Hdnet PQ back?

[Kb Cool]

I just flipped on HDnet and I was floored by the Picture quality again
Then I noticed the NFL preview is gone. Yeah
I think by the looks of my 50 inch plasma the bit rate is up on HDNET.
Am i correct in making this assumption or is it just bikini destinations?

 

[Mark Strube]

I just checked it on my computer. The PQ is not back. It's still at 1440x1080, and the NFL-HD preview is still there.

You probably forgot to put your guide in All HD mode, since the preview is on 287 - so viewing the All HD guide is the only way to see that channel along with all the other HD channels. I'd guess Bikini Destinations looked nice because it's relatively low motion. It doesn't take much bitrate to show a lot of detail when the image is barely moving.

Also, your plasma television's resolution is at 1366x768. At low motion especially, you're not going to see a difference in detail between the original 1920x1080 and Dish's downscaled 1440x1080 on your screen.

I'd recommend a mod edit the thread title so we don't get people excited.

 

[Kb Cool]

My bad.
I really thought it was back because it looked very good. And you are correct about the preview still being there. Sorry about my post and like you said I hope nobody takes it as fact as that was not my intentions at all. I was only seeking verification thats why I used question marks in my post and thanks for the verification. Also does dish use a varible bit rate that if upped at times will actually make the picture look better even though the resolution the same?

 

[BrianB]

I just checked it on my computer. The PQ is not back. It's still at 1440x1080, and the NFL-HD preview is still there.

You probably forgot to put your guide in All HD mode, since the preview is on 287 - so viewing the All HD guide is the only way to see that channel along with all the other HD channels. I'd guess Bikini Destinations looked nice because it's relatively low motion. It doesn't take much bitrate to show a lot of detail when the image is barely moving.

Also, your plasma television's resolution is at 1366x768. At low motion especially, you're not going to see a difference in detail between the original 1920x1080 and Dish's downscaled 1440x1080 on your screen.

I'd recommend a mod edit the thread title so we don't get people excited.

PQ is less about resolution and more about bandwidth. If you are not referencing bandwidth, then how can you say the PQ is not better?

 

[goaliebob99]

My bad.
Also does dish use a varible bit rate that if upped at times will actually make the picture look better even though the resolution the same?

The answer to this is yes.. if one programm is not using as much bandwith as another it will give the program that needs the more bandwith more.

 

[JohnH]

Effective Resolution. No Motion requires no bandwidth.

 

[dslate69]

PQ is less about resolution and more about bandwidth. If you are not referencing bandwidth, then how can you say the PQ is not better?

Aleighlua !!! Aleighlua !!! Aleighlua !!!
and AMEN.

Someone gets it. :up

 

[Mark Strube]

PQ is less about resolution and more about bandwidth. If you are not referencing bandwidth, then how can you say the PQ is not better?

Because a fluke of a program where HDNet Movies or NFL-HD were not needing as much bandwidth, giving HDNet a little extra bitrate temporarily, doesn't mean the overall "picture quality" has returned. It means a single program looked a little more acceptable than the rest - when the time was right, the programming on the other channels didn't need the bitrate as much, and the moon was in the proper position in the sky.

I'd much prefer the quality be consistent... and considering that HDNet is one of the best-looking HD networks out there (the best in my opinion), it's a shame that Dish has done this.

Finally, I don't need to "reference bandwidth" to see that Dish is still slaughtering HDNet's picture quality. All I have to do is turn it on. I simply checked the resolution to confirm that Dish is still downsampling and downrezzing.

 

[Carl B]

Well it is still bit-starved. I'm still stunned at how soft HDNet looks now compared to the salad days of just a couple of months ago. Watching Star Trek Enterprise last night was like watching upscaled SD and I know that show was shot originally in HD and looked great on OTA HD.

I'm still sitting tight with my Dish 811 and hardly watching my 5 Dish HD channels. The best HD is OTA, both PQ and content-wise. If it wasn't for ESPN-HD football (I can't stand to watch football in SD on a large screen), I'd dump my meager Dish HD basic package tomorrow. But, Dish wants me to pop for $15 a month more so I can have more of their crappy HD PQ and a lot more channels I won't be watching. I don't think so.

 

[guffy1]

Well it is still bit-starved. I'm still stunned at how soft HDNet looks now compared to the salad days of just a couple of months ago. Watching Star Trek Enterprise last night was like watching upscaled SD and I know that show was shot originally in HD and looked great on OTA HD.

I'm still sitting tight with my Dish 811 and hardly watching my 5 Dish HD channels. The best HD is OTA, both PQ and content-wise. If it wasn't for ESPN-HD football (I can't stand to watch football in SD on a large screen), I'd dump my meager Dish HD basic package tomorrow. But, Dish wants me to pop for $15 a month more so I can have more of their crappy HD PQ and a lot more channels I won't be watching. I don't think so.

Not trying to defend Dish here, but Enterprise is some really bad source material from waht Ive seen on my full bandwith and rezz and cable service..

Enterprise is not going to look like outstanding HD no matter who the provider is, IMO...Bad source material..

 

[Sean Mota]

Enterprise is bad HD recording or Bad HD transfer. Do not judge the HDnet PQ based on this program. This program is bad (pq wise) even if you put it at full rez.

 

[Mr.Pinkeye]

Enterprise didn't use HD cameras until the 4th season. Up until then, they used film (except for exterior/space shots, which used HD modeling software.)

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Well it is still bit-starved. I'm still stunned at how soft HDNet looks now compared to the salad days of just a couple of months ago. Watching Star Trek Enterprise last night was like watching upscaled SD and I know that show was shot originally in HD and looked great on OTA HD.

I actually thought Star Trek Enterprise looked a LOT better last night than it did a week ago. PQ seemed good, and there were no audio sync issues like I had last week.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

HDNET's PQ is decent, but not outstanding. 1440x1080 with a lot of bandwidth will usually yield a decent HD image. It lacks the clarity and realism of full HD with high bandwidth, which HDNET used to have. There were programs aired earlier this year on HDNET which I would have held up as shining examples of what HD is all about.

Unfortunately that is history. The PQ is still better than VOOM, UNIHD, and Starz HD. In fact, that may be a contributing factor to the original poster's perception. If you have watched a lot of material on the lesser "HD" channels, and then come back to HDNET, it looks very good by comparison. Now if you could flip back to the way HDNET looked in June, you'd really be amazed.

I did just this about 3 weeks ago. I had two programs recorded off of HDNET 2-3 months ago, on the 942 I had to send back to Dish. I hooked it up and compared the HDNET-old vs the HDNET-new vs a few other current channels. The HDNET-old was wonderful. Almost wish I hadn't done it.

 

[DWS44]

Not trying to defend Dish here, but Enterprise is some really bad source material from waht Ive seen on my full bandwith and rezz and cable service..

Enterprise is not going to look like outstanding HD no matter who the provider is, IMO...Bad source material..

I can't speak to the early seasons, as I didn't get into HD until early in season 3, but I always found the PQ very nice after that, especially in season 4 when they switched to all HD recording equipment. I was always watching via OTA.