Is it REALLY that noticeable? I'm very close to moving to Direct. I've never had it before. STB tech is what pushed me to Dish when I first left cable and got a Dish VIP 922.
But now that I have a really good TV I see ALL the compression artifacts I never noticed with my poor contrast DLP projector.
On Sunday I watched NHL on NBC via OTA and bounced back between that and the Dish feed of my local and the macro-blocking during motion was basically non-existant on OTA. It almost made me sad. You could actually SEE the puck fly through the air rather than just a smudge. I think the 1440x1080 that Dish uses is very apparent, combined with the compression. Side by side it was no contest. I hope that Direct is a little closer to OTA quality.
Also no CSNNE on Dish... and no linear 4k...
Guess I'm only waiting on the new LNB now that I actually type this out lol.
How does Directs App/streaming compare with the Hoppers Sling? I don't really care about my DVR content. I rarely use my Sling anymore, but it was a big seller when I originally got the 922 and I used it often (live sports on the go).