I've got a DirecTV Genie and a Hopper 3 connected to the same TV that I do comparisons for customers often. Almost everyone agrees that some HD channels look a little better on DirecTV and some look a little better on Dish. It's pretty much a toss-up. They also agree that the SD on Dish is much, much better than on DirecTV.
Dish vs directv 4K
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I don’t have Direct TV to compare to Dish but I like to compare my local Dish satellite channels with OTA local channels. I don’t see any difference between the OTA channels and the Dish satellite local channels. In fact the METV channel 247 which is SD is better than the METV channel 004-02. Of coarse the OTA channel 004-02 is a sub channel at 480i.
I have done these comparisons on my Sony XBR-65X900E.
The Hopper3 has some limitations.
Netflix is better on my TV than the Hopper3. The Netflix UHD movies don’t work on the Hopper3 and Netflix Dolby Surround Sound is only stereo on the Hopper3.
Also the Google and Amazon 4K movies do not work on the Hopper3. That is because the Hopper3 does not support their codec.
But I like the Hopper3 ability to support multiple External drives and OTA tuner. I only wish that Dish would supply Guide info for all of my sub channels. I only get Guide info for about half of the channels.
I also think that Dish Anywhere is a fantastic application. My sons and nephew connect to my two Hopper3 receivers since I have Dish America Everything pkg + Dish Movie pkg. They enjoy watching “dad’s content”.
I have been with Dish since 2000 and I have been pleased with their equipment.
I have done these comparisons on my Sony XBR-65X900E.
The Hopper3 has some limitations.
Netflix is better on my TV than the Hopper3. The Netflix UHD movies don’t work on the Hopper3 and Netflix Dolby Surround Sound is only stereo on the Hopper3.
Also the Google and Amazon 4K movies do not work on the Hopper3. That is because the Hopper3 does not support their codec.
But I like the Hopper3 ability to support multiple External drives and OTA tuner. I only wish that Dish would supply Guide info for all of my sub channels. I only get Guide info for about half of the channels.
I also think that Dish Anywhere is a fantastic application. My sons and nephew connect to my two Hopper3 receivers since I have Dish America Everything pkg + Dish Movie pkg. They enjoy watching “dad’s content”.
I have been with Dish since 2000 and I have been pleased with their equipment.
Because I'm going off MY experience. Sorry if that doesn't fit into your agenda
I cant speak for the Dish side of the house, but on the DirecTV side as mentioned before, DirecTV has 3 channels currently. 1 PPV, 1 Events and 1 channel that is like the Audience Network in UHD. DirecTV will turn off the PPV channel for live events. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see another live events channel launch in UHD in the near future, especially with the World Cup coming in 4K. Fox is carrying the world cup and has worked with DirecTV on many events produced in 4K. 4K programming is ramping up and that is VERY clear at this years NAB. DirecTV is more supported for UHD with transponder bonding and reverse band. They could launch 30 4K channels if they were out there. I do see additional 4K content being launched soon... What that is I don’t know. DirecTV is more suited for the premium experience and also supports Dolby Atmos, HLG HDR. Also, HDR is NOT a requirement. If your TV cant do HLG HDR, you will just see the program in 4K SDR.
You have experience as an installer...Good...What ya don't have is any 1st hand experience with what I'm seeing...Signal strength is not the problem, as I stated already. Obviously, this doesn't fit yer agenda!...BTW, I setup/aimed/calibrated/repaired Parabolic Reflector Antenna's for the military back in the 70's. What does it mean...Nothing.
I agree, any picture quality issues you are experiencing are likely not due to signal strength. The only exception would be if you are having a lot of drop-outs. I'd say you either have equipment problems, including hardware faults or misconfiguration, or your display(s) need to be correctly calibrated for the new source.
Nope, the only problem is the signal Dish has stepped on.
I have 2 Pioneer Pro-Elites (Retired) both professionally calibrated (one brought back out of retirement for comparison to check Dish signal), a Sony 75" 900e, Vizio P 65" calibrated by me, well a friend, who has the equipment. I definitely have them calibrated as good as they can be for the Dish source + streaming & DVD's.
I should say that overall Dish has a good product. The features are very-very nice, they just need to provide a better quality of the signal. I understand the pipe only has so much room, so quantity (Make the customer happy with an overload of choices!) trumps quality.
Well, your display equipment suggests you should be able to get the most out of the available source, I just can't understand why you'd see such a big difference between DirecTV and Dish at a reasonable viewing distance, especially since Dish upgraded their encoders last fall. Perhaps you are just more discriminating of minor differences than most. I guess you should just be happy you have Dish instead of Spectrum or U-verse in the mean time.
Tangent: Since you seem to care a lot about PQ, I was wondering if you had tried any of the OTT streaming offerings like Sling or DirecTV Now, and, if so what you thought of the PQ.
If one is focused in picture quality, I can't understand why he would subscribe to satellite TV any way, both major providers severely restrict PQ with encoding and compression.
Of course where can one get the best picture without buying a 4K Blu-0Ray or maybe Netflix or other 4K streaming sources, but there you run into $$$.
Of course where can one get the best picture without buying a 4K Blu-0Ray or maybe Netflix or other 4K streaming sources, but there you run into $$$.
some people have no other option than sat tv.
are you also saying that comcast/time warner/ect dont encode or compress?
If one is focused in picture quality, I can't understand why he would subscribe to satellite TV any way, both major providers severely restrict PQ with encoding and compression.
PQ on satellite is never going to be better than it has to be to satisfy the general public.
Cable is no betterit's like complaining about static on your AM radio.
Of course where can one get the best picture without buying a 4K Blu-0Ray or maybe Netflix or other 4K streaming sources, but there you run into $$$.
PQ on satellite is never going to be better than it has to be to satisfy the general public.
Cable is no betterit's like complaining about static on your AM radio.
Of course where can one get the best picture without buying a 4K Blu-0Ray or maybe Netflix or other 4K streaming sources, but there you run into $$$.
So what, go with cable thst’s still using MPEG2 and putting more and more channels on each carrier channel as they make more room for internet?
I was a DirecTV customer for 3 years so yeah, I have seen your side and my question is this, other than to slam Dish, if you have DTV, why are posting in the Dish forum?
As I think back to the transition from the Tivo OTA I primarily used before I went back to DirecTV, I definitely remember being disappointed with the PQ of satellite. I guess I just got over it with a little time. The move from DirecTV to Dish was virtually indistinguishable most of the time in comparison. My point is, if people really care about PQ, go OTA (assuming your local channels aren't bit-starved and oversubscribed with sub-channels). The thing I noticed the most was how much smoother motion was with OTA. Motion on MPEG4 channels on Dish and DirecTV are jerky and blurry in comparison. It isn't a huge deal, but it was noticeable. If I could get good OTA where I live now (I switched to Dish when I moved because no LOS to DirecTV), I would probably have gone back to Tivo and gotten an OTT service to augment it.
