To VMedia or not to VMedia?

[synack]

H265 doubles the compression for the same quality as h264. A 15% increase in quality would equate to roughly 42.5% reduction in bitrate. obviously not taking into account losses due to overhead. Our math seems to differ by 27.5%.

2Mb *1.15 = 2.3Mb ( 15 % increase quality)
2.3Mb / 2 = 1.15Mb ( Double compression efficiency for same quality)
(1 - (1.15/2))*100 = 42.5% (bitrate reduction in %)

My previous posts allocations would serve the needs you quoted.
2Mb *1.5 = 3Mb (50% increase quality)
3Mb / 2 = 1.5Mb (double compression efficiency for same quality)
(1 - (1.5/2) * 100 = 25% (bitrate reduction in %)

You would essentially get a LOT more quality for more bitrate reduction than you specified!
You could comfortably get 3 simultaneous *actual* 720p HD streams on a 6Mb plan.

Btw, I got a chuckle on the 4K support... really? 3840x2160 with a 2 or less Mb stream? that would look horrible in any codec.
Let's work on 1080P first

[jdrom]

Disappointing to hear that H.265 will require a new box and that you won't switch codecs until lots of people have the new model. Same goes for not using the high profile because you want to launch TV service on other devices. I think the focus should be on improving what you have currently because my experience showed very low quality and not what I'd consider "HD". It also seems you need to manage your network more effectively as well, since it seems a vast majority of customers have been living with slowdowns for the past couple months.

I cancelled my TV service last month due to the quality and reliability concerns I had. It was honestly the most frustrating 4 months that I've had with any service (thankfully a good chunk was free). It eventually became laughable that we couldn't watch TV or surf the web at night. My intentions were to keep the Internet until I saw posts here of improved TV quality and then re-activate it. That doesn't look like it'll be happening any time soon and by the sounds of it, we'll be expected to buy new VBoxes to gain access to higher quality. It's getting harder to convince myself to stick around.

I realize most of this could be considered "growing pains" but it seems I jumped on the bandwagon too early and got burned.

[leshka]

My post was more about saying that if we were to gain 30% improvement with new codec, we'd apply those gains 50% towards better quality and 50% towards lower bitrate due to cbb costs. I personally did not do exact math of how it breaks down. 4k support doest mean any of our channels hoing to be 4k, because they are 720p sources.

[leshka]

Disappointing to hear that H.265 will require a new box and that you won't switch codecs until lots of people have the new model. Same goes for not using the high profile because you want to launch TV service on other devices. I think the focus should be on improving what you have currently because my experience showed very low quality and not what I'd consider "HD". It also seems you need to manage your network more effectively as well, since it seems a vast majority of customers have been living with slowdowns for the past couple months.

I cancelled my TV service last month due to the quality and reliability concerns I had. It was honestly the most frustrating 4 months that I've had with any service (thankfully a good chunk was free). It eventually became laughable that we couldn't watch TV or surf the web at night. My intentions were to keep the Internet until I saw posts here of improved TV quality and then re-activate it. That doesn't look like it'll be happening any time soon and by the sounds of it, we'll be expected to buy new VBoxes to gain access to higher quality. It's getting harder to convince myself to stick around.

I realize most of this could be considered "growing pains" but it seems I jumped on the bandwagon too early and got burned.

First of all, H.265 encoders are not yet ready for prime time. Second, dual-core boxes cannot handle H.265 compressed video. As a company paying $ for CBB, it is in our immediate interest to switch from H.264 to H.265 if it was possible. We are not making money off selling VBOX.
You do have a strong point about High profile instead of Main profile and I am going to look into it. Initially we set it up like that because we were expecting being allowed by our channel suppliers to to offer TV over other devices, like iOS, etc and we had to use a profile that would work for all. Now, after 1.5 years we are still where we were back then in terms of rights to launch TV on other platforms, so it may be better to revisit it and may be bump up some of the channels to High Profile. We will do tests of CPU/RAM load on encoders as well as test various boxes we now have with our customers to make sure all of them support High profile next week and then make a decision.
I feel very bad we lost you as a customer because we are a small team and we are very busy with different projects and customers like you help point us in the right direction and help us improve. Thank you for your continued interest and your valued feedback.

[Mr_80s]

I'd have to agree that H.265 isn't quite ready for prime time. It is also laughable about 4k when your sources are still 720. The math was slightly off but still would require new endpoint hardware. I understand new hardware needed for new codecs and the compute power needed for the new codec. Sad to learn that after just buying a couple of boxes. Though. Specially to hear the date of after boxing day. For 3rd gen as that means you're well into the development/testing and release cycle. You may be a small company and you're doing things to improve which is appreciated. But perhaps throw the existing customers a bone every once in a whIle by telling us about upgrades (including anticpiated dates) to our existing boxes. Upgrades like: Android kitkat upgrade Netflix hd upgrade Pause/rewind live TV High profile (big one for me) vs normal. Let's not lose sight of the fact that you have current paying customers who could be receiving an improved experience. My wife is about to go ballistic over things like Netflix and the user experience. Simple things that impact users adoption and satisfaction. Still not a bad service but could use some improvements. Cheers

[leshka]

It's hard for us to predict what hardware is going to appear tomorrow. We started business with single core boxes, Dual cores came out a year ago. Now it's time for quad-cores, may be next year it's going to be 16-core box. Just like any other consumer electronics products, boxes become better and better. Boxes are not too expensive too and I am sure we will figure out some incentive for those interested in upgrading a box.

[Mr_80s]

Hey leshka, I hear ya and don't get me wrong. I'm actually enjoying the service so far. Sure there could be a few things that could be improved but to be honest I was certainly more worried from reading the forums than need be. All I was really asking for was a heads up on what you're currently working on. Something along the lines of feature or bug requests you've received and those you're addressing in an update...just so we as a customers know our voices are being heard. Cheers

[Mr_80s]

Ps..I've noticed my formatting is all messed up posting on the forum from my android phone Sorry bout that.

[leshka]

I understand your concerns. We have so many solutions ready to go, from tablets to gaming consoles, from portals to plugins, smartTVs, 3rd party boxes and devices....but all of it is held up by regulations and contract restrictions. It's very hard to predict what of all of this is going to make its way to market and when. We are working in many different directions: codecs, filters, encoder improvements, metadata, data-mining, caching, adaptation algorithms, UI improvements, accessory improvements, feedback features, portal, billing systems, call centre software, etc....many many projects on the go. I know we need a section dedicated to updates and pending updates, so that everyone would see their requested fixes posted and assigned an ETA. We are updating our VBOX manual page to include update change log and new feature/bug list.

Speaking to the point of hardware, tomorrow or Wednesday we will initiate single-core box replacement process for all our customers who bought single core boxes 1.5 years ago. We will replace single core boxes for dual-core boxes to be able to offer client-side PVR to those customers. We will offer to replace the box for free. It doesn't mean that we would be able to afford replacing dual core boxes with quad when H.265 times come, but it should give everyone an indication of our values. We love our customers and we try to move mountains for them. We are sometimes too slow, we make mistakes, miss deadlines, etc but at the core of our management, we know what true core values of the successful company are and we will live and die by them.

[synack]

FYI: I tested it and the dual cores for sure cannot handle h265 with current software based decoders. Not even 1 frame per second. a 720p h265 video pinned my vbox at 100% cpu (both cores) and displayed next to nothing.

[Mr_80s]

Speaking to the point of hardware, tomorrow or Wednesday we will initiate single-core box replacement process for all our customers who bought single core boxes 1.5 years ago. We will replace single core boxes for dual-core boxes to be able to offer client-side PVR to those customers. We will offer to replace the box for free....

Hey leshka,

That speaks volumes and really demonstrates VMedia's loyalty and commitment to customers. Well done!

Let me know if there's anything I (or others on the forum) can do to help. You've got several people here willing to be testers and perhaps even some who could help moderate the forum or write manuals, on-line content, etc..

Cheers

[Gooner]

I understand your concerns. We have so many solutions ready to go, from tablets to gaming consoles, from portals to plugins, smartTVs, 3rd party boxes and devices....but all of it is held up by regulations and contract restrictions. It's very hard to predict what of all of this is going to make its way to market and when. We are working in many different directions: codecs, filters, encoder improvements, metadata, data-mining, caching, adaptation algorithms, UI improvements, accessory improvements, feedback features, portal, billing systems, call centre software, etc....many many projects on the go. I know we need a section dedicated to updates and pending updates, so that everyone would see their requested fixes posted and assigned an ETA. We are updating our VBOX manual page to include update change log and new feature/bug list.

Speaking to the point of hardware, tomorrow or Wednesday we will initiate single-core box replacement process for all our customers who bought single core boxes 1.5 years ago. We will replace single core boxes for dual-core boxes to be able to offer client-side PVR to those customers. We will offer to replace the box for free. It doesn't mean that we would be able to afford replacing dual core boxes with quad when H.265 times come, but it should give everyone an indication of our values. We love our customers and we try to move mountains for them. We are sometimes too slow, we make mistakes, miss deadlines, etc but at the core of our management, we know what true core values of the successful company are and we will live and die by them.

Hi Leshka

I have a single core box on my active account but was not contacted by vmedia. What is the exchange process?

[leshka]

Please PM me your account # to check

[Gooner]

Please PM me your account # to check

PM'd you Leshka.