HDTV - DirecTV or OTA? (1 Viewer)

[Steven Divita]

I was a current Direc TV subscriber and I just purchased the Hughes E-86 receiver from a South Florida based store called Brands Mart for $299.00. Then I called Direc TV and said that I purchased it from Circuit City for $699, which is the real current price for them, and that they told me that my current round dish would be good enough to get the Direc TV based HDNet, which of course it cant. They informed me that my round dish cannot pick up HDNet, and that it would cost me another $100 or so for the 3 LNB dish. I said I was going to the Dish network, and they transferred me to customer service, where I explained the whole thing again, so they asked me if I was willing to stay if they sent somebody over within 2 days and installed a new 3 LNB dish for $14.95. I said "Um,......well. OK" Bwaaahaaaaahaaaa,....it was so easy, I just cant believe it!

Look out for the deals,....they are out there..

Steve

 

[Steven Divita]

Sorry, double post

 

[Reginald Trent]

Tom, this is a no brainer. Because if you already have DirecTV and want OTA HD keep in mind OTA HD STB cost about the same as one that gives you DirecTV and OTA. Also remember cable companies have a tendecy of raising their prices often. Therefore, your cable HD connection could end up costing you big time.

 

[John_F]

The only part of your argument I buy is local channels. I can get an antenna for this.

I think that DBS is the more likely to offer more/higher quality HDTV channels. Look at all the complaints of "compressed" cable signals. When DBS starts to hit a bandwidth limit, they put up another satellite.
When cable hits a bandwidth limit, they have to lay more cable. Isn't DBS in a better position to expand?

Regards,
John Flegert

 

[Jeff DeLine]

We have been a long time DirecTV subscriber and have been thinking about now getting the HDTV box and also getting local channels through DirecTV. I called customer service and was told that we would not get the HDTV local channels through DirecTV but only the normal local channels. That seems to contradict what I have been reading in this thread. Can someone shed some light on this - did I get wrong info from DirecTV or am I reaching the wrong conclusion from what I am reading on this thread. Jeff

 

[JeromeS]

Jeff, you can only get the regular signal for the local channels from DirecTV. To receive the HDTV signal, you get it off the air using any regular antenna. You don't need a "Digital" antenna which some stores are trying to sell. Also most HDTV signals right now are in UHF so you would need one that is UHF capable.

 

[tom hangler]

* UPDATE *

So I purchased the Hughes E86 receiver two nights ago.

Swapped it in place of my old RCA box, and I just love the Hughes. It's got a much better menu system, and even seems to scroll through them faster. Also, it may just be my eyes, but the picture quality is better.

I also got the oval 3LNB dish at the same time (no charge), and I installed it yesterday afternoon. Very easy, and I can now pick up HDnet (channel 199), in all its HD glory.


Regarding local HD channels (in Santa Clara, CA), I tried several different antennas yesterday:

Terk TV55 -- NOTHING
Jensen TV930 -- PBS only
Zenith Silver Star -- NOTHING
Terk TV5 -- ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, WB

So for now, I'm sticking with the TV5... not sure why this one works and the others don't

I still can't get a good strong signal for FOX, and WB sometimes fades out...

Anyone have any suggestions? The TV5 is already amplified, but would it help if I added another separate amplifier to boost the reception?


I have to stick with indoor antennas, so outdoor antennas are not an option. Currently, the antenna is sitting on top of the entertainment center, next to the TV.


Any suggestions for improvement?


Thanks!

 

[JeromeS]

Have you tried raising it up to the ceiling to see what happens. Also minor adjustments in direction can make a big difference.

 

[jeff lam]

Tom, how big is that antenna and how much did it cost? Have any pics of it? Maybe you should try the RS double bowtie if you can find one. They can be found on ebay. Many have said it gets excelent reception.

 

[tom hangler]

The TV5 is not very big at all.... footprint is maybe 12 inches...

You can get more details from www.terk.com


I'll try the local Radio Shacks tonight

 

[ethan_l]

how does a OTA HD reciever work, can you just hook it up to any regular old antenna and it'll work
and how's reception? do you get snow/distortion or a pristine image when in the right position, otherwise no image at all

 

[JeremyFr]

I guess were more fortunate up here in the Silicon Forest when it comes to HD over Cable. We use the Motorola 5100's up here which are killer boxes, They've got HDTV,Cable Modem all in one, feature front AV inputs and USB connectivity for lord knows what. Right now HD has been available for around 4 months now currently we run 2 HD channels, HBO/Showtime. They both look beautiful on the 5100. Locals are coming on line here very soon as well as Discovery HD in the Puget Sound market. OTA and even Dish reception can be quite difficult in areas up here so for people here its a better alternative to go with cable. I currently just use our 2000 series box with 5.1 and S-Video out and picture quality was night and day even with compression artifacts that people claim are so high in digital cable, but every cable company is different I would never get any service run by a company affiliated with AOL myself but I love my cable, I just cant wait till VOD rolls out here soon where you can rewind fast forward pause etc your PPV that you bought lets see dish do that! hehe, great conversation all! hope I'm not stirring up to much commotion

 

[JeremyFr]

btw heres a pic of the Motorola 5100



and a link to more info on the box

http://broadband.motorola.com/dct5100.html[/url]

The other thing I find funny is that people say image quality is better on one or the other between dish/cable yet they both use the exact same MPEG2 compression standard so in all reality they both have the same picture quality, but (now heres the but) this can all depend on the process's it goes through before it reachs the end user.

 

[tom hangler]

how does a OTA HD reciever work, can you just hook it up to any regular old antenna and it'll work

Yes, I think it really is quite that simple.. plug in an antenna and hook up the box to your HDTV-ready TV. HD channels are available via the air, like local channels

But then it gets complicated regarding the type of antenna (in/out/powered) or if you need a preamp... everyone's situation is different

Anyway, there should be no snow.. basically, you either get the channel in all its HD glory, or you get nothing

Please correct me if I'm wrong

Thanks


btw, anyone have opinions regarding those outdoor antennas that basically "clip" onto the dish? Since my dish faces SW, and my HD local transmitter is incoming from the north, would this type of antenna even work?

And would I need to route yet another cable from this clip-on, or does it feed via the existing satellite cables? I currently have the oval, triple LNB dish


Thanks

 

[JeremyFr]

The compression that is used for HDTV will yield a granier picture depending on signal quality, then move to artifacting where it starts to do the whole block pattern thing, to very little signal where you get nothing at all.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Quote:

The other thing I find funny is that people say image quality is better on one or the other between dish/cable yet they both use the exact same MPEG2 compression standard so in all reality they both have the same picture quality, but (now heres the but) this can all depend on the process's it goes through before it reachs the end user.
------------------------

Jeremy, with all due respect. Picture quality does vary between Dish/Cable. As a matter of fact picture quality varies between channels on the same program provider whether it be dish or cable.

Moreover, we all know or should that the same programs PQ varies between different cable systems throughout the country. Therefore, I don't think noting differences in PQ between program providers is a stretch even if they use the same delivery standard.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Tom, perfect timing for getting your HD DirecTV equipment. Because DirecTV is showing the NBA Allstar game Sunday and preceding events Saturday in HD on channel 198

You might also want to visit our sister site for more HD info. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=220936

 

[JeremyFr]

yeah we've got the game to I think I'm gonna go see how it looks at Mag Hi-Fi since I unfortunately dont have a Hi-Def set yet.

 

[TimTurtino]

Reginald-- that exact same MPEG compression codec can be used at various levels of compression to get higher and lower levels of PQ (at correspondingly higher and lower uses of available bandwidth).

Cable companies can easily choose different settings than DirectTV does, and are more subject to local problems (like bad lines, etc). DirectTV tends to be more uniform, but an on-the-ball CC would leverage the much higher bandwidth they have available and easily have higher PQ than satellite. Only problem is they'll then likely have areas that can't receive every channel, so most of them (I'm guessing) end up choosing lower PQ.

Plus, they have to send a bunch of channels in analog, which eats up even more bandwidth...


Me

 

[JeremyFr]

yeah analog service is the biggest problem with cable and god I cannot wait till they phase it out but alot of people just want analog service and dont want to get all the other channels hence why 50-60% of any cable companys customers are "basic" subscribers the truth of the matter is most people dont care about where it comes from or how many lines of resolution it has etc they just want they're cable thats been the same for 30 years and dont want to pay more to get the same through satelite. Eventually people will have no choice though then to have digital service.