Best resolution setting for HD

[bebop]

Short version: What format setting do you use and why?

Longer: I primarily watch HD channels and was wondering what is the best resolution to set my HR-24? I have an HDTV that normally I have set to 1080i for TV and also run the HDMI video signal though my home theater recevier. I set the home theater receiver to auto mode on the video so that it normally just passes through the signal from the satellite receiver. I've cycled through the 1080i settings (crop, original, stretch, etc.) and still wonder what is the best setting to leave it at?

If I choose 1080i + Original (screen format is unaltered) are there any drawbacks to this setting? Many of the shows we watch are at this resolution (not the commercials, but the show itself) and look great. Though we also watch a lot of children's shows on the same setup and many of them do not fill the screen. I'm not big on the stretch-o-vision - just trying to understand between the options.

 

[Jimbo]

I normally use the "Original "Format, because I want to see the show the way it was intended.
I turn off ANY resolution below 720P, making sure the 1080i and 1080p are checked.

Overall, it's a personal preference, I don't mind the black bars on the occasion that it's not in HD at the moment, others don't like this and chose to use other settings.

I would set it for what looks best for your set, each is different, even two of the same sets will look different if you look close enough.

 

[bebop]

Your mention if turning off the options below 720P reminded me that in the setup there are more options that I didn't test when I first got started. I changed the setting to native on and that did the trick. I also removed the non-1080 settings and it functions just like I want now. Thanks for the tips. I don't know if native off is the default, but I highly recommend using it now that I've seen the difference and for how I watch.

 

[Mr Tony]

I leave mine on 720p because.....well thats all my TV is

 

[tvropro]

Here's an interesting test Ice. Put it on 1080 or native and see if it looks better. It may be that the scaler in your tv will do a better job than the DirecTV STB, since anything 1080 it scales to 720.

 

[Rattler94]

I've set my TV's for Native, Original format. I want the signal to hit my tv in the original format. I'm not a fan of stretching it out.

 

[Mr Tony]

I have native off and original format and no issues here. Nothing is stretched unless I tell it to which is very rare

 

[Ronnie-]

I use 1080i and original. Since my set is 1080p, I figure this will give me the least amount of scaling out of the options that I have.

To be honest though, there has not been a noticeable difference to me if I set it to 720p or 1080i on the D* box itself since the tv is going to take it to 1080p no matter which I choose.

 

[kovach]

So I have a 720P TV, and don't like all the flashing when switching channels.

Would setting Native Off and only checking the 720p box be my best option to provide the best picture short of putting up with all the flashing?

I'm kind of confused on this as well. With Native Off, it seems the DVR does any scaling and feeds the signal to your TV in the resolution your TV's built for (as long as you check the right resolution box). So why would it even let you check more than 1 box if that were the case?

 

[Ronnie-]

So I have a 720P TV, and don't like all the flashing when switching channels.

Would setting Native Off and only checking the 720p box be my best option to provide the best picture short of putting up with all the flashing?

I'm kind of confused on this as well. With Native Off, it seems the DVR does any scaling and feeds the signal to your TV in the resolution your TV's built for (as long as you check the right resolution box). So why would it even let you check more than 1 box if that were the case?

Depends on your set. If your tv does a better job of scaling than the HR, I would leave the HR set to 1080 since thats what most of the channels are anyway, and let the tv do most of the work.
If your HR does a better job, let it scale them to 720 and pass it along to the box.

Not helpful, but id say try both and see which looks better.

 

[Mr Tony]

Here's an interesting test Ice. Put it on 1080 or native and see if it looks better. It may be that the scaler in your tv will do a better job than the DirecTV STB, since anything 1080 it scales to 720.

I tried that and no difference. Most of the channels I watch are 720p anyways so I leave mine on 720

 

[chudgins63]

resolution

I have a Sony Bravia 55" LCD and have my HR 21 locked on 720p. Just made that switch a couple of months ago and feel like the picture looks better, colors are richer. 1080i looked a little more grainy although I realize most networks native is 1080i. End of the day, beauty is in eye of the beholder.

 

[bebop]

I'm glad I posted this thread because:

Choosing native on/off setting seems to make a difference as far as one's preference and whether or not they want to hit the format button on the remote often.
Locking out the resolution settings that aren't desired is a big help so that they don't even show up when cycling through the formats.

For now I'm going to leave mine at native on, original format, 1080 resolution.

Now the SDTV is a different issue, but I've got that figured out after trying the options.