[moyekj]

2.82GB * 1024MB/GB * 8 bits/B / (30*60 secs) = 12.8Mbps

As was mentioned in another thread if you have both the OTA feed and cable feed available to your S3/THD you can record from both at same time and compare file sizes to see how much (if any) bitrate shaping your cable company is doing to the HD locals.

NOTE: NBC historically has had awful HD broadcasts - the last 2 Olympics come to mind...

 

[moyekj]

I keep bringing this up...

I recorded 1 NFL game on Fox today, 1 on NBC, and the PGA tournament on NBC.

Bitrate at NBC was just under 13 Mbps for both broadcasts, and on Fox it was just over 13 Mbps.

The NBC broadcasts both looked pretty crappy. LOTS of artifacts again, and generally unpleasant to look at as soon as there was motion.

The NFL game on Fox looked very good - few if any motion artifacts of the kind I saw on NBCs broadcasts. They broadcast in720p. Does the fact that they broadcast in 720p vs 1080i on NBC create less artifacts at around the same bitrate? I'm starting to doubt that the lower bitrate is the only thing that's wrong with the NBC broadcasts...

It's just NBC - after all these years they still haven't figured out how to record/broadcast in HD. They are by FAR the worse HD broadcaster of all the big networks. 720p is in general better for sporting events (60 frames per second for fast action is better than 30 frames per second you get with 1080i which is one reason ESPN* went with 720p). That said CBS does a pretty good job with their broadcasts and they are also 1080i. I wouldn't lay blame on your cable company for this - I record NBC via OTA and there still is a lot of artifacting especially for close up shots on moving bodies. As I mentioned before their Olympic HD broadcasts are atrocious and generated much outrage by AVS Forum folks who bought HDTVs a few years ago for the Olympics only to find it looked like crap most of the time...