One of my FTA receivers does this and it is very useful. I can see what the video properties are, modulation parameters, etc. Would definitely be a fun tool to have on the Hoppers and Wallys.
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One of my FTA receivers does this and it is very useful. I can see what the video properties are, modulation parameters, etc. Would definitely be a fun tool to have on the Hoppers and Wallys.
I was trying to Google the name of the company and the hardware add-on, but alas I cannot find it.
Here's an example of what this receiver does, which I find very useful for HD quality comparison purposes. Of course, it's more information than the common person could need or want, but I love digging into a video feed and seeing exactly how good (or bad) the quality really is. My eyes' perception will vary from the next person's, but the parameters don't lie
Would be AMAZING to have information screens like these somewhere in the Dish receivers.
DISH is constantly upgrading their MPEG4 encoders.
Their MPEG4 HD looks a lot better than it did when they first started with MPEG4.
Having both DISH and DIRECTV both are about the same.
Their MPEG4 HD looks a lot better than it did when they first started with MPEG4.
Having both DISH and DIRECTV both are about the same.
I finally remembered it.
It's the Nextcom R5000-HD. HD DVR and PVR Products - Home of the R5000-HD DVRGood link. First sentence on the page:I finally remembered it.
About the best solution still around is the Hauppauge PVR1212 that captures up to a 1080i transport stream from the component/toslink outputs on your Vip/Hopper and connects via USB to a PC.
If I have something I want to transfer, I just start it on my Hopper, set the timer on the Hauppauge for the length of the stream and leave it to work overnight or any other time I'm not watching TV.
If I have something I want to transfer, I just start it on my Hopper, set the timer on the Hauppauge for the length of the stream and leave it to work overnight or any other time I'm not watching TV.
I'll add to that the Hauppauge PVR Rocket, which requires no PC, just a thumb drive or USB external drive. And it's less expensive. And 1080p
"HD PVR Rocket records video at up to 1080p and can record from either HDMI (without HDCP protection) or Component Video." 720p60 or 1080p30
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When I had an International Package TVJapan became the first international channel DISH carried, and the first on the 118 Satellite to be in HD. It was obviously better than most all other HD on DISH. It looked much like all the promotional HD videos that were around at the begining of HD to get you to buy.
Also not so much in recent times (When DISH had HBO) but in the past HBO's main channel 300 sometimes stood out with better HD. I'm guessing it all has to do with the amount of the frequency being used just as with OTA. Cramming channels on the transponders degrades the PQ. We have had the discussion before about what would you prefer, many fewer channels and noticeably better PQ, or as it is more channel choice and less PQ. Luckily there has been an improvement in the decoders as Scott mentioned and that has helped. And I do believe as some others think the Hopper 3 has a little crisper picture than my VIP receivers. (I brought one of my TV's to my daughter's house for the install of her DISH/Hopper service because she had not quite moved in yet and my immediate response when seeing the picture was it was a little crisper looking. I still think so when I go there. She uses the EA as I do in Ct)
Also not so much in recent times (When DISH had HBO) but in the past HBO's main channel 300 sometimes stood out with better HD. I'm guessing it all has to do with the amount of the frequency being used just as with OTA. Cramming channels on the transponders degrades the PQ. We have had the discussion before about what would you prefer, many fewer channels and noticeably better PQ, or as it is more channel choice and less PQ. Luckily there has been an improvement in the decoders as Scott mentioned and that has helped. And I do believe as some others think the Hopper 3 has a little crisper picture than my VIP receivers. (I brought one of my TV's to my daughter's house for the install of her DISH/Hopper service because she had not quite moved in yet and my immediate response when seeing the picture was it was a little crisper looking. I still think so when I go there. She uses the EA as I do in Ct)
I get a nice crisp picture on my Samsung plasmas but I'm sure I would love your OLED
I just bought a new LG 65in 4k tv and when I tune the locals thru my TiVo, in the top corner of the screen it says 720p, but my Dish says 1080i on the same locals, but they are not OTA. Are the locals broadcasting in 720p OTA (so they can have so many sub channels)or is that what the TiVo does.
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Depends on couple factors - first, what DO you have your Tivo set to output??? Is it set to always output 720p, or do you have it set to NATIVE...where it outputs whatever the incoming signal is???
Then you must obviously be setting your DISH receiver on 1080i...since NO DISH receiver (stupidly!) can output at a NATIVE setting.
But to answer your last question...some locals/networks broadcast 720p & some do 1080i; just depends on the local station &/or the networks they are broadcasting. Also, just because a local station IS broadcasting 720p does NOT necessarily mean they are doing it "to have many subs" on their station; it's all in how well their encoders work at the station. Most ABC, FOX & MNTV affiliates broadcast@720p, as that IS the native broadcast of the network feeds, while the other major nets are 1080i. Some stations do "transcode" those feeds to another format, depending on how their station infrastructure is setup. (eg: our local CBS/MNTV affiliate transcodes MNTV up to 1080i, as they broadcast BOTH nets (along with 2 SD channels) on 1 OTA signal & their infrastructure is a 1080i shop)
FWIW, we have a local station in Peoria, that is doing TWO 720p streams (ABC & CW) & ONE 1080i stream (NBC) ALL on 1 station!
AND if you think that's brutal, try ONE station in Quincy that's doing THREE 720p streams (FOX, CW & METV) AND ONE 1080i stream (NBC)!
edit: expect to see things like this at some other stations across the country, as the OTA repack ramps up!
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and with the less efficient MPEG2 encoding, any lowering of bitrates to accommodate that repack will have severe impact on picture quality.
Yes...AND, just think of what some of those will look like, in the markets where those stations are pickup up OTA by Cable, Sat or IP TV providers, by the time their subs get those signals!
Keep in mind the TV reports what it is being told it is receiving, NOT what the channel is broadcasting in. Your DISH receiver is very likely set to 1080I so the TV thinks it sees everything in 1080I that would include any SD channels you tune to. Everything isn't in 1080I but the receiver lies to the TV and tells it so if you have it set to 1080I. Ditto if you had it set to 720P etc.
The DISH receiver is upconverting to 1080I, but that does not make a 720P or 480I resolution magically become 1080I.
The TIVO is the same but with two differences. First it has a Native setting meaning whatever the channel is broadcasting in is what it will be sent to the TV as. In that case the TV will report what it is being told and it will be correct.
Second with the TIVO if you have it set to one setting, like 1080P (Which is the setting I use) the TV will report that but you can still see what the channel is actually broadcasting in by using the info button on the TIVO remote. No matter how you have the TIVO set to display the picture it will report correctly what the channel is broadcasting in if you use the info button on the TIVO remote.
As a side note using the Native setting can be a nuisance. If you switch between channels that are broadcasting in different resolutions it takes a little time to switch and a flicker of the screen each time. On my 4K tv I found putting the TIVO in 1080P mode (My TIVO is not 4K) gives me the best picture even for 480I and no flickering or waiting between changing channels. With the newer TV's good to great ability to upconvert or even the TIVO doing a good job I see much less reason to use the Native setting. In fact I see SD channels as looking better using the 1080P setting on the TIVO.
Finally, two locals for just about everyone are not broadcasting in 1080I, FOX and ABC. So when you see those in 1080I that is an indication whatever receiver is sending the signal to the TV is set to 1080I. Ditto if you are on an SD channels that is 480I but reports as 1080I.
The repack has nothing to do with picture quality. It's simply a channel move. Any station broadcasting above channel 37(?) is being moved to a lower channel. It's the same bandwidth.
I think what dare2be is referring to is "cramming" more diginets into a channel. That would require bandwidth sacrifice depending on how many feeds and what bitrate they wish to achieve.
To add to my post above, each ATSC 1.0 RF channel used for OTA can currently handle approximately 19.8 mbps of video. Some stations choose to allocate all of that bandwidth for one very high quality 1080i HD feed. Some divide that 19.8 mbps up into several (or many) lesser quality channels. In my experience, most major broadcast networks (the "Big Four") use about 10-13 mbps for their primary channel, then allocate the rest for subchannels.
I am not certain what the bandwidth capacity of an ATSC 3.0 channel is.
I am not certain what the bandwidth capacity of an ATSC 3.0 channel is.
