Pq?

[santiclaws]

I asked this question in the general satellite forum, but it does not appear to have that much traffic, so I thought I'd gather some more opinions.

I used to have Dish, but for the last three years or so I've had TWC cable, and generally been much happier with the PQ.

The main reason I left Dish was that I found the PQ to be atrocious - very noticeably overcompressed on a 47" screen, which drove me up the wall. Now, with my cable company (TW) lagging dramatically behind Dish and DTV with respect to choice of HD channels, I'm beginning to give some thought to going back to satellite. But I do not want to go back to the same lousy overcompressed picture.

So the question is, in the last three years or so, has the PQ gotten better, worse, or stayed the same?

 

[Fitzie]

Dear Santiclaws: I would like to have a good picture for X=mas.

Here is a summary of the comments I have read about Dish PQ recently:

1. It's great.
2. It's horrible and getting worse.
3. It all depends on the channel, and what's on at any particular time. (This is the one I most subscribe to.)

I've had DishNetwork the last 3 years--probably the 3 years you missed. So far as I can tell, the quality has stayed about the same. If you didn't like it then, you won't like it now.

Luck.

 

[ripnbigc]

IMO SD picture quality ranges from good to lousy depending on the channel and programming. HD picture quality is great.

 

[richiephx]

I don't agree that HD picture quality on E* is great, acceptable maybe, but not great. It could be a lot better and hopefully it will by the end of this year. I can't wait for D* to get their new channels lit up so we can see the picture quality of it's new HD. I hope it exceeds what E* offers because it will force them to step up.

 

[air.jason]

SD pq still has artifacts but shows up better on component connection

I moved from Dish to Analog cable in 2002 after being tired of their over compressed picture quality. I decided to go back for the HD programming in 2007. I have a 211 and 622 receiver and both are running HDTVs. When running in HDTV mode I have found that the MPEG-2 SD Channels show up better than in 2002 unless I stretch them to fit them on a Wide-Screen TV. There is a much better PQ on HD Channels and I find that I mostly watch HD programming now.

 

[qwert1515]

Dish networks picture quality is pretty good for the national channels but not as good for the local channels.

 

[popzezo]

agreed locals suck.. but that is where this will make sence.. we broadcast what we are given.. if the maker of the show uses suck equipment ( ie. your local station) then the picture will lack quality. so if you notice discovery and equator and hgtv have great hd but espn sports talk show suck.. then when the game is on it is great. so dont shoot the messenger.. and all tvs arent created equally either

 

[goaliebob99]

I Think that the HD content on dish is darn good, but could improve. Its the best on the market right now other than fios. I have only noticed some minor blocking on the mpg 2 channels and the mpg 4 channels have looked really good with no complaints.

 

[mdonnelly]

I'm ready for all the Dish HD channels to go MPEG-4.

 

[Jim5506]

I'm ready for all the Dish HD channels to go MPEG-4.

Me too, as soon as PVR Explorer works on MPEG4.

 

[santiclaws]

Hmm, maybe worth hanging on to see how things shake out... SD quality on my cable system is excellent, but there's not a whole lot of HD content. And the price is highway robbery.