According to a recent BBC R&D presentation on multicasting, the BBC will be providing its streams using the following formats:
Video Codec
Bit Rate
MPEG-2 5 Mbps
[b]H.264/AVC 1.2 Mbps[/b]
Windows Media 360 kbps
Real 360 kbps
Audio Codec Bit Rate
AAC 128 kbps
And AAC at 128 kbps provides far higher audio quality than MP2 can at 128 kbps, therefore the audio quality of the radio stations via multicasting will be far higher than via DAB.
The picture quality of the BBC TV channels that use the MPEG-4 H.264/AVC and MPEG-2 streams will be approximately the same as you get on Freeview, digital satellite and cable. The lower bit rate Real and Windows Media video streams will have a pretty poor-to-mediocre picture quality, though.
HDTV over multicasting
The BBC R&D presentation also says that they have performed an 8 Mbps HDTV trial using multicasting in January and more trials will follow in the summer.
And in the longer term, the HDTV format 1080p (which requires a bit rate about 60 - 80% higher than 720p and 1080i), which the supporters of both 1080i and 720p agree is the desired destination for HDTV, will very likely be transmitted first via multicasting than via satellite or cable, and as it stands it seems highly unlikely that 1080p would ever be feasible on Freeview.
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that march 2006 BBC multicasting AVC trial info
http://digitalradiotech.co.uk/articles/BBC-amp-ITV-to-trial-Internet-multicasting.php
According to a recent BBC R&D presentation on multicasting, the BBC will be providing its streams using the following formats:
Video Codec
Bit Rate
MPEG-2 5 Mbps
[b]H.264/AVC 1.2 Mbps[/b]
Windows Media 360 kbps
Real 360 kbps
Audio Codec Bit Rate
AAC 128 kbps
And AAC at 128 kbps provides far higher audio quality than MP2 can at 128 kbps, therefore the audio quality of the radio stations via multicasting will be far higher than via DAB.
The picture quality of the BBC TV channels that use the MPEG-4 H.264/AVC and MPEG-2 streams will be approximately the same as you get on Freeview, digital satellite and cable. The lower bit rate Real and Windows Media video streams will have a pretty poor-to-mediocre picture quality, though.
HDTV over multicasting
The BBC R&D presentation also says that they have performed an 8 Mbps HDTV trial using multicasting in January and more trials will follow in the summer.
And in the longer term, the HDTV format 1080p (which requires a bit rate about 60 - 80% higher than 720p and 1080i), which the supporters of both 1080i and 720p agree is the desired destination for HDTV, will very likely be transmitted first via multicasting than via satellite or cable, and as it stands it seems highly unlikely that 1080p would ever be feasible on Freeview.