Ok, so you are saying you have more than one 622 and both are the same. What does DRAMATIC mean then because I'm not seeing it and haven't read about there being a problem.
Why is the off-air antenna local picture so much better than the Dish OTA HD ?
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Ah, ok now we getting somewhere. We know you will be able to pull in more channels than the 622, that much has been documented. Something else I was thinking about was that the Dish OTA tuners don't like a pegged signal, they act just like it is too low, but that's not your problem, you are saying the signal goes from 90+ to 58 and 58 on my 622 won't even work so I can see where that would be a definite problem.
Ok, maybe I'm getting to deep into the problem. The simple problem is the 622 needs more signal and that's a known issue as well as a low tolerance for multipath interference. If you get your signal up to 75+ on the 622, you should not see a dramatic difference.
Sorry to draw this thread out so long.
Yeah, neither of my TVs uses a 100-point scale like the 622, so I don't know how to compare the signals, but I can tell you that I rarely get anything more than about mid 60s on the 622. But even when the signal has no problems I can see, the picture is worse when it passes through the 622. More "blurry" and less well defined.
All responses make for very interesting reading here. I too, seem to have the same problem with the ota running thru the 622 as opposed to ota straight through the TV, and I have a Pioneer Elite 50" plasma. So, then is the tuner in the television better than the tuner in the 622? I live in a rural area and have two different directions for our local channels. I feel the OTA signal looks better than running through dish, but don't really know how to best set up the OTA configurations..
Seems like the tvs are trying to make due with the low signal and processing the video which is introducing your image problems. A blurry image is betterr than no image kind of scenario. Try to get your signal level up and see if it makes any difference at all. Maybe a better signal level in will require little or no processing by the tv and leave things sharp. The sharpness of OTA always gets a smile around my house.
Your 37 is the LT-37X688 right, not LX-37X688?
On both TVs I'm running in the equivalent of "Native" for aspect mode, and both were custom professionally calibrated on color/contrast/gamma etc. for each input source. The JVC has dynamic 3:2/2:3 pulldown, but the Panasonic has to be put in that mode if the tuner doesn't do it automatically.
You're right - LT37X688. The first X was a typo.
I can't speak to the 622 specifically, but I can about E* ATSC tuners and their associated video processing hardware. My 5 year old and recently completely rebuilt Samsung DLP doesn't have an on-board ATSC tuner, so I initially had a Dish 811 to provide OTA DTV signals to the Sammy. The OTA HD was good, but the WOW factor was limited. Planning for the future of that Sammy, I bought an LG LST4200A ATSC tuner 3 years ago so the Sammy DLP would always have an ATSC tuner, even if I dropped E*. Well the OTA HD PQ from the LG STB was excellent and significantly better than what I got with the Dish 811 (maybe even "dramatically better"). In fact, I always changed to the LG tuner for NFL games because the WOW factor was really there with the LG.
Recently I upgraded my two Dish receivers to a 211 and a 222. The 211 replaced the 811 and provides very good OTA HD PQ. Still not as sharp as the LG provides, but very close to the LG's performance and far better than the 811.
The 222 is hooked up to a 6-month old Sammy 32" LCD. The OTA HD PQ using the Sammy's on-board ATSC tuner is excellent, while the OTA HD PQ from the 222 is somewhat less sharp. Not a dramatic difference, but noticeable if you are paying attention.
Someone earlier was spot on with a comment about Dish just trying to provide OTA DTV, not trying to provide the best OTA DTV possible. They just don't have the best ATSC tuners and post processing available in their receivers, but it is better than it used to be. In fact, my 211 and 222 provide OTA HD PQ that is almost exactly the same as the HD PQ on their Dish provided LiL HD channels.
As to seeing a "dramatic" difference in HD PQ between a 622, which I think has the same ATSC setup as my 222, and a given HDTV's on-board ATSC tuner, that sounds more like a sub-par 622 or one amazingly perfected HDTV.
Exactly E* PQ is HD-lite while OTA is HD. That is why the OTA picture is better.
You are still not reading - The OP was comparing OTA through the 622 OTA tuner versus OTA straight into the TV from the antenna. No Dish programming at all. Your attempts to stir up trouble over "HD Lite" are a waste of time.
Yes, I know this issue, but it's not the one I'm talking about. I'm talking about the difference I see in PQ when the antenna is run through the 622 as opposed to when the antenna is directly connected to my TV. No satellite broadcast involved.
This is one of the reasons that I dropped Dish last week. My OTA signals through my 722 were much weaker than my OTA signals through the OTA connection on my Samsung 720p DLP. Getting crap recordings got old fast.
My 722 pulls in my locals almost as good as my tv does (40 miles away with attic antenna). My Dish HD Locals also look almost as good as my OTA feed. I have not complaints in this dept.
Just to contribute to all these posts I will add that my Toshiba tends to handle OTA better (close enough to the towers for rabbit ears) than going through the 622 first. I think the image quality was a little better but not that big of a difference. However handling signal strength was a big issue and the TV had much better tolerance.
I havent switched it back in awhile to see if there was any improvement but wasnt there a software issue with OTA not too long ago?
I havent switched it back in awhile to see if there was any improvement but wasnt there a software issue with OTA not too long ago?
My experience is similar. I have a 73-inch Mitsubishi DLP TV (1080p display but only 1080i inputs) and my 622 is connected to it via HDMI. I get exactly the same channels captured for both a direct-to-TV connection and OTA through the 622. I get exactly the same picture quality. When I first got the TV and the 622 I compared the two signal paths (visually) very carefully. A 73-inch is plenty big enough to show up minor differences in PQ. I couldn't see any. Both paths produce spectacular pictures which make even the best of Dish's satellite offerings look pathetic.
I have to believe that the OP has a defective 622.
Assuming he's watching the two signals on the same TV, they will be on different inputs. Most TV's have separate video control settings for each input. It should be checked that the "Brightness", "Contrast" , "Color", "Tint" and "Sharpness" are set the same or adjusted so that the pictures look alike. The "Sharpness" should always be at max for HD. The HDMI output from my 722 has a different balance than the component output. My previous 622 outputs were identical before the HDMI died.
I have a 622 and a 52" 1080P LCD. I don't see any difference on the OTA channels whether through the DVR or direct to the TV. Both look the same here. You must have a bad connection or something's not set right on your 622.
Larry
SF
I was curious, so I hooked up my OTA antenna to my 60" Sony Grand Wega rear projection tv and I could find no discernable difference in PQ. If anything, I thought the color through the 622 was a little bit brighter than straight through the tv but the clarity looked the same.
It would have helped to be able to see the pictures side by side though...
It would have helped to be able to see the pictures side by side though...
I must have a defective 622, too. 
I concur with the OP for my 57" 1080 Mitsubishi DLP. For recorded material, OTA stuff on the 622 doesn't look bad at all. However, for live stuff--my display's OTA looks sharper (edge enhancement turned off on my display) than OTA through the 622.
I do agree that the component outputs have a better colorspace than the HDMI on both my 622 and my 211. However, that's a different discussion.
I concur with the OP for my 57" 1080 Mitsubishi DLP. For recorded material, OTA stuff on the 622 doesn't look bad at all. However, for live stuff--my display's OTA looks sharper (edge enhancement turned off on my display) than OTA through the 622.I do agree that the component outputs have a better colorspace than the HDMI on both my 622 and my 211. However, that's a different discussion.
I must have a defective 622, too.
Unnecessary comment - In the beginning before it was determined he had the same problem on TWO 622's, a defective 622 was a distinct possibility and needed to be ruled out before determining anything else at fault.
As it turns out, the OPs signal is so low through the 622 it's no surprise that his picture has artifacts and dropouts, his main complaint.
