PQ on HDTV with non HDTV programming

[bthom70]

I really like the price point of the Zenith C32V36 and C32V37 both less than $900.
The Sony 910XBR is WAAAAAAAYYYYYY out of my price league.

waltinvt:
Do you really think my 501 will give me crappy SD channels on a new HDTV set?
Im not willing right now to convert fully to a 811 or 921 right now. The 921 needs to come WAY down in price. and the additional costs of HD content from Dish is another fee.

Thanks for all the input guys.

Brian

 

[waltinvt]

I tried using my 508 with my HD set and to be honest it looked REAL crappy, tried RCA, S-Video and it didn't matter. So I use the 811 for everything on my HD set and like I stated above, it looks great, my SD content looks way better than it did with my 508. We moved the 508 to our back bedroom and cancelled our 301 until a later date.

From reading things here I must have gotten the only good 811, the only issue I have is with the guide.

I'm not disputing you when you say you're seeing great SD on your 811 - I can't see it from here. I can tell you however, that if your 508 looks "real crappy" then either something is wrong with your 508, something is wrong with your S-Video input on your HDTV or you've got something hooked up wrong. You said you "tried RCA, S-Video and it didn't matter", you didn't by any chance have both of them hooked up at the same time ?

If my 508 through S-Vid looked any better on my tv, it would be almost DVD quality. I can even use the "Cinerama" setting on my HDTV to view my 508 signal in 16:9 and it looks great for most stations.

I'm not saying SD on my 811 is un-watchable, it's just nowhere near as good as on the 508; it's darker, not as crisp plus none of the aspect ratio settings are even an option.

WaltinVt

 

[waltinvt]

I really like the price point of the Zenith C32V36 and C32V37 both less than $900.
The Sony 910XBR is WAAAAAAAYYYYYY out of my price league.

waltinvt:
Do you really think my 501 will give me crappy SD channels on a new HDTV set?
Im not willing right now to convert fully to a 811 or 921 right now. The 921 needs to come WAY down in price. and the additional costs of HD content from Dish is another fee.

Thanks for all the input guys.

Brian

Brian,
You may have me mixed up with someone else. I've been saying that my 508 provides great SD on my HDTV (see my other replies in this thread). The 501 should not be any different than the 508 as far as PQ goes. It's the SD on my 811 that I can't tolorate. In fact, I think you'll find many people with 811s are also using a 5xx for their SD stations.
WaltinVt

 

[peallen]

You said you "tried RCA, S-Video and it didn't matter", you didn't by any chance have both of them hooked up at the same time ?

No I did not. I tried it many different ways, hooked directly to the TV thorugh RCA then I tried the S-Video Route and got the same thing, hooked through the 811 and this way it looked REALLY REALLY bad. It doesn't really matter now, it wasn't practical for us anyway to have two receivers on one TV. Like I stated above I am completely happy with my 811.

 

[DarrellP]

bthom70, if you are looking at a 32" TV, you may be able to live with Dish SD PQ on a set that small. 32" is about the limit of the Dish signal since it is so fuzzy and overcompressed. It also depends on how well your set can upconvert the signal, some TV's have a great scaler and others are mediocre at best. If you could take your 501 to a showroom and hook it up to view a recorded program that would be the best way to see for yourself.