet earth, but my 1080P toshiba A30 shows 1080i when i press the display button. i also searched the menus on the toshiba for some setting that would control output, but i couldnt find any. maybe its my sony? i have a sony bravia kdl46V3000, which is 1080P. ???

There's a setting in the menu on the Toshiba for the output... don't remember the exact steps to get there, but I think it's under "Video" or something. Your equipment should be able to handle 1080p. I think you might have to use HDMI for 1080p, so that might be something to check.

[MickeS]

Has anyone tried to transfer a 1080p video to a TiVoHD using TTCB? I tried the 1080p trailer for "10,000 BC" (available at http://www.10000bcmovie.com/moreoptions.html) to my Series 3, and it doesn't work (720p version works fine). I'm guessing the TiVoHD can't display it either?

[bkdtv]

Has anyone tried to transfer a 1080p video to a TiVoHD using TTCB? I tried the 1080p trailer for "10,000 BC" (available at http://www.10000bcmovie.com/moreoptions.html) to my Series 3, and it doesn't work (720p version works fine). I'm guessing the TiVoHD can't display it either?And how exactly did you transfer that? You can't transfer Quicktime and Windows Media files without conversion; TiVo Desktop Plus downconverts uploaded videos to 480x480 by default. pyTivo converts files to whatever resolution you defined in the config files.

I have transferred 1080p24 recordings in MPEG-2 format to the TiVo. They play back fine in 1080i, so long as the bitrate stays below 30Mbps.

[TexasGrillChef]

1080p support on TiVo HD's will be coming at some point in the future.

Why? 2 main reasons.

1. For HD Downloads of future movies that will be available via Amazon Unbox.

2. HD Camcorders for "home use" will soon have the capability for 1080p. In the future Tivo HD's will also have the capability to "TRANSFER" HD video back to the units (Tivo To Come Back). When this is enabled you will be able to watch those 1080p home movies on your TiVo.

Yes, it is still 1080p broadcasts are still abotu 5 to 8 years away. Howeer, IT WILL COME enventually.

TGC

[MickeS]

And how exactly did you transfer that? You can't transfer Quicktime and Windows Media files without conversion; TiVo Desktop Plus downconverts uploaded videos to 480x480 by default. pyTivo converts files to whatever resolution you defined in the config files.

D'oh! Thanks for pointing this out - had not thought of it. I used pyTiVo, so it was a 720*480 file... now I need to figure out how to convert hi-def files to hi-def format...