Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts

05 January 2007

Video Quality Improving!

Okay, I am not sure what KyLinTV has done recently to improve their video quality, particularly for the live TV programming, but it is much better than in the past. I must compliment KyLinTV for their efforts as this was a major issue and I have made many complaints regarding this problem. Still not perfect, but getting much closer :)

25 December 2006

High Motion Video - KyLinTV Still Having Problems

I must say that while I am impressed with many features and services of KyLinTV, I am also frustrated by their inability to improve the performance of their video. Nearly any video including a lot of motion or activity will drop many many many frames and jitter, jump and skip A LOT!
Watching for instance, a dancing with stars show, action movies or sports becomes quite annoying. It is almost a strobe effect it is so bad. I am not sure if it is on the encoding or decoding side but KyLinTV really needs to work this out. I would rather have "blockiness" (is that a word) than dropping frames and jumping around. Many shows just lose their effect when the smoothness is gone.

22 December 2006

Video-On-Demand Review

Well, I have been viewing a lot of Video On Demand (VOD) with KyLinTV the past couple of days and it really looks great. I must admit that it seems worth the value ($.10-$1.50 US).

Resume Feature

I also really like the convenience of the "Resume" feature. I wish the TV Shows had that same feature. It is a real pain when you are watching a movie on one of the live TV channels and then suddenly either because of Internet issues, power outages or you need to leave and return later that you must restart the show from the beginning. That is where the VOD is really nice, you can stop and resume within 30 days!

Quality

If you have watched the "Live TV Shows," on KyLinTV, there is a noticeable difference in quality. The VOD is much higher quality! Smoother, better video/audio sync and less artifacts than appear in the "TV Programs".

Price

The price is very reasonable. This is especially true when compared to "Pay-Per-View" found on other networks. The prices range from $.10-$1.50 US Dollars per VOD. $.10 is for a special lasting less than 10 minutes, $.50-$.60 for a TV show and $1.00-$1.50 for movies and special shows lasting 60+ minutes. KyLinTV also offers a package which allows unlimited VOD viewing $420.00 US. If you interested in a TV Drama series you can view the first episode of most for free! While this is a great way to hook you into watching that series, it is also a great way to find new shows you are interested in watching. I think allowing you to watch that first episode for free is a great move on the part of KyLinTV.

Programming Selection

WOW! That best describes the selection. There are A LOT of choices, sports, movies, TVshows, specials, etc. The TV shows (drama) are really great! You can find the show you like by browsing KyLinTV's large library of Chinese language programming and then you can choose which episode from the entire series you want to watch. This is a great way to catch-up on missed episodes or just start back at the beginning and watch the progression of the show.
As mentioned earlier, the first episode in each series is usually free so you have nothing to lose by watching just to sample VOD or to see if the show actually sucks or not ;)

Conclusion


I would certainly recommend this feature if you are interested in catching up on your favorite dramas or just watching movies without going to the store or ordering DVDs from overseas.
I will actually be upgrading my subscription soon to the unlimited package.

Low Bandwidth Testing?

A new channel appeared recently, Testing. It appears to be a "test channel for lower bandwidth." I wonder what this is all about? What does KyLinTV qualify as "lower bandwidth?" I would like to see them perfect the higher bandwidth first ;)

Interesting New Web Site Introduction

 In case nobody else noticed KyLinTV just launched a new frontpage to their website describing their new holiday lineup.
http://kylintv.com

New Channels - Nice Move KyLinTV!

I must admit that the programming selection, on demand and growing selection is great with KyLinTV.
It looks like today a couple channels were added:
  • Guangxi Television (GXTV) - GXTV is a channel that depicts local minorities' different culture and customs.

    GXTV was established in 1970, since then it has gained a favorable reputation, distinguished editors, a complete technology system and great program content. Today, GXTV is one of the most powerful media groups in southwest China.

    The promoted programs on GXTV are Find Jinhua, Folk Songs Show, Lovely GuangXi and Alliance ASEAN.
  • The Travel Channel (TravelTV) - Travel TV is a channel that focuses on travel and entertainment. The expert travel information and reputable travel sources help shaped the featured programs.

    The Travel TV targets a young working class audience who seek exotic get-a-ways. Travel TV has an audience of over 3 million viewers. The promotional programs on travel TV include Travel World, Travel China, Eating with the Mr. Na, The Braves, Guide Entertainment, Stars Schoolroom, Beautiful Girl and Perfection Perform.
The holiday lineup looks interesting as well so I must give some credit where credit is due. Good job KyLinTV for adding programming! I do appreciate that for sure.



21 December 2006

Full Screen - Are we ever going to have it?

I am sure many have noticed the issue with KyLinTV and the screen size. I certainly noticed it out of the box.
The problem is that the picture coming from the KyLinTV STB (Set Top Box) is not set to a resolution which fills a standard TV screen. Therefore, there are slim black bars on the right and left side of the screen at all times. Really annoying!
Another issue may be with their encoding process (which the first maybe as well, not sure).
I have noticed that with several programs there is a digitized looking static bar at the bottom of the screen. It reminds me of the VHS days when there would be stripes of interference across the screen on certain recordings.
I really hope that these issues can be resolved soon. KyLinTV, I hope that you are out there hearing my calls ;)

17 December 2006

Video / Audio Sync

Okay, I know that Internet video sometimes lags. I also understand that occassionaly during the encoding process the video and audio don't synch perfectly. But KyLinTV needs to get it together!
I have only had the service a few weeks now but this appears to be major problem. I would venture to say that 90% or more of the time the video and audio on KyLinTV is so out of sync that there is anywhere from a 1-5 second difference. This isn't a problem if you are watching a show where you don't see the person talking ;) but when you actually watch the mouth and hear their voice 1-5 seconds later or vice-versa, it is incredibly annoying!
I would just like to see their encoding process improve at least enough that the video and audio are synchronized.
Anybody else having problems with this?

Just because I know somebody will ask my bandwidth test results are below from SpeedTest.net: