ASK DBSTalk: HD Picture Quality compared to 6000?

[Flasshe]

I've been playing around with my new 921 for about a week now and am generally happy with it. I even went out of town on vacation for four days, and it didn't miss any of the multitude of timers I had programmed. There's only one thing that's bothering me right now. The picture quality in HD mode doesn't seem to be as good as it was on my 6000. Am I missing a setting somewhere?

Here are the details. I've got a nearly three-year old Sony KP-57HW40 57" HDTV 16x9 1080i RPTV. I use the "Pro" picture mode setting on the TV (the one with SVM disabled), which was tweaked with Video Essentials. I'm hooking up to the 921 through component video (the TV does not have DVI). In fact, I'm using the exact same signal path (same cables, same TV input, etc.) that I used for the 6000. I just removed the 6000 and plugged in the 921. I have the 921 Display Settings set to 1080i / 16x9, and I frequently check to make sure it hasn't been switched back to 480p (which sometimes happens). I know it's working in 1080i, because when I watch the 921 in HD mode, the aspect ratio controls on the TV are disabled. When watching the 94xx HD channels, the 921 sizing control is in "Normal" mode.

The OTA HD channels look slightly better than the satellite HD channels. The satellite HD channels look slightly better live than recorded. But none of the HD looks as good as it did on the 6000. In fact, it almost looks like 480p or DVD quality (though the colors are more vibrant). For example, watching Andy Richter Controls The Universe on HDNet Monday night, it looked very flat (un-3D) compared with what I remember it looking like on the 6000 the previous few weeks. Also, text does not look as clearly defined.

So, any advice? Anything I can check? Do I maybe have a bum unit or something? Or is this what everyone experiences? Thanks!

[n0qcu]

Wait until after the olympics are over and hopefully they will go back to two HD channels per transponder instead of the three they are doing now.

[BarryO]

The black levels are significantly different on the 921, compared to the 6000. They seem to match those of my DVD player when it is put in the "0 IRE" mode.

Try recording the Test Patterns off of HDNet, and use them to set the brightness and contrast levels. The 921 should look better.

BTW, there is no way the recorded programs can look different from the live ones. The 921 has no mechanism for altering a program when it records it.

[Mark Lamutt]

Flasshe - I have the 51hw40, and went from the 6000 to the 921 back in December. To my eyes (and memory), the 921 picture looks about the same as the 6000 did. But I haven't done a comparison since December. It's certainly possible that my eyes weren't good enough to see the difference.

[Flasshe]

Ah, it didn't even occur to me that bandwidth might be throttled down because of the extra Olympics channel. I hadn't done a lot of 6000 HD viewing right before the 921 switchover, so it's entirely possible that PQ across the board has been compromised lately and I didn't notice. Come to think of it, I was little disappointed with the Olympics PQ on the 6000.

I'll also try recalibrating, as Barry suggests.


BTW, there is no way the recorded programs can look different from the live ones. The 921 has no mechanism for altering a program when it records it.

D'oh! I knew that, but I guess my eyes were trying to trick me. I never really did do a comparison between the same live and recorded material (hard to do!), so I'm obviously a bit full of it...

Thanks for the info!

[Lawood]

I'm hooking up to the 921 through component video (the TV does not have DVI).

I also switched from a 6000 to a 921. I haven't noticed any change in the quality of the picture. I was and am still using the RGB connection. However in order to do this I had to buy an DVI to RGB adapter. This adapter connects to the back of the 921. Of course I still was required to use separate audio cables. Are first I was concerned when I found out that the 921 didn't have a RGB connector. The adapter saved the day. I was not looking forward to using the Component connections. Now wether or not RGB would make a difference I have no idea. Do far I am real happy with 921 except CallerID drops the first digit of a telephone number.
Leonard

[Topanga]

Keep in mind that with some units with the nightly reboot it goes back to 480p.

Rick

[chuckbernard]

I started using my 921 about a month ago. My first impression was that the picture wasn't quite as good as on my 6000. It's something you notice only after watching HD programs on the 6000 for a few years and then quickly switching to the 921. By now, I've forgotten about it.

[boylehome]

I used my 6000 until I installed my 921. On the 6000 I had to use the RGB rather than the DVI. I had an exceptional picture on the 6000. I now use the DVI with the 921. I have an exceptional picture with the 921 DVI. I now have my 6000 connected to the component input as I can't use the DVI as because the RGB shares the same audio input. The 6000 still has an exceptional picture but it is not quite as good as it was when it was hooked to the RGB. Now in answering your question, my 921 has just as good if not a better picture than the 6000 with my current connections. The only reason that I still have my 6000 is that the 921's OTA digital channels do not work unless they have properly streaming PSIP. My video quality problems usually degrade with bad connections (always my fault :( ) or bad/cheap cables.