Hey Guys, just got DirectTV installed today. I think everything for the most part looks great! One thing though, ESPN2's PQ seemed to be much better than ESPN throughout the day. Is that normal? Anyone else experiencing this? Thanks for the input! I only ask because ESPN-HD is something I have been really anticipating on my new set.

Normally they're the same PQ, but tonight's Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPNHD looked very bad (soft).

Considering ESPN and ESPN2 have almost the exact same signal chain I would chalk this up to either your provider or (perhaps) something screwy going on the with ESPN downlinks (i.e. transponders too close, etc). From a production standpoint it should almost be impossible for ESPN and ESPN2 to have a dramatic change in PQ, as it is literally the same signal chain (and ESPN2 master control is the next room over from ESPNHD's.)

The quality is identical (i.e. pristine) on FiOS. Both feeds are just under 18Mbps ABR.

The ESPN feeds on DirecTV vary from 11Mbps to 16Mbps, depending on the bandwidth required by other channels sharing the same transponder. At 16Mbps, quality will look pretty good. At 11Mbps, quality won't look so hot. This is the reason quality can seem so variable on DirecTV. The source ESPN feed is not variable at all.

The quality is identical (i.e. pristine) on FiOS. Both feeds are just under 18Mbps ABR.

The ESPN feeds on DirecTV vary from 11Mbps to 16Mbps, depending on the bandwidth required by other channels sharing the same transponder. At 16Mbps, quality will look pretty good. At 11Mbps, quality won't look so hot. This is the reason quality can seem so variable on DirecTV. The source ESPN feed is not variable at all.I have a lot of respect for your input because I read the FiOS programming thread daily, but if you had seen the game (and last week's which also originated from Anaheim) you would know that the PQ was substandard to put it mildly, even on FiOS. I had opined in last week's SNB thread that perhaps ESPN had exhausted all their HD equipment with all the CFB telecasts but that was dismissed by someone in the know. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=901867