Directv picture quality problems.

[russellj]

I have had Directv for about 5 years now and I have the convience of being able to compare TW Cable's signal to Directv's signal on the same set. I have noticed a distinct loss of detail in the Directv picture compared to the TW digital picture watching the same channel. Can this be right? I have heard that Directv over compresses their signal to save space on the satalites, but untill I owned a large screen TV I never noticed it. I have a Hitachi 50" standand def. tv and a Toshiba 51" HD tv. I can see the difference in detail and quality on both sets (it is very noticable on my HD set). The quality of the HD channels is about the same from TW and Directv, but the standard signal is not nearly as good on Directv as it is on TW. There seems to be some strange looking artifacts around images in the picture and if I look close at a picture that contains a lot of grass and bushes I can see a shifting of pixels back and forth. Has anyone else noticed this problem with Directv?

[Timgb]

Last year when I changed from Direct Tv to TWC I also noticed that I was not losing any quality in the  picture.

[easylistener]

It all depends on the channel.  Some are more compressed than others.  What you have to relieze is that tw's channels are not all digital therefore they do not need as much bandwidth.  You also have to remember that you have to set up your tv differnt with differnt boxes.  This is because they have differnt settings internally.

Most of the compression problems will be solved by the new s7 sat going up for directv.  This will free up tons of bandwidth.

[gparris]

Checking around and doing some research, the 7S satellite mentioned in posts was supposed to be up last year.

It was delayed due to conflict in launch arrangements last year.
This year, it was supposed to be launched "first quarter" .
First quarter ended yesterday.

Reason? Due to a problem with the last similar 7S type of satellite with its solar array deployment. Testing and evaluation have probably slowed things down...now that it is April and still no 7S launch...too bad. :eek: I wish there was better news. Anyone got some? VOOM could not stand alone on top of the HD channel mound, so to speak. Directv could fulfill its promises of more HD.

Directv really wants its full-country-coverage for local SD channel delivery and hopefully, more of the HD channels it promised to deliver this year, to compete with the likes of VOOM.
 
DishNetwork, wanting to follow rather than lead, as was the case last time, after Directv go its 4 HD channels added with the PPV and HBO/SHo HDs, will want to add its matching HD channels then, too. :p  
So everyone will get a chance to have more HD channels like VOOM without the chance of getting VOOM and having it bought out or go out of business, IMO.:blush:

Good luck, Directv, with your satellite! IF competition drives more HD availability, so be it. Launch...NOW!

[mhz40]

Originally posted by easylistener
[clip]What you have to relieze is that tw's channels are not all digital therefore they do not need as much bandwidth. [/clip]

Huh?  An analog channel takes 8-10 times the "bandwidth" of a single SD digital service.  (And I guarantee no digital artifacts on analog-delivered channels. :rofl: )
Just wait until analog is a thing of the past and the 70-some analog channels go away... yes I can see it now...  well over 140 more HD channels and 140 more SD's.  If only we early adopters could push this transition faster!

MHz40

[easylistener]

The 7 sat was shipped and will be launched next month.  The space shuttle blowing up also delayed things.

When you spend so much on something you need it to be right.  I am glad that directv spend time to get the thing right.  Now let see if they do the smart thing and get use more HD.

[gparris]

May is the new date?

The second quarter instead of the first?

I highly doubt, though, that the shuttle had anything to do with a delay in the Directv 7S launch. Having been associated with such, I cannot honestly believe a direct connection existed as reason for launch delays for the 7S. More payloads are/have been delivered by unmanned methods even before the shuttle disaster. Maybe that is what you meant:  IMHO, you are in error.

It was the solar arrays malfunctioning and I, too, am glad they are fixing it. It would be hard to replace this complex satellite in a timely manner if it wasn't able to deliver at full power and that is what is required for such a geostationary array.  :cool:

Maybe Directv will deliver what it promised: more HD channels, like Cinemax HD and The Movie Channel HD,Bravo HD+ etc. to compete with cable and its local-channel HD delivery option that satellite cannot. Although it has not indicated what it will add in HD channels, these would be a start, along with iN HD channels like cable has now (for sports, see other threads this forum).
Mr. Murdoch: ARE you listening?
:rolleyes:

[Matt Heebner]

On AVS Forum, there is a 7S thread going. It was traveling to the launch site most of March. It is scheduled to launch beginning of May.

AVS Link

Matt

[gparris]

Looks like May, so more HD channels to go with that new HD-Tivo in what , probably June or July for Directv? . :cool:

As long as Directv doesn't waste a lot of time getting its local SD channels launched first and this slows the HD delivery down.

Thanks for the information...let the HD delivery competition heat up!:)