Ok...here's my 2 cents: Analog signals are influenced by many things. Digital signals are as well. However, digital signals are what they are. Whether your signal is 40% or 100%, the PQ will remain the same. It either works, or it doesn't. There is no middle ground with a digital signal. PQ itself is mainly determined by three things: Quality it was captured at, quality it is broadcast at (was it upconverted/downcoverted?) and the equipment that displays the image for the viewer (receiver, tv, etc.) All of the nit-picking BS you're talking about has such a marginal effect, if any, that no end user will ever be able to tell the difference. That being said, I do believe that it is of the utmost importance for every installer/technician to do the best job possible every time for every customer and to make sure that every customer has the best PQ possible. But if you're spending hours sorting out bit and bytes, then you're wasting everyone's time, including your own. And yes, I have reinstalled systems before like from a superdish to a dish 1000, replacing half the cable and most of the fittings, and then had a customer tell me when I'm done that the picture looks better. Did I notice any improvement....Nope. I simply attribute it to a psychological effect on the customer's part. I tell them all the wonderful things I did to make their system better, and in their minds (which is used to years and years of dealing with an ANALOG signal), the picture looks better. To which of course I agree and say, Yeah it does look better. Even though I know to myself that it's the same as it was before. All I have done is increase the RELIABILITY of the system, not the PQ. Now on the opposite side, analog signals are completely dependent on signal strength and signal integrity. But since even all off-air HD broadcasts are 100% digital, then your argument is moot even for that. Yes an amp will increase the signal strength of an off-air broadcast thereby making it easier to receive, but it will not in any case increase the PQ.