HD special line from dish?

[JT1521]

Ok. Here's the deal. My dad believes there is a "special" coax cable line coming from the Satellite Dish to his HD receiver. I say that he is wrong. I say that the coax is the same that is going to all the other standard receivers in the house. I told him that the HD receiver is what is giving you access to the HD channels and if I wanted to get an HDTV that all I need is an HD receiver and the same coax going from the standard receiver I would just hook up to the HD receiver. Someone please help with this on going dispute. Thanks.

[davring]

The coax is ALL the same, throughout the system.

[veryoldschool]

Maybe it's a "Monster cable" coax. :lol: :lol:
[Seriously: the only difference is "good" coax verses "bad" coax, not HD verses SD]

[JT1521]

Thank You. I knew I was right just wanted to show him proof that I know what I am talking about lol. Maybe you 2 can help me out on another issue. I have an older Directv receiver. It is a Philips DSX 5500 pos if you ask me. lol Anyway I have a sweet Onkyo sound system I got hooked up. However that receiver only offers S-video as its best video connection. Well it is pretty crappy. I want a receiver that offers component and digital optical. I don't see any Standard Directv receivers with these options. Maybe I am wrong but the only Directv receivers with these hookups are the HD ones. Anyone know what I should do? I would like to trade my current receiver in for free with a receiver that has those options. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[veryoldschool]

"I think" only a SD DVR would have those:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=127839

[Grentz]

The HD connetions and digital audio really do not make a big difference at all with SD which is why they do not include them.

SVideo on my Directivo (SD) looked just as good as SD through component or HDMI from my HD-DVR.

[firefighter4evr]

"I think" only a SD DVR would have those:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=127839

im almost positive my R16-300 has them:sure:

[JT1521]

Oh the component and digital audio make a big differene when you have a Home Theater system with your TV. I have component hooked up to my DVD player via my standard TV and digital optical running from my Onkyo receiver to my DVD player. There is a big difference in digital audio and component video on any TV. I would like to be able to watch with component and listen to Directv channels that offer digital audio with digital optical or digital coax hookups.

[Grentz]

If you want digital audio, then move up to an SD-DVR. I believe most if not all have digital audio outs.

The difference I am telling you is not huge though with Directv SD channels. I do have a home theater, and DVD is a different beast.

You might see better PQ with an HD or HD-DVR receiver though as your TV/display might be better with component/HDMI than it is with SVideo. It really should not be a major noticeable difference though if your TV does a good job displaying SD inputs.

[JT1521]

Well to me I shouldn't have to dish out a dime to get the best hookups for my situation. Do you think Directv will do an even switch from the SD receiver I have now with a SD-DVR? I doubt that very much lol.

[tcusta00]

Well to me I shouldn't have to dish out a dime to get the best hookups for my situation. Do you think Directv will do an even switch from the SD receiver I have now with a SD-DVR? I doubt that very much lol.

Why shouldn't you have to pay to get better equipment?

[Grentz]

Well to me I shouldn't have to dish out a dime to get the best hookups for my situation. Do you think Directv will do an even switch from the SD receiver I have now with a SD-DVR? I doubt that very much lol.

Not if you present it like that (as a switch). But if you ask for a credit or discounted price on an SD-DVR you might be able to get it down to nothing.

If you are so concerned about digital audio on an SD receiver, $99 should be nothing to get it IMO.

Like I said, the SD quality really does not improve at all with component or HDMI connections, and there really is barely any digital audio that it will make a difference having optical or coax digital with on the SD stations.

[JT1521]

Your right about the digital audio not making a difference on channels that don't offer that. However I would think it makes a difference on pay channels such as HBO? Also the box I have now you can clearly see the difference from composite to s-video. The S-video on that box isnt great though . In dark scenes in a movie the black comes across distorted. I have read about the S-Video with this particular receiver and it is a known issue. I know component would be even better. Maybe I am wrong but I want it. lol

[Grentz]

Then my best recommendation would be to try and get an R22 which is an SD-DVR with Component/HDMI and digital audio outs. It is really one of the HD-DVRs with the HD features turned off.

Buying from Directv directly you cannot be guaranteed a model, but you could go through a third party and be assured of the model you will get.
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=R22

[veryoldschool]

Your right about the digital audio not making a difference on channels that don't offer that. However I would think it makes a difference on pay channels such as HBO? Also the box I have now you can clearly see the difference from composite to s-video. The S-video on that box isnt great though . In dark scenes in a movie the black comes across distorted. I have read about the S-Video with this particular receiver and it is a known issue. I know component would be even better. Maybe I am wrong but I want it. lol
I think some of the SD movie channels have [had] Dolby.
"Now don't think" SD from DirecTV is going to ever look like much.
The MPEG-2 SD channels are compressed, and reduced in resolution [down to 480 X 480], so by the time you "expand" then back to "the real size", there is a noticeable loss of PQ.

[BattleZone]

im almost positive my R16-300 has them:sure:


The R16 does NOT have component (RGB) video outputs. It has S-Video, composite (yellow RCA) and coax.

It *does* have a TOSlink optical audio output.