OTA channels Vs. Dish Local channels

derond · 09-19-2007, 08:53 PM

I bought a UHF antenna and temporarily hooked it up just to see how a couple of local channels looked compared to Dish Locals. The one thing that I dislike about the Dish locals is the lip sync problem. The audio seem to be a couple milliseconds ahead the video or vice versa. This is so annoying! Although I only raised the antenna to a top window in the house this is what I found: The local channels seemed much more bright but also more grainy. The Dish local was darker and had a softer picture. The local was a good 3 seconds ahead of the Dish. Hopefully when I get the antenna roofmounted and aimed correctly the local channel will come in better because I was not impressed...

fredinva · 09-19-2007, 09:38 PM

Local OTA digital will always be better than the dish sd locals!!!

fred

derond · 09-20-2007, 09:40 AM

Ok I looked last night again and noticed that my Panasonic 750U goes to a default picture setting for the antenna channels so set them the same as the Dish HDMI input. Primetime OTA's looked equal to the Dish but my antenna is only 5 ft high in the window. So how come when I go to a DISH channel like RAVE or Discovery HD does the picture look so much better than the OTA channles. Is the actual footage shot with better equipment? My other question is if the picture comes over as a 4:3 aspect ratio does it mean that it is not true HD?

18 is # 1 · 09-20-2007, 11:37 AM

Audio delay is a problem with your system. Many TV's have a setting to allow for the "digital' decoding delay.
4:3 aspect is not HD, but then again, some widescreen views are merely expanded SD (alot of TNT's programs do this).
OTA signals will look better because there is no compression of the signal. Because sat. has limited bandwith (size of the pipeline to conduct the channels), each channel must be compressed to allow more channels/info. to be fed into the pipeline at once. The compression is done by systems such as MPEG 2 & 4.
If you have a 622 and your locals are in HD, use the 622 OTA input and you can record 3 HD programs at one time (1OTA and 2 sat.) pretty cool eh...

highdefjeff · 09-20-2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derond

I bought a UHF antenna and temporarily hooked it up just to see how a couple of local channels looked compared to Dish Locals. The one thing that I dislike about the Dish locals is the lip sync problem. The audio seem to be a couple milliseconds ahead the video or vice versa. This is so annoying! Although I only raised the antenna to a top window in the house this is what I found: The local channels seemed much more bright but also more grainy. The Dish local was darker and had a softer picture. The local was a good 3 seconds ahead of the Dish. Hopefully when I get the antenna roofmounted and aimed correctly the local channel will come in better because I was not impressed...

Your picture will be improved with the antenna mounted outside and higher. You may add a signal amplifier/ improver for best results.

For more see "Signal and HD Quality - What no one will tell you":
http://www.wowvision.tv/readme.htm#S..._hear_anywhere!

jim5506 · 09-20-2007, 07:09 PM

Unless you experience macro blocking or signal loss, if you get a picture it is perfect on digitals - that 1 or 0 thing.

highdefjeff · 09-20-2007, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim5506

Unless you experience macro blocking or signal loss, if you get a picture it is perfect on digitals - that 1 or 0 thing.

What would make the OTA look grainy? Low signal or too much noise, perhaps?

18 is # 1 · 09-20-2007, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by highdefjeff

What would make the OTA look grainy? Low signal or too much noise, perhaps?

If it's a digital/HD signal...your probably using too much sharpness. That adjustment is made for analog signals and draws a white line around all the objects in the picture and will make an otherwise good picture grainy.

crazyal · 09-20-2007, 10:07 PM

Not all OTA is in HighDef so even though it's digital it still can look grainy. If you haven't tried it yet connect your antenna to your Dish receiver (if you can). It has a signal strength meter. You should be 70 or higher. 60s will work but you could drop out occasionally. High 50s is barely watchable. If the stations are in the 70s or higher there's no point upgrading your antenna, you'll not see a differnece.

jim5506 · 09-22-2007, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by highdefjeff

What would make the OTA look grainy? Low signal or too much noise, perhaps?

Probably the station is running 2-3 subchannels and over compressing their signal to make them all fit their allotted bandwidth.

A good strong analog SD picture beats the pants of an SD digital picture 6 ways from Sunday, no mosquitoes, no funny looking grass, etc.

highdefjeff · 09-23-2007, 12:28 AM

PBS runs 3 additional feeds and their HD looks great...when you've got good signal and the right settings.

jswerve · 09-24-2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derond

I bought a UHF antenna and temporarily hooked it up just to see how a couple of local channels looked compared to Dish Locals. The one thing that I dislike about the Dish locals is the lip sync problem. The audio seem to be a couple milliseconds ahead the video or vice versa. This is so annoying! Although I only raised the antenna to a top window in the house this is what I found: The local channels seemed much more bright but also more grainy. The Dish local was darker and had a softer picture. The local was a good 3 seconds ahead of the Dish. Hopefully when I get the antenna roofmounted and aimed correctly the local channel will come in better because I was not impressed...

Local OTA is the best picture. I installed a rooftop antenna last month and I am loving football!

18 is # 1 · 09-24-2007, 05:39 PM

Any view that does not need the camera to focus closely, really shows the best. The infinite field shows a ton of detail. Football, NASCAR, golf (if you can stay awake), all look terrific.

derond · 10-18-2007, 07:42 PM

Ok just a quick update. Mounted the UHF antenna on the roof and pulled in 29 digital channels. The big surprise is that I am able to receive all of the LA OTA channels. This is a big surprise because I live in the middle of San Diego. The picture is by far the best picture I have seen.... My Wife actually enjoys watching Dancing with Stars on the LA feed....Stunning.. the picture that is..

highdefjeff · 10-19-2007, 09:49 AM

Glad you've got it working...it sounded like you had low signal.

09-19-2007, 08:53 PM	#1
derond High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 58	OTA channels Vs. Dish Local channels I bought a UHF antenna and temporarily hooked it up just to see how a couple of local channels looked compared to Dish Locals. The one thing that I dislike about the Dish locals is the lip sync problem. The audio seem to be a couple milliseconds ahead the video or vice versa. This is so annoying! Although I only raised the antenna to a top window in the house this is what I found: The local channels seemed much more bright but also more grainy. The Dish local was darker and had a softer picture. The local was a good 3 seconds ahead of the Dish. Hopefully when I get the antenna roofmounted and aimed correctly the local channel will come in better because I was not impressed...

09-19-2007, 09:38 PM	#2
fredinva 50"Wega HD ROCKS! Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 755	Local OTA digital will always be better than the dish sd locals!!! fred __________________ I'm getting really, really tired of Dish re-scheduled install threads!! Call a local Retailer. And, we'll check your receiver in the store for free. If you can reach your LNBF, we'll check it for free too!!!!

09-20-2007, 11:37 AM	#4
18 is # 1 Overclocked at 4GHz Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Forney, TX Where Dallas ends and living begins. Posts: 1,598	Audio delay is a problem with your system. Many TV's have a setting to allow for the "digital' decoding delay. 4:3 aspect is not HD, but then again, some widescreen views are merely expanded SD (alot of TNT's programs do this). OTA signals will look better because there is no compression of the signal. Because sat. has limited bandwith (size of the pipeline to conduct the channels), each channel must be compressed to allow more channels/info. to be fed into the pipeline at once. The compression is done by systems such as MPEG 2 & 4. If you have a 622 and your locals are in HD, use the 622 OTA input and you can record 3 HD programs at one time (1OTA and 2 sat.) pretty cool eh... __________________ Turning Left ______________________ Marantz SR-7200 KEF Ci-200-3QS Wharfedale Sapphire CR Hsu Research VTF-2 MK 3 Subwoofer Blue Jeans Wire NHT IC3 Surround CE Labs Duel Phase Correct- -Surround Modulator Go Kyle Go Dish 622 DVR Oppo DV-970HD Samsung 46 LNB630 "People shouldn't fear their govenment. Governments should fear their people." - V

09-20-2007, 07:09 PM	#6
jim5506 Yellow Submarine Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lubbock, Texas Posts: 2,747	Unless you experience macro blocking or signal loss, if you get a picture it is perfect on digitals - that 1 or 0 thing. __________________ Programming: Dish HD Absolute with 0.01 Cinemax Displays: Sony VPH-D50Q - 7 ft on the wall; Hitachi 57R59 Receivers: DishNetwork ViP722k; DishNetwork ViP211K;2 - DishNetwork ViP211; 2 - TiVo Series 2's; Accurian 6000; Samsung SIR-T351; Panasonic ShowStopper 2000; ATI HDTV Wonder Dish 1000 on 110,119,129; Dish 500 on 61.5; DPP44 Sony 80GB PS3; Toshiba HD-DVD

09-24-2007, 05:39 PM	#13
18 is # 1 Overclocked at 4GHz Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Forney, TX Where Dallas ends and living begins. Posts: 1,598	Any view that does not need the camera to focus closely, really shows the best. The infinite field shows a ton of detail. Football, NASCAR, golf (if you can stay awake), all look terrific. __________________ Turning Left ______________________ Marantz SR-7200 KEF Ci-200-3QS Wharfedale Sapphire CR Hsu Research VTF-2 MK 3 Subwoofer Blue Jeans Wire NHT IC3 Surround CE Labs Duel Phase Correct- -Surround Modulator Go Kyle Go Dish 622 DVR Oppo DV-970HD Samsung 46 LNB630 "People shouldn't fear their govenment. Governments should fear their people." - V

09-20-2007, 09:40 AM	#3
derond High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 58	Ok I looked last night again and noticed that my Panasonic 750U goes to a default picture setting for the antenna channels so set them the same as the Dish HDMI input. Primetime OTA's looked equal to the Dish but my antenna is only 5 ft high in the window. So how come when I go to a DISH channel like RAVE or Discovery HD does the picture look so much better than the OTA channles. Is the actual footage shot with better equipment? My other question is if the picture comes over as a 4:3 aspect ratio does it mean that it is not true HD?

09-20-2007, 10:07 PM	#9
crazyal Smarter than the ave bear Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,329	Not all OTA is in HighDef so even though it's digital it still can look grainy. If you haven't tried it yet connect your antenna to your Dish receiver (if you can). It has a signal strength meter. You should be 70 or higher. 60s will work but you could drop out occasionally. High 50s is barely watchable. If the stations are in the 70s or higher there's no point upgrading your antenna, you'll not see a differnece.

09-23-2007, 12:28 AM	#11
highdefjeff Student of HDTV Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: St. Louis Age: 48 Posts: 127	PBS runs 3 additional feeds and their HD looks great...when you've got good signal and the right settings.

10-18-2007, 07:42 PM	#14
derond High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 58	Ok just a quick update. Mounted the UHF antenna on the roof and pulled in 29 digital channels. The big surprise is that I am able to receive all of the LA OTA channels. This is a big surprise because I live in the middle of San Diego. The picture is by far the best picture I have seen.... My Wife actually enjoys watching Dancing with Stars on the LA feed....Stunning.. the picture that is..

10-19-2007, 09:49 AM	#15
highdefjeff Student of HDTV Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: St. Louis Age: 48 Posts: 127	Great! Glad you've got it working...it sounded like you had low signal.

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