ESPN Picture Quality Worse Recently?

[primetimeguy]

I seem to have noticed even worse PQ on ESPN (is that possible ) over the last few days. Don't get me wrong, the PQ for ESPN on Dish has been very subpar for a very, very long time so I think both Dish and ESPN are to blame. But both NFL and NBA on ESPN have been very bad recently and I've noticed a lot more macroblocking on graphics going in/out on SportsCenter, Around the Horn and PTI. Highlights on those shows even seem to block more, at least initially. So it is almost like encoders or bandwidth have changed.

Any one else notice any of this? Or is it just I haven't watched ESPN all summer?

I'll also add I'm seeing this on a well calibrated 57" display at 11ft where I do most of my viewing. But notice it on my 32" at about 8ft too, that's how bad it is.

 

[jsz1002]

I haven't noticed EPSN looking worse, but MGM HD sure looks worse than it used to. The image is jerky and very pixelated.

 

[primetimeguy]

I surprised by the lack of posts in this thread. Maybe people have just been trained to accept poor PQ. Last night on MNF the compression artifacts and macroblocking going in/out of graphics and replays was terrible, worse than I have seen. I'm convinced E* has dropped bandwidth again....but I have not data to back it up.

 

[vaylon]

I have noticed it on a few networks, the worst two would be AMC and MGM. ESPN has always been subpar, so it's not really worse.

While watching this past Sundays episode of the walking dead on AMC, everyone was comenting how "unHD" it looked. So I downloaded a HD copy off the net and watched it. It was real HD. So dish is messing with something thats screwing the picture up. If Direct can show the show in perfect HD, Dish should be called out for whatever they are doing.

Only thing that will make me drop Dish is if they lower their standard for what they consider HD.

 

[Mike0616]

Was at the kids house this weekend and they have Dish. I wanted to watch a few games on the ESPN networks while the granddaughter took her naps. I was appalled at the macro-blocking, pixellation, etc. that they had during the games. It was terrible. They have had Dish for a month or so, changed out from DiWrecked, where there had been no problems, but they had the identical hookup from Dish for about 10 years and was the same story then. I thought there was something wrong with the ESPN feeds until we came home and I checked what I had on my U-verse DVR. The PQ on U-Verse was great, so it had to be Dish.

The difference in what I had at home and what I saw on their setup was like watching 2 entirely different games, when they were identical, just that one was dismal to attempt to watch.

 

[plumerman]

Espn picture quality is horrible. And the sound is like they are broadcasting from a submarine.

 

[primetimeguy]

I did put in an email to dishquality when I started this thread. Just got a response back today, but typical canned response saying they have not had other complaints, they'll monitor it, and asked unrelated questions about my setup.

 

[2D Bob]

ESPN vs My local Network stations (on Dish) for Saturday Football

When watching college football on Saturdays I sometimes switch between ESPN channels and a network to see what is transpiring. ESPN's picture is subpar every time in direct comparisons to network games on Dish, on my HDTV. However, My antenna - off-the-air signal - (722), beats them both in an obvious way. I'm in a northwest Atlanta suburb.

 

[sfollenius]

I haven't really noticed a difference in PQ. Most folks that come to my house comment on the excellent picture quality, even a football game on ESPN. I have OTA setup too, I can tell a slight difference in PQ but it's not drastic. Maybe it's my setup, LG 42" LCD 60Hz 720p. Viewing distance is about 6-8 feet. Maybe if I had a 1080p set I would see the difference? I have had Directv and I think the PQ was again slightly better but not a deal breaker at all to me.

Also the sound is okay, doesn't sound bad at all, I have it running Audio over HDMI in to my Yamaha Receiver, maybe that makes a difference. If it sounds like Satellite radio, then I would grade it as low quality.

 

[Lance Rock]

I'm an occasional lurker -- who finally bit the bullet and registered -- and wanted to comment on this as well.

I've been on the Eastern Arc since this past June, and as far as I'm concerned, it seems quality has been slowly and steadily going downhill in terms of compression artifacts and bandwidth/bitrate issues with what seems like literally each major HD channel add -- and it's not just ESPN that's bearing the brunt. Someone mentioned the juddering on MGM HD that appeared a few weeks ago. Luckily, they seemed to have at least fixed that. BUT, it now seems the PBS adds last week really pushed everything over the edge for most of the other HD (and even SD) channels. Gobs of motion artifacts on camera pans, block artifacts, mosquito noise, blotchiness, overall softness and shimmering now. It's getting to the point where it's actually distracting -- particularly the motion artifacts and shimmering. I have "before" and "after" movies on my DVR as a point of comparison, and it's really depressing to me. I'm a movie buff, and I don't even feel like watching the HD Platinums or the Premiums. Ditto for channels like TCM. It also seems that both sats, 62 and 72, are affected.

My question: Is there somewhere I can "politely" complain to Dish via e-mail or phone? I've seen the term "Dish Quality" mentioned here. If so, does anyone think it would really make any difference, or would I just be flapping in the wind? That is, just how bandwidth starved are they now on the Eastern Arc? Should it be this noticeable? Is it even noticeable to anyone else?

I should probably also add that it's apparent on both my 32" LCD, as well as the SD downconverted signal on my lowly 26" CRT.


Any comments and suggestions welcomed!

TIA,
LR

 

[Mojo Jojo]

We have a 1080p LED-backlight LCD television HD TV. Initially, I had the resolution on the 222k as 1080i. However, everyone else and I noticed that the picture was not looking all that great. Therefore, I changed the resolution on the 222k to 720p. What a difference; the channels even the SD ones look nice now. I also read in an online review that 1080i on the model we had did not produce the best picture and that 720p resolution was nearly perfect without any problems. I would recommend everyone else trying the same to see which produces a better picture; it might help.

 

[Kb Cool]

I'm an occasional lurker -- who finally bit the bullet and registered -- and wanted to comment on this as well.

I've been on the Eastern Arc since this past June, and as far as I'm concerned, it seems quality has been slowly and steadily going downhill in terms of compression artifacts and bandwidth/bitrate issues with what seems like literally each major HD channel add -- and it's not just ESPN that's bearing the brunt. Someone mentioned the juddering on MGM HD that appeared a few weeks ago. Luckily, they seemed to have at least fixed that. BUT, it now seems the PBS adds last week really pushed everything over the edge for most of the other HD (and even SD) channels. Gobs of motion artifacts on camera pans, block artifacts, mosquito noise, blotchiness, overall softness and shimmering now. It's getting to the point where it's actually distracting -- particularly the motion artifacts and shimmering. I have "before" and "after" movies on my DVR as a point of comparison, and it's really depressing to me. I'm a movie buff, and I don't even feel like watching the HD Platinums or the Premiums. Ditto for channels like TCM. It also seems that both sats, 62 and 72, are affected.

My question: Is there somewhere I can "politely" complain to Dish via e-mail or phone? I've seen the term "Dish Quality" mentioned here. If so, does anyone think it would really make any difference, or would I just be flapping in the wind? That is, just how bandwidth starved are they now on the Eastern Arc? Should it be this noticeable? Is it even noticeable to anyone else?

I should probably also add that it's apparent on both my 32" LCD, as well as the SD downconverted signal on my lowly 26" CRT.


Any comments and suggestions welcomed!

TIA,
LR

The days of real, "like looking out a window" HD are gone unless you watch blueray or FTAHD. In fact, i haven't seen great HD on E* since the Voom days and HDnet was still Mpeg2. Maybe D* and E* will get in a Picture quality war after the current "who has the most HD" is over.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

The days of real, "like looking out a window" HD are gone unless you watch blueray or FTAHD. In fact, i haven't seen great HD on E* since the Voom days and HDnet was still Mpeg2. Maybe D* and E* will get in a Picture quality war after the current "who has the most HD" is over.

Blu-ray [1080p] looks really amazing. I wonder if we will ever see 1080p from satellite besides on demand and if it will actually be "true" 1080p.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Well using my google box I can make all satellite 1080p. Looks great to me.

 

[primetimeguy]

The days of real, "like looking out a window" HD are gone unless you watch blueray or FTAHD. In fact, i haven't seen great HD on E* since the Voom days and HDnet was still Mpeg2. Maybe D* and E* will get in a Picture quality war after the current "who has the most HD" is over.

Agree 100%.

Lance Rock, you can complain, as I do, about once a month but it really gets no where. You just get the standard responses and the "should we send a tech out to check your signal". I went as far this week as to call and inquire about my current contract and what it would cost to bail out. I'm looking at my options, but I think I've come to the conclusion that today's TV is like mp3 of music, no one cares about quality so no provider is worth paying money for. I can get crappy PQ on the web for free!

 

[primetimeguy]

Well using my google box I can make all satellite 1080p. Looks great to me.

LOL

 

[ClarkGable]

While most HD channels look okay, I agree that ESPN is subpar. Don't even try to watch a college football game on ESPNU in glorious SD. ESPNU looks like a copy of a copy of a copy of a pirated VHS tape.

 

[primetimeguy]

While most HD channels look okay, I agree that ESPN is subpar. Don't even try to watch a college football game on ESPNU in glorious SD. ESPNU looks like a copy of a copy of a copy of a pirated VHS tape.

I'll agree that ESPNU is probably the worst SD channel I have ever seen. Maybe if we get ESPNU-HD it will look as good as SD should.

 

[MikeD-C05]

LOL

Let me rephrase the last statement. It looks much better to me over the google box in 1080p than over the dish receiver in just 1080i.

 

[multnomah]

I just finished watching two episodes of 'Great Migrations' on National Geographic in 1080i, and the quality was as good as anything I've seen on Dish, with the obvious exception of the Voom channels. I haven't noticed any degradation of HD signals on other channels either. I am on the Western Arc, sitting about 10 feet from a 63 inch Mitsubishi, so I think I'd notice. I don't watch ESPN, however, so I wouldn't know about that.

Blu Ray has Dish beat by a long shot, but I haven't seen any HD downloads on the Web that even come close to 'Great Migrations.'