[B. Shoe]

Larry,

I wish I had some simple answers for some of your issues. I hate that you are experiencing so many troubles, because I have the exact same setup as you in terms of speed and hardware, been a customer for several years and my experience has been near to flawless.

The only initial questions I could ask:

• Do you use any other streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, etc.), and if so, do you experience similar issues in terms of buffering?
• Have you attempted to disconnect the ethernet connection, and run YTTV on a wi-fi connection? If so, did you experience similar issues?
• Are you up to date on the latest version of the YTTV app, and tvOS software?

 

[B. Shoe]

I'm just gonna go on a limb and say I think there are very, very few people qualified to speak on the picture quality of any service. I think everyone's entitled to have an opinion on the subject. It's just difficult to take anyone's opinion on the matter with any seriousness, because many people aren't watching content with a good "eye palate" to being with.

At best, I'm an enthusiastic consumer. When I purchased my current television, I found similar owners that posted recommended picture and color settings. With trial and error, I felt that I had it dialed in. I eventually got my hands on a colorimeter, learned a little about backlighting, and made more adjustments. With my modest setup, I feel I've done as much as I can to produce the best viewing experience my set can provide.

Does this make me an expert? Still far from. But I'd like to think I've learned a couple of things to know what settings aren't opportune. "Why does my picture look so jaggy?" Your sharpness setting is sky high. Being a St. Louis Cardinals fan, my set sees a LOT of red through the year. And it's easy to discern when oversaturated reds are in play on someone else's TV. And we can all cringe at the words "cinema smooth."

A few tweaks to your set (albeit even going as far as color calibration) will do wonders for most consumers who complain about what they perceive as "bad picture quality."

 

[B. Shoe]

The TV and its processing circuitry probably have more to do with the PQ than anything else. You buy a garbage TV, you're likely to get a garbage picture.

I agree. Televisions are like toilet paper and boxed mac n' cheese; you get what you pay for. I don't think one has to spend obscene amounts of money for a great picture, but a $600-$800 investment can get something with enough features and adjustment options to fine tune a quality picture.

 

[B. Shoe]

They have their own box and remote for a reason which you can find on eBay for around $40.00.

Going to second this. I haven't played with DSTREAM very much, but I think a lot of those issues are alleviated with the DTV hardware for that product.