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nittfan · 01-05-2009, 07:53 PM

Hi. I am a long time DISH network subscriber and have been more or less happy with their product. I had a 2007 Panasonic 42" plasma t.v. in my living room with an older (at least 2 years old) Dish Network DVR - maybe a model 6000 (don't know the model for certain). Anyway, I had a stunning, clear picture with that old receiver and my existing 42" plasma t.v. We just purchased a new 50" Panasonic Plasma HDTV and upgraded to two, separate VIP612 HDTV receiver/DVR combos. Now the 42" t.v. which is in the same exact location but with the VIP612 receiver does not have anywhere near as nice of a picture as before the "upgrade". The 50" t.v. is even worse. The picture is not "crisp" - close ups appear blurry and grainy. I have done some reading on your site and although I am not technically savvy, I have some thoughts / questions please?

Both Panasonic plasmas are installed with good quality, Monster HDTV cables. A DISH Network service person did the installations (he originally wanted to use RCA cables that he provides and said "trust me, you won't be able to tell the difference".... which I did not beleive).

I do notice that HD stations do look somewhat better than the SD stations on both t.v.'s. My newer, 50" plasma (Panasonic Viera, 1080p, TH-50PZ85U) was given very good ratings by a number of on-line sources. It has "upconverters" to upgrade a 480p or 480i signals to a simulated 1080p I guess (?). Anyway ................neither t.v. has as nice a picture, HD or SD as my OLD, SD receiver had on one of the same t.v.'s! I am taking from my reading on your site that that is to be expected with SD broadcasts, but is this true even with the upconverter technology?

Should I do as one person on your site suggested and hook the t.v.'s up with both HDMI and RCA cables and just switch the input everytime I view SD vs. HD (wow, this seems to be a pain!!)?

What I do not understand is why did I have a stunningly clear, crisp picture with my 2-3 year old, SD receiver/DVR on my one year old plasma, and now not as good of a picture on either t.v. - even with HD in my opinion?

DISH is sending an installation technician here on 1/07 and I would like to be able to be armed with some intelligent and confident information.

One further comment. The installation tech. had some trouble getting a clear signal. He was originally going to install 2 satellite dishes but decided upon one instead. He said this was because of my roof and the way we had the old dish installed and that he didn't want to damage the roof or something like that. But I think he was just trying to get done as it was after dark and he was trying to finish up with a flashlight in a light, cold rain! Should the installation have been done with 2 separate satellite dishes since I got 2 separate VIP612 HD receivers ................. does it matter? He did put the new dish exactly where the old one was but he had quite a bit of trouble getting a clear signal; he had to call into DISH Network for support because he said the signal was "bouncing all over the place"??

Sorry this is long. I guess you are tired of installation questions, but hopefully this will help someone else as well.

Thank you.

01-05-2009, 07:53 PM	#1
nittfan My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 9	Dish HDTV picture quality? Hi. I am a long time DISH network subscriber and have been more or less happy with their product. I had a 2007 Panasonic 42" plasma t.v. in my living room with an older (at least 2 years old) Dish Network DVR - maybe a model 6000 (don't know the model for certain). Anyway, I had a stunning, clear picture with that old receiver and my existing 42" plasma t.v. We just purchased a new 50" Panasonic Plasma HDTV and upgraded to two, separate VIP612 HDTV receiver/DVR combos. Now the 42" t.v. which is in the same exact location but with the VIP612 receiver does not have anywhere near as nice of a picture as before the "upgrade". The 50" t.v. is even worse. The picture is not "crisp" - close ups appear blurry and grainy. I have done some reading on your site and although I am not technically savvy, I have some thoughts / questions please? Both Panasonic plasmas are installed with good quality, Monster HDTV cables. A DISH Network service person did the installations (he originally wanted to use RCA cables that he provides and said "trust me, you won't be able to tell the difference".... which I did not beleive). I do notice that HD stations do look somewhat better than the SD stations on both t.v.'s. My newer, 50" plasma (Panasonic Viera, 1080p, TH-50PZ85U) was given very good ratings by a number of on-line sources. It has "upconverters" to upgrade a 480p or 480i signals to a simulated 1080p I guess (?). Anyway ................neither t.v. has as nice a picture, HD or SD as my OLD, SD receiver had on one of the same t.v.'s! I am taking from my reading on your site that that is to be expected with SD broadcasts, but is this true even with the upconverter technology? Should I do as one person on your site suggested and hook the t.v.'s up with both HDMI and RCA cables and just switch the input everytime I view SD vs. HD (wow, this seems to be a pain!!)? What I do not understand is why did I have a stunningly clear, crisp picture with my 2-3 year old, SD receiver/DVR on my one year old plasma, and now not as good of a picture on either t.v. - even with HD in my opinion? DISH is sending an installation technician here on 1/07 and I would like to be able to be armed with some intelligent and confident information. One further comment. The installation tech. had some trouble getting a clear signal. He was originally going to install 2 satellite dishes but decided upon one instead. He said this was because of my roof and the way we had the old dish installed and that he didn't want to damage the roof or something like that. But I think he was just trying to get done as it was after dark and he was trying to finish up with a flashlight in a light, cold rain! Should the installation have been done with 2 separate satellite dishes since I got 2 separate VIP612 HD receivers ................. does it matter? He did put the new dish exactly where the old one was but he had quite a bit of trouble getting a clear signal; he had to call into DISH Network for support because he said the signal was "bouncing all over the place"?? Sorry this is long. I guess you are tired of installation questions, but hopefully this will help someone else as well. Thank you.