Very frustrated with Picture Quality (PQ) on Dish Network!

[andyg]

Do the 322 and 625 have the newer signal meter software? Signal doesn't affect picture quality. Signal affects reliability. Whether your signal is 68 or 99 the picture will be the same as long as the signal is steady and locked. If the signal is jumping then you will see the picture breaking up. Your strengths could be higher usually I get 90 to 100 on the 110 sat and 105 to 115 on the 119 sat using the old sat meter. The newer software signal strength I have 65 to 75 range on 110 and 119 and anywhere from 25 to 57 on the 129 sat.

yeah..I have newer software signal meter on the receivers. at least that's what the point dish screen tells me that it was recently upgraded. Did it changed a lot since then?
Is it ok if signal strength is locked but jumping by only 1 or 2 points up or down sometimes?

thanks

 

[Liquidforce88]

yeah..I have newer software signal meter on the receivers. at least that's what the point dish screen tells me that it was recently upgraded. Did it changed a lot since then?
Is it ok if signal strength is locked but jumping by only 1 or 2 points up or down sometimes?

thanks

The signals on 110 will always show less than the 119 and the 129 will show less than the 110. Signal strength will not effect PQ. The old meter would show 110 strength on 119 satellite the new meter will show 70 - 75. There is no difference in signal it is just displayed differently

It is normal for the signal to bounce up and down a bit.

Call DIsh and have someone look at the system.

 

[crows]

this thread is old but i have the same exact problem and i would like to know how it was solved...

 

[pro96]

this thread is old but i have the same exact problem and i would like to know how it was solved...

Get DTV much better PQ fo sho..

 

[--sexy-warlock--]

I've heard the exact opposite.

 

[crows]

i have this problem and it is a problem and i want to know how to solve it because im not getting the picture quality i could be getting if the problem was solved, doesnt really matter if directv has better pq for me, i need to solve my problem..

 

[KAB]

Get DTV much better PQ fo sho..

Fanboy.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

@Crow

What exactly is the problem YOU are experiencing?

 

[crows]

i posted on this old thread because im experiencing the SAME exact problem as described on the first post i couldent have said it better its the SAME EXACT thing the PQ im getting with dn is blurry and fuzzy just like the thread starter, and all the other descriptions he gives are my exact same problem...

 

[mboron]

I'm sorry that I have no answers except to say there has got to be something wrong with your cables, connectors, or receivers, etc., not Dish Net. as a whole. I have been with Dish since the early 90's and have had about 5 different models of receivers since then, and have always had a great picture, old TV's and new TV's. Hope you figure it out, cause it certainly shouldn't be like that.

 

[priester68]

I just switched from Directv and I think the PQ is equl if not better. I have a Sony 46" HD set with HDMI connection and 2 old school Sanyos connected with RF and the PQ on all my sets is great. Could it be the receiver? I don't know.

 

[bgee]

"tweaking" your dish alignment to try and get a "sharper" picture makes no sense - this is a digital signal, not analog. Subpar digital signals don't get fuzzy, they drop pixels in an obvious manner.

 

[MikeD-C05]

The further you sit away from the screen the better the pq.

 

[vaylon]

I don't think its so much a dish problem as it is a provider problem.

last night I was watching NCIS on cbs and the picture looked a little grainy. So I switched it over to the local OTA channel and it looked the same.

 

[ncted]

My OTA picture looks almost exactly the same as what I get over the satellite from DISH. I think Dish does a pretty good job considering how much they compress the stream.

Ted

 

[allargon]

My OTA picture looks almost exactly the same as what I get over the satellite from DISH. I think Dish does a pretty good job considering how much they compress the stream.

Ted

Dish doesn't look bad, but I see a clear difference in the PQ between Dish's locals and the OTA feed even though my DVR. It's not as noticeable on my 768p 32" LCD as it is on my 1080p 57" DLP. (Image that!)

I'm sure someone w/ a 26" 768p display won't notice as much as someone with a 1080p projector on a 110" screen.

 

[--sexy-warlock--]

I can't discern a difference between my locals on Dish and OTA on a 50" Panasonic Plasma.

 

[JimK2]

Dish doesn't look bad, but I see a clear difference in the PQ between Dish's locals and the OTA feed even though my DVR. It's not as noticeable on my 768p 32" LCD as it is on my 1080p 57" DLP. (Image that!)

I'm sure someone w/ a 26" 768p display won't notice as much as someone with a 1080p projector on a 110" screen.

Last 5 episodes of Two and a Half Men were around 34 minutes and 1920MB to 2371MB in size, thats an average (VBR Constant Quality) bit rate of ~7.5Mbps - 9Mbps.

 

[8992tiger]

I have a problem like the two posted earlier in the thread but didn't see a definitive resolution. I might have more information to add to the knowledge base.

I have an approx 13 yr old 32" Sony Trinitron (obviously SD).

(1) I recently got Dish and my PQ is much worse than it was with cable (Charter - not a very good reputation here).
(2) I am not looking at HD channels.
(3) PQ is still good using my DVD player and the local channels look good (over satellite, not air).
(4) The image problems I am seeing are exactly as described earlier. My picture looks like a low resolution MPEG file.
(5) I have the bronze, nonHD plan.
(6) I have a VIP222k receiver connected to my TV via RCA jacks (standard yellow, white and red)
(7) I THINK the two channels that also have HD counterparts on my plan look better in HD.

In the first phone call, the Dish rep went through the standard dish alignment checks and signal strength checks. In the subsequent first visit, the tech tried a new receiver - no difference. He did acknowledge that my PQ sucks - especially evident on sports.

In the next phone conversation, the rep mentioned that they should have used the standard def receiver for my application. On the next visit, the tech connected the receiver to the TV with a coax - no difference. He didn't think the nonHD receiver would make a difference, but he did install a new dish pointing to the satellites that don't carry HD. No difference. After he left, I realized that he did not use the nonHD receiver.

Why would the PQ be worse on satellite than cable?
Can it be related to the receiver? Why? Is there more compression of the std signals on the HD satellite to make room for the HD signal?

 

[8992tiger]

I have the exact same issue cited above - "mosquito noise" and macroblocking (I think). Perhaps I can add some data.

Details
I used to have cable service to my approx 13 yr old 32" Sony TV (obviously standard def). All was well with cable except for pricing and customer service. The picture quality was fine. I switched to Dish a few weeks ago and my picture quality has been poor on most channels. Some details:
(1) I have the standard, "bronze" non HD package
(2) The channels that are labeled "HD" look much better than the others - no image problems. I think my local nonHD channels look better as well - maybe it is the 61.5 satellite.
(3) The standard signals have the PQ issue. It looks like I am watching a low res mpeg file.
(4) The image from my DVD player looks fine.
(5) My satellite receiver is HD compatible and the dish is pointing to the satellites that carry HD signals.

Set-up and Equipment
TV: sony trinitron KV-32S25
receiver: VIP22k
new coax from dish to receiver
RCA (yellow, white, red) to the TV
all connections look / feel ok

The interesting thing is that a few channels are available in HD and SD, and the HD channels seem to be much clearer than their SD counterparts. For instance CBS-C HD is perfect (as much as possible on SD), while CBS-C SD looks like crap. My local channels are all HD and they look great. Picture quality is not bad across the board. That seems to rule out a connection or cabling.

The phone rep went through the typical troubleshooting - switch check, dish alignment, signal strength etc - no change.

During the first visit to my house, the tech acknowledged that my PQ is bad. He gave me a new receiver - no better.

In a subsequent phone call, the rep mentioned that they should have used a SD receiver on my install since I have a SD TV.

The next tech at my house did not think that was the issue, but he went ahead and installed a new dish and pointed it at the non-HD satellites but did not change receivers - no change in PQ. It wasn't until after he left that I remembered the phone comment about an SD receiver.

Given that my cable PQ looked good and my DVD looks great, I know my TV is capable. I think it is the signal.

I'm appealing to the collective wisdom of this forum:
Does anyone know of a difference in the SD signal from the HD compatible receiver vs. the SD-only receiver.
Could that be the issue, as stated by the phone rep?
Any other ideas?