This is not an HD Lite thread.
With all the claims that DirecTV is about to launch a hundred HD channels, I decided I should once again revisit what they are doing with their PQ. Many have claimed they improved it. My method is to compare equal channels with Dish Network.
I looked at HDNet, HDNET Movies, and Discovery HD Theater for starters. I did this A/B comparison over the past 6 days.
All three channels on DirecTV appeared sharper and brighter than Dishnetwork, which could be said to be "softer" than DirecTV.
On a quick glance this is what one sees, even a blind test- which is a better picture, the call would go to DirecTV.
However, upon closer look, I discovered DirecTV's channels were actually white clipped and black stretched. The Dish channels were properly balanced in the upper and lower luminance regions. Both appeared to have the same amount of detail in the middle of the luminance spectrum.
What this clipping and black stretch does is make the image "brighter" with more luster, however, it also causes a suffer of lost detail in the shadows and lost detail in the whites that Dish Network retains.
If this were just one channel, I would have said something is out of adjustment, but since this was on three channels and over several days period of time, I have to credit DirecTV with making this mis-adjusted picture intentionally as a policy or they have some newbie in engineering who just needs to be watched over. I hope DirecTV can fix this. Meanwhile I will be looking at other channels PQ with not just detail but also the level of white clip and black stretch being added.
Another thought is that DirecTV is using the same logic as monitors are set at for in store sales vs in home viewing. The brightness and contrast is cranked way up for in store viewing. Since D* cannot adjust my monitor in the my home they have adjusted the picture before sending. Unfortunately when it is adjusted before airing, I can't pull that detail in those clipped and stretched regions back to normal. It is lost.
With all the claims that DirecTV is about to launch a hundred HD channels, I decided I should once again revisit what they are doing with their PQ. Many have claimed they improved it. My method is to compare equal channels with Dish Network.
I looked at HDNet, HDNET Movies, and Discovery HD Theater for starters. I did this A/B comparison over the past 6 days.
All three channels on DirecTV appeared sharper and brighter than Dishnetwork, which could be said to be "softer" than DirecTV.
On a quick glance this is what one sees, even a blind test- which is a better picture, the call would go to DirecTV.
However, upon closer look, I discovered DirecTV's channels were actually white clipped and black stretched. The Dish channels were properly balanced in the upper and lower luminance regions. Both appeared to have the same amount of detail in the middle of the luminance spectrum.
What this clipping and black stretch does is make the image "brighter" with more luster, however, it also causes a suffer of lost detail in the shadows and lost detail in the whites that Dish Network retains.
If this were just one channel, I would have said something is out of adjustment, but since this was on three channels and over several days period of time, I have to credit DirecTV with making this mis-adjusted picture intentionally as a policy or they have some newbie in engineering who just needs to be watched over. I hope DirecTV can fix this. Meanwhile I will be looking at other channels PQ with not just detail but also the level of white clip and black stretch being added.
Another thought is that DirecTV is using the same logic as monitors are set at for in store sales vs in home viewing. The brightness and contrast is cranked way up for in store viewing. Since D* cannot adjust my monitor in the my home they have adjusted the picture before sending. Unfortunately when it is adjusted before airing, I can't pull that detail in those clipped and stretched regions back to normal. It is lost.
