Can we connect the 522 DVR to an OTA HDTV receiver??

[victorbelo]

I'm trying to experiment to find out if I can improve the PQ of SD channels on my EDTV plasma. Right now, I have a 522 connected to the Plasma by S-video. PQ is acceptable, but there is clear loss of detail, posterization, and the picture is not very sharp. I tried the composite, but the PQ is worse than S-video. I also tried the several settings on the TV, and I got the best calibration I could.

I'm planning to buy a HDTV receiver to watch the OTA channels (not the DISH HD package), and I'm wondering if I can also improve the PQ on SDTV if I connect the 522 to the HDTV box and output all (SD and HD) as 1080i to the TV. The TV will have to downscale the signal instead of upscale.

Regarding the HDTV receiver I have few different Samsung units in mind:
SIR-T151, SIR-TS160, SIR-T165, and SIR-TS360.

I'm planning to use the S-video in either a SIR-T165 or SIR-TS360 unit from the DVR 522. The SIR-T151 and SIR-TS160 units don't have any S-video inputs, but they have a cable analog and an ATCS/NTCS RF inputs. If I decide to buy the SIR-T151 and SIR-TS160, can I connect the 522 to any of these units using the RF out from the 522?

Are there any problems with this setup?

Sat1==> +---------+===> TV 2
.............| DVR 522 |
Sat2==> +---------+===> HDTV Receiver ==> EDTV Plasma (TV1)
............................................||
OTA Antenna================

Thanks

 

[Liquidforce88]

As long as your OTA HD receiver can accept an input of coax, S-video, or composite from the 522, it should work. I doubt it will resolve any picture problems, but you should get a picture.

 

[victorbelo]

DVD player/recorder

Thanks for the reply.
I think I'll try something first.
Since I also need a DVD player/recorder, and I'll buy one with good progressive output such as a Panasonic, and connect the 522 to the DVD RW and output 480p to the TV...

 

[BobaBird]

If you noticed the difference when dropping from S-Video to composite, why would you even consider using the RF out? The HD STB may or may not have a better scaler than your TV. Your DVD-R pass-through idea sounds like a good way to test the theory but I think what you're really seeing is the effects of overcompression by Dish.

 

[victorbelo]

The panasonic dvd rec improved the picture

Here is a update.
I installed a Panasonic DMR55 DVD recorder. I connected the Dish 522 and the DVD recorder, and the component output from the recorder to the TV. The DVD recorder output was set to 480p.
The results are very good. I noticed an improvement in sharpness with less artifacts, and a more stable SD picture. Some problems such as posterization and pixelation are way less perceptible now.
I'm more satisfied with the picture, but I think a HDTV receiver with 1080i output may improve the PQ even more.
Thanks