Oops! I made a mistake and watched real HD!

[Tom Bombadil]

It was recently posted that the demo channel was being transmitted at 1920x1080 with 17-19Mbps. I cannot verify this.

The images look great. For example, they should a sequence of shots from VOOM. I've seen several of the programs they took the clips from. The standard VOOM PQ doesn't come anywhere near what is some in the demo clips.

 

[stuckingoo]

what size TV are you watching & how far away are you sitting from it?

50 inch Panasonic plasma and I'm sitting about 8-9 feet away. Eyesight 20/20 corrected with Rodenstock progressive lenses.

 

[Ricknau]

After doing this and switching back to watching DishHD, nearly all of the Dish channels look soft again.

Interesting. I'm a Directv customer thinking about switching to Dish. I was curious though about Dish PQ so when my friend got an HDTV and Dish I went over to his house to see what Dish looked like. The word "soft" is perfect for my impression of the PQ. Not a bad picture, just soft. Softer I think than Directv. Not a scientific test, not apples to apples with equipment or anything (his DPL is bigger than mine), just an eyeball impression. But honestly, the PQ was sufficient enough to keep me interested in changing to Dish just to get the extra HD channels.

OT question:

I think I've read in these forums that Dish will not give me the New York HD channels I current have waivers for and receive from Directv. Is this true? I'd ask the Dish rep about this but I never feel like any of them give an answer you can be sure of.

 

[Hall]

I don't believe that waivers apply for digital (HD) channels. I'm guessing that your waivers get you the NYC analog locals and therefore automatically make you eligible (in Dish's system) for the HDs.

After Dish's distant network fiasco, I don't think they're accepting any waivers at this time other than maybe for RVs. Let others confirm though.

 

[Ricknau]

Thanks Hall.

Actually I started a new thread asking this question.

But a quick response to you... I cannot pull in my local FOX or CBS digital signals (70 miles distance) so these locals granted me waivers. With the waivers Directv gives HD feeds of the New York CBS and FOX affiliates in HD. They also give me all my locals in SD but for the CBS and FOX stations I'd only ever watch that SD feed for non-network shows like local weather.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

DirecTV HD is also sub-standard. On the whole, IMHO, a bit worse than E*. But it would depend upon which two channels one is comparing.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

You should be able to see the difference on a 50" Panny plasma, even though that is an "average" resolution HDTV, with it's native resolution being 1366x768.

I've seen the difference on 42" plasmas.

But on programs where I see a significant difference, my wife doesn't pick it up unless I point it out to her.

 

[stuckingoo]

You should be able to see the difference on a 50" Panny plasma, even though that is an "average" resolution HDTV, with it's native resolution being 1366x768.

I've seen the difference on 42" plasmas.

But on programs where I see a significant difference, my wife doesn't pick it up unless I point it out to her.

Ok, I see what you're saying now. I'm flipping back and forth between my OTA NBC and Dish NBC during the Colts/Chiefs game and there is just enough delay for me to briefly see the same scene on both. Yes there is a slight 'softening' on Dish. This is something I would not normally pick up on. In the past I've noticed nothing like this even when looking for it. I don't find it objectionable and is very much like a tuning of the sharpness control on your garden variety TV set. Though I suspect that compression might be in play here.

There is so much variation in the quality of HD broadcasts from channel to channel that it is not something I actively look for or notice.

BTW, I recently went from Directv to Dish and I noticed no PQ differences. People that review these sorts of things I think have mentioned the same except for an odd channel or two. Maybe if you are a fan on one particular HD station you may be able to see differences but I watch a lot of different ones.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I find it very easy to see "softened" HD, immediately upon tuning to any HD channel that is soft. No A/B comparisons needed. A sharp HD picture presents incredible detail on almost all surfaces, including faces, cloth, grass, animals, and so on.

A good HD image can be so lifelike that it really does look like a window onto the world. It can be a bit eerie.

But a softer HD image has no such sensation. Real people do not have smooth faces without pores. Real grass does not resemble a smooth green carpet. Such images can be reasonably good TV, but they are not windows.

It usually takes about 1-2 seconds after tuning to an HD channel to see which one it is offering.

And then there are the compression issues, which are a whole other can of worms.

 

[Sarang]

I really understand what Tom means here and I'd have to say if you don't you really haven't seen HD. I remember watching "The Late Show With David Letterman" OTA HD and I could tell he was wearing a bandaid on his finger, that's how sharp the picture was. I also catch a glimpse of Nova on PBS and this was broadcasting at 720p which PBS is native 1080i broadcast as well as having a subchannel. After saying this consider then upconverted the signal to 1080i and it still looked great. The ONLY HD channels on Dish I've seen so far that come close are HDNet and HDMovies from what I've seen. That list is HBO, Showtime(coming off the 110), Discovery and ESPN. To be fair to ESPN I don't think I caught much sxhoxt in HD. Oh yeah and I did catch TNT-HD.
Tom I really hope you end up picking up an HD-DVD player.

 

[kb7oeb]

I recently got a Xbox 360 that outputs HD and when I switch back to regular TV almost everything looks soft.

 

[thomas_d92]

I have HD-DVD and aI am working on getting a Bluray player too. I am spoiled by Hd-dvd. When my 18 month contract runs out in August if there is not an inprovement in quality I am leaving Dish and going OTA, Hd-dvd and Bluray only. I find myself watching less and less of Dish HD and more of OTA and HD-dvd. On my 106 inch projection screen ota and hd-dvd are outstanding. No Dish bill will mean more hd disks to buy.