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Last reply · posted in C-BAND Satellite Discussion
There has been a fair amount of banter back and forth about the relative merits of 4DTV master feeds compared to pizza dish HD-lite. I actually did some direct comparisons a few months ago with the raw transport streams, but after satisfying myself with the results, I tossed the files of the losers. I'm going to try to find some of the salient examples on backup tapes, but that will take some time. But I wanted to provide an example to start, patched together as best as I can.

A few months ago I collected a number of cases where I had recorded a master 4DTV or DVB-S feed (by subscription or ITC) at the exact same time as I recorded Dish Network's re-encoded version via that subscription. Since then I have dropped most of my DN premium channels and sadly the 4DTV HD feeds from HBO and STARZ are no longer available. Until I find the old files, this makes any comparison indirect and potentially less valid. But it's still better than nothing.

I haven't gotten around to canceling my $0.01 per year subscription to Cinemax on DN, so I did a quick comparison of what was showing this afternoon with a list of my master feed recordings and found "Fatal Attraction". This isn't the sharpest movie around, and my master feed is a little low on the bit-rate, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

I recorded both the DN SD and HD versions on 5MAX through my R5000s. I use similar R5000s for Shaw and for 4DTV in the past. For DVB-S and DVB-S2 I simply use a PC-based tuner. By capturing the original transport streams, I can make meaningful comparisons without any extra processing that might bias the results. To ensure this is clear: the master feed was not what DN used as a source for the uplink. But it was probably similar.

So here we go:

Master feed was 1920x1080i, MPEG-2 at about 10 Mbps.
Dish Network 5MAX HD was 1440x1080i, H.264 at about 4 Mbps
Dish Network 5MAX SD was 544x480i, MPEG-2 at about 1.7 Mbps

For this example I have grabbed one frame from each. This is a very static shot, which will not show artifacts typical of a scene with a lot of action. When I get some more time I'll grab an example of the latter. I compressed the raw images with Photoshop to JPEG at the 10 "Maximum" quality setting. I'll leave the comparisons mostly for you to make, but I'll point out that the Dish Network HD version isn't that bad when compared to the master feed. However the Dish Network SD version is pretty awful. The SD is full-frame, rather than letterboxed or pan & scan.
46 Replies · 7341 views
truckracer
Sat radio to me would be like dish network re-uplinking directv adding more compression. The master signals are already crap and then you make them crappier
T
Time to break out the vinyl :eek: :D
ikki
> Time to break out the vinyl

The band, "The white stripes" on vinyl sounds great.
T
Analog Rules!
B.J.
Sat radio to me would be like dish network re-uplinking directv adding more compression. The master signals are already crap and then you make them crappier
Personally, I like sat radio, although I only use it for listening to the audio of NFL games from my home town.

However, the above mention of DN re-uplinking DTV reminded me of an experiment I did once with my old SA TIVO.
At the input to the TIVO's A/V input I had an A/V switch one input of the switch came from my sat receiver. Another input of the switch came from the Output of the TIVO, which I had "Y"'d so that I could also view it on TV.
The A/D and D/A conversions of the TIVO introduced a few second delay of the video going through it, so if you flipped the switch from SAT to TIVO-out, you'd continue to see the sat TV video for a few seconds, then you'd see that 3 or 4 seconds of video repeat, then repeat again, over and over.
Each time the little video clip went through the TIVO, it was processed again. I did the experiment just because I was curious about how many times it would go through the A/D---D/A processing before the video quality gets really bad. I thought that would be a good measure of just how much quality was lost in the compression in each pass.
This was probably around 10 years ago, so my memory is foggy, but I there were 3 numbers I kind of remember, one around one around 5-6, one around 10-12, and one around 20. I think what happened was that for the first half dozen or so passes through the TIVO, the video was acceptable (as acceptable as SD TIVO video can be). Ie at first you didn't notice any difference, but the quality slowly degraded, but was pretty much OK for a half dozen passes. Then from around 6 thru 12, the degradation sped up, and it was really pretty terrible by 12 passes through the TIVO. By the time you got to 20 passes, you couldn't even recognize anything in the video, it might as well have been a bunch of multi-colored paint thrown on the screen.
It was really pretty neat. If you have an old stand-alone TIVO, it's worth the effort to hook it up to a switch and try it. I was actually expecting the quality to get bad faster than it did, and was actually impressed by how well it worked.
truckracer
That's a neat experiment. I have Sirius radio on my bike and In my truck. I lime it but it sounds like crap.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
67107 Replies · 2662292 views
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harshness
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
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sdfntx
Right on Time - Brandi Carlile
gms49ers
Time Stand Still - Rush
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Bobby
I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) - B.J. Thomas
long_time_DNC
Help Is On Its Way - Little River Band
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 3 views
T
· posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Hello everyone, new guy here. I'm trying to solve problem I'm having with Dish bonus view channels. When I'm watching the bonus view channels then I switch back to regular dish channels, after few minutes the screen flips to black and after 30 seconds flips back to regular channels and continues to flip back and forth until I turn off TV. After I wait 30 minutes and turn back on , I can use regular channels again. So, its after I switch from bonus view channels to regular dish channels the problem starts. Been trying to fix this for a month, but no luck
Here what I've done.
i contacted Dish support and they sent me a new Joey3, but no help. Switched to a different HDMI input on TV, no help. Used different HDMI cable , no help. Used different electrical wall plug, no help.
Finally got a Dish tech to check it. He ran all systems check and was OK. Finally he brought in a small TV and plugged in the HDMI out from the Joey to the small TV. He could not get the problem to occur on his small TV, so the new Joey was working OK. So, then the problem must be myTV. He made some phone calls and came back with the answer that there must be a problem with the analog to digital switch in my TV. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this, or is it time to be looking for a new TV? My tv LG OLED65C8PUA. TV has been trouble free til now. Thanks
0 Replies · 14 views
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
We have a Breakfast and Dinner thread so... :)
Continuing from the Breakfast thread, found Cornbread mix so ...
Yellow Cornbread Mix
2 Hatch Green Chiles -diced
1 Egg
2/3 cup of milk
add to greased pan
Bake for 400f 20-25 minutes(From instructions)
now to put together and try... this to go with pinto beans...
5389 Replies · 334599 views
TRG
TRG
Pork shoulder, refried beans, cheddar and chopped green chile burrito with a pint of pale ale.

Its nice being able to have a pint with lunch during the week or whenever. I've been enjoying the retired life. 🍺

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dfergie
Pork shoulder, refried beans, cheddar and chopped green chile burrito with a pint of pale ale.

Its nice being able to have a pint with lunch during the week or whenever. I've been enjoying the retired life. 🍺

View attachment 191651
Congrats! I love retirement, no wake ups, no e-mails...
Leftovers for lunch, bacon wrapped salmon fillet from Saturday and a KFC thigh from Friday, Tea.
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TRG
TRG
Congrats! I love retirement, no wake ups, no e-mails...
Leftovers for lunch, bacon wrapped salmon fillet from Saturday and a KFC thigh from Friday, Tea.
I've been retired since October. It was very strange at first. But I'm loving it now.
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TRG
TRG
Creamy flat chicken enchiladas with green chile, beans and rice.

enc.webp
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dfergie
Layered Spicy Dorito / chili cheese Frito pie casserole…real sugar Pepsi
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TRG
TRG
I had a very unusual but delicious 1/4lb hotdog with cream cheese, raspberry preserves and chopped Hatch green chile. It is an unlikely combination but it works.


hdog.webp
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N5XZS
Last reply · posted in Over the Air Television By RabbitEars.Info
New low power station has been granted by the FCC and the new call leter is K33OB-D on RF ch. 33.

Will run at 15 KW ERP, this one runs from the Westside same location as KWPL-LD a HC2 owned station.

It's going to be aimed at eastern part of Albuquerque, so it's tightly focused beam pattern.

This new station is owned by Digital Network and what kind of programmings is unkown at this time.😎
10 Replies · 153 views
N5XZS
Yeah, there are some diginets like Heartland, Retro, The Family Channel diginetworks that we already have here in this market and we don't need duplicates, but bring the new diginets on like the Rev'n, Karate Acton movies, different kind of music videos on the new station. :hatsoff2
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comfortably_numb
Yeah, there are some diginets like Heartland, Retro, The Family Channel diginetworks that we already have here in this market and we don't need duplicates, but bring the new diginets like Revn, Karate Acton movies, different kind of music videos on the new station. :hatsoff2

I watch MovieSphere Gold channel a lot. Many recent movies on that digitnet :)
N5XZS
Yes that's a good channel MovieSphere, only thing is the missing CC on it. :rolleyes: :hatsoff2
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comfortably_numb
According to the FCC listing, the tower is near I-40 and Juan Tabo:

primestar31
According to the FCC listing, the tower is near I-40 and Juan Tabo:

Many of these in my DMA are on cell towers, so don't always reach very far because the towers aren't very high.
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zippyfrog
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Did anyone have a price increase today on their equipment? I own my VIP211k's, and they have been $5.00. My bill that I received last week shows the "add-ons" as being $5.00. However, I just logged into my Dish account, and my "add-ons" are now $10.00. Did the additional receivers go up by $5.00 recently?

As I mentioned, my last bill shows $5.00 and under the notes, nothing is mentioned about a price increase.
6 Replies · 96 views
zippyfrog
However, when I make a change (tried to add the Columbian pack for $2 so I could generate my bill) and there is a new line - it says "Access for TV" - whereas previously that line item was not there. I hope they aren't charging $5.00 for the initial TV now...

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T
Apparently it's not an "owned receiver" fee but rather an extension fee that's applied to 2nd and subsequent viewing. Maybe that played into their decision to force a box at every TV- garnering those fees
zippyfrog
Apparently it's not an "owned receiver" fee but rather an extension fee that's applied to 2nd and subsequent viewing. Maybe that played into their decision to force a box at every TV- garnering those fees
Possibly. In theory, $9 of the base pack has a rental fee built in. But now is this $5 a chance to get a little more? I don't know for sure. According to chat, it is a glitch and will be resolved in a timely manner, but we shall see. Part of my thinks there is a going to be a new charge, whether it is now or this fall. Here in Illinois, the law requires we are given 30 days notice of any fee changes, but I have not been given anything.

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MikeD-C05
These fees are why streaming has caught on so well across the country and DISH is losing subs each quarter. Soon won't be enough subs to be profitable.
T
Does cable charge box rent?
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