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HDTV signals are broadcast over the air at up to 19 megabits per second (Mbps), but Cohen and others claim DirecTV's bit rate is often much lower than that. And Cohen's lawyer, Thomas Ferlauto, claims they've got the goods to prove it. "We've been able to measure the signal, and the bit rates are reduced," he says.

Lite at the End of the Tunnel Cohen first noticed the problem when he checked out several high-def channels on his new Sony plasma set. Expecting a crisp image, he saw blockiness and softness instead. According to Ferlauto, when Cohen wrote to DirecTV to complain, "he received no response."

DirecTV believes there's nothing to discuss. "We have optimized the transmission of HD signals to provide our customers with the highest-quality video service," says a company spokesman. "DirecTV has always been about delivering superior-quality video, and we're certainly not going to compromise on that commitment with HD customers, who are our most discerning viewers. Our HD video transmissions are well within accepted definitions, but we can't account for a viewer's subjective notion of what constitutes a perfect HD picture."

Cohen isn't alone in alleging that program-service providers like DirecTV, Dish Network, and some cable systems reduce the bit rate of their signals so they can squeeze more channels through their pipes. Visit the AVS Forum (avsforum.com) and you'll find a lot of users complaining about the same thing. They call it "HD Lite." Some postings are even accompanied by still images from programs, comparing one taken from a DirecTV feed with one from a different source, like an over-the-air antenna or Verizon's new fiber-optic TV service, FiOS.