this is what you call HD? seriously?

[damon_c]

we bought a big ol' 52 inch fancy lcd samsung tv. we decided to upgrade our directv to hd so we can get some more out of our tv (other than just watching bluray movies).

i knew it wasnt going to be as awesome as watching a hd disk movie because their broadcasts are quite compressed, but some of this "hd" programming is downright ugly. pixilated, blurry... just EXTREMELY unimpressive. ive even discovered that a lot of programming is simply non hd stuff that has been zoomed in to make it look hd. they dont even go as far as to redo some of the captions for people's names and credits as these programs have stuff hanging half way out of the tv's field of view. so im paying extra to not see the full camera shot. i would rather it be in standard format and the proper size than widescreen and filling up my whole tv and not being right.

to its credit some of the movie channels do look better and i know it all depends on what the program is being transmited as, but seriously... i feel extremely unimpressed with the quality of a lot of these channels. speed hd (the one i was looking forward to the most) has absolutely no HD programming available. ive looked and i see NOTHING.


so am in the only one that feels that the money i spent to upgrade was not worth it?

 

[randyk47]

I won't go as far as to say you're the only person but I don't agree with you. We've very much enjoyed the HD programming....the real HD not the stretch-o-vision versions.

 

[jcrandall]

As for D* impacting the HD, only the MPEG 2 channels (70-79) have compression and artificats/blurry that is noticable to most users.

The MPEG4 is very good when the source material is there.

What you're seeing with many of the new channels - there is no HD stuff for them to air yet.

TBS for example had playoff baseball - that's about it. Speed has nothing so far - but plans to in January.

Much of it is in development, but I think D* launching the channels now is just as good, so when the programmers get the content ready, we're ready.

Welcome to the site by the way!

 

[charper1]

Agree with the above, this is mostly (95%+) a provider issue, not the DBS company's issue. The topic belongs more in the GENERAL category rather than in any specific camp.

 

[yourbeliefs]

we bought a big ol' 52 inch fancy lcd samsung tv. we decided to upgrade our directv to hd so we can get some more out of our tv (other than just watching bluray movies).

i knew it wasnt going to be as awesome as watching a hd disk movie because their broadcasts are quite compressed, but some of this "hd" programming is downright ugly. pixilated, blurry... just EXTREMELY unimpressive. ive even discovered that a lot of programming is simply non hd stuff that has been zoomed in to make it look hd. they dont even go as far as to redo some of the captions for people's names and credits as these programs have stuff hanging half way out of the tv's field of view. so im paying extra to not see the full camera shot. i would rather it be in standard format and the proper size than widescreen and filling up my whole tv and not being right.

to its credit some of the movie channels do look better and i know it all depends on what the program is being transmited as, but seriously... i feel extremely unimpressed with the quality of a lot of these channels. speed hd (the one i was looking forward to the most) has absolutely no HD programming available. ive looked and i see NOTHING.


so am in the only one that feels that the money i spent to upgrade was not worth it?

I got no complaints.

 

[damon_c]

i guess i have higher expectations than i should. we are watching "the ringer" that was on hbo and it looks good, but ive played dvds that are upconverted that look just as good.

i do understand what you guys are saying about the provided programming. a lot of the hd channels look like what i think normal tv should look like.

oh well. guess ill just give it time and see what happens.

thanks for the welcome to the forums. ive been reading here for a week or so. nice site you fellas have.

 

[pez419]

The real HD stuff looks freaking AWESOME. The stretch-o-vision looks bad though.

 

[charper1]

i do understand what you guys are saying about the provided programming. a lot of the hd channels look like what i think normal tv should look like.

DISH and DirecTV are just companies that purchase signals from numerous sources (PROVIDERS) from a host of satellite locations (or by other means) and re-sell, retransmit or distribute their signal back to their subscribed users.

If a PROVIDER, such as TBS, launches a channel they call TBS-HD and it only has 10% or less of ACTUAL HD content, what are DBS companies supposed to do? They can't do anything other than to pass it along.

I HATE stretch-o-vision and any zoom. I wish (even on the HD channels) instead of stretching or zooming, I would rather see pillar boxing and/or letter boxing with an OAR viewing . This is the appropriate method anyhow and would absolutely stop people from wondering and complaining. Not saying that you were; just a general comment.

 

[Newshawk]

i guess i have higher expectations than i should. we are watching "the ringer" that was on hbo and it looks good, but ive played dvds that are upconverted that look just as good.

Was it on channel 501? If so, the it was just the MPEG 2 channel remapped to that channel. Try watching the same thing on HBO West HD, on ch. 504. There you'll see the MPEG 4 version. Compare the two and you'll see the past (501) and the future (504) of D* HD.

 

[JayPSU]

Was it on channel 501? If so, the it was just the MPEG 2 channel remapped to that channel. Try watching the same thing on HBO West HD, on ch. 504. There you'll see the MPEG 4 version. Compare the two and you'll see the past (501) and the future (504) of D* HD.

Can you provide a list or link detailing which HD channels are Mpeg 2, and which are Mpeg 4? Thanks!

 

[grydlok]

Can you provide a list or link detailing which HD channels are Mpeg 2, and which are Mpeg 4? Thanks!

If it's in the 70's-99 it's not mp4. 206,209, and 245 are the same as 75, 73, 72.

 

[donnie0328]

all my hd programming is and always has been great. once you have it you can't go back. maybe your t.v. isn't properly connected.

 

[uncrules]

If it's in the 70's-99 it's not mp4. 206,209, and 245 are the same as 75, 73, 72.

501, 509, 537, 543 are also MPEG2 channels.

 

[vurbano]

all my hd programming is and always has been great.

Do you walk around with a german sheppard, dark glasses and a cane?

 

[vurbano]

we bought a big ol' 52 inch fancy lcd samsung tv. we decided to upgrade our directv to hd so we can get some more out of our tv (other than just watching bluray movies).

i knew it wasnt going to be as awesome as watching a hd disk movie because their broadcasts are quite compressed, but some of this "hd" programming is downright ugly. pixilated, blurry... just EXTREMELY unimpressive. ive even discovered that a lot of programming is simply non hd stuff that has been zoomed in to make it look hd. they dont even go as far as to redo some of the captions for people's names and credits as these programs have stuff hanging half way out of the tv's field of view. so im paying extra to not see the full camera shot. i would rather it be in standard format and the proper size than widescreen and filling up my whole tv and not being right.

to its credit some of the movie channels do look better and i know it all depends on what the program is being transmited as, but seriously... i feel extremely unimpressed with the quality of a lot of these channels. speed hd (the one i was looking forward to the most) has absolutely no HD programming available. ive looked and i see NOTHING.


so am in the only one that feels that the money i spent to upgrade was not worth it?

I agree, many of the channels are a disgrace. Even some of the new channels do not look crisp to me. Some like StarzHD look great but IMO we are getting a lot of 1440 x 1080i. Maybe worse on others.

 

[iceturkee]

i believe any rsn still being spotbeamed on channel 96 is mpeg4 because its coming off either spaceway 1 or spaceway 2.

 

[tigerfan33]

I agree with the op. I did it reverse though. I am with Dish and you can tell the differnce between the mpeg2 hd and mpeg4 hd there too. I just bought a hd dvd player. Nothing compares to watching a dvd hd or blueray on a hdtv. I think the mod. probably needs to move this to another forum.

 

[Ronnie-]

havent noticed any issues on my end, however some that have posted here have. Maybe there is a bad batch of boxes out there? Who knows. All im sure of is the majority of my HD(true hd not the upconvert) from D* now looks pristene.

 

[tds4182]

this is what you call HD? seriously?

I agree, many of the channels are a disgrace. Even some of the new channels do not look crisp to me. Some like StarzHD look great but IMO we are getting a lot of 1440 x 1080i. Maybe worse on others.

V, remember when you had the chance to switch to FIOS and didn't because you didn't like their version of a DVR?

Well, guess what, nobody has EXACTLY what you want, not D*, not E* and not FIOS.

Most of us would agree that some of the D* channels are upconverted SD, but some of their new channels are very good.

Why do you constantly "let the perfect be the enemy of the good"?

The glass is (at least) half-full, enjoy what you've got!!!

 

[vurbano]

V, remember when you had the chance to switch to FIOS and didn't because you didn't like their version of a DVR?

Well, guess what, nobody has EXACTLY what you want, not D*, not E* and not FIOS.

Most of us would agree that some of the D* channels are upconverted SD, but some of their new channels are very good.

Why do you constantly "let the perfect be the enemy of the good"?

The glass is (at least) half-full, enjoy what you've got!!!

I gave my opinion of the PQ. If you do not like it its not my problem. And it goes without saying that no one has what I want yet so I settled for D*. By the end of my contract I'm sure FIOS will be the better option. Good it not what HD is about. Great is what its about.