Bev HD vs Starchioce HD

[cjmv50]

Hi all,

I was a Bev subscriber from when the service first started until 3 years ago I switched to Starchoice just before Expressvu went HD. I currently have Starchioce HD and was thinking about switching back. I've never seen Expressvu Hd and was wondering if the there is a difference in quaility? I don't want the headache of switching again if its not worth it. I current have A DISH 622 and A Cband dish with a 4DTV that used rarely these days because of trees.

 

[SatboyZ]

to make it short...

for quantity --> Expressvu
for quality --> SC

Remember, the same SC signals are sent to cable co's also. Sports especially shows a major difference (or anything fast moving).

Why do you think they call it "Compressvu"?

Take care

Satboyz

 

[cjmv50]

Thanks for the info. One of the reasons I left Expressvu was the SD became unwatchable. That being said i've noticed that Starchoice's SD quality has gotten worse as well. I guess that the price for more channels.

 

[SatboyZ]

I find that SC's HD picture quality to be quite good (we have 3- 505 receivers). I compared TLC on SC when there was a free preview and on my Dish 211 and found them to be comparable. SC is on component input and 211 is on HDMI (Knock on wood - it still works!). We really only watch the HD channels anymore - If I could just get my wife "unhooked" from Cory (Coronation Street)!



Take Care

 

[Kryspy]

Having just come from Starchoice to ExpressVU I can tell you that the difference in HD quality is negligible if not identical.

For SD it comes down to the receiver; the 505 and 530 are old tech. The 9242 and the 9200 both do an excellent job on SD. Starchoice SD quality is horrible.

Kryspy

 

[TJ_77]

You obviously haven't been watching ExpressVu SD lately. It's to the point of macroblocking when there is no motion. Which is what you can expect when there are 12 channels crammed on a transponder.
And this variable bit rate technology they are using is a joke. Sure, TSN may look great, but they starve all of the other channels on that transponder to make it look that way. 6Mbps is not HD!

 

[cjmv50]

My biggest gripe is with all sateliite providers and I had both candian services and Directtv and Dish they all added channels far beyond their capacity for a decent quality. My satellite watching is done on a 40 Samsung LCD because this stuff is unwatchable in my home theater. There are internet podcast that look better than most of these channels.

 

[SatboyZ]

As for SC receivers being old technology...

I am not quite sure how that is going to change picture quality that is being transmitted from the provider. My 505's can be upgraded to Mpeg 4 with a module - could your 6000 or 6100 from Bev do that? Oh yea their new receivers are mpeg 4 but they can't use it because of the great satellites they are using. Understand I am not trying to start anything here, but side by side comparisons of several programs in a controlled setting (a friends store) showed visable differences in quality between the 2 on HD. IMHO of course.

Satboyz

 

[Kryspy]

Satboyz,

Video processors and processing technology improve from year to year. Look at video cards for PC's.

I am not saying that the signals are any better. I flat out admit that Starchoice is most likely sending a superior signal at the moment.

On my 9242 I notice less macroblocking on HD channels than I did on SC. My signal on SC was in the mid 90's with a 11db for quality. SD I could really care less about although I always believed my 9200 I had previous gave a good SD picture.

For me it came down to me not being as picky about quality as I once was. I watch a lot of downloaded content which makes my pickiness a bit more relaxed now a days. Also, hands down the 92xx series receiver is heads above the 530 for functionality and useability. I plain can't be bothered having to babysit my timers looking for repeats or shows changing timeslots etc. It is 2008 for crying out loud and this tech has been available for years.

I left SC on a positive note and don't begrudge anyone who says they prefer them but to say they are noticeably better like night and day is rubbish.

BTW, SC has begun to put 4 HD channels per transponder.

Kryspy

 

[tdti1]

Depending on what birds you can hit with your c-band dish a dvb HD receiver slaved to the 4dtv is a great investment.