HD Channel qulity on TV2?

[Lars]

As a former Voomer, I have finally decided to ditch my cable, even though it is isupposedly ncluded with my HOA fees. I can get Dish HD and the needed equipment for less than I am paying for my two HD cable boxes ($9.50/mo each), one HD DVR ($16.50/mo) and two pay channels (HBO/Showtime- $25/mo).

I would like to get a 622 for the Family room and bedroom (TV2) and an HD box for my basement media room. Sound OK so far?

my question is the quality I will get on TV2. I know it is 480i SD, but I also understand it is still in widescreen for the HD channels- correct? I also have an HD set there and it is widescreen, but it is only 30" and I would appreciate comments on the acceptability of the 480i image (especially on HD channels).

thanks in advance.

 

[Julien]

It is standard NTSC signal, so no "wide screen".

 

[Lars]

It is standard NTSC signal, so no "wide screen".

You are sure of this? What happens with HD channels? Are they letterboxed? I am just trying to verify.

 

[SHADO 1]

Yes, they will be letterboxed.

 

[Ronald_Jeremy]

Yes, they will be letterboxed.

No they won't. I have TV2 run through a leapfrog to my 26" widescreen LCD in the bedroom.

The HD channels show up in 16 x 9 and are not letterboxed. They are fullscreen. The SD channels are pillar boxed.

 

[BFG]

which will be just fine for him since the tv is wide it results in more pixels just like anamorphic dvds

 

[mrhph]

No they won't. I have TV2 run through a leapfrog to my 26" widescreen LCD in the bedroom.

The HD channels show up in 16 x 9 and are not letterboxed. They are fullscreen. The SD channels are pillar boxed.

This is odd, my TV2 shows HD programs as letterboxed too and not full screen. Perhaps you are using the zoom feature of your TV2.

 

[Lars]

Confusion

OK, does this have anything to do with single mode versus dual mode? Or, can you cycle through formats on TV2 using the "*" key? Do you have this control on TV2 like you do on TV1?

 

[Julien]

No they won't. I have TV2 run through a leapfrog to my 26" widescreen LCD in the bedroom.

The HD channels show up in 16 x 9 and are not letterboxed. They are fullscreen. The SD channels are pillar boxed.

The 2ed TV signal is sent out as a standard 1950's era OTA analog NTSC RF signal that is and can only be 1.33 (4x3). It is not possible for a standard OTA analog RF NTSC signal to contain widescreen info. The only way you are seeing this is if your TV is set to zoom or the signal is processed in some other way.

 

[mmpotash]

Pillarboxed

Change your mode, (Dual/Single-it is set with the button in front of the receiver, not via the remote). That will solve your problem and give you a normal SD picture just like any other SDTV. Otherwise you have to always change the receiver manually from 16:9 screen to 4:3 screen when using HDTV then using SDTV. Unfortunately you will not have PIP.

Also, play with the channel that is set on the SDTV, (you will have to also change that in the receiver using the remote). Mine gave me the best picture on channel 34.

 

[primetimeguy]

Using the * button on the TV remote for TV2 you can toggle between letterboxed and zoomed mode (full screen) for the HD channels.

 

[Lars]

The 2ed TV signal is sent out as a standard 1950's era OTA analog NTSC RF signal that is and can only be 1.33 (4x3). It is not possible for a standard OTA analog RF NTSC signal to contain widescreen info. The only way you are seeing this is if your TV is set to zoom or the signal is processed in some other way.

Sorry Julien, but this I know to be partially wrong. True, all NTSC video is inherently 4:3. However, even widescreen anamorphic DVDs are actually 4:3. They are just squeezed into the 4:3 frame and then when broadcast on a widescreen TV, they appear to be true 16:9. The widescreen flag some people talk about is actually a flag that tells the DVD player or STB how to display this squeezed image on a 4:3 TV.

Given that the 622 displays squeezed, or anamorphic video on it's composite outputs, it is hard to understand why it would take the extra processing step to letterbox via the coax distribution output.

Anyone care to verify this for me before I order my system?

 

[Lars]

Using the * button on the TV remote for TV2 you can toggle between letterboxed and zoomed mode (full screen) for the HD channels.

This is good info. just making sure it could happen. Back to the first question, is it a decent quality signal?

 

[Bradtothebone]

Using the * button on the TV remote for TV2 you can toggle between letterboxed and zoomed mode (full screen) for the HD channels.

Just to be clear, "full screen" in this context means 4:3. When showing a widescreen HD show, it is cropped to 4:3.

The 622 outputs two channels over the "TV2" RF-out. The first is whatever is playing on TV1, and it is anamorphic. If you view an HD show on a 16:9 TV2 over the "TV1" channel, it will appear in its proper aspect ratio. The second is whatever is playing on TV2. For a "TV2" channel show you are given the options per primetimeguy above. I'm not sure if the composite and S-video outputs for TV1 are anamorphic, also, but I believe they are, and that gives you a way to record 16:9 content onto DVD's.

Brad

 

[mmpotash]

Quality

Yes, the SD quality is good.

 

[Ronald_Jeremy]

I will check the settings when I get home but I know I don't have the TV set to stretch. 622 is in single user mode.

And the quality is excellent. Or maybe it is because it is my first LCD TV. It is HD but I need to get the antenna wire run so I can actually see what HD looks like on this thing. But the SD is incredible. But maybe that is because I am comparing it to the SD on my 51" rear projection that I have been watching for 2 years.

 

[Ronald_Jeremy]

My TV screen mode is set for Full. The other modes are Zoom, Partial zoom, etc.

The 622 picture mode is set for Normal when scrolling through the different modes with the * button on the remote.

Under menu 6>8 in 622 aspect ratio is set for 16x9.

It performs on the unit hooked to TV2 just as I said.

When I am tuned to an HD channel, it is full widescreen and when I tune to an SD channel, it is pillar boxed exactly the way it acts on my main TV hooked up to TV1 on HDMI.

I made a crappy video if no one believes it. I don't have a camcorder so I made a .mov with my digital cam. It is too large to attach so if someone wants me to email it to them let me know.

Hopefully they can host it for anyone who wants to see. If you want it, PM me with an addy. It is about 6.5 meg.

I tried 2 different things. One tuner was on an sd channel and one on an hd channel. I hit the swap button a couple times and then I left it on the sd channel then changed to an hd channel via the guide. Then hit recall to go back to the SD.

Full widescreen 16 x 9 on hd channels. 4 x 3 pillar boxed on SD channels. Actually, the SD channels are a 16 x 9 signal. The pillars are added by the 622 to make a 16 x 9 picture. This is evident as the channel banner extends into the pillars.

 

[Smith P.]

Ronald, now ask your TV, mean get info about its input signal.

 

[Ronald_Jeremy]

Ronald, now ask your TV, mean get info about its input signal.

I tried both babblefish.com and google translator and they can't tell me what you are asking. I took a little french in college but have forgotten most of it. Can you repost in English? I am mono-lingual.

The part about input signal I think I understand.

I have a leapfrog transmitter that is not high definition capable hooked to the back of the TV2 output of the 622 using the Yellow (video), red/white (L & R audio) RCA jacks. It transmits the signal wirelessly to the receiver behind the TV in my bedroom. The receiver is hooked to the TV using the Yellow, Red, and White RCA cables to a input 3 on the TV.

And I get the results I posted when switching channels.

As for 'ask your TV', what do you want me to ask it? It will probably be non-responsive as it is an inanimate object. But I'll try.

If anybody wishes, I have a long set of RCA cables and will bypass the leapfrog to see if it works with a direct connection.

 

[MNHTUG]

As a former Voom user, output from the s-video, rca and coax are not as clear as they were from Voom. There is a noticable drop in quality.

We used to record shows via s-video onto dvd using a Panasonic recorder. After moving to Dish Network, we soon ditched the recorder as the quality of recordings dropped significantly.