VIP 722 Poor HDMI Quality

[jazzy112]

I have had a 722 for over 5 years, connected to my sony hd crt. Picture was perfect, color was perfect. using the hdmi - dvi adapter that came with it.

a year ago I put a rx-a2000 inline, still great.

A month ago, I got a Sony 3D LED/LCD. Now with native hdmi, it's utterly terrible. Colors washed out, and some channels even blurry. Tried connecting the 722 directly to the panel and no change.

I have already set up my tv per cnet recommendations, and all other devices look great. Even HuluPlus HD is superior.

I am tempted to go cable.

The modulator out still has great color, my old set is now connected to it via modulator, almost even looks better than the HDMI out for watching HD.

I have found that I am not the only one, but no intelligent responses were posted.

I apologize for the poor grammar, I am typing one handed with a baby in the other arm.

I was in CableOnes office to get my internet going, they had 2 LED sets connected to HD Sports programming and they looked a 1000% better than what I currently have.

I have experimented with all of my picture settings, but a polished turd is still a turd.

Thanks

 

[primetimeguy]

Can you take a picture so we can see what you are talking about?

 

[JEFFinINDY]

There's nothing wrong with 722s across the board. It must be a bad unit or "user error" of some kind. You could try the component outputs if you don't want to send your 722 back.

 

[KAB]

Your turd comment aside, best to stop bemoaning here, and call Dish tech support on contact Dirt.

 

[whatchel1]

Let's see what has changed. Looks like only 1 thing to me the TV set. So that tends to make me think right off the top of my head that the issue is the TV. I would think that there is an input problem on the TV not an HDMI output problem w/ the 722. Do you have other things you can input into that HDMI input w/ the same cable to find out?

 

[dvrexpander]

722 - what Satellites are you connected to - do you have HD programming? The large HD CRT is NOTHING compared to the LED you just got. Press Menu 6-1-1 and then check switch - and you can see the satellites you have setup - if you don't have certain ones you really are not getting a major amount of HD programming while some does come thru the 119 and 110 and Eastern arc sats its not the majority.

 

[whatchel1]

722 - what Satellites are you connected to - do you have HD programming? The large HD CRT is NOTHING compared to the LED you just got. Press Menu 6-1-1 and then check switch - and you can see the satellites you have setup - if you don't have certain ones you really are not getting a major amount of HD programming while some does come thru the 119 and 110 and Eastern arc sats its not the majority.

Sorry but that really is a waste of time. He isn't having a signal issue coming into the DVR. It's an issue post 722. He just got a new TV and that is the change. The issue is something to do w/ the TV. Either it has a bad input or something isn't set right or maybe even a bad cable.

 

[dvrexpander]

Sorry but that really is a waste of time. He isn't having a signal issue coming into the DVR. It's an issue post 722. He just got a new TV and that is the change. The issue is something to do w/ the TV. Either it has a bad input or something isn't set right or maybe even a bad cable.

its not a waste of time - far too many times have I gone to a home with a sh!tty large so called "HD" TV but they are just large projections with the format that isn't true HD or wide screen. The question is still there cause it could be possible that Dish gave him a 722 but never gave him HD programming, I get so many installs of 211k's for example yet calls for a 500 Dish install and no HD programming.

case in point - if he never had HD programming and now went to a brand new TV - the picture will look like crap till its showing true HD...could be I don't know for sure he didn't say for sure - so I'm asking.

 

[Kirk_W]

Check to make sure you're hd is set on 1080i not 480 in the menu. That's a problem a majority of the time with less than great picture.

 

[KAB]

Check to make sure you're hd is set on 1080i not 480 in the menu. That's a problem a majority of the time with less than great picture.

Perhaps, but would not completely address the presented problems.

 

[thxtech]

So. OP has a 722 thats connected to an AVR with HDMI. AVR was connected to an HD CRT with an HDMI to DVI adapter and he had a great picture. He replaced the HD CRT with an HD LED/LCD and removed the adapter so its straigth HDMI. And now the picture sucks. He said that other HD sources look great (I'm assuming he's using the AVR to swith between components which means he's using the same HDMI input on the tv for all sources.) This eliminates the HDMI cable and a bad input on the TV.
I think I might know whats going on. Bear with me.

Modern pixel based displays (like LED/LCD) do a terrible job with SD when compared with a CRT, even an old SD CRT. First thing most people notice when upgrading from that type of setup to a new 1080P flat panel is that the SD channels they still watch look like utter sh*t now. I mean really bad. I see it all the time and theres not much you can do about that.

The HD however should look pretty good if the TV is set right. He said he used the settings recommended by CNET. I have found that there is enough variation (and you would think there wouldn't be) between sets of the same model that using someone else's calibration settings can make things almost as bad as the torch mode the TV came from the factory with. I recommend the Spears & Munsil calibration BD. Also, set the 722 to 1080i not 720P and see if that helps. Newer non plasmas tend to work best there while most plasmas still prefer 720P but its best to try both and let the eyes decide on a channel like HBO with a newer action movie thats sure to be filmed in HD or perhaps Paladia with an HD concert.
A lot of folks will look at a properly calibrated screen though and think the picture is too dark and the colors muted and the sharpness too soft (compared to torch mode.) Thats faily common and some people will even adjust it post calibration until it just "looks right" which is usually pretty close to the built in "dynamic" or "vivid" preset.

There can be lots of factors to consider that can contribute to what he describes (especially with local channels on Dish) but I would get a hand with this. Call a reputable local retailer who has experience with calibration and see if a pro can make it all better.

 

[GaryPen]

So. OP has a 722 thats connected to an AVR with HDMI. AVR was connected to an HD CRT with an HDMI to DVI adapter and he had a great picture. He replaced the HD CRT with an HD LED/LCD and removed the adapter so its straigth HDMI. And now the picture sucks. He said that other HD sources look great (I'm assuming he's using the AVR to swith between components which means he's using the same HDMI input on the tv for all sources.) This eliminates the HDMI cable and a bad input on the TV.

Not necessarily. There still may be an issue with the HDMI cable going from the 722 to the AVR. He didn't say which cable he used when bypassing the AVR to go directly into the TV.

...while most plasmas still prefer 720P .

Incorrect.

 

[whatchel1]

Not necessarily. There still may be an issue with the HDMI cable going from the 722 to the AVR. He didn't say which cable he used when bypassing the AVR to go directly into the TV.

Incorrect.

Bingo. Also CNET's calibrations are a starting point at best.

 

[whatchel1]

its not a waste of time - far too many times have I gone to a home with a sh!tty large so called "HD" TV but they are just large projections with the format that isn't true HD or wide screen. The question is still there cause it could be possible that Dish gave him a 722 but never gave him HD programming, I get so many installs of 211k's for example yet calls for a 500 Dish install and no HD programming.

case in point - if he never had HD programming and now went to a brand new TV - the picture will look like crap till its showing true HD...could be I don't know for sure he didn't say for sure - so I'm asking.

He already established that he had HD set up and on HD w/the 32" CRT. So the checking to see if he only has 2 sats coming in etc is the waste of time.

 

[whatchel1]

So. OP has a 722 thats connected to an AVR with HDMI. AVR was connected to an HD CRT with an HDMI to DVI adapter and he had a great picture. He replaced the HD CRT with an HD LED/LCD and removed the adapter so its straigth HDMI. And now the picture sucks. He said that other HD sources look great (I'm assuming he's using the AVR to swith between components which means he's using the same HDMI input on the tv for all sources.) This eliminates the HDMI cable and a bad input on the TV.
I think I might know whats going on. Bear with me.

Modern pixel based displays (like LED/LCD) do a terrible job with SD when compared with a CRT, even an old SD CRT. First thing most people notice when upgrading from that type of setup to a new 1080P flat panel is that the SD channels they still watch look like utter sh*t now. I mean really bad. I see it all the time and theres not much you can do about that.

The HD however should look pretty good if the TV is set right. He said he used the settings recommended by CNET. I have found that there is enough variation (and you would think there wouldn't be) between sets of the same model that using someone else's calibration settings can make things almost as bad as the torch mode the TV came from the factory with. I recommend the Spears & Munsil calibration BD. Also, set the 722 to 1080i not 720P and see if that helps. Newer non plasmas tend to work best there while most plasmas still prefer 720P but its best to try both and let the eyes decide on a channel like HBO with a newer action movie thats sure to be filmed in HD or perhaps Paladia with an HD concert.
A lot of folks will look at a properly calibrated screen though and think the picture is too dark and the colors muted and the sharpness too soft (compared to torch mode.) Thats faily common and some people will even adjust it post calibration until it just "looks right" which is usually pretty close to the built in "dynamic" or "vivid" preset.

There can be lots of factors to consider that can contribute to what he describes (especially with local channels on Dish) but I would get a hand with this. Call a reputable local retailer who has experience with calibration and see if a pro can make it all better.

Most of your troubleshooting is valid. The one thing that is incorrect is your statement about plasmas. I have a new Panny 50" plasma and sold my Panny 42" when I got the new one. These are 1080p sets and they run best on 1080i or p not 720p. I don't know what plasmas you dealt with but it must not have been any I've dealt with.

 

[thxtech]

Let me fix that... most plasmas -in the field- as in installed base, still have a native 720P panel. The point at which 1080 became dominant in PDPs was early 2012 (overall, not at a given price point) but damn I still see a lot of entry level sets with that res.

 

[whatchel1]

Let me fix that... most plasmas -in the field- as in installed base, still have a native 720P panel. The point at which 1080 became dominant in PDPs was early 2012 (overall, not at a given price point) but damn I still see a lot of entry level sets with that res.

My Panny 42" was 4.5 yrs old. It had a 1080p panel. We aren't talking about the Walmart sets here. Seems like Wally world is still pushing all those 720p plasmas you are talking about. You may be correct on Sammy's and Westies as I don't mess w/ them.

 

[thxtech]

Looks like the current Best Buy ratio is 25% of PDPs are still 720 acording to their website. That blows my statement about "most" out of the water. In the field however when installing satellites, the ratio is reversed, at least here in Central Oregon. Now when I do custom work for the gated community set here its a whole other story. 1080p is all.

 

[thxtech]

Yup. The walmart ratio is 60% 720 for PDP.

 

[KAB]

I have two 42" 720p Plasmas (four and two years old). One in kitchen, one in bedroom. Almost one yr old 60" 1080p in family room.