Dish Network Noise? (1 Viewer)

[Chris_A_J]

I recently added a Dish 500 system to my home. I am using the standard receiver and it is hooked up to Toshiba 50H81 RPTV. My problem is that I am getting a lot of pixelization in the picture. It is really noticeable in the dark portions of an image. They appear to be big blocks. Is there anything I can do to help this? The guy who installed the setup said that it could be due to the length of wire that was run...

Help me please

Thanks

 

[Chris_A_J]

Anyone know......

 

[Robert_J]

First check your signal strength. If it is high, it rules out dish mis-alignment or signal loss due to long cables. More than likely you are seeing Dish's compression artifacts. The bigger the TV, the more obvious they are. Turning down the sharpness will help some but a full calibration with Avia or VE will be best.

Dish is in the process of moving channels around to different satellites so the level of compression will vary from channel to channel and day to day. Premium movie and PPV should look better than shopping channels.

-Robert

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey Cris

Sorry to hear about your current problem. I would have to agree with Robert. Check your signal strength to see if the dish is slightly out of alignment. And what is the lenght of the cable you are using between your dish and receiver? I am using a Toshiba 31" TV with my Dish Network system and had not had that problem. I have also seen set ups at HT stores and not seen that even on 50 to 60" big screens. Hope your problem is solved soon.

 

[Phil Nichols]

Dave,

I used to see this dark background pixelization blocking a lot on DISH channels with my Elite 58" RPTV. It is a result of over-compression by DISH, poor masters used by the channels, and a result of my set being adjusted incorrectly.

I have made it a lot less noticeable this last year by running contrast and black level a lot lower on my RPTV to produce a more film-like image. I didn't do this specifically to reduce the pixelization, though. I discovered that my set was shipped with the factory settings being way too "bright" and "contrasty". Correcting these as you learn what to watch for, or by having your set ISF calibrated by a professional, should radically reduce what you are seeing.

My DISH channels now actually look,in general, "pretty good" on my 58" RPTV, but it took a long while to learn what to do to achieve it.

 

[kevin_tomb]

The problem you are seeing is inherent in digital satellite transmissions. You want to send 300 channels and use a certain amount of space....something has to "give". What you are seeing is digital artifacts and pixelization. It has nothing to do with TV setup or long wires. Poor signal strength will not cause pixelization, but a LOSS of signal and therefore picture. This is the MPEG data reduction you are seeing, same as a DVD but more evident on satellite TV. To save transmission space they compress the signal quite a bit so moving objects tend to look blurry and static objects lose some sharpness. The pixels and blocks you see are a direct result of the compression....nothing else.........This is satellites dirty little secret. They promise "digital quality" so you expect DVD picture quality and end up with something that nowhere near a good DVD.

 

[Angelo_Petralba]

not even as good as VHS ! I too have Dish Network and it seems that lately, my pictures are very 'Pixelated' on my 53Inch RPTV (HDTV Ready Hitachi). Sometimes when the images are MOVING fast (Like MTV Music Videos) the pivture quality is VERY POOR..some channels however looks VERY GOOD like Discovery or Fox.


I thought it was my wires (cables) but I guess its just my Cable Company charging me more for lesser quality!

Angelo

 

[Phil Nichols]

Angelo,

I agree somewhat. My VHS library often views better than many DISH channels......but not all channels all the time of course. Some DISH channels are day-in/day-out stellar - PPV of course and HGTV are always top notch. Sometimes I will run across a premium movie channel every bit as clear as their PPV movie channels. Very inconsistent. It seems like if DISH was "over-compressing", then it would be all the time across most channels. I wonder if certain channels don't pay more to DISH for less compression of their material?


Kevin,

Your display setup can help to reduce the annoyance of this dark background pixelization. Most HT owners have contrast and/or black level too high until they become real good videophiles or until they have their set ISF calibrated. Proper contrast/black levels after you become experienced are MUCH lower than what you usually use when starting out in HT. A lights-off viewing room with the screen as dark as in a theater really helps to blend dark pixelization into the background - not completely of course, but far less annoying. I had my Pioneer Elite RPTV for 2 years before I finally realized this.

 

[kevin_tomb]

PHIL.....yeah your right on that point. I stand corrected....But on the other hand, I see the pixelization effect on not only backgrounds but also light coloured objects also. The first time I noticed it was watching THIS OLD HOUSE. They were talking about a white painted wall and every time the camera lingered on the wall it looked like the entire wall was made up of about 500 'blocks" of slightly varying white colours....and they would shift in sharpness and slightly in brightness every time the camera would shake the tiniest little bit....REALLY DISTRACTING. Try watching live football sometime.......EMBARRASSING....every time there is a camera pan and the crowd can be seen the picture goes to hell in a blaze of pixels and blurriness.....

 

[KelvinMc]

Sorry to butt in on the topic, but I have a question that seems to fit. I'm considering signing up for Dish Network, but after reading this I'm worried about picture quality. I was only going to get the "Top 50" package, but want to be able have a nice picture. My mom has DirectTV and has never had a problem, but she is also using a 25" TV. I'll be using a 53" big screen. Should I sign up or not???

 

[HankS]

K, you best preview the output first if you can. I have the Dish 500 and PVR501 and never been happier. Just wish the 501 had a bigger hard drive.

Hank