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dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV General Forum
US satellite pay-TV operator DirecTV has re-emphasised its commitment to 'next generation' Ultra-HDTV transmissions. The broadcaster reportedly says it expects to start Ultra-HDTV in about four years.

Source: http://advanced-television.com/2012/10/01/37560/
40 Replies · 8073 views
ZandarKoad
People are so utterly clueless out there. Ultra HD? Really? How about you go out and buy a $20 calibration disc and learn what true image fidelity means. What an utter waste... It's so incredibly common to find a cable or satellite customer who has all HD equipment, is paying for the service, and is using composite or coaxial cables from the receiver to the TV. The world doesn't need ultra HD, it needs a lesson in picture quality. Even the "high end" customers don't know jack crap about obtaining a good picture, or even how to define one, and for the most part they don't care.

I do love the idea of doing a massive swap/upgrade to finally kill all mpeg2 broadcasting. I don't know why they haven't done it yet, but there are plenty of bean counters working on that...
Jimbo
People are so utterly clueless out there. Ultra HD? Really? How about you go out and buy a $20 calibration disc and learn what true image fidelity means. What an utter waste... It's so incredibly common to find a cable or satellite customer who has all HD equipment, is paying for the service, and is using composite or coaxial cables from the receiver to the TV. The world doesn't need ultra HD, it needs a lesson in picture quality. Even the "high end" customers don't know jack crap about obtaining a good picture, or even how to define one, and for the most part they don't care.

I do love the idea of doing a massive swap/upgrade to finally kill all mpeg2 broadcasting. I don't know why they haven't done it yet, but there are plenty of bean counters working on that...

Where you I put the $ 20 disc you referred to, you can't put a disc in my HDTV ... What happens if I use a cheap DVR/Blu Ray unit, does that effect the picture quality that your trying to improve ? :D

What happens when I put this disc in my High End player and I don't come up with a MUCH better looking picture when it's done ? :confused:

Just saying ... I've never had the chance to use a disc to calibrate, but the TV looks damn good already.

(see Signature)
P
If they'd just give us full resolution full bandwidth HD we wouldn't need UltraHD.
madmadworld
If they'd just give us full resolution full bandwidth HD we wouldn't need UltraHD.

What do you call "FULL RES" ?

I'm not sure that the Resolution is the issue.

Many channels look GREAT, while others don't, also you can watch a show that looks OK and the next one looks GREAT, same channel, same res.

uncompressed is what i think the op was getting too. i think....... if so he right master hd feeds are grrreat
ZandarKoad
Where you I put the $ 20 disc you referred to, you can't put a disc in my HDTV ... What happens if I use a cheap DVR/Blu Ray unit, does that effect the picture quality that your trying to improve ? :D

What happens when I put this disc in my High End player and I don't come up with a MUCH better looking picture when it's done ? :confused:

Just saying ... I've never had the chance to use a disc to calibrate, but the TV looks damn good already.

(see Signature)

It doesn't matter how cheap or expensive your Blu Ray player is, as long as you use the same input on your TV, you can calibrate it with a calibration disc. The process will correct for any errors in the input (on your display) and any errors in your Blue Ray player. But if you wanted to calibrate an input on your display to use with a non-Blu Ray device (like a satellite receiver) then yes, it matters very much how accurate your player is. In that case, you'd need to spend $500 to $2000 on an Oppo player, or just get the Panasonic BDT 210 (much cheaper).
Jimbo
It doesn't matter how cheap or expensive your Blu Ray player is, as long as you use the same input on your TV, you can calibrate it with a calibration disc. The process will correct for any errors in the input (on your display) and any errors in your Blue Ray player. But if you wanted to calibrate an input on your display to use with a non-Blu Ray device (like a satellite receiver) then yes, it matters very much how accurate your player is. In that case, you'd need to spend $500 to $2000 on an Oppo player, or just get the Panasonic BDT 210 (much cheaper).

From what your saying , I think, I can get a calibration disc and swap my BR player over to the Input my Sat recvr is on, calibrate it and then put the Sat back on the input and be good, right ?

That said, I REALLY don't think my Pioneer Elite KURO Pro-151FD needs Calibration.
ZandarKoad
From what your saying , I think, I can get a calibration disc and swap my BR player over to the Input my Sat recvr is on, calibrate it and then put the Sat back on the input and be good, right ?

That said, I REALLY don't think my Pioneer Elite KURO Pro-151FD needs Calibration.

Yes, you can calibrate an input using your Blu Ray player. But like I said, almost every player out there has built in errors that make them terrible for that purpose EXCEPT the Oppo players or the Panasonic BDT 210. Then again, it's not going to matter that much anyway, because devices like satellite receivers and cable boxes broadcast such poor quality content, that "close enough is good enough".

If you are concerned with video fidelity, every display device needs calibration. Especially more so for high end televisions that have good calibration controls (10 or 20 point gray / white scale, complete color controls, etc). There is no such thing as a pre-calibrated, or auto-calibrating display. Calibration pays off the most when watching very good quality content, such as that from a Blu Ray or HTPC.
Jimbo
Yes, you can calibrate an input using your Blu Ray player. But like I said, almost every player out there has built in errors that make them terrible for that purpose EXCEPT the Oppo players or the Panasonic BDT 210. Then again, it's not going to matter that much anyway, because devices like satellite receivers and cable boxes broadcast such poor quality content, that "close enough is good enough".

If you are concerned with video fidelity, every display device needs calibration. Especially more so for high end televisions that have good calibration controls (10 or 20 point gray / white scale, complete color controls, etc). There is no such thing as a pre-calibrated, or auto-calibrating display. Calibration pays off the most when watching very good quality content, such as that from a Blu Ray or HTPC.
My A/V dealer I deal with does that before it's delivered.
ZandarKoad
My A/V dealer I deal with does that before it's delivered.

Nice, do you know what spectrophotometer he used?
JohnL
uncompressed is what i think the op was getting too. i think....... if so he right master hd feeds are grrreat

I'd love to see higher quality HD PQ. Why do we constantly see calls for uncompressed HD, I don't think some of these types of posters understand that for transmission of HD it has to be compressed to be able to fit down the transmission pipe.

Less compression will yield to less artifacting and slightly better PQ but it is always a balancing act between bandwidth constraints and PQ. Again there is no such thing as uncompressed HD, heck Blu-Ray is usually the best PQ available but even that is compressed, HD HAS TO BE COMPRESSED.

John
Jimbo
Nice, do you know what spectrophotometer he used?

Not a clue !
harshness
Not a clue !
It can be an important question depending on how anal you are about accuracy. There are "calibration" solutions that use simple colored filters and they are more subjective than something like a Colormunki or a Datacolor Spyder that takes electronic measurements.

IIRC, the more popular term for the typical calibration devices is "colorimeter"
ZandarKoad
It can be an important question depending on how anal you are about accuracy. There are "calibration" solutions that use simple colored filters and they are more subjective than something like a Colormunki or a Datacolor Spyder that takes electronic measurements.

IIRC, the more popular term for the typical calibration devices is "colorimeter"

Right, someone may call a "calibration" nothing more than a blue filter and some patterns on a disc. While that is something very basic, and very cheap, it is absolutely better than nothing. (Everyone, and I mean everyone, should be doing it.) It is way better than just "eye balling" it to preference. But it is not anywhere near the accuracy of a colorimeter. And a colorimeter isn't as accurate as a spectrophotometer.
gadgtfreek
Colorimeter and spectro are two different things, and both are used to calibrate displays. Colorimeters are "typical" for amateurs like myself (I own a D3 Pro and Chromapure), but spectro's are more typical for a pro who charges you $$$. Spectro's are usually reference instruments, colorimeters are not.
Ham Radio 2.0
· posted in Ham Radio 2.0
0 Replies · 1 views
Peter Parker
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
No idea what improvements might be involved.
18 Replies · 749 views
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bookworm370
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
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N
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
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R
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning. She hit FF and it went to 15x FF.
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Bobby
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
This has been an ongoing issue. A fix is coming, probably in the next software version.
Foxbat
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"
Here's the one I need:
1792365258110.webp
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Ramy
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
148 Replies · 1713 views
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Foxbat
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
osu1991
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
Was thinking same thing. It should be a good week for sec shorts and roll call
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R
A lot of upsets yesterday, but my LSU Tigers won.
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Foxbat
Best fan sign I saw during the ND-BYU game: "Bear ate your Lucky Charms!" (Bear being the Cougars' QB). I was going to suggest, "Have you or your team been involved in a Carr crash?"
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meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
A continuation of a thread from the pub, just general discussion of AI.

Brief 60 minute clip about next gem autonomous fighters - not remote controlled, but rather collaborating with controllers and aircraft in the theater.


View: https://youtu.be/DRm0mbp_n1k


We've literally got a movie already about this ;)


View: https://youtu.be/a2PW7a9ViDc
67 Replies · 1127 views
meStevo
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point. Nobody needs an innovative fix for a driver error or a creative way to format a report. Let it handle the solved problems so people can spend their time on the ones that aren't.
harshness
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point.
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.
meStevo
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.

Addressed by what you didn't quote. This cycle is as old as computing: compilers, libraries, frameworks each automated the tedious part, and the human work moved up a level. Innovation didn't end; it shifted. And people still make new compilers, libraries or frameworks.

Nobody's forced to hand anything off. Anyone who wants to keep doing it by hand still can, and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
harshness
... and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
meStevo
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
You're not wrong, but that's part of learning. Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
harshness
Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.
meStevo
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.

This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
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dishstaller
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.
meStevo
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.

Agents need appropriate context to make what would be understood as the correct read in a situation like that, and that Gemini answer was a clear miss on that front.

That said, we've also seen Musk (and/or his team) put his thumb on the scale (or just release a very poor product) with his own deployed AI since:


In the end, it's all a tool. Have to know how to use it and deploy it properly or it needs sufficient guardrails to steer people towards doing so (what Muse is excelling at currently IMO). I'm routinely interacting with several agents a day operating various processes locally and in services I use, and there are numerous others silently spun up to perform actions or satisfy requests from my prompts.

Related to earlier discussion in the thread on leveraging local inference: this kind of analysis happening behind the scenes is something everyone will have built into Windows, IMO. Most people won't see all of this, just the results, unless they want to dig into how the fix was chosen. Stuff like this will be standard as agents get local system access baked in, and more of the inference itself moves on-device.

1792355686329.webp
T
Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.



This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
You invested in datacenters?
meStevo
You invested in datacenters?


Though, I do have stocks in my portfolio that benefit from data centers.
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 11 views
Former member 208119
Last reply · posted in SiriusXM Satellite Radio
My year was almost up and we got the new bill for a year of service for $ 360.00 insane sat radio is becoming like cable!!! i logged into my acct and hopped onto chat and told the rep that i wanted to cancel. she understood my concern and went quiet for a few minutes. i figured that she was canceling my service. she comes back and said that she seen that i have been a sub since 07 and then offers me the same package for a year for 120.00 with taxes and fee's!!! i grabbed it. after almost having a stroke :biggrin
236 Replies · 10936 views
B
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $4.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Jimbo
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
EarDemon
I tried to do that, when I did delivery driver work (2010- 2013), we had a fleet of Freightliners. The newer trucks had headunits that were satellite compatible (XM only I think), but lacked the antenna and guts. I got a car kt for my old Roady XT and tried to use it, but at the volume levels I needed have it at to hear it over the diesel engine it sounded like crap, so I used my phone with an aux cable. When I was in the middle of nowhere with no cell service it didn't do me any good though.

At my current job, one of our new cars has the free trial of SXM active, I frequently have to go off site to a location 75 miles away in a rural area and it's nice being able to use the service off of the satellites versus using the app. There are many places on this journey where all three providers lack service.
B
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
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TRG
TRG
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
B
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
Jimbo
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
You get an email every month to let you know they are billing you for the next month.
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....
68525 Replies · 2672461 views
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Bobby
Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town - Charley Pride
harshness
Delta Dawn - Tanya Tucker
dishstaller
Can't You See - Marshall Tucker Band
sdfntx
See You in September - The Happenings
long_time_Dish
You Look Like You Love Me - Ella Langley
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
111 Replies · 1713 views
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osu1991
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M
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
Y
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
After having experienced Gus Ferguson trying to call soccer games, I'm uncertain why NFL football analysts get hate. Even the "worst" of them are pretty good.
meStevo
Jalen Hurts out indefinitely as they treat and monitor a superficial blood clot in his leg.


View: https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2111074303185989663?s=20
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meStevo
Browns lead the AFC North 🤣

Seth Meyers What GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
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T
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion
Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...
5 Replies · 163 views
Titanium
Yes, many have hacked a DirecTV or Dish Network dish before. Quite undersized, but would receive the 97w KU stations with an LNBF swap. Make a template to set the LNBF face angle and distance from the reflector. Remove the current circular polarity LNBFs and make a bracket to hold the replacement linear LNBF in the correct centered position. Remember to set the polarity skew.
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B
would probably also work well for NHK on 101W and possibly for PBS on 99W. I used one for a while on 30W. Just keep in mind that because it's undersized for those satellites, it might work fine in clear weather but won't have much margin to account for signal degradation during rain/snow
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O
If you can find one, the Shaw / Star Choice 75e ellipticals are great for use on 97, 99, and 101W. They are really just rebranded ChannelMaster 75 cm reflectors and use linear LNBFs by default out of the box.

Everyone else's mileage may vary.
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T
I have read that some have converted this type dish but after giving it a good look, it's the lnb conversion that is the bottleneck. Does anyone have a picture of their attempt to configure the lnb? I watched a video on youtube from the save it for parts guy and he used duct tape! Guess it worked but I'm thinking something a bit more permanent!
Thanks to all for your interest and replies...
Titanium
Many of us have used a universal LNBF mount (or get creative with L brackets and plumbers tape - perforated metal strapping). Use a few inches of aluminum tube (or a piece of 1x2" lumber) to extend the support arm (replacing the plastic mount used by DirecTV and Dish) to place the LNBF throat opening at the correct distance from the reflector, the correct height and at the correct angle. Nothing magical... simply place the new linear LNBF in the center at the same distance, height and angle as the current combo.
www.amazon.com/Universal-Single-Bracket-Holder-FTA-US/dp/B074L85WK2
LNBF mount.webp
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy

Ethanol Free Stations

5550 Replies · 460546 views
Bobby
Regular$6.099​
Premium$6.599​
Diesel$7.999​
at Costco, Rohnert Park.​
Bobby
Regular$5.999​
Premium$6.399​
Diesel$7.999​
at Costco, Rohnert Park.​
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harshness
I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.
dishstaller
Regular$5.999​
Premium$6.399​
Odd that out there, Prem is only 40 cents higher. Here it's a full dollar more.

Last night it was about $4.17 gas, $6,19 diesel.
harshness
Odd that out there, Prem is only 40 cents higher. Here it's a full dollar more.
On the West Coast, a 40-cent differential is common. It used to be 30 cents before the prices rose above $3.

A "full dollar more" sounds like it may be boat gas (non-alcoholic), which is a whole different discussion.