Dish HDTV pic blows away Adelphia

[calikarim]

I have been dish customer last 4 years, specially for international channels and hd. I get dish hd package. I recently got adelphia local hd package, in which you get all major networks plus PBS. Adelphia uses the motorola 6200 unit and component connections. I thought i would get a comporable or BETTER pic than satellite- Boy was i in for a shock. The picture is slightly grainy not the crystal sharp picture that you get when you see hdnet, or discovery channel on dish. I think the module that dish makes us buy for 6000u 8vsb i think some module to receive discovery hd makes a tremendous difference in hd pic. I will always be loyal to dish. Their hd signal is incredible compared to adelphia


Mitsubishi 55111 55 inch rptv, 6000u receiver, adelphia motorola 6200, sony de 995 receiver, Polk rti 150 speakers

[BFG]

That's good to hear, I've had adelphia since '87 but droppped them in february for dish and HD. That Adelphia bill was getting way to high. After the dish Valuepak promos are done I'll be able to get about the same channels and HD for 10 bucks less than I was paying for adelphia classic cable! Adelphia's HD service here is still in the beta stage I don't think anyone has it, all they have now is NBC, ABC, and Showtime. They still haven't added the other channels that adelphia has made carriage agreements with like hdnet...

[Joey]

i like cable hd because picture quality is sharp, much better than dish. its well known that dish compresses their hd channels. also, my cable company has like ten more hd channels than dish, and they say more to come!! I can't wait!!!!

[greylar]

its well known that dish compresses their hd channels.


It is?

G

[Slordak]

It's a fact that all of the channels coming down from Dish's satellites are compressed via MPEG2 (just as the data on a DVD is). However, the bitrate and hence degree of compression can vary greatly, and hence the perceived picture quality also varies greatly. When compression artifacts are noticeable to the average viewer, the signal is generally thought to be "overcompressed". Personally, I do not consider Dish's HD channels to be overcompressed; they look quite nice.

As far as cable... The quality varies widely by location and by provider. It also depends how the cable company is receiving the signal in the first place. Are they themselves getting it via satellite? Oftentimes the answer is in fact yes.

[A_Pac]

directv compresses their hd more then dish

[invaliduser88]

Only get HBO-HD and SHO-HD at this time, but they both look great.

[BobMurdoch]

It is?

G

Careful. Be wary of "guests" posting. Time Warner cable's HQ might be the location of the IP address........

[ypsiguy]

i like cable hd because picture quality is sharp, much better than dish. its well known that dish compresses their hd channels. also, my cable company has like ten more hd channels than dish, and they say more to come!! I can't wait!!!!

My OTA HD is much better than Comcrap. Cheaper too...Its FREE!!!

[Mike Richardson]

Here's a radical idea. Edit the board software to display the IPs of guest posters. Registered posters will of course have hidden IPs but guests will just have to take a "risk" in order to post.

[garypen]

directv compresses their hd more then dishI've heard that mentioned now and again (only by Dish customers, BTW). I'm wondering if it's an actual fact that can be substantiated? Or, is it rumor that is eagerly believed and dispensed by people that need confirmation of their own choice of satellite provider.

I ask this because D* customers I've spoken with say their HD and SD PQ is outstanding (except for local channels, which many still find superior to E*).

I must say that Discovery-HD and HD Net pq is simply outstanding on E*. However, HBO-HD doesn't impress me the way Disc-HD and HDNet do. In fact, HBO-HD looks a lot like DVD to me, at least from what I've seen. (ESPN-HD and HDNet movies both look like crap. But, I think that's more to do with content.)

OTA HD also looks fabulous with E*. But I assume it will look the same with DirecTV's newer HD receivers.

[Ron Barry]

I've heard that mentioned now and again (only by Dish customers, BTW). I'm wondering if it's an actual fact that can be substantiated? Or, is it rumor that is eagerly believed and dispensed by people that need confirmation of their own choice of satellite provider.

I ask this because D* customers I've spoken with say their HD and SD PQ is outstanding (except for local channels, which many still find superior to E*).

I must say that Discovery-HD and HD Net pq is simply outstanding on E*. However, HBO-HD doesn't impress me the way Disc-HD and HDNet do. In fact, HBO-HD looks a lot like DVD to me, at least from what I've seen. (ESPN-HD and HDNet movies both look like crap. But, I think that's more to do with content.)

OTA HD also looks fabulous with E*. But I assume it will look the same with DirecTV's newer HD receivers.

Reason that HBO-HD is the way it is is because most of the movies that HBO shows have been movies that have not been shot in HD but have been converted. The end result is a mixed bag. Some look great and some are So So. Spirit of Cimeron is breathtaking on HBO-HD and so was Shrek. In my opinion, on the Movie side of things it all depends on how well the conversion was done.

As for PQ of Dish vs. Direct on the HD side, this is a subjective thing and in my opinion the jury will never reach a verdict. I believe at one point Direct was compressing there HD but I believe they are not longer doing that.

Bottom line... HD at this point is a mixed PQ bag... All depends on how the orignal was shot and if a conversion takes place.

[BigKB1]

My OTA HD is much better than Comcrap. Cheaper too...Its FREE!!!

Can you direct me to finding out more about OTA?
I am thinking about getting dish network, but I really do not want two dishes

[garypen]

Bottom line... HD at this point is a mixed PQ bag... All depends on how the orignal was shot and if a conversion takes place.
I guess that's true. But, ya gotta admit, Discovery HD and HDNet are both absolutely awesome. I've been impressed with OTA HD as well. PBS-HD , the Oscars, and Jay Leno knock my socks off.

[amit5roy5]

I think it depends where you are. In many areas the cable companies replaced wiring around cities. In those areas, HD is better than the Dish, sometimes. I know in the San Jose area, the HD from Comcast is better than the HD from DISH. :)

[BobMurdoch]

I've heard that mentioned now and again (only by Dish customers, BTW). I'm wondering if it's an actual fact that can be substantiated? Or, is it rumor that is eagerly believed and dispensed by people that need confirmation of their own choice of satellite provider.



Now now. There have been JUST as many D* subscribers complaining about E*'s equipment trouble EVEN when they don't have them. I actually started mentioning the D* HD PQ issue when a D* subscriber first mentioned it and 3 other D* subscribers agreed with him.

As Exhibit A, I point to D*'s new HD DirecTivo. Both the 921 and the D* equivalent have 250GB hard drives BUT D* claims you can record 30 hours vs. E*'s 25. Using my calculator that tells me that D* compresses the signal 20% more than E* (assuming that the programming code takes up roughly the same amount on the hard drive)

[garypen]

I know in the San Jose area, the HD from Comcast is better than the HD from DISH. :)Not in my part of San Jose. Comcast HD is non-existent here. They are also much more expensive than Dish or DirecTV.

[garypen]

As Exhibit A, I point to D*'s new HD DirecTivo. Both the 921 and the D* equivalent have 250GB hard drives BUT D* claims you can record 30 hours vs. E*'s 25. Using my calculator that tells me that D* compresses the signal 20% more than E* (assuming that the programming code takes up roughly the same amount on the hard drive)
Sounds more like marketing hype than proof of compression to me.

[TON]

Can you direct me to finding out more about OTA?
I am thinking about getting dish network, but I really do not want two dishes


You can find what OTA you can get where you live and what kind of antenna you need to pick it up at www.antennaweb.org Hope this helps

[BigKB1]

Thanks.

[ypsiguy]

Can you direct me to finding out more about OTA?
I am thinking about getting dish network, but I really do not want two dishes

www.antenna.org is a good start. I use a Samsung SIR-T351 OTA HDTV receiver, instead of the Dish 811. A T351 is about 300-350 bucks last time i looked. The idea of Dish being able to turn off my OTA reception was not that appealing to me. I use a Zenith Silver sensor antenna, RG-6 coax along with a 10db line amp. Distance is 30 miles to the transmitters and this setup works great for me. Big plus for me is that the Detroit area transmitters are all in one suburb so I pointing my antenna is easy. Generally better pic than Dish's locals, plus I save $6 a month.