It's Only a Paper Moon
It's all a set of incredibly complex set of technology and math made to shrink the signal while maintaining an illusion of reality.

But it's not reality, and don't forget it. It's illusion. And it's OK, in its place, as long as you know what that place is. Use your illusion, to borrow from Axel Rose.

Above all, realize that what you've got here is not only illusion - it's entertainment and, on a good day, art. And the technology palette it's played out on is the stage and props your plot is played on, to mix a metaphor.

An Analog Illustration
To give a simple example in the analog world: the electric guitar. It really doesn't sound remotely like a real guitar - but what wonderful sounds it can make, sounds no one dreamed of in the acoustical instrument world. The same with the synthesizer. In the case of both, the best is to be got out of them not by trying to imitate a former reality, but by creating a new one, a better illusion.

Sometimes that illusion is already there, and it becomes imitation. For instance, when streaming video tries to transmit TV or films in varying frame rates at differing resolutions on your computer screen, you know this is not your Dad's Magnavox. The Magnavox was better. The technology does a bad job of imitating the entertainment/art you're used to. But supposed it did a good job. Kanakaris Wireless claims to be about to do that:

Better Illusions for Better Streaming
"At a 100k stream the visual quality conveys the look and feel of a 300K stream," says Robert Wood, technical director of Kanakaris Wireless, speaking of the companies new patented technology. "Through the creation of a stable stream we are able to deliver a 100k stream which plays at 15 frames per second. The visual quality when viewing is pleasing to the eye (the stability eliminates 'jerkiness' and has the appearance of a full motion picture). "At a 300K stream the visual quality conveys the look and feel of a stream much closer to 750K. Through the preparation of a stable stream we are able to deliver a 300k stream which plays at 24 fps for film and 30fps for video media. The visual quality when viewing provides the viewer with a rich and full motion cinema experience. We have developed a process which, when used in conjunction with the Windows Media platform, delivers full cinema quality of 24 fps without compromising rich color and clear and full sound.