Great Deal! -- Couple HD questions

[Bam Bam]

First, let me say a big THANK YOU to satellite guys for the info that I was able to collect over the past few weeks in making my sat. tv decision. I have had D* for about 4 years. Contract ran out a couple months ago. Saw a Dish promo that sounded great - free hd/dvr, free hd programming for 6 months, free HBO for 3 months, no install fee, $50 credit, and price locked in til Jan of 08. I have had an HD compatible tv for about seven years, but I've never had HD programming. All I have had is standard def prog. - two standard receivers (no DVRs). I have got the total choice plus pkg.

I decided the time had come to take the leap and get HD, in light of the great deals and new HD content available. Anyway, in researching I came across this website - I am so glad I did. We were almost sold on Dish, but then I found about the HD channels coming soon to D*. So I called D* retention and told them about the Dish deal. Here is what I was offered the first time (after being polite and patient):

Free HD/DVR upgrade
$19.95 install fee
$100 retention credit
Free HD access for a year
Free DVR access for a year
Free HBO for 6 months

I could get this for a 2 year commit.
He told me to think about it, and I did. They still could not lock in the price. I did the math, and for a two year span, the cost was exactly the same between D*'s total choice plus with HD/DVR (with the above credits) and Dish's top 200 with HD/DVR (with their promo credits).

I called D* retention the next morning. Here is what I was told: "We cannot do that deal for you. We cannot give you the free HBO, or the $100 credit, or the free DVR access. We have given you too much already. The computer won't even allow us to give you all of this." I was shocked that they would go back on their deal within 24 hours. This lady's supervisor told me the same thing (these were different people than I had talked to the previous day).

I decided to call back a few minutes later. I spoke to another person. I gave her the details of the deal I was offered. She said that was no problem. She didn't know why I was told that they could not honor it. I was able to get all of the deal I was originally told, PLUS, she waived the $19.95 install fee, AND gave me the new subs deal for NFL Sunday Ticket! I had never had it before. So, I believe I got a great deal! For the next four months get NFL ST and premiere pkg. for just the cost of the ST. After the four months, I can go back down to the Total Choice extra plus HD/DVR. I still get the $100 credit, free install, Free upgrade, free hd for a year, and free dvr access for a year.

It seems to me like your deal depends on who you talk to. Also, I was polite to them. I knew what Dish was offering, and simply laid out those details to the D* retention dept. I am very pleased with the results.

The install was done today (1 week after the phone call). The installer was ok, but not too informative. He told me that I would not be able to hook up my vcr to record sat. content through my HD/DVR receiver, but I was able to after a few tries after he left. I had to do some re-wiring after he was gone. I am not overwhelmed by the HD pq, but it does look good. This may be due to the age of my HD tv (7 years). I do have a couple questions (sorry if they are dumb questions):


1. The installer has my HD receiver hooked to my tv through component cables (green, red, blue) using the "comp one" input. At the same time, I was also able to hook up the receiver to my tv using an S video cable and using "video one" input. (My tv is not equipped to do HDMI cables). My audio is hooked into my surround sound. When I toggle between "comp one" and "video one", I can see no difference in the pq, except that using the S video cable and video one input seems to make the picture brighter overall versus the component cable hookup. I don't know why. Which should I choose for best picture then - component hookup or S video hookup?


2. Along the same line, my audio is run to my surround sound mixer using component cables (red and white). Should I get a digital (I think it also says "optical") hookup for my audio? Right now the sound displays "analog" on my surround sound mixer display, but I can still switch between different surround modes (sports, movie, game, etc.) The installer said that HD didn't affect audio, but I thought that it did affect audio.

3. It seems like some of my standard def channels (ESPN and fox news for example) now look worse than they did before the install. Any reason for that? I tried switching the formats around on it, but that didn't seem to change anything for the standard def channels.

4. I now have two local channels (one HD, one standard def) of the same number - it seems unnecessary to have the standard def feed of a local channel if I have the HD feed of that channel. How will the new HD channels coming out be numbered? I know there is no more room in the 70's for them. Will I automatically pick them up since I have HD access? The installer said he heard that they were set to launch at the end of this month. I hope it is soon!

I apologize for being so lengthy, and if any of the above questions have been answered and I missed it. Again, thank you so much for all your help!

 

[jmrife]

First, let me say a big THANK YOU to satellite guys for the info that I was able to collect over the past few weeks in making my sat. tv decision. I have had D* for about 4 years. Contract ran out a couple months ago. Saw a Dish promo that sounded great - free hd/dvr, free hd programming for 6 months, free HBO for 3 months, no install fee, $50 credit, and price locked in til Jan of 08. I have had an HD compatible tv for about seven years, but I've never had HD programming. All I have had is standard def prog. - two standard receivers (no DVRs). I have got the total choice plus pkg.

I decided the time had come to take the leap and get HD, in light of the great deals and new HD content available. Anyway, in researching I came across this website - I am so glad I did. We were almost sold on Dish, but then I found about the HD channels coming soon to D*. So I called D* retention and told them about the Dish deal. Here is what I was offered the first time (after being polite and patient):

Free HD/DVR upgrade
$19.95 install fee
$100 retention credit
Free HD access for a year
Free DVR access for a year
Free HBO for 6 months

I could get this for a 2 year commit.
He told me to think about it, and I did. They still could not lock in the price. I did the math, and for a two year span, the cost was exactly the same between D*'s total choice plus with HD/DVR (with the above credits) and Dish's top 200 with HD/DVR (with their promo credits).

I called D* retention the next morning. Here is what I was told: "We cannot do that deal for you. We cannot give you the free HBO, or the $100 credit, or the free DVR access. We have given you too much already. The computer won't even allow us to give you all of this." I was shocked that they would go back on their deal within 24 hours. This lady's supervisor told me the same thing (these were different people than I had talked to the previous day).

I decided to call back a few minutes later. I spoke to another person. I gave her the details of the deal I was offered. She said that was no problem. She didn't know why I was told that they could not honor it. I was able to get all of the deal I was originally told, PLUS, she waived the $19.95 install fee, AND gave me the new subs deal for NFL Sunday Ticket! I had never had it before. So, I believe I got a great deal! For the next four months get NFL ST and premiere pkg. for just the cost of the ST. After the four months, I can go back down to the Total Choice extra plus HD/DVR. I still get the $100 credit, free install, Free upgrade, free hd for a year, and free dvr access for a year.

It seems to me like your deal depends on who you talk to. Also, I was polite to them. I knew what Dish was offering, and simply laid out those details to the D* retention dept. I am very pleased with the results.

The install was done today (1 week after the phone call). The installer was ok, but not too informative. He told me that I would not be able to hook up my vcr to record sat. content through my HD/DVR receiver, but I was able to after a few tries after he left. I had to do some re-wiring after he was gone. I am not overwhelmed by the HD pq, but it does look good. This may be due to the age of my HD tv (7 years). I do have a couple questions (sorry if they are dumb questions):


1. The installer has my HD receiver hooked to my tv through component cables (green, red, blue) using the "comp one" input. At the same time, I was also able to hook up the receiver to my tv using an S video cable and using "video one" input. (My tv is not equipped to do HDMI cables). My audio is hooked into my surround sound. When I toggle between "comp one" and "video one", I can see no difference in the pq, except that using the S video cable and video one input seems to make the picture brighter overall versus the component cable hookup. I don't know why. Which should I choose for best picture then - component hookup or S video hookup?


2. Along the same line, my audio is run to my surround sound mixer using component cables (red and white). Should I get a digital (I think it also says "optical") hookup for my audio? Right now the sound displays "analog" on my surround sound mixer display, but I can still switch between different surround modes (sports, movie, game, etc.) The installer said that HD didn't affect audio, but I thought that it did affect audio.

3. It seems like some of my standard def channels (ESPN and fox news for example) now look worse than they did before the install. Any reason for that? I tried switching the formats around on it, but that didn't seem to change anything for the standard def channels.

4. I now have two local channels (one HD, one standard def) of the same number - it seems unnecessary to have the standard def feed of a local channel if I have the HD feed of that channel. How will the new HD channels coming out be numbered? I know there is no more room in the 70's for them. Will I automatically pick them up since I have HD access? The installer said he heard that they were set to launch at the end of this month. I hope it is soon!

I apologize for being so lengthy, and if any of the above questions have been answered and I missed it. Again, thank you so much for all your help!

If you cannot tell a difference betwen the component and the S-Video feeds, something is very wrong with your component feed. How are you sending the component feed (three leads , red, green, blue, right?) to the TV? Are you sure the receiver is sending HD -- 720p/1080i? S-video can only send 480i, a much inferior signal.

Please consult your manual for how to send the HD signal to your TV. That should provide a great improvement in your PQ.

Next, you absolutely want an optical hookup for your audio. You can't, repeat, can't get digital audio through a stereo (red and white) analog connection. Get an inexpensive Toslink optical cable at Radio Shack and find out what all the 5.1 fuss is about.

You will automaticaly get the HD feeds. Once they light up, feel free to delete the SD versions from your custom channels list. I know I will!

Mike

 

[Bam Bam]

Mike, thank you.

The component hookup is red, green, and blue from the receiver to the component hookup to the tv. There is an S video output on the back of the receiver, and I hooked my S video cable that I was using from my old receiver into the Video one input on the back of my tv, as my old receiver was hooked up. I used the format button on the remote and have the format on 1080i. Using the component feed or the s video feed, I definitely can tell that it is hd on the hd channels and looks better than the sd versions, but I really cannot tell a difference between using the S video hookup or the component, except that the s video hookup seems to make the picture brighter. I don't know why this is. I am sure that it is hooked up right. It seems simple. Maybe I am missing it. I don't know why they would have an s video hookup on the HD receiver then.

I will definitely get the optical audio cable and replace the red and white cables with it. However, I do have sound through all of my surround speakers the way it is. If optical cables will make it sound even better, then I know it will be great!

 

[eddieras]

I will definitely get the optical audio cable and replace the red and white cables with it. However, I do have sound through all of my surround speakers the way it is. If optical cables will make it sound even better, then I know it will be great!

when i first put in a home theatre quite a fews years ago i was shocked as to just how important the sound is! of course the picture is the glamorous item -but the sound - good 5.1 (or 6 or 7.1) makes the difference! try it - you'll see.

 

[jmrife]

Mike, thank you.
I really cannot tell a difference between using the S video hookup or the component, except that the s video hookup seems to make the picture brighter. I don't know why this is. I am sure that it is hooked up right. It seems simple. Maybe I am missing it. I don't know why they would have an s video hookup on the HD receiver then.

I will definitely get the optical audio cable and replace the red and white cables with it. However, I do have sound through all of my surround speakers the way it is. If optical cables will make it sound even better, then I know it will be great!

I don't know why either, from this distance. If you were in Denver, I'd come take a look.

What you are getting through the red/white stereo connection is faux surround through your processer -- can't be digital through the analog wiring!

The optical will make a real difference. Try it and let me know!

 

[LonghornXP]

First I'm going to assume you have an HR20 HD DVR from DirecTV to start. Now on this model you should see a circle of blue lights towards the middle front of the unit. If you see these lights you have the correct HD DVR model for the upcoming HD channels. Now onto the HDTV stuff.

First the "ONLY" two connections this HD DVR has that can pass HDTV to your TV set is either component (red, green and blue cables) and/or HDMI. "NO" other output on that HD DVR can get you HD "period". Don't take this as sounding harsh I'm just making it very clear right up front to avoid confusion.

Now to see if the box is sending an HD signal to your HDTV set you can look on the right side of the front of your box for "four" little circle dots. Only "one" of those four will be lit. Each of these dots will have the resolution right below the light. From left to right the resolutions should be 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. To see true HDTV the light must be "ON" for either 720p "OR" 1080i and nothing else. If the light is on either 480i or 480p you "WILL NOT" see HDTV.

So if the light is on for either 720p or 1080i and you can see a picture your looking better now.

So once all the above is done we have two more key things to point out.

1. To watch HDTV you must be tuned into an HDTV channel but as you said the 70s I'm sure you know this part now.

2. Now even if your tuned into an HDTV station such as ESPN HD the picture can still look bad "if" ESPN HD at this specific time isn't broadcasting the show in HDTV.

Also nearly all new channels coming in HDTV will use the SD channels numbers. So whatever channel USA is on today you will see the channel twice on the same number just as your HDTV local channels via satellite work today.

You without a doubt should notice a big enough difference with true HDTV that in no way should you be saying it looks just like the digital feed.

If this doesn't work my next set of advice is to check your 7 year old HDTV set to see if its even a true HDTV set. Back in those old says I saw tons of sets that were only EDTV sets and an EDTV is nothing like HDTV. All of those EDTV sets could display a 480p signal at a max resolution of something like 640x480p "and" they could accept both 720p and 1080i signals but the TV set would downconvert it into its native resolution which is again 640x480p resolution. All EDTV sets have component inputs on them so I'm having this bad feeling this might be your problem but I'm hoping it isn't.

If you can please post your brand and model number for your HDTV set ASAP so I can check this for you.

 

[charper1]

I really have a headache now!

 

[Bam Bam]

Longhorn,

Thank you for your input and answers! Let me try to answer some of your questions, so you can help me a bit more. I just got the install yesterday, and the installer was not much help. He told me that I couldn't hook up my VCR to record the satellite, and he said that HD didn't affect the sound. I knew he was wrong on both parts. He really was in a hurry to leave. I read through the set up book last night. I purchased optical cables last night too and hooked them up from the HR20 to my surround sound, replacing the red and white analog hookup (although that old hookup did put sound through all my speakers pretty well). Also, I made sure to turn the Dolby Digital to "on" in the setup menu. When watching an HD channel "DOLBY DIGITAL" displays on my surround sound receiver, but I cannot tell a big difference between it now and how it used to sound. Maybe that is because my sorround sound receiver did a good job of converting the analog feed.

MY receiver is definitely an HR 20 HD DVR. My tv is a 61 inch Panasonic, but I don't have the brand name with me here. It is definitely HD. It says on the front "HDTV 1080i compatible." I have the receiver hooked up to my tv through the component cables (red, blue, and green). I can definitely tell the difference between the HD pq and the sd. I know what you are saying about the four different blue lights indicating the various resolutions. The 1080i is lit up, and it also says 1080i when I hit the format button. I wasn't saying that I couldnt' tell the difference between the hd and my sd. The hd looks a lot better than the sd. Maybe I didn't state that clear enough. I was saying that I couldn't tell the difference between viewing my hd channels via the component cables or the s video cable. Both looked very good, and I couldn't tell the difference except that viewing the HD via the s video, the picture looked a little brighter. It seemed to me that I was getting HD through either hookup. When I viewed my HD channel through my "VIDEO 1" S video hookup, it looked like HD just the same as when I viewed my HD through my "COMPONENT 1" component cables hookup. It still said "1080i" using the format button, and the 1080i blue light on the receiver was lit.

I have noticed also, for example, this morning that the HD channels look better than the sd channels, even if the particular program is not said to be broadcasting in HD. ESPN HD looks better than regular ESPN, even when the particular program is not broadcast in HD. For example, this morning a women's soccer game was on. It did not say HD in the guide or info area. But it definitely looked better than the same broadcast on ESPN at the same time, and 1080i was lit up on the receiver.. Dr. Phil was the same way this morning (I don't watch Dr. Phil , I was just checking my setup).

Does it have something to do with the resolution or format options? I have "native" off right now. Is that best or not? Which resolutions should I check? 480i and 1080i, or just 1080i? When I have only 1080i checked, it still displays my standard channels (of course I can tell it isn't HD, but it doesn't look bad). I want to have the best picture and sound I can get for both my standard and HD channels.

Thank you so much!

 

[jmrife]

If this doesn't work my next set of advice is to check your 7 year old HDTV set to see if its even a true HDTV set. Back in those old says I saw tons of sets that were only EDTV sets and an EDTV is nothing like HDTV. All of those EDTV sets could display a 480p signal at a max resolution of something like 640x480p "and" they could accept both 720p and 1080i signals but the TV set would downconvert it into its native resolution which is again 640x480p resolution. All EDTV sets have component inputs on them so I'm having this bad feeling this might be your problem but I'm hoping it isn't.

If you can please post your brand and model number for your HDTV set ASAP so I can check this for you.

Believe me, a 720p/1080i signal on an EDTV looks way, way better than an S-video feed. I like your idea about making sure he is using an HD feed. Oh, and the H20 has an S-Video out.

 

[Bam Bam]

My tv is a Panasonic 61HX40. I bought it at Circuit City in 2000, I believe. I have always liked the picture quality. I think the hd looks good on it. I have my audio hooked through a Pioneer surround sound system. I hope this info helps.

 

[LonghornXP]

My tv is a Panasonic 61HX40. I bought it at Circuit City in 2000, I believe. I have always liked the picture quality. I think the hd looks good on it. I have my audio hooked through a Pioneer surround sound system. I hope this info helps.

Okay I'm sure this is indeed an HDTV set so just to make sure no mistakes are being made unplug all connections from just your HD DVR and your HDTV set "except" for the component connection. So if you have an S-Video connection from the HD DVR to your HDTV set unplug it. You only want to use a component connection. This will insure that I know your on the correct input on your HDTV set.

Now on your HD DVR press the "MENU" button on your remote control.

Now select the "Help and Settings" menu option.

Now select the "Setup" option.

Now select the "HDTV" option.

Now your viewing a screen which lists Native, Screen format etc.

Make sure that native is set as "OFF".

I would suggest you set the Screen Format as "STRETCH".

Now towards the top of the screen you will see three options in a row from left to right called the following below.

Video, TV Ratio and TV resolutions.

You should default in the Video section where you changed all the above options.

So use your up arrow keys until "TV Ratio" is highlighted in yellow and press "Select".

On the TV Ratio screen you have two options and they are Standard TV 4x3 and Widescreen 16x9.
Make sure that Standard TV 4x3 is selected.

Now move yourself into the TV resolutions section and you should see "four" boxes with four resolutions next to them.

They should be 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i.

Just make sure that a white dot within each box is only present in the box for 1080i. If any other boxes have the white dot highlight those boxes and press the select button until the box is clear.

The only box of the four that should have a white dot is the 1080i box.

Once this is done exit out of your menu and tune into an HDTV channel that is broadcasting in HDTV. I'd suggest you tune into either HDNet or HDNet Movies as both of these stations broadcast in HDTV 24x7. If you still don't notice a big difference between HDNet and say channel 242 you have some bigger problems than you think. HDNet without a doubt is a very big difference in quality compared to a normal digital channel such as 242.

 

[Bam Bam]

I have never said that I couldn't tell the difference between my hd and a regular channel (like 242 or something). I immediately could tell the hd, and I love it! What I was saying is that I had my HR20 hooked to my tv via component cables, and at the same time I had it hooked up to my tv via an s-video cable as well (using a different input). When I toggled inputs to compare the hd picture quality via the different hookups (component one vs. video one), I could not tell a difference. At the time, I had not read that an s-video cable could not do hd. Toggling back and forth between inputs (component vs. s video) and using an hd channel, both looked like hd to me, far better than the standard channels. I just didn't know why.

Now I have HR20 hooked to my tv via component cables only. I got a toslink optical cable for audio running to my surround sound receiver. I have my setup just like you said. The only resolution I have checked is 1080i. I have tried checking both 480i and 1080i to see how my standard channels look in both (I know my standard won't be true 1080i), and it seems that my standard channels look a slight bit better when I have my resolution set to 1080i. Is this the best to view my standard def channels? Just leave native off with 1080i checked only? That is the way I have it. It seems to me (and I don't think it is just because I have now seen HD) that my standard channels look a little bit worse now that I have my HD/DVR hooked up, than they did with my old standard receiver. Is that valid? What would be the reason? Is there a better way to view my standard channels?

Also, is there any reason that programs would look better on my HD channels (my locals for example) versus the simultaneous feed on my standard channels, when the particular program at the time is not broadcast in HD? I mean, I can tell it isn't HD, but even a 480i broadcast seems to look better over my HD channel versus the same thing on the regular companion channel. Why would that be, if they are both being broadcast in 480i?

Thank you very much for your help!

p.s. I like to watch hd content (especially football) in 1080i letterbox. I don't mind the black bars on the top and bottom, since I am watching the game without missing any action on the sides that I would miss with stretch or crop. I will switch to crop or stretch or change to a standard channel periodically to try to avoid burn-in of the black bars. Should that be alright with my projection tv? I love watching football games in hd 1080i letterbox now! It is awesome!