New HD TV & Dish Network HD Upgrade

[dishgal]

Hello All,

I have a new HDTV, DLP, Mitsubishi 73". Dish Network has upgraded me to HDTV with a 612 DVR box. The HD channels are fantastic...sharp as can be. But, the local channels (received through Dish Network) and non-HD channels are blurry and distorted.

Someone told me to try an HDMI cable. I connected it to the ports on the box and on the TV, and set up a new Input for it, but it did not make any difference. I did not disconnect any other cables when I tried this.

Is there anything that I can do to clear up the non-HD channels, or somehow use the HDMI cable?

Thanks for your help.

 

[dougmcbride]

Hello All,

I have a new HDTV, DLP, Mitsubishi 73". Dish Network has upgraded me to HDTV with a 612 DVR box. The HD channels are fantastic...sharp as can be. But, the local channels (received through Dish Network) and non-HD channels are blurry and distorted.

Someone told me to try an HDMI cable. I connected it to the ports on the box and on the TV, and set up a new Input for it, but it did not make any difference. I did not disconnect any other cables when I tried this.

Is there anything that I can do to clear up the non-HD channels, or somehow use the HDMI cable?

Thanks for your help.

Is "blurry and distorted" a relative measure compared to the HD, or is it really blurry and distorted in an absolute way? SD will typically look softer than HD, especially on a large display. I have a 73" Mits DLP like you do, and use a Vip722 receiver. The SD doesn't look as good as HD, but it is adequate, on both Component and HDMI.

Check your 612 and make sure it is set to output 1080i. Does the TV report 1080i when pressing the Info button?

Just understand that SD has significantly less information in it than HD and when it gets enlarged on big displays it can look soft and sometimes slightly out of focus - that's normal. But it shouldn't look really bad - if so, there's a problem either in your Dish box or the TV.

Also on your locals - where do you live? Have you checked to see if Dish has your locals up in HD?

 

[dishgal]

I would say "blurry and distorted" is a relative measure compared to the HD. I checked the output and it is set to 1080i.

It's not a terrible picture, I just notice it's blurriness....not sharp. I live in Visalia, CA - Dish Network said that HD will be available for the local channels sometime in January.

I bought the HDMI cable in an attempt to make it better - can I use the cable to improve on the picture in the interim? If so, how does that work?

Thanks for your help. It is appreciated!

 

[whatchel1]

How are you hooked up?

I would say "blurry and distorted" is a relative measure compared to the HD. I checked the output and it is set to 1080i.

It's not a terrible picture, I just notice it's blurriness....not sharp. I live in Visalia, CA - Dish Network said that HD will be available for the local channels sometime in January.

I bought the HDMI cable in an attempt to make it better - can I use the cable to improve on the picture in the interim? If so, how does that work?

Thanks for your help. It is appreciated!

The HDMI is a digital connector. It's a one cord set-up. If you are using component then it will have connection that usually are Red, Green, & Blue in colored RCA connectors for video. Then 2 RCA connecters for analog audio or a fiber connection. Anyway no matter what you do anyway that you hook it up the SD is still gonna look blurry so to speak in comparison to HD. Think about it you are now blowing up an SD picture to huge dimensions.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

Hello All,

I have a new HDTV, DLP, Mitsubishi 73". Dish Network has upgraded me to HDTV with a 612 DVR box. The HD channels are fantastic...sharp as can be. But, the local channels (received through Dish Network) and non-HD channels are blurry and distorted.

Someone told me to try an HDMI cable. I connected it to the ports on the box and on the TV, and set up a new Input for it, but it did not make any difference. I did not disconnect any other cables when I tried this.

Is there anything that I can do to clear up the non-HD channels, or somehow use the HDMI cable?

Thanks for your help.

Remember you can connect any TV antenna to you 612 and receive your local channels in high-def over-the-air (OTA).

Jeff

 

[dishcomm]

Hello All,

I have a new HDTV, DLP, Mitsubishi 73". Dish Network has upgraded me to HDTV with a 612 DVR box. The HD channels are fantastic...sharp as can be. But, the local channels (received through Dish Network) and non-HD channels are blurry and distorted.

Someone told me to try an HDMI cable. I connected it to the ports on the box and on the TV, and set up a new Input for it, but it did not make any difference. I did not disconnect any other cables when I tried this.

Is there anything that I can do to clear up the non-HD channels, or somehow use the HDMI cable?

Thanks for your help.

unfortunately ,no.. What you are seeing is what Dish is being sent by the tv stations in your area. If possible, try an off air solution to receive you digital locals via antenna.

 

[dougmcbride]

One other thought - are you using the TV or the Dish receiver to stretch the SD channels so they fill your whole screen? If you are, that adds (at 73") quite a bit of additional softness to your already soft picture. If you are stretching, try setting your TV to STANDARD and your Dish receiver to NORMAL and see how that looks.

I checked AntennaWeb and you have quite a few local stations if you are interested in fussing with an antenna while you wait for Dish. Might be able to get some of them with a simple indoor antenna depending on where you live. Pretty flat in Visalia isn't it?

 

[whatchel1]

Fresno/Visalia DMA

He is in the Fresno/Visalia DMA. So if he has an OTA he should be able to pick up numerous digital channels. DMA Name: Fresno-Visalia - DMA Rank: 55 - comprehensive demographic data, listing of cable providers and television stations, DMA Maps, Advertising, Cable Advertising, TV Advertising - Backchannelmedia Research Software

 

[dishgal]

Thanks Everyone!

Thanks everyone - all of your feedback is helpful. Doug - I set my TV to Standard with the receiver set to Normal - huge improvement! I can live with this until we get HD for the local channels.

Thanks all!