If you’ve wondered what high-definition TV channels actually exist, look to Verizon FiOS, which became Orange County’s leader in HD channels this year.

The company announced it will add more HD channels on Thursday, Oct. 1. The new HD channels are AMC HD, on channel 731; WE TV (Women’s Entertainment), channel 649; IFC HD, channel 894; and Fuse HD on channel 716. That brings the Verizon’s total to 133 HD channels in Orange County (see my new chart “Verizon FiOS HD Channels).

Local cable customers, meanwhile, are lucky if they’re getting 60, which to the cable providers’ credit is at least 20 percent more than was offered last year. Cable companies are also trying out different technologies to make more channels available.

	FiOS HD
1	A&E HD
2	ABC-KABC HD
3	ABC Family HD
4	ABC Live Well
5	Action Max HD
6	Action Max HD
7	Animal Planet HD
8	At Max HD
9	Big Ten Network HD
	Click HERE for the full list.

The big problem with FiOS TV service is that very few people can order the service. In Orange County, the number of FiOS-eligible cities hasn’t changed in months. Those cities with partial service are Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach,  Stanton, Westminster and certain unincorporated areas.

But if you can order service, the channels seem to keep coming.  (Any FiOS customers notice a price increase?) FiOS has added at least 20 HD channels since February. Also, cable TV companies are at or near their maximum capacity. Verizon is nowhere near hitting its limit.

Jon Davies, a FiOS spokesman explained to me (again) why this fiber-optic cable TV service has so much room. Essentially, Verizon has three streams to each house it serves: One delivers HD and standard-definition video, a second one delivers Internet and voice service, and the third is upstream link for users to, for example, upload videos online faster (at 20 Mbps). Davies says:

“Should the bandwidth carrying the linear video signal ever become maxed out, we have the option to increase capacity by moving linear channels over to the IPTV stream (most likely it would be the lesser viewed ones) because our set top boxes are connected to and can handle both Internet and video signals. Therefore, the transition would be transparent to the consumer.

“And if the TV lineup ever gets REALLY crowded, we just [add] another wavelength of light to the fiber feed and, presto, more video capacity. Cable can’t do that. The physics of copper just won’t allow it.”

Davies also adds that when Verizon FiOS delivers an HD channel, the video is uncompressed, much like over-the-air HD channels. Verizon doesn’t compress the channel further, as cable companies do. (Clarification to address this comment: FiOS doesn’t compress the signal it receives from the TV channel. But the TV channel does provide a compressed HD signal, just as it does for over-the-air viewers.)

Cable providers do compress the signal though I never realized how much.  He points to the video geeks over at the AVS Forum who ran a test of their own comparing FiOS with cable provider Comcast Corp. The same HD shows on Comcast were compressed by as much as 38.5 percent! See the results yourself: LINK.

Will a non-videophile notice the difference? FiOS subscribers feel free to speak up about your experiences.

Recent HD channel updates:

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