Native resolution of HD on HR20

[spolaski]

Does anyone know what the native resolution of HD broadcasts are on the HR20? I have my receiver set on 1080i, but my TV tells me that everything it receives from the HR20 is 1080i. So the HR20 it is up-converting the SD channels and maybe the HD channels from 720 as well.

Are the HD channels actually broadcast in 1080i or is the HR20 just up-converting from 720i/p? Is there any way to tell?

Thanks,

Steve

[Jeremy W]

The native resolution of the HD broadcasts depends on the channel. You have native mode turned off, so the HR20 is scaling all content to 1080i, including 720p and 480i. If you turn native mode on, then the HR20 will output the resolution that the channel is broadcasting at. You will be able to tell what the resolution is by a message that appears on the screen, as well as by looking at the LEDs on the front.

[spolaski]

The native resolution of the HD broadcasts depends on the channel. You have native mode turned off, so the HR20 is scaling all content to 1080i, including 720p and 480i. If you turn native mode on, then the HR20 will output the resolution that the channel is broadcasting at. You will be able to tell what the resolution is by a message that appears on the screen, as well as by looking at the LEDs on the front.

Thanks- I hadn't seen a screen message, and I have my unit installed inside a cabinet where I can't see the lights on the front. I forgot that that's where it tells you. D'oh!

[Stevies3]

When I set the resolution to native, It sometimes takes some channels as long as 10-15 seconds to negotiate the change in resolution from one station to another, It's very annoying. I leave the resolution set to 1080 for this reason, I prefer not to but again it takes too long to "handshake"

[Rew452]

When I set the resolution to native, It sometimes takes some channels as long as 10-15 seconds to negotiate the change in resolution from one station to another, It's very annoying. I leave the resolution set to 1080 for this reason, I prefer not to but again it takes too long to "handshake"

I totally agree! Really needs some WORK.

Rew

[RunnerFL]

When I set the resolution to native, It sometimes takes some channels as long as 10-15 seconds to negotiate the change in resolution from one station to another, It's very annoying. I leave the resolution set to 1080 for this reason, I prefer not to but again it takes too long to "handshake"

I do believe the amount of time it takes to change the resolution on your TV is totally dependent on your TV, not the HR20. Mine changes resolution in about 2 seconds.

[grate88]

The native resolution of the HD broadcasts depends on the channel. You have native mode turned off, so the HR20 is scaling all content to 1080i, including 720p and 480i. If you turn native mode on, then the HR20 will output the resolution that the channel is broadcasting at. You will be able to tell what the resolution is by a message that appears on the screen, as well as by looking at the LEDs on the front.


Native mode won't work for me over hdmi, because it says 480i is not supported and the screen goes black. it's on a Samsung 5086w. Any way to get 480i support in hdmi or do I need to go away from the hdmi?

[GeorgeLV]

Native mode won't work for me over hdmi, because it says 480i is not supported and the screen goes black. it's on a Samsung 5086w. Any way to get 480i support in hdmi or do I need to go away from the hdmi?

Get a different tv. Mine does 480i over hdmi just fine.

[Earl Bonovich]

Native mode won't work for me over hdmi, because it says 480i is not supported and the screen goes black. it's on a Samsung 5086w. Any way to get 480i support in hdmi or do I need to go away from the hdmi?

Go into your Video configuration and tell the HR20 that you don't have 480i support.

[tpreed]

With Native Mode ON my receiver never changes from 480p no matter what HD channel I switch to.

[JLove336]

So is there a noticable PQ difference between a native 720p setting for a 720p program as opposed to a 1080i setting for a 720p broadcast?

[UltraMagnus0001]

Mine takes long too!! I think it has something to do with the HDMI thinking on the TVs end. May be why it take long to change channels.

[UltraMagnus0001]

So is there a noticable PQ difference between a native 720p setting for a 720p program as opposed to a 1080i setting for a 720p broadcast?

Depends on how your tv scales the picture. Set it to what the tv likes better. If the tv likes 720p better set it to native, if the hr20 scales 720 to 1080i better let the hr20 do it.

[Newshawk]

With Native Mode ON my receiver never changes from 480p no matter what HD channel I switch to.

Tpreed, it sounds as if you don't have any of the other resolutions selected. Go into the TV Type section of the menu and tab over to TV Resolutions, then make sure that 720p and 1080i have blocks in the boxes. If not, follow the on screen instructions to turn on those resolutions .

[Dash Power]

Tpreed, it sounds as if you don't have any of the other resolutions selected. Go into the TV Type section of the menu and tab over to TV Resolutions, then make sure that 720p and 1080i have blocks in the boxes. If not, follow the on screen instructions to turn on those resolutions .

I made that same mistake in setup. Make sure after each box selection you push the info button as it asks you to. You must do this process one at a time.

[tpreed]

Tpreed, it sounds as if you don't have any of the other resolutions selected. Go into the TV Type section of the menu and tab over to TV Resolutions, then make sure that 720p and 1080i have blocks in the boxes. If not, follow the on screen instructions to turn on those resolutions .

Doh!

Thanks for the help Newshawk!

[Tim Sly]

So does anyone know what resolutions are commonly broadcast for different networks and does D* pass on those native resolutions on all these channels?
Does say ABC do 702p and CBS 1080i and what about ESPN?

I tried Native setting and it throws my 720P projector for a loop when changing channels and it goes through a bunch of picture readjustments for about 6-8 seconds which is annoying when channel surfing.

With the HR20 locked on one resolution it still takes the HR20 3-4 seconds to put out a picture when changing channels.

[MarkJones]

So does anyone know what resolutions are commonly broadcast for different networks and does D* pass on those native resolutions on all these channels?
Does say ABC do 702p and CBS 1080i and what about ESPN?

I tried Native setting and it throws my 720P projector for a loop when changing channels and it goes through a bunch of picture readjustments for about 6-8 seconds which is annoying when channel surfing.

With the HR20 locked on one resolution it still takes the HR20 3-4 seconds to put out a picture when changing channels.

720p: Fox, ABC and ESPN
1080i: NBC, CBS, HBO, HDNET, TNT, PBS

[Tim Sly]

Does Directv pass these native resolutions through their satellite systems?

[Jeremy W]

Does Directv pass these native resolutions through their satellite systems?
For 720p, yes. For 1080i channels that are broadcast in MPEG2, DirecTV lowers the resolution to 1280x1080, in order to save bandwidth. The receiver then stretches it back out to 1920x1080 for output to the TV. The MPEG4 channels do not have this resolution altering applied to them, because there is more than enough bandwidth available.

[ITrot]

So, it is 'generally' best to be in native mode, 720p or 1080i?

[Jeremy W]

Generally, I'd say native mode is not useful. Enabling it makes channel changes slower, because the receiver and your TV have to switch resolutions. It's mainly for videophiles who have expensive scalers.

You should set the resolution to your TV's resolution.

[JLove336]

Aren't most tv's 720p and 1080i? How would you find out which one is native to your tv?

[Jeremy W]

Most HDTVs are either 720p or 1080i, and a handful are 1080p. If you post the make and model of your TV on here, I (or someone else if they beat me) can check and see for you.

[ouijal]

What are everyones thoughts on SD channels being upscaled to HD (720p, 180i) by the HR20? I am not a big fan of how 480i SD looks on a HDTV and I am hoping the upscaling helps things out a bit.

[Earl Bonovich]

I'll tell you what...
I just got done watching National Treasure on Starz (recorded earlier today).

Now... it wasn't in HD (no Starz HD), but the PQ was EXTREMELY good, at least as good as DVD if not better...

[Jeremy W]

I have the HR20 up/downscale all content to 720p. I like how it looks.

[Slyster]

I find that turning native OFF and keeping the HR20 at 1080i letterbox is best.. no matter WHAT the content (HD, SD, etc...).... note: I am using an older Advent tube TV 32" HDTV w/ only component connections. Now... this might be different for plasma and LCD TV's etc.. but looks really groovy all the time no matter what the channel!

Surprised how good it looks actually... it's a 4 year old "Advent" (=cheap crap) TV with no true digital inputs... and YES... even SD looks far better (upcoverted to 1080i) then the R15 I just got ride of today for this HR20.

[deltadave]

I'll tell you what...
I just got done watching National Treasure on Starz (recorded earlier today).

Now... it wasn't in HD (no Starz HD), but the PQ was EXTREMELY good, at least as good as DVD if not better...

Watched Flight Plan last night, also recorded earlier in the day. Not in HD but was also extremely impressed with the pic. Agree with DVD quality or better than...

[cuibap]

I'd like the native setting but it takes too long to change the channel. My SXRD scaler is better than HR20 (I'll buy the new AVR 5200ES when it comes out). DirectTV, please improve the speed when changing channel!

[wanderingheel]

Most HDTVs are either 720p or 1080i, and a handful are 1080p. If you post the make and model of your TV on here, I (or someone else if they beat me) can check and see for you.

I have a Pioneer Elite (Pro1120-HD). What is the best configuration that I should use? I currently have it displaying in 1080i as the only display option (and not using native mode), and Pillar Box screen format. Is there a better setup?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

[houskamp]

have mine set for 720p (same res as my tv) looks great on all channels, don't see any reason to ever change it..

[christo76]

I am in the native resolution camp.

When I changed out my SD DTivo for the HR20 there was a noticeable decrease in PQ for most channels. Cartoons like Simpsons displayed it the most, but nearly all shows looks alot softer and slightly blurred.

I assumed my tv (Panny plasma) had a better scaler and set the HR20 to native. The time it takes to switch and the flashes it makes are annoying, as is the fact that changing TV aspect now messes with the guide. But the PQ is alot better.

Now if only sunday ticket games were broadcast in halfway decent resolution. They are by far the worst PQ of anything I have seen yet.

[Jeremy W]

I have a Pioneer Elite (Pro1120-HD). What is the best configuration that I should use? I currently have it displaying in 1080i as the only display option (and not using native mode), and Pillar Box screen format. Is there a better setup?
You should have it displaying 720p, since that's it's native resolution.

[bonscott87]

I'm torn on this setting right now. If I leave everything at 1080i I can't stretch the SD programming with my TV and I hate the way the receiver stretches it (one of the top reasons I got the model TV I got was for it's great SD stretch mode).

If I set it to Native then all things are good in that my TV will stretch the 480i signal the way I like and HD is in 1080i. But the flashing and stuff while it searches for a resolution is really, really annoying. Earl, after the more important issues are worked out, I hope they can work on the native switching to make it either faster and have it choose a resolution and *then* switch the output format to the TV instead of it "searching" through the output options.

[munangst]

The Motorola DCT6412 cable box lets you set two resolutions: the HD res and a "4:3 override" res. It uses the latter for SD channels. So, you can set it up so that all HD channels are 1080i or 720p, and all SD channels are 480i or 480p. (You can also choose the same res for 4:3 as you do for HD, in which case the box will upconvert everything to that res.) This avoids a lot of cycling (since you're just switching between two resolutions) and still lets you use the stretch/zoom features of the TV for SD channels. Maybe DirecTV could implement something similar for the HR20.

[Earl Bonovich]

I'm torn on this setting right now. If I leave everything at 1080i I can't stretch the SD programming with my TV and I hate the way the receiver stretches it (one of the top reasons I got the model TV I got was for it's great SD stretch mode).

If I set it to Native then all things are good in that my TV will stretch the 480i signal the way I like and HD is in 1080i. But the flashing and stuff while it searches for a resolution is really, really annoying. Earl, after the more important issues are worked out, I hope they can work on the native switching to make it either faster and have it choose a resolution and *then* switch the output format to the TV instead of it "searching" through the output options.

I am sure they will continue to enhance the performance of the Native resolution.
When I was first starting the review, the native resolution took sometimes 20 seconds to change. (hence why I turned it off)....
The first update improved on that, and then the BE continued to improve it.

[bonscott87]

I am sure they will continue to enhance the performance of the Native resolution.
When I was first starting the review, the native resolution took sometimes 20 seconds to change. (hence why I turned it off)....
The first update improved on that, and then the BE continued to improve it.

Wow, 20 seconds? It takes 5-7 right now for me anyway. What I noticed was that if you switch between 480i channels it goes normal unless you haven't changed channels in a while. Then if you change to a 480i channel it seems to cycle the format before coming back to 480i again. Same for 1080i.

My suggestion to DirecTV might be to keep an index internally of what each channel is. Obviously 95% are 480i. Then when you change channels it would do a quick check to see if the new resolution matches what you are already at and if so do nothing. If different then do it's switching thing.

[The Big Bad]

Ok, so anyone know what would be the "native" resolution of the Sharp LC45D40U for purposes of this thread? The stated resolution is 1366 x 768, and it supports 720p and 1080i. So technically the native resolution is neither 720p or 1080i, but would it be better to set the resolution from the HR20 to 720p rather than 1080i because it's closer to 1366 x 768? Thoughts anyone? Thanks.

[houskamp]

the 45" aquos sets are 1080i.. I have the 37" and it is 720p

[Jeremy W]

The stated resolution is 1366 x 768, and it supports 720p and 1080i.
That's just 720p streched out a little. You definitely would want to use 720p since the resolution is close, and it's a progressive scan display.