Picture seems to pixelate more on D than it did with E

[darrencp22]

I have a 50" DLP set. It seems that the picture pixelates more now that I have service with D.

I have set the resolution on my HR21 to only show 720p and turned antive to off.

Using HDMI cable. Signal strength is strong.

Any advice?

 

[rad]

On all channels or just some of them?

Please remember that they still have a number of HD channels on the old sats and MPEG2 (channels 70 ->99, 206, 209, 259, 501, 509, 537 and 543) and you'll probably see more PQ issues on those channels then the others.

 

[darrencp22]

Nope not mpeg2, mpeg4 channels such as smithsonian, yes, etc.

 

[charper1]

WOW, I have not heard nor seen any MPEG4 issues.

 

[rad]

Nope not mpeg2, mpeg4 channels such as smithsonian, yes, etc.

Sorry, I'm not seeing that. Haven't seen anything on Yes since NBA-LP ended but when I did watch no problems with it.

I have native off and output locked to 1080i for my 1080p display.

 

[Shipsnake]

No issues here in TX.

 

[darrencp22]

Ok updated... i found an article that suggested moving my contrast down to 80 and my brightness down to 50 on DLPs. They were set at 99 and 75. It suggested sharpness down to 0, but that looks hideous.. I moved it down to 70 from 90. It also suggested turning off "crisp transitions". Seems better but i'll have to watch some more to be sure.

 

[harshness]

Both Smithsonian and YES are 1080i, aren't they?

There have been sporadic reports of similar issues with MPEG4 channels since late last year. I suspect that it may be a real but isolated issue.

 

[raoul5788]

Ok updated... i found an article that suggested moving my contrast down to 80 and my brightness down to 50 on DLPs. They were set at 99 and 75. It suggested sharpness down to 0, but that looks hideous.. I moved it down to 70 from 90. It also suggested turning off "crisp transitions". Seems better but i'll have to watch some more to be sure.

Holy crap! You had the contrast set to 99 and the brightness to 75? I have my Mits dlp set to 41 and 37, but the scale is to 63, so that is really 65 and 59.

 

[charper1]

Yep those values seem very over-blown; Darren have you ever had that display calibrated? What is the make & model of that display; in today's world sharpness is really best OFF or very very close to off.

 

[darrencp22]

It's an RCA Scenium. With sharpness off of low the menu become very dull.

 

[Indiana627]

I know you said your signal strengths were strong, but what are your readings on the 103c sat?

I have my HR20 set to native off and 720p just like yours and have no pixelation on any of the MPEG4 channels. I don't currently have Smithsonian as I don't have the HD Extra pack, but I did have that channel for a few months when it first launched when it was part of the regular HD access fee and I never had any issues with it.

 

[tigerfan33]

How does native on or off affect the picture?

I have switched between off and on and cannot tell any difference.

When had my Direct hooked up to a plasma. Picture looked soft compared to when I had Dish hooked up to it. Sold my plasma and got a Sammy lcd and what a difference that made. Very good pic.

I agree with the others about the contrast being up way to high Darren. How many bulbs have you gone through?
The key for me and contrast is, if the picture goes to all white and my eyes strain, I know I need to adjust.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I have a 50" DLP set. It seems that the picture pixelates more now that I have service with D.

I have set the resolution on my HR21 to only show 720p and turned antive to off.

Using HDMI cable. Signal strength is strong.

Any advice?

Charlie cursed you.

 

[rad]

How does native on or off affect the picture?

I have switched between off and on and cannot tell any difference.

All native on does is set the output resolution of the box to whatever the channel is broadcasting in vs. having it locked at one specific output. So if you're watching ESPN it would set the output to 720p and if you're watching HBO it would be 1080i. Usually what folks notice is that changing channels is slower since the box and the TV would need to resync everytime the resolution changed.

 

[darrencp22]

Made some adjustments last night and the issue lessened a great deal. I was getting minor pixelation with fast motion.

 

[darrencp22]

How does native on or off affect the picture?

I have switched between off and on and cannot tell any difference.

When had my Direct hooked up to a plasma. Picture looked soft compared to when I had Dish hooked up to it. Sold my plasma and got a Sammy lcd and what a difference that made. Very good pic.

I agree with the others about the contrast being up way to high Darren. How many bulbs have you gone through?
The key for me and contrast is, if the picture goes to all white and my eyes strain, I know I need to adjust.

Never replaced the bulb. All the presets have the contrast up pretty high too. I think that's just the way this tv is.

 

[stuckingoo]

If you have an OTA antenna check some OTA programming against your problem. I recall when I moved from E* to D* several months ago, the HD image looked very slightly different than Dish. Maybe a bit 'grainier' but in a good way....in the sense that it was more detailed. In a day or two I wasn't aware of that any longer. In any case, I wonder if that is what your seeing and the DLP tech is somehow revealing it more than other techs.

 

[psumattDE]

Sounds like you are referring to macroblocking instead of pixellation.

 

[darrencp22]

yup... but like I said not as bad as it was.