Dish/Directv SUCKS on RPTV's!
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oh wow that's expensive! MSRP $3495.
| Originally posted by gammadude Try this... http://www.algolith.com/index.php?id=home_theater&L=0 |
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The tv is a 55inch Mitsu 55311, not the greatest but still not a POS>
Channels? Pretty much all of them.
Connection type: S-video (my dish stb doesn't have a component out option
)
I don't understand your last question.
| Originally posted by AcuraCL Let's see. What kind of RPTV? Which channels on Dish/Direct? What connection are you using? How is the signal output set? |
Channels? Pretty much all of them.
Connection type: S-video (my dish stb doesn't have a component out option
)I don't understand your last question.
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either that, or they need switch over more channels to hd. i was at cc last night and i asked them to switch over to a sd signal and it was somewhat disappointing on the dlp sets, although that was from an off-the-air signal. they only had a small sony lcd panel hooked up to a directv signal, but even there the sd signal from directv was disappointing. it's making me rethink whether i should upgrade from my trusty ol' 27" trinitron.
| Originally posted by gammadude I know. You could buy a whole TV for that price. It would be nice if that technology was eventually incorporated into HDTVs and STBs when the price falls. |
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Did you just get Dish and are disappointed? Or just get the tv?
It sounds like you are feeding a SD signal to a HD set. You pretty much have to spend megabux on a scaler to get a great picture out of that. However, you can get a "good" picture on many channels, even compressed satellite channels.
Make sure you have adjusted your tv set with a disc such as Digital Video Essentials or Avia. Even the THX optimizer on some DVDs will help you get your settings close to optimum.
Make sure you have turned down the "sharpness" control as much as possible. It may take a few days to get used to what seems like a "softer" picture, but after a time you should come to see that it is much more natural.
Make sure you have your convergence set properly. This is esp. important if you crank DOWN the sharpness ... convergence is essential to getting a naturally sharp picture.
You might consider a new Svideo cable ... maybe a gold-plated connector one from Radio Shack or such. It might improve the picture a little. Don't waste money on Monster.
Make sure you don't have any AC lines running parallel to the video cable. AC noise can be picked up.
This is about the best you can do with a SD Dish receiver. I think you would have to upgrade to a HD receiver to be able to use your component inputs. This would give you some more latitude in making adjustments to the resolution of the picture (the question above that you didn't understand).
Remember you are viewing a picture that was designed to be viewed on a 19" tv set. When you magnify it to 55", all the flaws are revealed. You may need to lower your expectations just a little bit.
| Originally posted by airbrat The tv is a 55inch Mitsu 55311, not the greatest but still not a POS> Channels? Pretty much all of them. Connection type: S-video (my dish stb doesn't have a component out option )I don't understand your last question. |
It sounds like you are feeding a SD signal to a HD set. You pretty much have to spend megabux on a scaler to get a great picture out of that. However, you can get a "good" picture on many channels, even compressed satellite channels.
Make sure you have adjusted your tv set with a disc such as Digital Video Essentials or Avia. Even the THX optimizer on some DVDs will help you get your settings close to optimum.
Make sure you have turned down the "sharpness" control as much as possible. It may take a few days to get used to what seems like a "softer" picture, but after a time you should come to see that it is much more natural.
Make sure you have your convergence set properly. This is esp. important if you crank DOWN the sharpness ... convergence is essential to getting a naturally sharp picture.
You might consider a new Svideo cable ... maybe a gold-plated connector one from Radio Shack or such. It might improve the picture a little. Don't waste money on Monster.
Make sure you don't have any AC lines running parallel to the video cable. AC noise can be picked up.
This is about the best you can do with a SD Dish receiver. I think you would have to upgrade to a HD receiver to be able to use your component inputs. This would give you some more latitude in making adjustments to the resolution of the picture (the question above that you didn't understand).
Remember you are viewing a picture that was designed to be viewed on a 19" tv set. When you magnify it to 55", all the flaws are revealed. You may need to lower your expectations just a little bit.
i owned a 55805 for a number of years, the best way to get sd to look good is to have it scaled outside the set.
So get a directv/dish hd recvr and connect via component.(or dvi/hdmi)
Let the box do all the upconversion and you should see a better picture than yer old recvr via svideo.
Why dont you have a hd rcvr anyway? Like buying a nice sports car and only using 1st n 2nd gear. Open er up man.
K
So get a directv/dish hd recvr and connect via component.(or dvi/hdmi)
Let the box do all the upconversion and you should see a better picture than yer old recvr via svideo.
Why dont you have a hd rcvr anyway? Like buying a nice sports car and only using 1st n 2nd gear. Open er up man.
K
I have DirecTV and some days they use a grotesque amount of
compression.
The unfortunate thing is that a good contrast ratio of your display
shows it all.
Try playing with the brighness setting on the set. I use the Digital
Video Essentials setup DVD. It has good test patterns for
doing this.
This should make the macroblocks and mosquito noise less
apparent but will not help with the soft picture. You can blame
NTSC for that.
When properly setup the black background on the picture should
be slightly visible compared to a "full" black. The best place to see this
is when there are horizontal or vertical bars on the screen eg
during a widescreen movie. The darkest parts of the picture should be
slightly brighter than the black bars.
This is may take some practice to get right. I take the easy path and
get the DVE DVD.
compression.
The unfortunate thing is that a good contrast ratio of your display
shows it all.
Try playing with the brighness setting on the set. I use the Digital
Video Essentials setup DVD. It has good test patterns for
doing this.
This should make the macroblocks and mosquito noise less
apparent but will not help with the soft picture. You can blame
NTSC for that.
When properly setup the black background on the picture should
be slightly visible compared to a "full" black. The best place to see this
is when there are horizontal or vertical bars on the screen eg
during a widescreen movie. The darkest parts of the picture should be
slightly brighter than the black bars.
This is may take some practice to get right. I take the easy path and
get the DVE DVD.
If your satellite box only has S-video out, it is rather old. You should upgrade to a current model, preferably an HD model. These STBs start at $100, up to $1,000 for an HDTV DVR model. If you bought the HDTV, it's no time to save a few dollars - you won't enjoy your TV to the max.
OTOH, you might connect an antenna, such as the Silver Sensor, and see what OTA HD programs you can pick up. That might be sufficient, or put up on outdoor antenna.
OTOH, you might connect an antenna, such as the Silver Sensor, and see what OTA HD programs you can pick up. That might be sufficient, or put up on outdoor antenna.
I had a similar problem with the 301 "standard" dish receiver with PQ. To remedy this, I picked up a dish HD receiver (811) which upconverts to 720p, and the SD pictures are great! All I had to do was commit to a one-year subscription to their HD package (lists for ~$10/mo).
also, realize there's less compression on premium SD channels, which have better PQ compared to travel channel, etc.
also, realize there's less compression on premium SD channels, which have better PQ compared to travel channel, etc.
Dude, stop losing sleep about it and get rid of that POS STB you have. S-video only? No wonder.
Look, I GUARANTEE you, get an STB that supports component-out, set it to 1080i and watch DiscoveryHD or HDNET in particular, you WONT be disappointed anymore.
Realize your output is 480i. And you are wondering why you get crappy results???
Look, I GUARANTEE you, get an STB that supports component-out, set it to 1080i and watch DiscoveryHD or HDNET in particular, you WONT be disappointed anymore.
Realize your output is 480i. And you are wondering why you get crappy results???
Thanks for the great replies! Unfortunately my wife has grown addicted to the DVR function of our primary Dish STB. In order to get the HD STB w/ DVR functions I would have to shell out $999! EEK!
Is there such a thing as a Dish STB w/ HD and DVR for under $500 bucks?
Is there such a thing as a Dish STB w/ HD and DVR for under $500 bucks?
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Not yet, but keep checking the Dish web site. They are supposed to introduce a new HD/DVR at a very compelling price point some time in the near future. Sorry, don't know the date yet.
| Originally posted by airbrat Thanks for the great replies! Unfortunately my wife has grown addicted to the DVR function of our primary Dish STB. In order to get the HD STB w/ DVR functions I would have to shell out $999! EEK! Is there such a thing as a Dish STB w/ HD and DVR for under $500 bucks? |
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You could get a second, HD receiver and hook it up via the component inputs. Still use the existing SD receiver via S-vid for the DVR functions. And I bet your wife would soon stop wanting to watch SD....
| Originally posted by airbrat Thanks for the great replies! Unfortunately my wife has grown addicted to the DVR function of our primary Dish STB. In order to get the HD STB w/ DVR functions I would have to shell out $999! EEK! Is there such a thing as a Dish STB w/ HD and DVR for under $500 bucks? |
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Mits fan's will disagree, but I say half of your problem is your TV. The Mits line-doubler sux. SD Dish Network "can" look outstanding on my 53" Sony HDTV. I say "can" because it depends on the original signal and amount of compression. They can make any TV look like crap, but movies on the premium channels via Dish can rival DVD on my TV.
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You know whats bad about that idea is you have to pay another $5 bucks for the additional receiver.
| Originally posted by ceccacci You could get a second, HD receiver and hook it up via the component inputs. Still use the existing SD receiver via S-vid for the DVR functions. And I bet your wife would soon stop wanting to watch SD.... |
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Very true... but well worth the price IMO. The difference between SD and HD is truly amazing. And that extra receiver would allow you to view OTA HD channels as well.
| Originally posted by airbrat You know whats bad about that idea is you have to pay another $5 bucks for the additional receiver. |
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