HD TV question

[UncleChris]

TV - Panasonic 54" 1080p

DISH Network


I've noticed when viewing satellite TV, if the picture is very busy (e.g. screen full of confetti immediately after Super Bowl win) the picture gets noticeably distorted. This does not happen when viewing DVDs or BluRay material.

Any thoughts/ideas?

 

[WickedKoolFan]

Most likely the Dish Network feed (ie.overly compressed or weak signal). I used to have that with Cox cable, but not as much anymore.

I watched the game with an over-the-air antennae and noticed the picture breaking up into tiny little squares in some scenes.

 

[UncleChris]

Most likely the Dish Network feed (ie.overly compressed or weak signal). I used to have that with Cox cable, but not as much anymore.

I watched the game with an over-the-air antennae and noticed the picture breaking up into tiny little squares in some scenes.

I have about a 200 foot run of quad cable. Dish tells me that should be ok, but perhaps I'm on the outside edge of the bubble?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

200 feet will degrade the signal. You may need to buy an amplifier to boost the signal.

 

[BillsCarnage]

It's the signal most likely. I get the same with Directv every so often. Usually when there's a lot of action on screen.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

It's the signal most likely. I get the same with Directv every so often. Usually when there's a lot of action on screen.

Try it with a 5ft cable.

 

[BillsCarnage]

Try it with a 5ft cable.

I don't doubt the signal degrades with a longer cable, but wouldn't it happen more frequently if it was just the cable?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I don't doubt the signal degrades with a longer cable, but wouldn't it happen more frequently if it was just the cable?

Depends on the bandwidth being pushed through the cable and the bandwidth received from Dish. Only one of those we can control/troubleshoot by shortening the cable.

 

[UncleChris]

Unfortunately, due to the number and placement of all the great tress on my property, my antenna sets quite a distance from my receiver (200ft). I'll try a signal booster (they're less than 10 bucks).

Interesting side note..... I don't believe I've ever noticed this problem on the movie channels (HBO, etc.). It seems to occur only on Local TV channels. Hmmmmmm..........

 

[puckhead]

TV - Panasonic 54" 1080p

DISH Network


I've noticed when viewing satellite TV, if the picture is very busy (e.g. screen full of confetti immediately after Super Bowl win) the picture gets noticeably distorted. This does not happen when viewing DVDs or BluRay material.

Any thoughts/ideas?

It sounds like normal compression artifacts to me. I doubt Dish is giving you more than 5mbps on any given channel at a time. Some blocking on high action or busy scenes is bound to crop up. It is probably exacerbated by the way Dish receives the locals (OTA) and then re-encodes to Mpeg4. The good news is nothing is wrong with your TV if you don't see the issue on Blu-ray and DVD.

Your TV most likely has an ATSC tuner which would allow you to connect an antenna to compare the broadcast signal to that from Dish. Depending on your location, a set of rabbit ears could do the trick.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

It sounds like normal compression artifacts to me. I doubt Dish is giving you more than 5mbps on any given channel at a time. Some blocking on high action or busy scenes is bound to crop up. It is probably exacerbated by the way Dish receives the locals (OTA) and then re-encodes to Mpeg4. The good news is nothing is wrong with your TV if you don't see the issue on Blu-ray and DVD.

Your TV most likely has an ATSC tuner which would allow you to connect an antenna to compare the broadcast signal to that from Dish. Depending on your location, a set of rabbit ears could do the trick.

Agreed. The higher you can place those rabbit years, the better reception you should get. I have mine tucked in a linen closet at almost ceiling level and I can pick up 25 channels.

 

[UncleChris]

Agreed. The higher you can place those rabbit years, the better reception you should get. I have mine tucked in a linen closet at almost ceiling level and I can pick up 25 channels.

Being in Wickenburg, I'm 90 or so miles from South Mountain, so rabbit ears don't work. HOWEVER, I used to have an antenna on top my house, and I don't recall ever seeing this kind of problem when I was getting HD over the air.

I'll try a signal booster and see if it helps, but I'm getting the feeling that it won't.

Just on a side note, does one get the same compression issues from cable as you do from satellite?

 

[O]

One wonders what your refresh rate is and what hertz your TV is set at.

 

[UncleChris]

One wonders what your refresh rate is and what hertz your TV is set at.

I believe it's a 600mhz plasma.

 

[UncleChris]

I am also considering replacing my RG-6 quad cable with RG-11 cable. Thoughts?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Being in Wickenburg, I'm 90 or so miles from South Mountain, so rabbit ears don't work. HOWEVER, I used to have an antenna on top my house, and I don't recall ever seeing this kind of problem when I was getting HD over the air.

I'll try a signal booster and see if it helps, but I'm getting the feeling that it won't.

Just on a side note, does one get the same compression issues from cable as you do from satellite?

Depends on your feed and experience. I tend to get better reception from satellite than cable.

I am also considering replacing my RG-6 quad cable with RG-11 cable. Thoughts?

For your kind of distance, I would absolutely go RG11

 

[UncleChris]

Depends on your feed and experience. I tend to get better reception from satellite than cable.



For your kind of distance, I would absolutely go RG11

My signal strength is about 46 right now. I've got a signal amplifier coming (20db) and will install that first. If it doesn't bring my signal strength up to 60 or better (Dish rep told me that's the lowest I should accept), then I'll get the checkbook out and go RG-11.

 

[UncleChris]

Well, after installing the signal amplifier, my signal strength is 88 on Sat 110 and 68 on Sat 119. Cool! Now I have to have some confetti on the screen to test it for sure...

Thanks for your help and advice, team!