Picture quality- “on demand” -vs- recorded

[blackjackmark]

Wondering what sort of quality to expect when viewing a program downloaded through the "on-demand" options through the Hopper 3? Is the quality determined by the owner of the program, by Dish, or a combo of both? In other words, might the program be available in 1080p, but Dish downgrades it to 720p to save bandwidth, even on the on-demand version?


Then wondering obout any comparisons between a recorded program and its "on-demand" counterpart downloaded to Dish. They should be identical, right? Barring any weather-related dropouts with the recorded version?


Lastly, wondering if anyone has compared beteeen a program viewed thorough Dish "On Demand" versus getting the same program through the network's app on an Apple TV? Again, who's in charge of quality control? Im guessing it's in Dish's hands, but one would hope the content owners would care about presenting the best experience possible...but I know all they care about is getting paid!

 

[KAB]

Then wondering obout any comparisons between a recorded program and its "on-demand" counterpart downloaded to Dish. They should be identical, right? Barring any weather-related dropouts with the recorded version?

IMO, on demand quality is slightly inferior to direct recording. NOT TO MENTION the commercials you are forced to sit through.

 

[HipKat]

IMO, on demand quality is slightly inferior to direct recording. NOT TO MENTION the commercials you are forced to sit through.

Only on select channels. Most let you skip over them

 

[TalonDancer]

I suspect the answer depends on the channel. The best way to test it would be to download a VOD title and record the same title via satellite. BTW You can do this for free during the Free Previews.

FWIW During the Feb previews I downloaded quite a few VOD movies from HBO, CineMax, ShowTime, and Starz via our very low bandwidth internet connection (2Mbps). I was surprised to see the large variation in download times of similar length movies of approx 2hr. Some would download in little more than 2 hours and others took as much as 6 hours. As you might imagine, the movies that downloaded in a little over 2hrs looked like they would when viewed via highly compressed satellite transmission or low bandwidth streaming. While the PQ of the ones that took 4-6 hours was much better. And of course since these downloads were VOD from premium channels there were no commercials.

 

[KAB]

Only on select channels. Most let you skip over them

Not in my recent experiences with SyFi, TNT, AMC, FX and other non-premium channels. They're doing it to keep advertisers solaced.

 

[HipKat]

Not in my recent experiences with SyFi, TNT, AMC, FX and other non-premium channels. They're doing it to keep advertisers solaced.

Yeah, I know. I think I mostly watch network shows and movies on OD

 

[TheKrell]

I haven't downloaded recently, but back when I was doing this a lot, I sometimes chose an SD program. For SD content, IMHO the picture is pretty decent via download, and pretty indecent via satellite.

 

[comfortably_numb]

For PPV On Demand stuff, the quality is better when you choose 1080p. In fact, I think the On Demand PPV titles are the only programs available in 1080p on Dish.

 

[camo]

I was wondering about this too. So unless it says 1080p it's most likely not... So most of the on demand material won't be. If you want 1080p going directly to source like HBO GO where everything is 1080p.

This brings up another point many channels like AHC have optional streaming for subscribers which may look better than satellite feed but Dish doesn't carry many of these secondary streaming options. (Extra cost )
When I tried cable for couple months I took advantage of this because quality was better with stream vs cable feed.