Raffi Krikorian is continuing his research into the improbability of HDTV creating new risks of Internet redistribution of Hollywood movies. The MPAA argues that HD signals will be captured by digital TV devices and retransmitted over the Internet in perfect high-resolution, without any loss or compression. As part of his research, Raffi's created an enormous graphic showing the difference between an HD image and the same image after it's compressed to VCD MPEG and DiVx (the formats most frequently used today by people who trade captured TV programs). It's a dramatic visualization of how currently traded files are shrunk and compressed miles below even standard-definition, and how unlikely it is that the availability of an HD source will make any difference to video-traders.
HDTV vs. VCD MPEG vs. DiVx
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