Hopper S229 / S230 Feedback!
- Thread starter Scott Greczkowski
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Im a little surprised (happily), but after knocking down many hours of DVR'd shows, Im seeing the Dish/Hopper has damn good PQ. I dont generally go more than 1.5 years before jumping services to try new hardware, and Ive always held the opinion Directv was superior. Well, I can say without a doubt, FX, HBO, Showtime and all my locals look better on Dish. I mean its pretty obvious, and shocked to be quite frank. Dunno if its the Hopper, or Dish has done some tweaks since I last had them, but its a pleasant surprise.
To test the locals I recorded the first week via sat, instead of the OTA module. I havent had a chance to look at Syfy yet, but History, Nat Geo and H2 look good, but Id say they are about the same.
To test the locals I recorded the first week via sat, instead of the OTA module. I havent had a chance to look at Syfy yet, but History, Nat Geo and H2 look good, but Id say they are about the same.
Im not sure about the older ViPs such as the 722/622, but my 722k and Hopper have no discernible difference in PQ. Both look great. 722k has the same chipset as the 922. Hopper has a new chipset.
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Its either Directv has changed something, or the HR34 is not as good in that dept. I recorded nothing but sat locals on Directv because I dropped the AM21N, and Dish's look better. FX on Directv for me, as well as Showtime, showed easily seen issues that I am not seeing on the Dish feed.
I agree with Jason, i think the picture quality I get on Dish with the Hopper is better than I ever had with Directv. The first words out of my mouth when I put the local stations on was, WOW.
I cant say for sure whats going on, but its pretty easy to notice a difference with the same gear and channels/shows you have been watching for years. I was never happy with the locals on Directv, but I could actually live without the OTA adapter on Dish. IIRC though, when I went to Direct from Dish, I noticed the premiums and FX did not look as good on Directv.
So far on the channels I watch, I'm happy and thats on a 65" tv.
So far on the channels I watch, I'm happy and thats on a 65" tv.
After knocking down a few recorded OTA shows, only problem Ive had during playback is there will be 2-3 fast dropouts (audio/pixelation) per hour. One seems to always happen right after the each show starts, and SS is fine on these channels.
I upgraded from the VIP922 to the Hopper and just mentioned to my wife that I thought the picture looks better. Not sure how I could compare now, but I think it is better.
Jason Whiddon said:
It's nearly impossible to make any judgements with having them side by side, our brains simply can't retain information to make those comparisons days or even minutes apart. I don't want to rain on your parade and glad you like the quality but more than likely you are experiencing expectation bias.
You are wrong. I have a enough video experience to notice that compression artifacts I saw on FX and Showtime, are not here on Dish. I easily notice because the "crawling walls" are one simple thing to pick out. FX on Direct has them, Dish's version does not. These are some of the first things I looked at when switching a provider because I like to have knowledge of who performs better, but I have just not brought them up until now. Last time I switched from Directv to Dish, HBO has this weird encoder pulse going on, that it took a long time for Directv subs to admit and notice, but many finally did. It was later fixed, but Dish never had that problem.
When you watch a channel for months, its not a hard thing to pick out. I think people need to realize some have a better eye for things, just like others have a better ear. I dont claim to be anything near an audio guru, but I have spent a lot of time of the last 4 years messing with video calibration, and sometimes I find myself centering on video problems as opposed to actually watching the show. These compression issues on Sons of Anarchy have been a distraction for me since the season started for me, but the Dish version does not have them.
So no offense, but do not tell me what I can experience, and what I cannot hinting off like Im lacking experience in evaluating PQ. There have been several things Ive pointed out PQ wise on a forum, only to be doubted. After time, more people came to the same conclusion.
Same thing applies to people that will tell you OTA does not look any better than a sat local. Ive been in 3 markets with multiple providers and NEVER found this to be true. Im not gonna say it isnt in some markets, but never in mine. I guess thats to hard for me to eval too without identical tv's huh?
When you watch a channel for months, its not a hard thing to pick out. I think people need to realize some have a better eye for things, just like others have a better ear. I dont claim to be anything near an audio guru, but I have spent a lot of time of the last 4 years messing with video calibration, and sometimes I find myself centering on video problems as opposed to actually watching the show. These compression issues on Sons of Anarchy have been a distraction for me since the season started for me, but the Dish version does not have them.
So no offense, but do not tell me what I can experience, and what I cannot hinting off like Im lacking experience in evaluating PQ. There have been several things Ive pointed out PQ wise on a forum, only to be doubted. After time, more people came to the same conclusion.
Same thing applies to people that will tell you OTA does not look any better than a sat local. Ive been in 3 markets with multiple providers and NEVER found this to be true. Im not gonna say it isnt in some markets, but never in mine. I guess thats to hard for me to eval too without identical tv's huh?
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I agree with you on OTA being better than sat locals, but that is easier to compare because you can record both and do a quick comparison, or even switch back and fourth between the two.
And I'm not doubting your expertise and knowledge. But there are way too many variables involved to be able to say with certainty that something you watched yesterday on DirecTV looked better or worse than it does today on Dish. Unless the difference is huge which for this discussion I'd say we are talking about things than many people will never notice.
Example...If you watched a full screen of red one day, and then again the next would you be able to tell if the hue changed slightly?
I'm not saying there are not differences, it's just that relying on people's comparisons and opinions from one day to the next are not scientifically valid...too many changing variables. On the other hand, very few people have time setup, the time or the desire to do a true head-to-head comparison.
You don't happen to still have both providers do you?
And I'm not doubting your expertise and knowledge. But there are way too many variables involved to be able to say with certainty that something you watched yesterday on DirecTV looked better or worse than it does today on Dish. Unless the difference is huge which for this discussion I'd say we are talking about things than many people will never notice.
Example...If you watched a full screen of red one day, and then again the next would you be able to tell if the hue changed slightly?
I'm not saying there are not differences, it's just that relying on people's comparisons and opinions from one day to the next are not scientifically valid...too many changing variables. On the other hand, very few people have time setup, the time or the desire to do a true head-to-head comparison.
You don't happen to still have both providers do you?
No I do not.
I understand what you are saying about hue, but compression issues (especially ones that show in large areas of the same color like walls; simulate crawling areas) are easy to spot. My plasma does not do well with a compressed signal, and thats where Im telling you Showtime and Fx for example, it's easy for me to say they look better on dish with my gear.
A lot of this "I dont see it" also comes into play with view distance and screen size. Im about 11 feet from the 65" and get to see all the bad side of compression. Dish offers a cleaner image on some of the channels I regularly watch, which is actually a surprise to me with past history.
I understand what you are saying about hue, but compression issues (especially ones that show in large areas of the same color like walls; simulate crawling areas) are easy to spot. My plasma does not do well with a compressed signal, and thats where Im telling you Showtime and Fx for example, it's easy for me to say they look better on dish with my gear.
A lot of this "I dont see it" also comes into play with view distance and screen size. Im about 11 feet from the 65" and get to see all the bad side of compression. Dish offers a cleaner image on some of the channels I regularly watch, which is actually a surprise to me with past history.
So far saved shows/series from PTAT are no longer mysteriously being deleted. I've had 230 since 11/21.
Jason,
Why do you sit sooooo far away! lol. Optimum viewing would be at 6'-9', assuming fully resolved HD signal, according to THX and SMPTE. When we were in the middle of our major remodel project of our house, the loveseat was about 5' from the 61" screen, when reclined, we were at about 7'. It was perfect! Filled our field of vision perfectly, and it's been harder to get used to sitting 10' away in the finished living room. I guess I need a bigger TV!!
http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/home-theater/hdtv-set-up/
Since we are off topic I started a new thread for us to continue, http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/299179-Dish-Picture-Quality-Discussion?p=3041336#post3041336
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I haven't had any problems since S230 either. But I really haven't had the chance because the fear of losing them has caused me to get every episode watched before the next episode airs.
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LOL, I had it about a foot closer and moved it up on the wall, so that cost me. Ill admit now it could be bigger, and Im hoping we see a 70+" plasma this year, I think panasonic will have one.
I did have a 73" DLP for a short time at 9.5 feet. Holy moly! The problem with larger screens on anything but blu-ray though, is the damn compression artifacts. I think most providers are compressing for folks with a 50" or less tv at a decent distance.
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