I've complained about the SD on DirecTV for quite some time. But this last week I was fiddling with tech and my AV rack just because I could, and found a combination that makes the SD enjoyable if not quite as good as HD.
I've been using a Sony DN1000 AVR for a couple years or so, but I had a Harman Kardon AVR247 in a closet because I couldn't get a decent price for it when I tried to sell it. So I thought, what the hell... It's time for a switch up. Swapped out the Sony and put the Harman Kardon back in place. Used an HDMI switcher 'cause the HK has only 2 HDMI ports. That worked fine, but I started playing source resolutions. And what I found was that setting both HRs to 720p and Native Off produced a better picture than 1080i does. I figure that's cause the HK has a Farouda video processor in there for massaging the video. And it only goes up to 720p, in case of 1080i/p, the HK just bypasses.
Then I got to thinking, why the heck keep that HDMI switcher in there? It just clutters up the setup, and adds one more thing to glitch, and since I'm not using 1080i, I can use component video out instead with digital audio. Made that switch, put the BluRay and AppleTV (V2) into the two HDMI plugs and all is slick and clean again.
So today I started fiddling around and checked out a couple of SD channels and recordings I had made but didn't watch 'cause they sucked so bad, and found that with the setup the way it is, the SD is very good. No, it doesn't make me want to watch only SD, but it is enjoyable for some shows that just aren't in HD on Direct.
Checked to see that all the Premiums work this way and they do just fine.
Not only do I have better overall video, I now have that sweet Harman Kardon sound!
Got everything connected to and controlled by my Harmony 1 and I am one happy camper!
I've been using a Sony DN1000 AVR for a couple years or so, but I had a Harman Kardon AVR247 in a closet because I couldn't get a decent price for it when I tried to sell it. So I thought, what the hell... It's time for a switch up. Swapped out the Sony and put the Harman Kardon back in place. Used an HDMI switcher 'cause the HK has only 2 HDMI ports. That worked fine, but I started playing source resolutions. And what I found was that setting both HRs to 720p and Native Off produced a better picture than 1080i does. I figure that's cause the HK has a Farouda video processor in there for massaging the video. And it only goes up to 720p, in case of 1080i/p, the HK just bypasses.
Then I got to thinking, why the heck keep that HDMI switcher in there? It just clutters up the setup, and adds one more thing to glitch, and since I'm not using 1080i, I can use component video out instead with digital audio. Made that switch, put the BluRay and AppleTV (V2) into the two HDMI plugs and all is slick and clean again.
So today I started fiddling around and checked out a couple of SD channels and recordings I had made but didn't watch 'cause they sucked so bad, and found that with the setup the way it is, the SD is very good. No, it doesn't make me want to watch only SD, but it is enjoyable for some shows that just aren't in HD on Direct.
Checked to see that all the Premiums work this way and they do just fine.
Not only do I have better overall video, I now have that sweet Harman Kardon sound!
Got everything connected to and controlled by my Harmony 1 and I am one happy camper!
