I'm getting a 50" Pioneer Plasma and i'm trying to figure out what service to sign up with. I currently have Dishnetwork but was considering Direct TV. I've read a lot about the compression of signals that these companies are doing and how it affects picture quality. Is there a difference in picture quality from Cable to Dishnetwork to DirectTV? Is there a favorite on this forum?
thanks in advance.

DTV does a horrible job with compression, they're SD quality channels are below average, but, they are adding 20+ HD channels next month which should be exciting.. I think Dish satellite service has the most HD channels right now..

DTV does a horrible job with compression, they're SD quality channels are below average, but, they are adding 20+ HD channels next month which should be exciting.. I think Dish satellite service has the most HD channels right now..
How is Dish network quality?

SD?

HD?

How is Dish network quality?

SD?

HD?Neither is as good as you get with most digital cable systems.

Both Dish Network and DirecTV downconvert their HD from 1920x1080 to 1280x1080 (or in some cases, 1440x1080). Both also downconvert their SD from 720x480 and 704x480 to 480x480. By comparison, with cable providers, you almost always get full 1920x1080 HD resolution and at least 528x480 resolution on SD channels.

Dish Network and DirecTV both offer superior DVRs compared to those provided by the cable companies. That said, with cable, you do have the option of buying your own TivoHD for $260 which puts just about everything else to shame. If you choose DirecTV, they charge $200 (after promotion discount) for their DVR.

If Verizon FiOS is available in your area, that is the obvious choice. They've got the best picture quality available (both SD and HD) and no one -- not even DirecTV -- has more available capacity for future channels. Digital service on FiOS is also about $20/mo cheaper than most cable companies.

If Verizon FiOS isn't in your area, then you may be forced to choose between quality and quantity for HD. However, even then, picture quality varies by provider, and even by cable system. For example, there is a larger dropoff in HD quality from Comcast to DirecTV than there is from Time Warner to DirecTV. That's because TWC applies more compression to its channels, although not as much as DirecTV.

Had Cox for years. Had their HD for awhile.

Switched to DirecTV in November. Never looked back.

I dont see a bit of difference between DirecTV, Dish, and Cable

Always compare your Cable, DISH Network and DirecTV to free over-the-air Digital TV.

That way, you'll understand why the "Cable vs. Satellite" ads never try to compare themselves to the OTA quality. (You can't beat the source!)

Just switched from Time Warner to DTV - The HD channels don't seem to be as bright and crisp but the quality of every station is consistent and much better than Time Warner was.

with cable, the reason the SD doesnt look as good is because most are still using alot of bandwidth for analog signals (meaning u dont need any type of box, just hook up a coax and ur ready). Analog suffers from signal loss/snow/ingress/etc.

If your lucky and ur cable co offers digital simulcast and has all the channels available in digital, then it's about the same as satellite. Satellite is ALL converted to digital since they'd have a problem with analog transmission.

With the crazy compression from satellite co's, their HD's dont look as good, but to the untrained eye, looks comparable. Most of the time, cable co's do NOT compress their HD. They will usually only run 1:1 per chan. AT ONE TIME, their might have been UP to 3:1 but not anymore