Audio sync and pic out format on VIP 622

[rexlan]

I had the old DVR receiver and it was perfect .. picture format correct and good audio , program record an event and it got it instead of cutting off the last minute of it.

Now I have this VIP 622 HD receiver and constantly need to change the output format and most of the time the audio sucks because it is out of sync. I know I can change it but that seldom resolves it totally and then I have to change it again.

I ALWAYS cuts off the last minute of a recording and I know I can add time to them ... what a stupid PITA idea that is. And when you do add time, you can not record the next scheduled event!

Just me or is this VIP 622 just a POS from Dish? Do all of these new HD receivers do this?

Thanks

 

[Jim S.]

What do you mean, you're constantly needing to change the output format?

 

[rexlan]

There are 3 settings for the output format on the receiver and depending on what the friggin show is actually formatted in it affects my wide screen TV. Just seems like the whole deal is a POS and the HD is really a bunch of hype. My picture in HD vs. regular is not noticeably different. I do have a good Sony 52" LCD TV though.

So the question was?

Any idea or are you just curious ?

 

[Jim S.]

I have no idea why you can't set the output to 1080i (if that's what your TV is) and leave it there. If you want to blow up a SD channel to fill your TV (though I don't know why you'd want to do that, since Dish's SD is pretty crappy -- and yes, the HD isn't spectacular on a lot of channels, but it's better than SD), that's what the "format" button on the remote is for. The receiver should remember your format selections for SD vs. HD channels.

 

[rexlan]

Well sometimes it does remember and most of the time it does not ... just seems like it is a real kludge. I know what the format button is all about and it is a constant issue as I said originally.

My old 503 receiver .. set it and forget it. Picture Q is the same and this HD certainly is no big shakes.

I guess I'd want to fill my TV with the crappy SD stuff since that is what the majority of the shows are in and I have a big TV. I could of course go downstairs and watch it "full screen" on my 9" portable .. LOL.

Thanks anyway.

 

[Jim S.]

By filling your screen, I meant blowing it up to fill your screen. I'd much rather just watch it in a 4:3 box rather than blow it up to 16:9 unless it's a really high-quality SD channel.

Now, are you talking about SD shows on an HD channel? If so, that's not Dish's fault, it's what the channel is sending them. The format will be whatever you last set for HD, because that's the resolution that's coming in no matter whether the source material was HD or not. They should still look better than the SD equivalent of the channel though, by simple matter of getting more bits per second, no matter what the resolution is.

I have to ask, are you hooking up by HDMI or component, instead of S-video or composite or RF?

 

[rexlan]

I am using the HD output on the receiver to my TV so that would be component.

I wonder if folks have really poor TV's and think the SD is bad because of it? HD is a little better but you'd be hard pressed to look and say hey that's an HD picture you have there as opposed to say that is a really crummy SD picture you have.

Do all of the HD receivers chop off the last minute of every recorded event? Seems rather stupid to have to add time to each one and then prevent recording the adjacent one ... brilliant.

What about the audio sync. Seems equally stupid to have to change that every time you watch an HD or SD event.

Does brand X have these same problems?

Will a different receiver solve ANY of these issues or is this the "new" and improved HD receiver format?

 

[Jim S.]

I've never noticed any really bad and persistent audio sync issues that weren't attributable to the station itself. (WGN used to be really bad about that.) I'm using optical and component (HDMI port is busted -- happens all the time to the 622) to an Onkyo receiver and then a Samsung LCD. The sync option in the setup menu is set to HD. I can't say I've ever noticed this causing a problem with SD channels, but I hardly ever watch SD channels.)

Since I switched to an Eastern Arc dish instead of 119/110/61.5, the SD channels that I watch (which is VERY few of them, mostly just the local CW) look a lot better. The major exception to this is Chiller, which looks like a bootleg VHS tape. (The absolute worst channel on the system used to be Travel SD, but since we got it in HD, I haven't checked to see if they fixed it.)

I've never had an SD DVR, so I don't know what to say about the losing-the-end-of-shows problem. Yes, I admit it exists, but since sometimes its only seconds, and since some channels end their hours with commercials rather than shows, I had assumed that it was the networks being greedy and/or trying to deter DVR users, not a timing problem with the DVR. (I suppose I could listen to the atomic clock broadcast on shortwave while watching Dish sometime to confirm or deny this, but the problem is, I never watch anything live unless it's news, so I don't have to watch commercials.)

My workaround to the overlapping-timers problem is to record the later showing of conflicting programs. Most channels air them this way rather than having a west coast feed these days, and after all I'm going to be watching the show later rather than live anyway. The only thing I watch that I can't do this with is local channels. Solution? Move the local channels' timers higher in priority. (I should add that my 622 is always in single mode, so I always have both tuners available for recording since, again, I never watch live.)

Yes, I agree that you shouldn't have to do this, but I'd still bet that unless you're talking about literally a few seconds, the timing problem in almost all cases lies with the channel, not the DVR.