high def question

[luggles]

i have a high definition Hitachi 57" projection tv, i have a dvr from dish newtwork that isnt high def. and picture looks like crap. my dvd's look flawless and my 360 looks amazing. its just the dvr form dish that looks horrible. expecially on the locals, all but fox look just horrible. i have it runing s-video, and coax. both pictures look almost the same, witht the s-vide a bit cleaner. there are no component ( hd) outputs on the reciever. is there any way to improve this picture without going high def. and are all people having this trouble with dish on there big screens? i fi do have to go high def. what are my options?

[Scott]

Welcome to the forum luggles! I found myself in the exact same predicament a couple of years ago with DirecTV. I had just purchased a shiny new HDTV, and I was shocked to find out how horrible the PQ was through the DirecTV TiVo--especially the locals which are compressed much more than some of the other digital channels. I didn't want to go with one of DirecTV's HD boxes because I needed my TiVo, and the HD TiVo from DirecTV wasn't far off from production. So, I decided to wait it out. For my locals, I went ahead and purchased an over the air set top box. Of course I couldn't record, but at least I could pull in some of the NFL games, bowl games, etc. I then was on a mission to improve upon the crappy DirecTV PQ. I decided to use a video scaler. I purchased a Zinwell Brite-View video scaler from eBay which upconverted the image from DirecTV to 720p via component (Y/Cb/Cr) cables (it will also do RGB). I was really happy with how it sharpened the picture, made colors more vivid, and hid much of the compression artifacts found. It really helped ease some of the pre-HD TiVo pain. I have also used the ViewSonic NextVision 6, another scaler, which upconverts to 1080i. It did I nice job as well. If I'm not mistaken, Snodgrass23--a mod/co-admin--used a much more expensive video scaler at one time during his home theater/projector setup. I can't recall what he used. Hopefully this was helpful.

Scott

[luggles]

thanks scott. very helpfull, i wil look into the scaler. i wasnt aware they where out there

[jpdublin]

luggles: As Scott stated, you may want to go the OTA route as well, you will be able to get a much better picture than the Dish will provide. I too was having the same issue with Directv as well. I decide that I could not have a HD TV and have a crappy picture, so I went ahead with both an OTA and HD receiver and could not imagine going back. I have no experience with the video scaler, but have heard some success with using one.

Q: Is your TV have a built-in HD tuner or is it HD Compatable?

If it has a bulit in HD tuner, an OTA will get HD locals, but you will not be able to record. If it is just HD Compatable, you should still be able to pick up locals in digital (which will still be much better than the Dish)

Good Luck!

[luggles]

mine is hd built in i think. i have two coax ports. and one says hd/coax input. does that mean ready or built in. i guess i could check the manual. if it isnt though wil the ota work anyway? and where can i purchase one of those? thanks for all the help too. this forum is awesome.

[jpdublin]

If your TV has the built in HD tuner, an OTA could pick up the free HD locals (depending on location/distance to the towers). My suggestion on OTA's is to start cheap and work your way up, depending upon reception. You can purchase an OTA anywhere from Radio Shack to Best Buy. You would need to hook it up through your UHF/VHF antenna on your TV and probably rescan your TV. Again, this will pick up locals in HD, but you will not be able to record these through your DVR and may be somewhat of a pain to switch between your TV/Antenna and Dish DVR, but HD is awesome. Best of Luck!

[ccorson97]

I too was having the same issue with Directv as well. I decide that I could not have a HD TV and have a crappy picture, so I went ahead with both an OTA and HD receiver and could not imagine going back.

JP, I have the same issue with my DirecTV with my new Hitachi 51" HDTV. I just have the standard DirecTV system, and have thought about upgrading to the HDTV package but want to wait until they are installing only the new 5-LNB dish so I don't have to upgrade again when Columbus locals come on board.

My question is....Can you see a difference in the standard channels on your HD DirecTV receiver vs standard DirecTV? I guess it's all in how the new HD receivers upconvert the crappy signal from DirecTV right?

[jpdublin]

The picture in SD seems about the same (between tuners). Though, with locals I always watch on the OTA channels, the quality is no comparison. As for getting HD package, it is only worth it for the following reasons: 1. ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Package, 2. HBO/Showtime, 3. Discovery, if none of these stations are important to you, then just wait until Spring time when Directv launches locals in HD.

Best of luck, once you start watching locals in HD, you can't even watch it the old way!

[tjolsonmcse]

I just have the standard DirecTV system, and have thought about upgrading to the HDTV package but want to wait until they are installing only the new 5-LNB dish so I don't have to upgrade again when Columbus locals come on board.

I've seen it posted elsewhere that we a scheduled for LIL conversion to MPEG-4 in April. I haven't even begun to look if they're offering the 5LNB satelites anywhere yet.

[lbostons]

I have heard about the same timeframe for the mpeg4 upgrade. It might be a little longer for me though b/c I would like to swap out my HD TiVo for the new D* HD DVR. I read today on the AVS website that the new satelite is almost at the orbital position that it will be located at, I think 99. I am sure some testing will be done then if everything is kosher will begin the upgrades. As for new HD channels, I do not have much faith that D* will be adding them quickly. They tend to keep their cards closely guarded. Would be nice if they got TNT-HD, NGC-HD, and WGN-HD (purley selfish reasons for WGN :)).