Which HD channels are compressed the least?

[Artwood]

I used to have DISH but my apartment complex confiscated the dish and now I have DirecTV piped in.

Which HD channels does DirectTV compress the least?

I know DirecTV and DISH both compress channels--I wish nobody did but that is a pipe dream.

I like as much resolution as possible.

Which HD Channels does DirecTV compres the least?

I get every HD channel that I can.

Smithsonian looks good and so do some of the HD locals--TBS looks bad but their sports looks better.

As a rule is there less compression on HD locals than on the other channels?

Can you see a big difference between DirectV HD locals and HD locals view OTA?

DISH used to not compress much but they're starting to do it more and more.

On the whole DirectTV looks to me to have slightly more compression than DISH but the color and Piture Quality looks better.

Overall I'd have to say that DirecTV looks better but I do wish some for DISH's resolution.

Will MPEG 4 look better compression wise than MPEG2?

Forgive me for all the questions.

I wish there was one sticky thread and dealt exclusively with compression.

[Artwood]

Is there anyone on these forums that can answer these questions?

Arethey really out there and they're coming to get me because i cause trouble?

Where is the best place to learn which channels have the most compression and which have the least?

How much Non-HD Lite is there still out there?

[Grentz]

Frankly I think most channels are created equal on Directv's side, they vary a bit but not very much.

Most of the differences you will notice are on the content providers side, as the source content is not created equal at all.

A lot of it is stretched SD content on some channels, even sometimes mistakenly labled HD in the guide. There also are just somethings that look better than others.

CBS primetime is one of the best looking IMO. CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men, etc. all look really really good.

[Stuart Sweet]

First of all, I'm sorry no one was available to answer your question earlier. I've been having connectivity issues and I don't think I'm the only one. Also, apparently there is some sort of sporting contest this weekend, something high profile but I'm not sure what ;)

I think you'll find that all of DIRECTV's offerings are pretty good these days, but I think the absolute best quality is on the new HD channels like Discovery HD, Smithsonian HD, and National Geographic HD.

[ncxcstud]

Besides the legacy MPEG2 channels (ESPN, ESPN2, HBO, Showtime, Universal, HDNET, HDNET Movies, HD Theater, I think that's all of them) I don't think they are compressed..or at least not to the degree that Dish does now...

Like Grentz said - A lot of the quality is based on the content you're watching. You mentioned TBS which has next to nothing in HD (besides the Office and their baseball games).

Besides the MPEG2 legacy channels... from what i have read... DirecTV isn't down-rezzing any HD channels... So you're getting the full resolution for that channel. Something that Dish no longer does for it's channels.

The MPEG4 channels do look better than the legacy MPEG2 channels...