# Dish's "Turbo HD" vs. DirecTV (rant)



## PaulieORF (Jun 12, 2006)

I'm a very happy DirecTV customer, I love it and love all of the HD channels I get. I also love the quality of the channels now that they have fully gone over to MPEG 4. But it bothers me to see not-as-knowledgable people come into my house to watch TV, only to tell me that "Oh yeah, my HD is better than this because it's Dish's Turbo HD, so that means it's better than DirecTV". When I tell them they're crazy, they say "No no, you don't understand it's a new technology that only Dish has". I'd have to call this a great success for Dish, because whether or not they intended people to believe that "Turbo HD" meant better quality than other providers, they certainly succeeded there.

Sorry, I just felt like venting here, anyone with any similar experience?


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## dcowboy7 (May 23, 2008)

when it comes to technology most people are clueless....ive just come to accept it.


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## rahlquist (Jul 24, 2007)

PaulieORF said:


> I'm a very happy DirecTV customer, I love it and love all of the HD channels I get. I also love the quality of the channels now that they have fully gone over to MPEG 4. But it bothers me to see not-as-knowledgable people come into my house to watch TV, only to tell me that "Oh yeah, my HD is better than this because it's Dish's Turbo HD, so that means it's better than DirecTV". When I tell them they're crazy, they say "No no, you don't understand it's a new technology that only Dish has". I'd have to call this a great success for Dish, because whether or not they intended people to believe that "Turbo HD" meant better quality than other providers, they certainly succeeded there.
> 
> Sorry, I just felt like venting here, anyone with any similar experience?


Yes people aint all that bright. When they do this just ask them to explain how its better and if they cant explain to them about the bridges your have for sale.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

and half of them are problably hooked up with svid cables :lol:


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## rahlquist (Jul 24, 2007)

houskamp said:


> and half of them are problably hooked up with svid cables :lol:


Or Radio Shack RF mods.


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## gfrang (Aug 30, 2007)

What difference does it make what they call it? Its all the same programing source that Directv has.Dish is full of it,just a marketing ploy.


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## Cmnore (Sep 22, 2008)

Or with a RabbitTV wireless transmitter.


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## Jared701 (Sep 9, 2008)

PaulieORF said:


> I'm a very happy DirecTV customer, I love it and love all of the HD channels I get. I also love the quality of the channels now that they have fully gone over to MPEG 4. But it bothers me to see not-as-knowledgable people come into my house to watch TV, only to tell me that "Oh yeah, my HD is better than this because it's Dish's Turbo HD, so that means it's better than DirecTV". When I tell them they're crazy, they say "No no, you don't understand it's a new technology that only Dish has". I'd have to call this a great success for Dish, because whether or not they intended people to believe that "Turbo HD" meant better quality than other providers, they certainly succeeded there.
> 
> Sorry, I just felt like venting here, anyone with any similar experience?


Not with satellite providers, but I had a friend of mine swear up and down that his xbox 360 played HD DVDs and there was no reason to buy the HD DVD add on for it...


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

TurboHD is no less important than DVB-S2 from DIRECTV. Both are technologies to jam more content into the same bandwidth. It would appear that TurboHD is more efficient.

Those experiencing the ESPN motion sickness may have a different opinion about DIRECTV's PQ.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

harsh said:


> TurboHD is no less important than DVB-S2 from DIRECTV. Both are technologies to jam more content into the same bandwidth.


I wasn't aware that TurboHD was a technology. I thought it was just the name of Dish's 100% HD packages. Please elaborate.


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## ActiveHDdave (Sep 15, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> I wasn't aware that TurboHD was a technology. I thought it was just the name of Dish's 100% HD packages. Please elaborate.


The only thing I know is the on demand stuff is 1080p upconverted.


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

Paulie,

Just tell them "Ya, it's new to Dish Network. DirecTV is already on version 3 of that".

They likely wouldn't know any better.


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## gulfwarvet (Mar 7, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> I wasn't aware that TurboHD was a technology. I thought it was just the name of Dish's 100% HD packages. Please elaborate.


that's what my take is on it, just their packaging teir of 100% HD with their 1080p VOD service.


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## ziggy29 (Nov 18, 2004)

I doubt it's better, but if you only watch HD programming and the Turbo packages have everything you normally watch, the price point seems more attractive. Still, I know Charlie's tendency to nickel and dime you to death, so the $25-40 monthly fee probably gets jacked up close to the Choice HD package anyway....


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Jeremy W said:


> I wasn't aware that TurboHD was a technology. I thought it was just the name of Dish's 100% HD packages. Please elaborate.


http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/our_products/dish_hd/learn_about/faq/index.shtml


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

harsh said:


> http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/our_products/dish_hd/learn_about/faq/index.shtml


8PSK-Turbo is the technology, not TurboHD. I'm no longer confused.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

harsh said:


> http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/our_products/dish_hd/learn_about/faq/index.shtml


Um, after doing some research, Turbo HD packages has nothing to do with hardware or software advances... Dish has been using 8PSK-Turbo for a while now, (and possibly on all channels, not just HD ones) based on this article, which was announced over a year ago...

http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=473736

And frankly, after reading this page..

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-technical-discussions/143985-8psk-turbo-code.html

all it is saying is that they use different error correction methods than anyone else, and after reading a bit more, doesn't mean anything to Directv... In fact, it seems that there method would actually possibly be detrimental for Directv to use because of rain fade... Some of this was basically said by others, and some of it is me interpreting what I have read...

And while Directv may being using slightly more bandwidth with there version, they have a heck of a lot more bandwidth to use, so its almost a non issue at this point.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

harsh said:


> Those experiencing the ESPN motion sickness may have a different opinion about DIRECTV's PQ.


I must have missed something... WHO is getting motion sickness on ESPN? My ESPN looks great, all the time in MPEG-4


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## bjamin82 (Sep 4, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> I must have missed something... WHO is getting motion sickness on ESPN? My ESPN looks great, all the time in MPEG-4


Agreed


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## braven (Apr 9, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> I must have missed something... WHO is getting motion sickness on ESPN? My ESPN looks great, all the time in MPEG-4


Not this guy. I couldn't agree more, my ESPN looks spectacular.

"Turbo HD" is just a clever marketing tool for the uninformed.

Until E* offers our Local's in HD (they have no plans to do so) AND offer NFLST, they're not an option. Even if they offered Super Dooper VIP+ HD, I'm not going anywhere.


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

DIsh has had 8PSK for long time. I remember buying and adding the 8PSK Module to my 6000 HD receiver in like 2003 or something.

Not sure if peopel are getting motion sick from ESPN, but I do notice some occaisional glitches where something is out of sync which results in a shudder. Nothing horrible, but I do see it.

As far as people not knowing, I was at a party this past weekend. REal nice house. 4,000 plus square feet worth 700-800k. They had Sony LCD TV (which was 3 or 4 years old I think, so certainly cost a few bucks) in the living room and they had a football game on standard ESPN running with black bars on the side. I was dying to say something about it, but my wife would not let me.


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## rrrick8 (Mar 20, 2007)

PaulieORF said:


> But it bothers me to see not-as-knowledgable people come into my house to watch TV, only to tell me that "Oh yeah, my HD is better than this because it's Dish's Turbo HD, so that means it's better than DirecTV". When I tell them they're crazy, they say "No no, you don't understand it's a new technology that only Dish has".


Just nod your head and offer them a cancer laden, fat producing high-fructose corn syrup Popsicle.


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## wolverine318 (Oct 17, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> I must have missed something... WHO is getting motion sickness on ESPN? My ESPN looks great, all the time in MPEG-4


ditto. my espn HD looks beautiful through D*.

honestly, all I am understanding from the turbo-HD is a marketing ploy and method (8psk) to compress and stream HD signals through a smaller bandwidth. Which should be meaningless to D* which has a much larger bandwidth.


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## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

It's probably all in the minds of your Dish friends. But it also occured to me that they may also have the sharpness cranked up to the max, brightness to full tilt, and the colors oversaturated.

Some people think the picture looks "better" when it's exaggerated.


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

Lee L said:


> DIsh has had 8PSK for long time. I remember buying and adding the 8PSK Module to my 6000 HD receiver in like 2003 or something.
> 
> Not sure if peopel are getting motion sick from ESPN, but I do notice some occaisional glitches where something is out of sync which results in a shudder. Nothing horrible, but I do see it.
> 
> As far as people not knowing, I was at a party this past weekend. REal nice house. 4,000 plus square feet worth 700-800k. They had Sony LCD TV (which was 3 or 4 years old I think, so certainly cost a few bucks) in the living room and they had a football game on standard ESPN running with black bars on the side. I was dying to say something about it, but my wife would not let me.


At least all the sports bars know how to stretch SD ESPN.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

Dish's "Turbo-HD" is still 1440x1080, where DirecTV is 1920x1080 (except for ABC, Fox, and ESPN, which originate in 1280x720).

Both services now offer a *very* limited number of VOD movies encoded at 1080/24p, and both require that your TV be able to accept 24p signals, or it must be converted to 1080/60i. Both have issues getting their boxes to recognize some 24p-input-capable TVs.

In the end, "Turbo-HD" is nothing but a marketing term, and virtually nothing to do with technology.


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## gfrang (Aug 30, 2007)

What we need is a combined thread where we can debate this with the Dish Heads.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Pure marketing. And frankly the cost isn't all that great either. I guess if you want a limited selection of channels for 29.99 or something, great. But to get all the channels, including your RSN and Locals it's nearly $60 the last I checked. $12 more and I get Choice HD DVR Plus whatever package from DirecTV which has more HD channels and the side benefit of 250+ SD channels for those SD channels you might still want to watch.

No brainer to me to pay the extra $12 but hey, if you really want to save $12 and have no interest in any SD channel then go for it.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

IIP said:


> Both services now offer a *very* limited number of VOD movies encoded at 1080/24p, and both require that your TV be able to accept 24p signals, or it must be converted to 1080/60i. Both have issues getting their boxes to recognize some 24p-input-capable TVs.


Just to clarify, Last time I checked, It appeared Dish offered 2 movies in 1080P....

Directv does not offer ANY 1080P movies to customers, yet... The firmware in all the Boxes out there that are running a national release can not play back anything in 1080P... Directv is testing the ability now, but it is not released yet... Of course, Directv isn't advertising its available yet either...


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

IIP said:


> except for ABC, Fox, and ESPN, which originate in 1280x720


More channels than that broadcast in 720p.


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## donkeylips (Jul 16, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> I wasn't aware that TurboHD was a technology. I thought it was just the name of Dish's 100% HD packages. Please elaborate.


Thats because it isnt a technology. I guess DISH really has done a good job with their marketing/advertising. Theyve got a guy fooled with 7000+ posts on a top A/V forum. WTG Dish!


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## donkeylips (Jul 16, 2008)

IIP said:


> Dish's "Turbo-HD" is still 1440x1080, where DirecTV is 1920x1080 (except for ABC, Fox, and ESPN, which originate in 1280x720).
> 
> Both services now offer a *very* limited number of VOD movies encoded at 1080/24p, and both require that your TV be able to accept 24p signals, or it must be converted to 1080/60i. Both have issues getting their boxes to recognize some 24p-input-capable TVs.
> 
> In the end, "Turbo-HD" is nothing but a marketing term, and virtually nothing to do with technology.


You should go ahead and edit out the word virtually


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

donkeylips said:


> Thats because it isnt a technology. I guess DISH really has done a good job with their marketing/advertising. Theyve got a guy fooled with 7000+ posts on a top A/V forum. WTG Dish!


Harsh wasn't fooled, he was just trying to pump up Dish, like he always does. He'll be as deceitful as he can be, and just ignore anyone who calls him out on it. I was well aware that it wasn't a technology.


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## donkeylips (Jul 16, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> Harsh wasn't fooled, he was just trying to pump up Dish, like he always does. He'll be as deceitful as he can be, and just ignore anyone who calls him out on it. I was well aware that it wasn't a technology.


I know you were aware 

Wasnt aware he was a Dish fanboy though, Ill keep that in mind. I guess 1440x1080i is the best


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

PaulieORF said:


> I'm a very happy DirecTV customer, I love it and love all of the HD channels I get. I also love the quality of the channels now that they have fully gone over to MPEG 4. But it bothers me to see not-as-knowledgable people come into my house to watch TV, only to tell me that "Oh yeah, my HD is better than this because it's Dish's Turbo HD, so that means it's better than DirecTV". When I tell them they're crazy, they say "No no, you don't understand it's a new technology that only Dish has". I'd have to call this a great success for Dish, because whether or not they intended people to believe that "Turbo HD" meant better quality than other providers, they certainly succeeded there.
> 
> Sorry, I just felt like venting here, anyone with any similar experience?


I just thought it was a satellite TV package containing only HD channels, no SD channels. I guess some people read more into it than that. I have never seen E*'s HD PQ, so I don't know how it compares to D*. I do know that Comcrap's and Time Warner's HD PQ sadly pale in comparison to D*.


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## vansmack (Aug 14, 2006)

PaulieORF said:


> Sorry, I just felt like venting here, anyone with any similar experience?


Sorry, I don't let my friends sign up for Dish.


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## IDRick (Feb 16, 2007)

n3ntj said:


> I just thought it was a satellite TV package containing only HD channels, no SD channels. I guess some people read more into it than that. I have never seen E*'s HD PQ, so I don't know how it compares to D*. I do know that Comcrap's and Time Warner's HD PQ sadly pale in comparison to D*.


We have a local retailer for both E* and D* that also sells tvs. I requested a comparison between the sat services and they obliged by showing the same programming on different tvs (but same model). I could not tell a difference between E* and D* in PQ, both were very good. I currently subscribe to cable and felt that our local cableco can match up very well with E* and D*. I'm still sitting on the fence though. Both Sat companies have more HD than my cableco but D* does not have locals and E* only has SD locals. At the present time, OTA has been an issue with dvrs for both companies. Yes, I can get more HD but lose out on locals in HD or at least reliable recording/playback of OTA. D* has lots of pluses in its favor but it would be a real problem if the Mrs can't record her favorites from the local channels.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

Wow, this thread shines a whole new light on things. If a guy don't have a clue about his own provider, it's no wonder he has even less of a clue (if thats even possible) about the competition. Would have posted sooner, but I can't stop laughing at his foolishness. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> Harsh wasn't fooled, he was just trying to pump up Dish, like he always does. He'll be as deceitful as he can be, and just ignore anyone who calls him out on it. I was well aware that it wasn't a technology.


*yawn* ... as usual. http://dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1809135&postcount=9

:nono2:


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> *yawn* ... as usual. http://dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1809135&postcount=9
> 
> :nono2:


Yep, typical harsh.


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## PaulieORF (Jun 12, 2006)

What a nice little thread this turned into. I did want to get Dish people involved and see what they think, some good stuff here.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

IDRick said:


> We have a local retailer for both E* and D* that also sells tvs. I requested a comparison between the sat services and they obliged by showing the same programming on different tvs (but same model). I could not tell a difference between E* and D* in PQ, both were very good. I currently subscribe to cable and felt that our local cableco can match up very well with E* and D*. I'm still sitting on the fence though. Both Sat companies have more HD than my cableco but D* does not have locals and E* only has SD locals. At the present time, OTA has been an issue with dvrs for both companies. Yes, I can get more HD but lose out on locals in HD or at least reliable recording/playback of OTA. D* has lots of pluses in its favor but it would be a real problem if the Mrs can't record her favorites from the local channels.


Both will look far better in your house than they do in the retailer... So if you think they are on par with your cable co when your watching them in store, both will beat your cable once in your home...

Where in Idaho? Boise is getting HD latter this year for LIL off Directv. Not sure about dish...

So do you get OTA at all? Tweaked aiming your antenna, etc?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

rahlquist said:


> Or Radio Shack RF mods.


All DISH Network HD receivers have built-in agile RF modulators so they would be stupid indeed to buy one from Radio Shack as their DIRECTV brethren might be forced to consider.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

harsh said:


> All DISH Network HD receivers have built-in agile RF modulators so they would be stupid indeed to buy one from Radio Shack as their DIRECTV brethren might be forced to consider.


Are you *kidding* me?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

IIP said:


> Dish's "Turbo-HD" is still 1440x1080, where DirecTV is 1920x1080 (except for ABC, Fox, and ESPN, which originate in 1280x720).


Any evidence to support these claims?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Jeremy W said:


> Are you *kidding* me?


No. Why do you ask?


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

harsh said:


> Any evidence to support these claims?


There have been posts noting what was said...

Any evidence to disprove?


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

harsh said:


> No. Why do you ask?


Because you don't seem to know how to answer a real question... I'm still waiting for you to tell us who has said they get motion sickness on ESPN...

And NO unit that does HD today should have any RF outputs on it... If you ask me, DIsh is dumb for butting RF outs on their boxes, if in deed they are doing that... Since its coming from you, who knows if thats accurate...


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## Kheldar (Sep 5, 2004)

inkahauts said:


> And NO unit that does HD today should have any RF outputs on it... If you ask me, DIsh is dumb for butting RF outs on their boxes, if in deed they are doing that... Since its coming from you, who knows if thats accurate...


Occasionally _harsh_ is actually right. (I know, maybe _occasionally_ is a stretch, but he is right in this case  )
E*'s ViP722 has a "stereo Agile modulated output", which is an RF output that can be programming to operate on channels 21-69.

ViP 722 brochure


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

inkahauts said:


> I must have missed something... WHO is getting motion sickness on ESPN? My ESPN looks great, all the time in MPEG-4


There are at least two threads specifically about the picture breaking up on 206 where high motion is involved. People aren't getting queasy; they are getting annoyed.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=138227&highlight=ESPN+206

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=139705&highlight=ESPN+206


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

inkahauts said:


> There have been posts noting what was said...


I was hoping for at least one link


> Any evidence to disprove?


No.

Unlike several in this thread, I'm looking to establish the veracity of claims, not the credibility of individuals. The individuals will take care of establishing their own credibility.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

harsh said:


> All DISH Network HD receivers have built-in agile RF modulators so they would be stupid indeed to buy one from Radio Shack as their DIRECTV brethren might be forced to consider.


Your post implies that your dish HD box can do HD over RF. That of course is false.

As to being forced? Please. If your happy with the crappy quality of RF output, be it straight from the box to the TV, through a RF modulator, or box to remote TV more power to you. But this thread is about Turbo HD ( the "technology" :hurah: vs DirecTv HD). Not SD. If one is happy with an analog RF signal on HD TV, then, well they might as well stick with cable, or gouge their eyes out.



harsh said:


> I was hoping for at least one linkNo.
> 
> Unlike several in this thread, I'm looking to establish the veracity of claims, not the credibility of individuals. *The individuals will take care of establishing their own credibility.*


Now that is something I think we can all agree on. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## IDRick (Feb 16, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> Both will look far better in your house than they do in the retailer... So if you think they are on par with your cable co when your watching them in store, both will beat your cable once in your home...
> 
> Where in Idaho? Boise is getting HD latter this year for LIL off Directv. Not sure about dish...
> 
> So do you get OTA at all? Tweaked aiming your antenna, etc?


Both looked very good in the store, hard to improve on but, yeah I would take any improvement!  I live in eastern Idaho, about 260 miles from Boise. We can get three HD locals (ABC, NBC, and PBS) and 1 SD digital local (CBS) with an antenna. Unfortunately our local Fox does not go digital until a hot switch over in February 09. Relying strictly on OTA is a bit problematic until after Feb 09. No way to use a dvr to record an analog signal on Fox. Reported issues with trick play on the AM21/HR21 combo causes me to be a bit reluctant to switch. D* has some great incentives for new subs, hope they're still around next spring.

Thanks for your interest!


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## donkeylips (Jul 16, 2008)

harsh said:


> There are at least two threads specifically about the picture breaking up on 206 where high motion is involved. People aren't getting queasy; they are getting annoyed.
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=138227&highlight=ESPN+206
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=139705&highlight=ESPN+206


Those threads have absolutely zero to do with motion sickness. Yes there is an issue on the MPEG-4 ESPN's. It has been much better lately though, and it appears they are working on it, which quite honestly is shocking to me.

Neither D* or E* has a very good track record when it comes to fixing issues. Its hard to even get them to even acknowledge an issue, let alone fix it.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

IDRick said:


> We have a local retailer for both E* and D* that also sells tvs. I requested a comparison between the sat services and they obliged by showing the same programming on different tvs (but same model). I could not tell a difference between E* and D* in PQ, both were very good.


What was the screen size of the two displays that you viewed? If they were relatively small <32" you might not notice any difference, but when you start to increase the screen size then you might not have the same opinion of the two.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

RobertE said:


> Your post implies that your dish HD box can do HD over RF. That of course is false.


The post doesn't imply anything. It states that a particular feature exists in all DISH HD receivers.


> As to being forced? Please. If your happy with the crappy quality of RF output, be it straight from the box to the TV, through a RF modulator, or box to remote TV more power to you.


Do a search and see how many times the term modulator shows up in the DIRECTV threads. Here's a few:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=139766&highlight=modulator+channel

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=138716&highlight=modulator+channel

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=137910&highlight=modulator+channel

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=136709&highlight=channelplus

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=120092&highlight=channelplus


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## IDRick (Feb 16, 2007)

RAD said:


> What was the screen size of the two displays that you viewed? If they were relatively small <32" you might not notice any difference, but when you start to increase the screen size then you might not have the same opinion of the two.


Good point. They were 42" Sony LCD's.


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## TigersFanJJ (Feb 17, 2006)

harsh said:


> The post doesn't imply anything. It states that a particular feature exists in all DISH HD receivers.Do a search and see how many times the term modulator shows up in the DIRECTV threads. Here's a few:
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=139766&highlight=modulator+channel
> 
> ...


That's great. Dishnet HD boxes are far superior to Directv HD boxes because they have a crappy $5 RF modulator built into them to send SD to the HDTV in my other room. If that makes you happy, can we please get back on topic?


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## bb37 (Dec 27, 2007)

IDRick said:


> Reported issues with trick play on the AM21/HR21 combo causes me to be a bit reluctant to switch.


I've been living with the HR21/AM21 combo for a couple of months now. Are there issues with Trick Play? Yes. Are they unbearable? No.


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## fikuserectus (Aug 19, 2006)

inkahauts said:


> I must have missed something... WHO is getting motion sickness on ESPN? My ESPN looks great, all the time in MPEG-4


Looks great for me also!


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

bb37 said:


> I've been living with the HR21/AM21 combo for a couple of months now. Are there issues with Trick Play? Yes. Are they unbearable? No.


Yea, tick play on ATSC recordings is a real pain. I don't know why D* can't get this thing fixed since it's been reported for months by a number of people?


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## IDRick (Feb 16, 2007)

bb37 said:


> I've been living with the HR21/AM21 combo for a couple of months now. Are there issues with Trick Play? Yes. Are they unbearable? No.


Would you be willing to flesh out your issues in a PM? I personally don't watch alot of network tv but the Mrs records something 20 shows a week. She would use trick play watching every recorded episode. Thanks!

Sorry for hijacking the thread! Turbo HD is a marketing effort but it does have curb appeal. I would hope that eventually D* will also offer a HD only package with RSN's. I would purchase that in a heartbeat once they add a couple more HD stations (Travel, Fox News, Lifetime).


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## fikuserectus (Aug 19, 2006)

harsh said:


> There are at least two threads specifically about the picture breaking up on 206 where high motion is involved. People aren't getting queasy; they are getting annoyed.


I have not seen any of that. I'm guessing you are a Dish fanboy?


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## Montezuma58 (May 24, 2004)

bobnielsen said:


> At least all the sports bars know how to stretch SD ESPN.


There's one restaurant I frequent that has HD sets hooked up to HD cable boxes. Most of the time they are tuned to an HD channel. But they usually have the boxes putting out a letterboxed 4x3 image. Then they have the TV stretch that picture. So they end up with an image that is squished and with bars on the top and bottom. Occasionally they'll get it right but 95% of the time it's fouled up.


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## JoeTheDragon (Jul 21, 2008)

Montezuma58 said:


> There's one restaurant I frequent that has HD sets hooked up to HD cable boxes. Most of the time they are tuned to an HD channel. But they usually have the boxes putting out a letterboxed 4x3 image. Then they have the TV stretch that picture. So they end up with an image that is squished and with bars on the top and bottom. Occasionally they'll get it right but 95% of the time it's fouled up.


They are not uses hd cable to feed the tvs.

1 restaurant I want to had a HD box at each tv and other more bar like place with a lot of tvs had what looked a Component video system running out of a rack.


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## Araxen (Dec 18, 2005)

It sounds like TurboHD is the 2000's version of "Blast Processing" that Sega used for their marketing of the Genesis system back in the 90's.


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## Montezuma58 (May 24, 2004)

JoeTheDragon said:


> They are not uses hd cable to feed the tvs.
> 
> 1 restaurant I want to had a HD box at each tv and other more bar like place with a lot of tvs had what looked a Component video system running out of a rack.


They have everything hooked up to be able to watch HD. They just don't bother to use it properly the majority of the time. As I said, they do get it right on occasion. The employees and the customers either don't know any better or don't care.

It would seem silly to me as a manager to pay extra each month for products or services that don't get used. Just as it would be silly to subscribe to Turbo HD just because of the flashy name.


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## donkeylips (Jul 16, 2008)

fikuserectus said:


> I have not seen any of that. I'm guessing you are a Dish fanboy?


He may be a Dish fanboy, but I most definitley am not. I have Directv, and I would not subscribe to Dish if it was free, I despise Dish.

I do see the problems with the MPEG-4 ESPN's on D* though, and there have been numerous threads reagarding these issues here and over at AVS.

The problems arent anything J6P is going to notice though, and the severity of the problem has decreased alot in the last few weeks.

The problem could reach out and smack J6P in the face and he still would not notice it. This is because the issues were fairly subtle at their worst, and now they are extermely subtle, but they still exist as of last night. Slight issues are not a problem for Joe and his pals.

Just for the record, the problem has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of motion sickness. The problems are just very slight and subtle glitches in the video. And like I said, it has been alot better in the last few weeks.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

donkeylips said:


> I do see the problems with the MPEG-4 ESPN's on D* though


Have we established that DirecTV broadcasts ESPN HD?


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## donkeylips (Jul 16, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> Have we established that DirecTV broadcasts ESPN HD?


Not sure what you mean by that question.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

donkeylips said:


> Not sure what you mean by that question.


It was just an (obviously poor) attempt at a joke, based on the post referred to in this post: http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1809138&postcount=39


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