Get the Best IPTV Service
Who Has Better HD PQ Today - Dish or DirecTV? | SatelliteGuys.US

Who Has Better HD PQ Today - Dish or DirecTV?

Toggle sidebar
Carl B

Carl B

Supporting Founder
Original poster
Supporting Founder
Dec 13, 2003
920
0
Arvada, CO
The title says it all. Seems like I haven't heard anything about D*'s HD-Lite for some time. Are they equal to or better than Dish now? Would appreciate comments from those who have looked at both recently.
 
Personally I have not seen a real big difference and I have both services at my house... then again I am not all that particular about it either. If there is any difference I am sure it is not worth the hassle or time involved in switching companies.
 
You might see some difference on a few individual channels at certain times, but overall they are both about the same. I watch Dish on a 65in Mitsubishi and a 60in Sony and just spent 2 weeks watching Directv on my sisters 60in Sony over the holidays and I didn't see any noticeable difference. I personally still don't like the Directv equipment, but that is my choice, some like the Directv dvr's. I think picture quality is a personal preference also and one needs to actually see it to make a decision if they like it or not.
 
I have an HR21 and a 722 both connected to a Pioneer 50" plasma with identical HDMI cables. D* PQ is noticeably better (sharper and more detail - richer colors). Even my other half noticed. I also have both connected to another 56" HDTV via component and same thing: D* is noticeably better.

And the D* DVR is not at all as bad as I was expecting based upon what I had read. It actually is every bit as good as the 722 in most aspects. Just different. If they could just change the remote with the black rubber that feels slimy.
 
I too have both Dish (2 ViP622's) and DirecTV (HR20-700 and HR21-700 with AM-21). The picture quality on DirecTv is noticeably better. But the HR units are not even close in comparison to the ViP 622's for ease of use.. I don't know if the HR units just produce a better picture or if it's DirecTV itself that make the difference. But my assumption is it's the unit itself and not DirecTV. My reason for this is that even on OTA, comparing channel for channel the HR units produces a much more vibrant picture when all components are equal.. With a 622 and a HR21 connected to my Onkyo receiver and projector, I can tell a noticeable difference when switching between the two on the same OTA Channel. The HR21 just has a better picture. Too bad the HR units just don't stack up to the ViP 622's in any other category.
 
I watched NHL Network HD over the weekend for the CBC doubleheader at my folks and I don't know if it was the channel or D* but there was a skip in the picture every few minutes all night and it was driving me crazy. The PQ was awsome. Rest of the HD channels like the Madison, WI locals in HD blew away the crap that Dish sends out for the measley 2 HD locals they have (NBC and FOX) NBC during fast motion on NFL football goes blurry like TBS-HD, TNT-HD and WGN-HD does for sports as well. Look at the Bulls games on WGN and you'll see what I am talking about. Did the same crap with Cubs and White Sox games, NBA basketball on TNT and the MLB playoffs on TBS. I wish I could get a screenshot of the completely blurred baseball diamond and then it comes back into focus a 1/2 second later. Gotta love that Dishnetwork compression eh! It's like the enginners are testing HD quality on a 5 inch set.

Directv has all 4 networks in HD for Madison.
 
Many are insistent DirecTV is better. Others see no difference. I suspect it is partly do to what skyview says, the HR's do a better job of outputting the HD signal. I also think it has something to do with individual TV setting. Anyone who has compared DirecTV and Dish on the same TV, have you set up a test pattern and reoptimised your TV's settings? I suspect most haven't.

Anyone know if they (HR series and VIP series) have the same Broadcom chip, and better still, if the 922 will feature a new and improved chip?
 
Didn't I remember reading somewhere that DirecTV was not compressing their HD signal, yet E* is? That right there would probably account for any difference.
 
kovach said:
Didn't I remember reading somewhere that DirecTV was not compressing their HD signal, yet E* is? That right there would probably account for any difference.
Click to expand...

BINGO! :)

Both use some compression but it seems that E* compresses more than D*.
 
On my Direct I have a Pionner Elite 151 that is not calibrated (yet). The local hd look better than my Dish that is hooked up to a Samsung 52a650 that is calibrated. The other hd channels look the same to me. Especially the premium hd channels. Both providers look really good.
 
kovach said:
Didn't I remember reading somewhere that DirecTV was not compressing their HD signal, yet E* is? That right there would probably account for any difference.
Click to expand...
Both use compression, how much would be the issue if there is one.
 
The fact is, you'll get some people saying DirecTV looks better, but you'll get none saying Dish looks better. That should tell you your answer.
 
D* probably looks a bit better than E*, as others have mentioned. All other things being equal though (though to me, they aren't, as E* does not have Fox News HD, Spike HD and a few others) the equipment (VIP instead of HR-series) on E* is much better.
 
ShaqDan said:
The fact is, you'll get some people saying DirecTV looks better, but you'll get none saying Dish looks better. That should tell you your answer.
Click to expand...


Bingo. Some HD channels on Dish are barely watchable such as NatGeo HD. Pixellates all the time. (And no, its not my signal strength)
 
I am pretty sure that my projector is optimized to the best of my ability. And all things being the same, both services go into my Onkyo reciever via HDMI, and then the Onkyo receiver only has one HDMI going to the projector. So the Video input to the projector never changes. Only the input to the Onkyo Amplifier from the Dish or DirecTV receiver changes.. Yet even on OTA channels the picture from the HR21 just looks better.. And it's enough for my bad eyes to notice. It is deffinitely a difference in the way the two units process the video. This is not a debate in my eyes as to which service send the best picture. Just in how the two units process and send out the video. Unless there is something I am missing, the units send the video out in different ways. On Dish my projector tells me it is getting an "HDMI RGB-Video" signal, while the HR21 unit shows a "HDMI YPbPr" signal. Since the input to the projector isn't changing, only the input to the Onkyo, I can only guess that the Vip622 and the HR21 are just processing in different ways. Could be something I don't have set right, but I can't think of what that could be.
 
peano said:
Bingo. Some HD channels on Dish are barely watchable such as NatGeo HD. Pixellates all the time. (And no, its not my signal strength)
Click to expand...

If it is not you signal strength, it must be something on your end. I do not get any pixelation on NatGeo.
 
tcpuccio1

another remote code

  • tcpuccio1
  • Replies: 2
B

Slingplayer on Linux!

  • bobflood
  • Replies: 1

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 2)

Share this page

Share this page
Top
Flash Sale Popup