A little concerned about joining DTV

[money69]

After having Dishnetwork for many years (never had a HDTV receiver or package) I decided to switch to DTV because from what I remember back in the day they use to have better picture quality. I would remember for example that high motion scenes and fire on my TV never looked blocky like they use to on Dishnetwork.

Anyway, after signing up with DTV and waiting for my dish to be installed Im now a little concerned about DTV because of other complaints I have seen on here in regards to their picture quality with HDTV. Im signing up with a HD DVR and Im wondering if anyone here thinks that this will resolve itself once the 2 new satellites are in service? Did anyone else have similar concerns and still tried it out? If you did, what did you think after giving it a try?

 

[Brewer4]

Belay any thoughts or perceptions about Directv's HD until September when D10 is in play. You will be happier if you did. What market are you in? If you get HD locals over sat you will know what I am talking about. Their MPEG4 channel versions are pretty good and the future of HD with Directv. So stay open minded and dont get pulled in by the over analyzing HD Lite ranters just yet. If they stink in October, feel free to flame me. Just kidding.

 

[money69]

Thanks, Im in Houston and am going to have two HR20's installed which are ready for mpeg4. Anyone else have any other suggestions for me. I am encouraged by the channels which are suppose to launch in Sept. with the new sats, some of them I really want.

Also, anyone know if all the new channels they are adding are going to be MPEG4 on the new sats?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

While PQ on some of the HD channels may indeed be worse then Dish, I say fear not as the future looks bright.

The HD channels which should be coming this September should look much better then the national HD channels they have online now.

 

[Jimbo]

Also, anyone know if all the new channels they are adding are going to be MPEG4 on the new sats?

Yes, All the new HD channels will be in mpeg4 format as they will be on the 99 or 103 slots and those are designated as mpeg4 sats.

Jimbo

 

[Ramy]

While PQ on some of the HD channels may indeed be worse then Dish, I say fear not as the future looks bright.

The HD channels which should be coming this September should look much better then the national HD channels they have online now.

His locals picture quality should be great.

 

[Spike]

Are the current National HD channels going to be switched over to MPEG-4 as well?

:

 

[Ramy]

Are the current National HD channels going to be switched over to MPEG-4 as well?

:

Yes and No. That question will have to wait to be anwered, since Directv has never said exactly when.

 

[meldar_b]

here is another question for you guys

I don't have HD yet and it probably will be a while before I get HD (the cost is still to high for me right now) . So how is the picture quality of the SD channels with D*. for my main TV I have a Toshiba 48'' rear screen projection TV and my 2nd TV is a JVC 27" tube TV.

A few years ago (1994-2001) when I had D* I did notice a little bit of picture blocking during sports and fast moving scenes and even more effect on the National broadcast networks from NY and LA (ABC,NBC,CBS FOX i know this is no longer available). the other national cable channels(CNN,TNT,Sci-Fi...etc) had some blocking effects. is this still a problem ?
When I had E*(2001-2003) the blocking effects and colors were the problem. it looked like E* was broadcasting in a very low bit rate and just above gray scale. is that still going on at all?

I know that no one knows for sure or can say due to their job position. but will the newer mpeg4 satellites that are being launched by both companies will this help the SD channels also.

Thanks
Darrell B
meldar_b

 

[Jimbo]

here is another question for you guys

I don't have HD yet and it probably will be a while before I get HD (the cost is still to high for me right now) . So how is the picture quality of the SD channels with D*. for my main TV I have a Toshiba 48'' rear screen projection TV and my 2nd TV is a JVC 27" tube TV.

A few years ago (1994-2001) when I had D* I did notice a little bit of picture blocking during sports and fast moving scenes and even more effect on the National broadcast networks from NY and LA (ABC,NBC,CBS FOX i know this is no longer available). the other national cable channels(CNN,TNT,Sci-Fi...etc) had some blocking effects. is this still a problem ?
When I had E*(2001-2003) the blocking effects and colors were the problem. it looked like E* was broadcasting in a very low bit rate and just above gray scale. is that still going on at all?

I know that no one knows for sure or can say due to their job position. but will the newer mpeg4 satellites that are being launched by both companies will this help the SD channels also.

Thanks
Darrell B
meldar_b

YES, the new Satellites SHOUL help this as D* will have more bandwidth to work with.
IF they choose to add too many channels and not send enough bandwidth to the channels, shame on them.

Also, some has to do with what your TV's capable of, but most id due to lack of bandwidth.

Jimbo

 

[ChrisPC]

A few years ago (1994-2001) when I had D* I did notice a little bit of picture blocking during sports and fast moving scenes and even more effect on the National broadcast networks from NY and LA (ABC,NBC,CBS FOX i know this is no longer available). the other national cable channels(CNN,TNT,Sci-Fi...etc) had some blocking effects. is this still a problem ?

Thanks
Darrell B
meldar_b

I've had D* for over 10 years, and remember how good (and bad) the PQ has been. The blocking isn't really there anymore, but the picture is a bit softer now. Overall, the SD is very similar to E* now. Most channels look a bit better than analog cable. THE HD PQ is good, but not quite as good as E* or cable (except for MPEG4 locals, they look great!). All the new HD will be MPEG4, and I can't wait!

 

[money69]

Well, jut to report back I finally got everything installed and pretty much what everyone said is accurate here. For starters the SD quality is not as good as E* I think, it might be just "different" looking but I think E* has them beat in the SD picture quality test. I never had E* so I cant comment about the HDTV picture quality difference but I will say that DTV's mpeg2 channels dont look that good to me, however, the mpeg4 locals look broadcast quality to me so Im hoping everything will get better as they move over to mpeg4.

I appreciate everyones help and opinion.