Who has better Picture Quality Direct TV or Dish?

[Tampa8]

I have three systems..While I do think all of this is subjective.......

Very subjective.

 

[Scherrman]

I have three systems..While I do think all of this is subjective.
Here's my take. I have latest equipment from three providers.
Best HD picture:
Direc Hr44
Uverse Cysco (blasphemy-i know)
Dish Hopper sling

For some reason dish just does not look as sharp
as in the past?
Uverse has done upgrades in my area putting them on par with Direct.
I just had my main Hopper replaced-

Just my take. This all could change with software upgrades.
I have no loyalties here...just whatever looks better to my eyes..

What are you watching when comparing them? I know that when I watch a program on HGTV or Food Network the quality doesn't look that great but when I watch a movie on one of the premium movie channels, especially a Pixar movie, it looks fantastic.

 

[ewindowman]

I guess I should look at the date before I read the hole post . I thought damn they have some old ass equipment and or worried about pq .

 

[Skytrooper]

Lern4483,I respect your opinion. Had Direct and have Dish and to my eyes there is no difference in picture quality. Had both systems on same tv's.

 

[edisonprime]

Had both. DirecTV is WAY BETTER.

 

[acostapimps]

The only one I compared was Directv and Comcast using cable directly connected to TV, But I couldn't tell a difference besides SD, the digital channels not analog, This was 3-4 years ago

 

[DishSubLA]

MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 are both compression schemes and can be to several degrees depending on bandwidth allowed.
Generally OTA has less compression of its MPEG-2 signal. But MPEG-4 can get a factor of 2 more compression.
There are no uncompressed signals except off the back of the studio camera and maybe not then.
-Ken

I would add that MPEG4 (H.246) is supposed to actually produce a superior PQ than MPEG2 at even higher compression, and this has been confirmed by several tech reviews on the net based upon the math, but even more important, with real world viewing and observation along with screen shots, various "tests" and just plain subjective observation. That's not to say that one can't really over compress even an MPEG4 H.264 frame and have it look worse than compared to almost anything else. It's just the canard that MPEG2 is somehow better than MPEG4 just because MPEG4 is used on OTA stations that many people still refer to as "uncompressed" video. In other words, if OTA were today using MPEG4 in the same conditions, there would be an appreciable improvement in PQ of even the main channel.

MPEG4 also handles the video differently by being able to encode the different layers or parts of a video frame, resulting in superior PQ upon decoding and viewing, while MPEG2 just encodes the the entire "mess" of a video frame. MPEG4 H.264 is truly superior to MPEG2 in every way.

 

[DishSubLA]

What are you watching when comparing them? I know that when I watch a program on HGTV or Food Network the quality doesn't look that great but when I watch a movie on one of the premium movie channels, especially a Pixar movie, it looks fantastic.

+1. The Premiums and the live Pay-per-View movie channels seem to have the best HD PQ. However, I find Channels like History, NatGeo to be 2nd best or quite good, while the kids channels in HD don't look as good such as Hub. Also, let's remember that MVPD's also compress the AUDIO to make some room. The DD 5.1 from MVPD's is at LOWER resolution than one would get from their DVD or Blu-ray. OTA DD 5.1 is also at lower resolution.

 

[klatu10]

The difference between dish and direct are so small.
When I watch any sports program tennis, football or hockey
The Direc picture has a little more of the wow factor.

The picture, to me, is a tad more vivid.
Again, just my take.
I've checked on all three of my HD sets.
Same outcome.



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[jerryez]

Since someone dredged up an old thread from 2004, I think things have changed greatly. All of the LCD,LED, and Plasma TVs are so great, I do not see much difference in any of the better services available. This thread should just die a slow death.

 

[lern4483]

It's just fun to compare. Actually all these systems have their good and bad points.
It's just a fun conversation to have.
You have to really nit pic the differences here.


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[Spike]

This thread should just die a slow death.

Pulls out his horn and plays taps. May this 2004 thread rest in pieces.

 

[KAB]

It's just a fun conversation to have.
You have to really nit pic the differences here.


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In this case, as too much fun.

 

[lern4483]

Kab
I would expect nothing less from you.


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[KAB]

As if it hasn't been said already? Nothing personal intended. You were just a convenient springboard.

 

[DishSubLA]

The DirecTV PQ at the display/sales kiosk at Costco looks really good, like just a bit of the "wow" factor mentioned in a previous post. However, I personally believe that DirecTV is using a really good quality HDTV and had the HDTV calibrated for absolute best possible PQ.

As for Dish at home, I still get some "wow" factor depending upon the channel I am watching. I find History and H2 to still give me a "wow" factor when a talking head is there and I can see the pores on a face. Hub, good HD, but not so "wow" factor. Overall, I am VERY satisfied with Dish HD, and even when viewing a Blu-ray, it really isn't that superior looking.