The term "HD Lite" is a phrase DirecTV would probably prefer its customers never learn, or at least common sense would seem to dictate so. What is HD Lite, you ask? It is certainly not terminology included in any formally recognized HDTV specification as far as I know, but DirecTV and a few other television service providers currently rely upon the technique to deliver high-definition content within the limits of their available bandwidth. The underlying technical aspects aside, a HD Lite service provider can take content originally being broadcast in the popular 1920x1080i format, then downsample the content to 1440x1080i or even 1280x1080i for delivery to customers.

There is little debate on why DirecTV uses the HD Lite technique considering the high cost of deploying additional satellite bandwidth. However, getting back to common sense, DirecTV's decision to sue Comcast over HD video quality claims has likely done little to help the satellite provider's market position among retail consumers. Awhile back Comcast commissioned a survey to compare the video quality of its cable-based HD service against satellite-based HD Lite service, and naturally Comcast dominated the survey with a two-thirds majority.

Armed with its survey results, Comcast proceeded to roll out a marketing campaign declaring the surveyed customers' preference for Comcast HD service as compared to competing satellite services. DirecTV responded with a lawsuit, and in typical fashion for marketing disputes, the case was settled outside of the courtroom. Each side was supposedly "pleased" with the confidential settlement, but it shouldn't take a mystical psychic to determine DirecTV likely got the proverbial short end of the stick, as Comcast can still continue using the survey results in future advertisements. Ultimately it appears DirecTV did little more than perhaps running up yet another tab for legal fees and maybe further alienating a few consumers with its HD Lite approach to delivering high-definition television content.

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