DVR522 Help

[jvstrat]

I just started using dish network last Friday and had a 522 installed on 2 tvs. My#1 tv which is a 6 month old Toshiba 32 inch flatscreen has a perfect picture when watching dvds' and when I had digital cable. When plugged in with the coaxial cable there were dark lines faintly in the background going from left to right that I didn't notice until the installers left. When I plug an s-video cable into my tv the lines go away, but I notice some pixelling. Sometimes you will notice the outlines of people and objects to be blurry or you will see the outline of an object moving over the background surrounded by digital boxes. On my 2nd tv the reception is even worse. There are white lines going across the screen. Dish sent some idiot out this morning from some antenna service company and he didn't know anything. For quite some time he was trying to say he couldn't see the lines and then finally said he could see them a little. He was trying to say it was my tv so I sowed him a dvd in crystal clear picture to prove my point. I told him when I had digital cable I never had picture problems and he stated that of course the digital cable would have been better as satellite isn't digital. Last I knew it was. He tried changing cables and the connectors of the cabling the satellites plug into the receiver with. Finally he called dish and told them to send a new receiver as it's defective. Has anyone ever had a problem like this with the 522? My satellite shows a good signal over 100. If the receiver doesn't fix this, dish had better hope the can send someone out that can fix it or else they will lose a customer.

 

[ibleedblue]

I have the same issues. The reception on my 522 is much poorer than the reception on the digital part of my digital cable ever was. My local channels are comperable to a good set of rabbit ears. I have horrible pixilation problems, especially on dark screens. I had DTv a few years back and I remember it being crystal clear. Maybe it was just the specific channels that I watch, I don't know. I know The Travel Channel on my 522 is very poor with no crisp edges anywhere on the screen. Many others are the same way. If I wasn't so pissed with Time Warner, I'd sign right back up with them. As it is, I'll live with the substandard picture till my contract expires. I've contacted Dish and they said it's normal.

 

[MikeD-C05]

You need to calibrate your tv for satellite tv ,NOT cable.

There is a difference and if you would purchase a calibration dvd you could see for yourself. I have calibrated mine and I practically never see any artifacts anymore. Picture controls are turned down to half on brightness, none or 0 on sharpness( this does nothing but introduce noise into satellite picture) , and less than 1/2 on contrast. Color little more than 1/2.

Picture controls will always vary depending on what you are watching. Some people think that satellite should look just as good as a tv adjusted for cable . This is not the case. Satellite picture from Dishnetwork is different than cable and different than Directv"s picture. I had all three services last year. Each input was adjusted differently for each source.

All are different in the way they do their picture. Dish is softer and less pixelation ( when adjusted by calibration disk), Directv is sharper in the picture but there is more pixelation and blockiness in the background( unless adjusted for the picture by calibration disk).

The point is to try to calibrate your tv by a calibration dvd to adjust the picture to look as good for satellite as possible. Then if you still can't live with the picture you can make a choice to drop Dish and go back to cable. I for one would never go back to cable for my service. I perfer the dvr and the service from Dish over Directv or cable.

In the end the choice is yours , but make sure you do all that you can to improve the picture first. Try different connection cables as well. RF coax is the worst, Rca audio/video jacks are better, s-video is even better for picture quality. Component is the best analog connection for your tv if you have a receiver that can do component. Most tvs are set up by the installer with the coax cable when they install the satellite. Try different connections as well to see what looks good to you.

 

[boba]

Both of you have 522s so you are under DHA which has no contract, You have both seen DISH's attitude for customer service, it is your decision which is worse Cable or DISH it is your call. Two years in a row DISH won J.D.Powers survey for Customer service but that was 4 years ago they haven't learned how to treat customers.

 

[riski]

I have a Toshiba model 32AF44 and have it connected to my TV2 and the picture is awesome. I am awaiting delivery of my new entertainment center so I can put the 32" in the living room where the receiver is at. I currently have a 24" Toshiba flat screen in the living room as TV1 with S-video hookup and that pic is even better! I have occasional pixelation on the locals but since I lived near a cop shop, someone told me that radar form the cop cars can interfere with my 105 signal since it is peaked at around 58 normally which is relatively low.

I do agree with the poster above about using a dvd calibrator as out of the box, contrast and brightness is maxed. Toshiba is known for a darker picture but after calibrating both sets, i am totally pleased with the pic on both sets and would NEVER, EVER go back to comcast where picture quality was ALWAYS an issue. By the way, the antenna guy is wrong...the signal coming from E* is digital...cable's "digital" package is only partial digital...the remaining are analogue. Good luck!

 

[cheezwiz]

My picture is fine on my Trinitron as well. But the calibration DVD intrigues me. Where does one get one of these?

 

[riski]

http://www.smarthome.com/9386.html

here ya go

 

[Mark_AR]

My picture is fine on my Trinitron as well. But the calibration DVD intrigues me. Where does one get one of these?

Ebay: Search for "Digital Video Essentials" or DVE

or "AVIA guide"

I've got the DVE disc and I recommend it.

One thing to note. Some higher end TV's have different adjustments for each input. My SAT settings are different than my DVD settings.

I told him when I had digital cable I never had picture problems and he stated that of course the digital cable would have been better as satellite isn't digital. Last I knew it was.

Thats funny. If it isn't digital, then what is it?? Sounds like the guy worked on one too many antennas during a thunder storm.

 

[Hall]

But the calibration DVD intrigues me. Where does one get one of these?

Try your local library.