Picture quality with DirectTv

Nuggett · 11-07-2004, 01:26 PM

Just bought a JVC 61" D-ILA lastnight and get it in a week. I have DirecTv service now but will not get the HD package for a while.

How will the picture look on the HD TV without HD service? Is it 480p or 720i quality???

thanks for any input.

duvel · 11-08-2004, 12:37 AM

I have a 52" Mitsu DLP and I think the non-HD directv feed looks pretty bad.. I can deal with some programs with the standard feed but sports/football looks so bad I have to watch them on my 36" Wega ..

hdtv4me2 · 11-08-2004, 07:27 AM

Some of the SD channels aren't bad, their not good, but are watchable. The SD signal is the old 480i format that has been around for decades so when you input it into a big screen it just magnifies all the short comings. Some channels are better than others because some suppliers to DTV give them a higher quality signal than others do. DTV must compress the signal that strips away data to fit it into the satellites transponders which further reduces the picture quality. I have asked people if they have put up a VHF antenna and compared the old NTSC signal over the air to the same broadcast from satellite. The over whelming response was that if you were in an area that you could get good reception from a roof top antenna then it was noticeably better than the satellite signal.

IMHO, putting only SD into a HD capable/ready set is a waste.

Nuggett · 11-08-2004, 07:47 AM

Thanks All. I was afraid of that. Looks as If I'll have to try and negotiate with DT for a good deal on the HD program/equipment.

Thanks

akakar · 11-08-2004, 11:45 AM

I have a similar issue with a 51" Sony that I just bought. Are there things that you can do to enhance the picture, such as upgrading the coax between the directv receiver and the satellite in?

Sport73 · 11-09-2004, 08:42 AM

I have an older HD set from Mitsubishi (4:3, 50803 model) which has always handled SD really well (converts to 480p). I recently added a DirecTV HD receiver and the HD picture is awesome...

What I noticed, or seems apparent, is that they only way to get a better picture into a HD set is NOT to try replacing cables etc. (the satellite feed and its source are the reason for the problem) is to pipe it through an HD receiver which handles the upconversion/stretching etc.

The Regular DTV channels (SD) look better on my set coming out of my RCA DTC-210 HD receiver, than they do coming out of my SD DTV Tivo box. My presumption is that this is because of 2 things:

1. A better connection, the HD box is connected via RGB while Tivo is connected S-Video.

2. The scaler inside the HD box is set to output everything at 1080i, and seems to do a pretty good job of upconverting the SD content.

geocole · 11-19-2004, 01:34 PM

I have a Sony KDF-50WE655 with and old RCA SR1 tivo and use S-vido connection. Off air goes to tv as it has a tuner. The SD is very good. I also have a 22 samy lcd with Zenith st 520 in bedroom and it has excelent PQ off and on air. I also use driect TV

tfdrake · 11-19-2004, 08:36 PM

This forum has been helpful. I bought a 50" Sony Wega ... pictures like ESPN coming through the HD channel (73) are great ... even games that are not HD! Other channels are poor. Would these picture programs be elimated if I went back to Comcast cable?

hidefman30 · 11-21-2004, 07:27 PM

I had a similar problem with my Sonykp57ws500. Standard DTV programing looked really crappy coming through via coax into my set. As stated in an earlier post all of standard satellites shortcomings were blown up to bigreen glory, if you could call it that! I noticed this only when watching satellite of course, however my dvd and games looked awesome utilizing the componet inputs for each. I later upgraded my satellite signal drastically by simply running a monster s-video directly fromthe satellite reciver to a spare video input on my tv. Huge difference all those nasty foreign artifacts were gone, color improved, and words got sharper, and crisper! Still a far cry from my componet games and dvd, but MUCH better. Wish my satellite box had componet outputs. Hope that helps you out.

11-07-2004, 01:26 PM	#1
Nuggett Nugget Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Newnan, GA Age: 38 Posts: 110	Picture quality with DirectTv Just bought a JVC 61" D-ILA lastnight and get it in a week. I have DirecTv service now but will not get the HD package for a while. How will the picture look on the HD TV without HD service? Is it 480p or 720i quality??? thanks for any input.

11-08-2004, 07:27 AM	#3
hdtv4me2 Go Bruins! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,284	SD from DTV is Not Good Some of the SD channels aren't bad, their not good, but are watchable. The SD signal is the old 480i format that has been around for decades so when you input it into a big screen it just magnifies all the short comings. Some channels are better than others because some suppliers to DTV give them a higher quality signal than others do. DTV must compress the signal that strips away data to fit it into the satellites transponders which further reduces the picture quality. I have asked people if they have put up a VHF antenna and compared the old NTSC signal over the air to the same broadcast from satellite. The over whelming response was that if you were in an area that you could get good reception from a roof top antenna then it was noticeably better than the satellite signal. IMHO, putting only SD into a HD capable/ready set is a waste.

11-19-2004, 01:34 PM	#7
geocole What is HD? Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2	Sd-pq I have a Sony KDF-50WE655 with and old RCA SR1 tivo and use S-vido connection. Off air goes to tv as it has a tuner. The SD is very good. I also have a 22 samy lcd with Zenith st 520 in bedroom and it has excelent PQ off and on air. I also use driect TV Last edited by geocole; 11-19-2004 at 01:37 PM. Reason: add direct tv to end

11-19-2004, 08:36 PM	#8
tfdrake High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 56	Picture Quality Concern This forum has been helpful. I bought a 50" Sony Wega ... pictures like ESPN coming through the HD channel (73) are great ... even games that are not HD! Other channels are poor. Would these picture programs be elimated if I went back to Comcast cable?

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11-08-2004, 12:37 AM	#2
duvel A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 13	I have a 52" Mitsu DLP and I think the non-HD directv feed looks pretty bad.. I can deal with some programs with the standard feed but sports/football looks so bad I have to watch them on my 36" Wega ..

11-08-2004, 07:47 AM	#4
Nuggett Nugget Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Newnan, GA Age: 38 Posts: 110	Thanks All. I was afraid of that. Looks as If I'll have to try and negotiate with DT for a good deal on the HD program/equipment. Thanks

11-08-2004, 11:45 AM	#5
akakar What is HD? Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1	I have a similar issue with a 51" Sony that I just bought. Are there things that you can do to enhance the picture, such as upgrading the coax between the directv receiver and the satellite in?

11-09-2004, 08:42 AM	#6
Sport73 Be the Ball Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 131	I have an older HD set from Mitsubishi (4:3, 50803 model) which has always handled SD really well (converts to 480p). I recently added a DirecTV HD receiver and the HD picture is awesome... What I noticed, or seems apparent, is that they only way to get a better picture into a HD set is NOT to try replacing cables etc. (the satellite feed and its source are the reason for the problem) is to pipe it through an HD receiver which handles the upconversion/stretching etc. The Regular DTV channels (SD) look better on my set coming out of my RCA DTC-210 HD receiver, than they do coming out of my SD DTV Tivo box. My presumption is that this is because of 2 things: 1. A better connection, the HD box is connected via RGB while Tivo is connected S-Video. 2. The scaler inside the HD box is set to output everything at 1080i, and seems to do a pretty good job of upconverting the SD content.

11-21-2004, 07:27 PM	#9
hidefman30 High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 735	I had a similar problem with my Sonykp57ws500. Standard DTV programing looked really crappy coming through via coax into my set. As stated in an earlier post all of standard satellites shortcomings were blown up to bigreen glory, if you could call it that! I noticed this only when watching satellite of course, however my dvd and games looked awesome utilizing the componet inputs for each. I later upgraded my satellite signal drastically by simply running a monster s-video directly fromthe satellite reciver to a spare video input on my tv. Huge difference all those nasty foreign artifacts were gone, color improved, and words got sharper, and crisper! Still a far cry from my componet games and dvd, but MUCH better. Wish my satellite box had componet outputs. Hope that helps you out.