Picture Quality

[Roger]

What is going on with DTV's picture quality? It has been degrading now for some time but I don't know for how long. Just about all SD channels now looks like crap. This includes heavy pixalization, blurriness, and all kinds of other "artifacts". Basketball this weekend was unwatchable on all channels and looked like an Internet feed. I'm very unhappy and after watching some recordings from a few weeks ago it's quite noticeable on how poor the picture quality is today compared to a few weeks ago. What is going on? The picture quality is now unaccaptable. And this is on a 27" inch TV which is a shame. Have any of you noticed this?

 

[vlj9r]

What is going on with DTV's picture quality? It has been degrading now for some time but I don't know for how long. Just about all SD channels now looks like crap. This includes heavy pixalization, blurriness, and all kinds of other "artifacts". Basketball this weekend was unwatchable on all channels and looked like an Internet feed. I'm very unhappy and after watching some recordings from a few weeks ago it's quite noticeable on how poor the picture quality is today compared to a few weeks ago. What is going on? The picture quality is now unaccaptable. And this is on a 27" inch TV which is a shame. Have any of you noticed this?

I agree with you. Pic quality is like a sine wave. Some days is good and some days is just awful. If you think it looks bad on a 27in, imagine how it looks on a Sony 60in. This is why I called them on Sat to terminate the service. I guess I will ride BHN until DTV has an MPEG4 HD DVR and the pic quality issues are addressed.

 

[mirage426]

Did you address this w/customer service? Maybe they are adding or changing the system around, or they might not be aware of a problem.
Call and let them know, then have somebody come and check it out.
The only way to keep or increase quality control is to let them know there's a problem.

 

[Doctor Bob]

We are crystal clear, here in So CAL, but that must be because of our Smog Levels... LOL

We have had some problems in the past, but only the compression issues, and digitizing. The Quality on a 65" Toshiba is outstanding... But you also need to log all of that information, including when you called D* to complain, etc... Remember that what ever D* is sent, is what you get, and it could very well be the Local stations fault... What area are you in and what channels are poor quality???

 

[JAM]

The Picture Quality is NOT outstanding, not by any stretch of the imagination. The locals, in my area, are the worst by far. I have both E* and D* and right now I would have to say E* has the better PQ (not looking for a flame war, this is just my opinion). I am down to one D* receiver (Tivo) and have kept it due to it's better DVR track record versus E*. I have contacted DirecTV over and over with PQ issues with only canned responses as replies (phone and e-mail). The thing that irks me the most is the INCONSISTENT PQ. Some days it looks pretty good, then other days the same channels look like crap (not a source issue/primetime or any other time). The local stations engineers have admitted, in the past, that PQ issues do exist. They claim they have contacted D* seeking issue resolution, but most of the locals still look poor. Since cable is not an option for me out here in the country, I simply would like my sat provider to get their act together. Just my opinions. Thanks. (Locals are Tallahassee FL DMA)

 

[emu1]

Jam, I am with you. I just switch to D* from E*. E* (to me) had the far better picture quality on both HD and SD channels. And I have noticed too that some days picture quality on D* comes and goes.

 

[vurbano]

What is going on with DTV's picture quality? It has been degrading now for some time but I don't know for how long. Just about all SD channels now looks like crap. This includes heavy pixalization, blurriness, and all kinds of other "artifacts". Basketball this weekend was unwatchable on all channels and looked like an Internet feed. I'm very unhappy and after watching some recordings from a few weeks ago it's quite noticeable on how poor the picture quality is today compared to a few weeks ago. What is going on? The picture quality is now unaccaptable. And this is on a 27" inch TV which is a shame. Have any of you noticed this?

So now its finally gotten so bad that those with 27 inch sets can see what we with 50 inch sets have noticed for the last 3 years or so. Its so bad even MR satellite himself, Dan Collins, is thinking about jumping ship:
http://www.dbsforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48558&perpage=15&pagenumber=2

Originally posted by Dan Collins on 03-08-2006 at 07:39 AM in post #19:
I've been watching satellite TV for 8 years, and I've seen PQ go up and down. The current PQ on DirecTV is not the worst I've seen (that title still goes to Dish Network in the latter part of 1997). It is also FAR from the best I've seen (DirecTV in late 2002).
The reason should be obvious - DirecTV has added a number of HD channels, a bunch of interactive channels, plus a dozen private and shopping SD channels - in all, the equivalent of about 40 to 50 SD video channels - without adding any bandwidth. The satellites can transmit a fixed number of bits. When you put more channels across the same number of bits, the ONLY possible result is that each channel gets fewer bits than before.
The people that have noticed the degradation are not "hyper-critical" viewers, those that have NOT noticed a decrease in PQ are "non-critical" viewers.
Personally, I'm waiting to see if TiVo manages to survive and if they bring the Series 3 TiVo to market this year. If they do, I'll probably be switching to FiOS TV next year.

 

[dragon002]

So now its finally gotten so bad that those with 27 inch sets can see what we with 50 inch sets have noticed for the last 3 years or so. Its so bad even MR satellite himself, Dan Collins, is thinking about jumping ship:
http://www.dbsforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48558&perpage=15&pagenumber=2

vurbano,

jump with him

 

[vurbano]

vurbano,

jump with him

If Verizon FIOS has an HD tivo I can own and modify for video extraction then I will. Now, will you jump where I want you too?

 

[Doctor Bob]

What is going on with DTV's picture quality? It has been degrading now for some time but I don't know for how long. Just about all SD channels now looks like crap. This includes heavy pixalization, blurriness, and all kinds of other "artifacts". Basketball this weekend was unwatchable on all channels and looked like an Internet feed. I'm very unhappy and after watching some recordings from a few weeks ago it's quite noticeable on how poor the picture quality is today compared to a few weeks ago. What is going on? The picture quality is now unaccaptable. And this is on a 27" inch TV which is a shame. Have any of you noticed this?

Well, it looks like Roger just starts threads... LOL

Come back with some answers Roger!!!