I see many people talking about the fact that currently all FTA HD models which have been released SO FAR cannot pickup D!sh HD natively but can pickup B3V HD natively.

Now many are asking, why is that? Isn't it the same thing?

Simply put, NO.

Lets get in the nitty gritty of this.I will attempt to explain for anyone out there who is curious about this, but I am no claiming to be any expert, just sharing what I know


So the 2 modulation types at hand here are QPSK and 8PSK



The simple reason why B3V HD is the only possibility natively for HD units so far is that currently B3V 82 (B3V HD channels) use QPSK modulation format for their HD channels. Currently all HD models out there can only pickup HD channels using the QPSK module since they all have QPSK module's (tuners) natively inside them. Its a much more simple modulation technology then 8PSK. Less complex, easier, whatever term you wanna use. Use the definitions above as a reference.

On the other end of things, DN has all their HD channels using the 8PSK modulation format. This is why those channels currently cannot be picked up as mentioned, all HD receivers out NOW cannot do the 8PSK format NATIVELY. The future is a different story.

Now can 8PSK support be added to all HD receivers? Apparently it can be, the new VS-9000 will be capable of doing 8PSK with a addon adapter which allows an addition of a special 8psk tuner/module.

Will 8PSK be supported natively soon?.. Only time will tell that, but I am sure its being worked on that as I write this. There is no doubt 8PSK is a much more complex format for "phase shift keying" then qpsk, so having support for it wont be that simple of a task. I have no doubt there may be other factors that me or you are not aware of which is causing the units to not ship natively with 8psk support. Like legal issues. Cost issues. Manufacturing issues. Who knows.

Here is some more in depth info which sheds more light on the difference between 8PSK and QPSK..

8PSK is a higher modulation compared to QPSK. In QPSK bit/symbol rate is 2 while in 8PSK, it is 3. In other words, you can transfer more number of data using 8PSK than QPSK modulation. Supporting the 8PSK modulation is relatively costlier because of the technology involved. Hence, the 8PSK based solution is more expensive. Considering the utilization for a given allocated bandwidth, it is advisable to go in for 8PSK solution, though hardware may be costly.

Simply put, FTA HD's are CURRENTLY using QPSK natively rather then 8PSK. Hopefully in the near future, ALL FTA HD receivers will use the new 8PSK modulation either by special addon devices or natively.