Comments from new customer...

[Trav]

Just wanted to share my comments after having DN installed yesterday. This is my first satellite system, so I can't comment on how it compares to D* or any other satellite system.

I ordered the DHA promotion with the Top 120 package and the 522 receiver. Obviously, installation was free and I don't have to pay the extra $5 for having the second tuner (though I do need to have it hooked up to the phone line). I am also paying the extra $5 for video on demand, which I have found well worth it!

My area also just recently got local channels, so I have the SuperDish. Unfortunately, I am pretty disappointed by the picture quality on these channels but I did read about them before signing up so I guess I'm not really surprised. Specificially, the channels are obviously *heavily* compressed which makes the video look pixellated and lacking detail. This is quite obvious even from a further viewing distance on a standard 32" TV. It's nice having the locals on the Satellite system, but I would certainly hope for improved video in the future. Can someone explain the reason why they compress these channels more? And if this is something that they may improve in the future?

The other channels look good. Some compression artifiacts can be seen now and then but otherwise, definitely an improvement there over my previous cable.

I can't say enough about the DVR though. I don't think I would ever want to be without one now that I've used it. I was previously recording shows with my PC TV tuner card and I'll still do that for shows I want to archive to DVD, etc. But the DVR is awesome with video on demand for Live TV, etc. Having the two tuners on the 522 is also great.

So other than the local channel picture quality, I am definitely satisfied. Thanks to those who helped me in some previous posts where I asked a bunch of questions.

Travis

 

[KyDave]

Interesting about your local tv picture. I wondered about the SUPERDISH locals, and assumed that they would actually look BETTER as they have more bandwidth to play around with on the 105 location.

Glad you hear that the 522 is working out for you, though.

 

[Mr Tony]

Trav
What city's locals do you have?

because the SuperDish locals have one city per Transponder, regardless of number of channels. Conversely, if your locals are on the Dish500, they squeeze 12 channels per transponder. Other than Milwaukee (which has 9) most TP's have 5 or 6 locals on it.

Another reason might be Dish is getting picking them up Over the Air and digitalizing them, which could be the reason.

Just seems weird that your locals arent good on SD, and mine on Dish500 are pretty good (no pixelation)

 

[Trav]

Trav
What city's locals do you have?

because the SuperDish locals have one city per Transponder, regardless of number of channels. Conversely, if your locals are on the Dish500, they squeeze 12 channels per transponder. Other than Milwaukee (which has 9) most TP's have 5 or 6 locals on it.

Another reason might be Dish is getting picking them up Over the Air and digitalizing them, which could be the reason.

Just seems weird that your locals arent good on SD, and mine on Dish500 are pretty good (no pixelation)

I'm in the Davenport, Iowa local (Quad Cities, which is a fairly large metro of several cities). The locals here just became available last month, I believe. I don't know anything about the transponders, but I do know for sure that I'm on the SuperDish.

I'll go into further detail about the image quality. It is most prevalent, for example, when a person's face is close up - areas of skin are very blotchy, pixellated, and look much like the MPG video I've seen on my PC when the compression is very high. Sometimes there seems to be a stair-stepping effect as well along the edges. Overall, the video quality is simply quite poor - even my wife who knows nothing about compression or digital video noticed it right away.

I don't know if this would make any difference, but the signal strength on the satellite that has our locals is usually around 60 or so, while the other Dish satellites are around 100. A friend up mine who lives several miles away also said the signal strength is about the same there. And just to rule it out, it's not my Tv connections because it is the same on both the Svideo output to TV1 and the coax output to TV2.

Thanks for replying.

 

[rad]

Trav
What city's locals do you have?

because the SuperDish locals have one city per Transponder, regardless of number of channels. Conversely, if your locals are on the Dish500, they squeeze 12 channels per transponder. Other than Milwaukee (which has 9) most TP's have 5 or 6 locals on it.

??? According to http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/dish105.shtml on TP23 there are a total of 12 channels for Ft. Smite, Moline/Rock Island/Davenport/Burlington. So bottom line is that he's getting the normal amount of channels on a TP as everyone else.

 

[jay22]

Around her I am getting 120 on 110 and 119 and 70 to 74 on 105. might have the installer come check it out. See if he can fine tune it a bit better. I have had to do this to some installs around here because supperdishes take a little longer to set up and some installers get in a hurry. Not to say yours did but if you have neighbor with same set up you might want to ask them what they are getting. Trees and things get in the way and you might have something in your way. Hope it gets better.

 

[btbrossard]

I'll go into further detail about the image quality. It is most prevalent, for example, when a person's face is close up - areas of skin are very blotchy, pixellated, and look much like the MPG video I've seen on my PC when the compression is very high. Sometimes there seems to be a stair-stepping effect as well along the edges. Overall, the video quality is simply quite poor - even my wife who knows nothing about compression or digital video noticed it right away.

Welcome to Dish!

I would recommend using a calibration DVD like Avia or Video Essentials to make sure your TV is set up correctly (I'm sure you can find info about them somewhere here). One of the biggest problems is having the brightness set too high. If its too high, you will see the problems you describe with a DBS signal.

I remember when I first got DBS I thought it looked like crap. After some fine tuning of my TV set everything looks good. You will see the problems you described on the most compressed channels (which usually are locals).

Also - The satellite strengh at 105 or 121 will be less than at 110 and 119. This is due to the power of the satellites at 105 and 121. Our superdish gets over 100 on both 110/119 and about 70 on 121. That seems to be about normal.

/Benjamin

 

[Hall]

Also - The satellite strengh at 105 or 121 will be less than at 110 and 119. This is due to the power of the satellites at 105 and 121. Our superdish gets over 100 on both 110/119 and about 70 on 121. That seems to be about normal.

I'm getting about 65 on one satellite, 105-110 on another, and 124 on the 3rd. Should I leave things alone ??

 

[LER]

I'm getting about 65 on one satellite, 105-110 on another, and 124 on the 3rd. Should I leave things alone ??

Not sure, but if they look crappy, send a note to:

dishquality@echostar.com

Which is the AVQuality department. They do listen, and act.

LER

 

[btbrossard]

I'm getting about 65 on one satellite, 105-110 on another, and 124 on the 3rd. Should I leave things alone ??

Those numbers sound fine.

The problems you described do not sound like they would be caused by your signal strength being too low. If your signal strength was too low, you could expect to see frequent error messages about losing satellite connection and parts of the picture actually breaking up and stuttering.

I would concentrate more on how your TV is setup than your Dish setup.

If you need more help - feel free to ask.

/Benjamin

 

[AppliedAggression]

Some advice I can give you to make the picture quality look better is to decrease the sharpness on your TV. It will greatly reduce the artifacts.

 

[Mr Tony]

??? According to http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/dish105.shtml on TP23 there are a total of 12 channels for Ft. Smite, Moline/Rock Island/Davenport/Burlington. So bottom line is that he's getting the normal amount of channels on a TP as everyone else.

Oh crap
I looked at 121...

 

[Hall]

Those numbers sound fine.

The problems you described do not sound like they would be caused by your signal strength being too low. If your signal strength was too low, you could expect to see frequent error messages about losing satellite connection and parts of the picture actually breaking up and stuttering.

I think you're responding to the original poster as I can't say I'm having any picture issues.... Then again, my TV is a 10 year old Toshiba....

Ooops, did I hijack his thread ??

 

[Trav]

I think you're responding to the original poster as I can't say I'm having any picture issues.... Then again, my TV is a 10 year old Toshiba....

Ooops, did I hijack his thread ??

Hehee, thanks everyone for the input. I'll try adjusting my TV, though the installer did adjust the brightness, etc before he left. I haven't lost signal or anything like that, so it appears my signal strength is not the issue. And since the locals are where I notice it the most, I'll probably have to brush it off and accept it for now.

 

[LER]

Hehee, thanks everyone for the input. I'll try adjusting my TV, though the installer did adjust the brightness, etc before he left. I haven't lost signal or anything like that, so it appears my signal strength is not the issue. And since the locals are where I notice it the most, I'll probably have to brush it off and accept it for now.

Do ask the dishquality@echostar.com folks about it.

 

[btbrossard]

I think you're responding to the original poster as I can't say I'm having any picture issues.... Then again, my TV is a 10 year old Toshiba....

Ooops, did I hijack his thread ??

Sorry - I wasn't paying attention I guess .

/Benjamin

 

[Trav]

Do ask the dishquality@echostar.com folks about it.

Thanks. I did indeed do as suggestion and write to that address with my concern. This was the response I got (I assume it was automated so I don't know if I'll get a direct response or not):

***

Thank you for taking the time to comment on the quality of the Dish Network.
We have received your email and will be looking into the concerns you have
identified. Your comments are important to us. Through our own cutting edge
technology and your feedback, we will continue to improve the already
superior quality of our service.

This email address is primarily for service quality issues to aid the
Quality Assurance Team in the continuing effort of providing our customers
with the best possible picture and sound. While each comment is reviewed,
due to the amount of email that is directed to our mailbox, we can not
respond to each individually.

To better serve you, we also have the following electronic mail resources
that can be utilized:

Customer Service, billing and programming issues can be addressed to
feedback@echostar.com

Charlie Chat Questions or comments can be addressed to
charliechat@echostar.com

Our World Wide Web site contains a large amount of information that may also
assist you in getting your questions answered. Our web site is located on
the internet at http://www.dishnetwork.com <http://www.dishnetwork.com/> .

Again, thank you for the feedback.



Sincerely,

Dish Network Quality Assurance Team

 

[LER]

Thanks. I did indeed do as suggestion and write to that address with my concern. This was the response I got (I assume it was automated so I don't know if I'll get a direct response or not):
[snip]

Yes, that's the auto-responder. I usually get a more direct reply 24-48 hours later.

LER

 

[Trav]

Yes, that's the auto-responder. I usually get a more direct reply 24-48 hours later.

LER

Yep, I got a more direct reply tonight. They confirmed my concerns for the local channels in my area, but I don't whether to think that is just BS or if they are really going to do something about it.

Here is what I wrote to them:

***BEGIN PASTE***
I just signed up with Dish this week and for the most part, I am pleased. It's
great the hear that you have reached an agreement with Viacom!

What I am concerned about is the picture quality with the Local Channels I am
receiving with the SuperDish in the Davenport, Iowa area (Quad Cities). It's
quite apparent that these channels are HIGHLY compressed as visible artifacts
are visible even from a large viewing distance away from the TV. Facial
features are distorted and any solid colors are very pixelated. In short, the
picture quality with the locals is no where near the quality I was expecting.

I just wanted to know if there are plans to improve the picture quality?
*** END PASTE***

And this was their response tonight:

***BEGIN PASTE***
Thank you for expressing your concerns and interest in the DISH Network.
Customer input is an important tool in our efforts to continuously improve
the quality of the DISH Network service.
Our Broadcast Operations Center have confirmed your concerns of picture
quality for the Davenport, Iowa area networks and are working on a solution
at this time.
Thank you for your time, and for being a valued DISH Network customer.

Echostar Satellite LLC
Quality Assurance Department
dishquality@echostar.com
***END PASTE***

 

[LER]

Yep, I got a more direct reply tonight. They confirmed my concerns for the local channels in my area, but I don't whether to think that is just BS or if they are really going to do something about it

Yes, generally if they acknowledge the problem, they are REALLY working on it.

I'd expect them to have a solution at some point, and that you are not crazy.

Those folks really care.

LER