CurlyDave
Elite Member
I have DirecTV and HD, but I find the 720p is actually a better picture than the 1080i. Try it.
HD TV-Love it, hate it!
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I have DirecTV and HD, but I find the 720p is actually a better picture than the 1080i. Try it.
I have a really hard time telling the difference between 720p and 1080i. Especially from my viewing distance. There's also alot of variables that play into it as well. Here's a wiki link that may be of interest that describes the two.
720p - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
marimus
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Just guessing, but mabey there is some scaling going on somewhere, either by DirecTV or even in your TV itself (many tv's don't have 1080 lines, and so scale down the signal to fit your screen. More expensive TVs do this better than cheaper ones).
This would definatley make 720p look better on your tv.
There is a quick article on the differences here 720p Vs 1080i HDTV
DocHeb
Veteran Member
Reading this reference leads me to a confusing conclusion: Your mind notices something as changing in 1/60th of a second (1080i) as being blurry, but does not notice that with 1/30th of a second (780p)? How does the fact that most movies are made at 24 frames per second (even slower) fit in?
kenstrac
Platinum Member, RIP
Exactly shows are broadcast in HIGH DEFINATION yet they what to charge you for it another SCAM from the cable and satellite companies
RonMar
Elite Member
Your not paying for the HD programming, you are paying for the HD delivery system. It is like the difference between dial-up and DSL internet service. That bigger pipe, particularly over a sattelite, costs more money...
If you are in range of over the air digital programming, then you can watch HD that way without paying for it. But if you are not, well that is probably why you have a sattelite in the first place
Airsafety
Member
We've tried digital cable and two different satellite providers, but I found that - with one exception - there wasn't much worth watching even with 300+ channels. Most of the time we just have the TV on for noise while we read or surf so the local channels were on 90% of the time.
It kind of irritated me to be paying $65/mo when the local channels were available with an antenna. The exception was my wife's Brit soaps which were only available as a PPV on one of the satellites - don't even think of pulling the plug on a woman's soaps.
I finally found that - with a few gyrations - I could download all of her Brit shows over the internet. Not only the soaps, but *everything* and the same day it was broadcast. So that justified a 52 incher for the living room with a media center PC next to it.
The off the air antenna gives me full 1080 resolution (the satellite HD option was only 720) and the cost was amortized in just two months without a satellite bill. The digital switchover has almost doubled the number of channels we get OTA and there are more to come.
The Brit networks have some fairly good shows and most of the US networks are going the same direction with hulu.com and others. Its kind of like having the worlds biggest Tivo as everything gets recorded and can be watched on your schedule. So the digital change has been a blessing to me, but YMMV. Check out the internet options, though. You may be pleasantly surprised at the viewing options.
Best,
John
It kind of irritated me to be paying $65/mo when the local channels were available with an antenna. The exception was my wife's Brit soaps which were only available as a PPV on one of the satellites - don't even think of pulling the plug on a woman's soaps.
I finally found that - with a few gyrations - I could download all of her Brit shows over the internet. Not only the soaps, but *everything* and the same day it was broadcast. So that justified a 52 incher for the living room with a media center PC next to it.
The off the air antenna gives me full 1080 resolution (the satellite HD option was only 720) and the cost was amortized in just two months without a satellite bill. The digital switchover has almost doubled the number of channels we get OTA and there are more to come.
The Brit networks have some fairly good shows and most of the US networks are going the same direction with hulu.com and others. Its kind of like having the worlds biggest Tivo as everything gets recorded and can be watched on your schedule. So the digital change has been a blessing to me, but YMMV. Check out the internet options, though. You may be pleasantly surprised at the viewing options.
Best,
John
buckeyefarmer
Epic Contributor
This is so true. I have a DishNetwork HD DVR but don't subscribe to HD programming because 1. It's $20 more a month for something that they are already broadcasting and costs them no more content wise, and 2. Sat TV is already broadcast in Digital (non HD) and the picture is not all that much different, at least not for me to pay extra.
Eventually, Dish and Direct will eliminate all but HD because it makes no sense to be transmitting the same thing twice forever. SAT carriers are expensive. However, because they have and/or customers have so much invested in non HD compatible hardware, they have to do it gradually and charge the customers for the extra SAT carriers they need to broadcast in HD.
I got the HD DVR for the recording capability, not HD. It drives Dish nuts that I won't pay them extra for HD programming, but I can record hundreds of hours of SD on it. I just don't have an OTA DVR yet. BTW, my dish HD DVR will handle OTA HD and let you record it, but ONLY IF you pay them for the HD service. I've had Dish for 12 yrs now, but I am starting to get fed up with their cable nickle and dime attitude. Can you imagine your computer company making you pay to use your USB port like Dish makes you do....
As far as OTA HD, I've had it for at least 2 yrs already in my area, and it is great. I'm probably 50 - 60 miles away from the station and pull it in with no trouble from by old rooftop antenna. I like the Insignia boxes I bought for my non HD tv's, but I also have an HD tv. Remember the converters drop the output down to 480p analog output, but the output is still far better than the original analog signal. In my area you get both analog and digital, so I can switch for the analog to the HD, and it's night and day difference. Some areas of the country will be doing a cold switchover on the 17th, where the stations are not broadcasting both already.
Alan L.
Elite Member
Just to throw my 2 cents in. The programming is almost totally worthless, but I get the good out of HD when I watch sports (NFL especially) and HD movies. I have Dish HD and the difference between digital standard definition and HD is big. So much so that I don't much like watching anything thats not HD.
I have the HD DVR from dish and so the recorded HD programs are just like the original. I can get 35 hours of HD or 200 of regular.
I had a DVD recorder, which I suppose you can use to record the HD programming, but it is not going to record it in HD quality. To watch HD DVD nowadays you have to get a Blu-Ray player and rent or buy Blu-Ray movies.
I have a 720p TV and find that 720p looks better than 1080i. The 1080i is nothing like 1080p because only every other line refreshes at the same time. The 720p is not as many lines but all of them refresh together.
The local channels I get from Dish are not HD and are basically terrible. I put up a 50 foot tower and have an antenna and rotor and I can get most all of the "local" channels in HD/digital from about 75 miles away. Right now the only source of 1080p is the blu-ray, the OTA signals are 720p/1080i.
I have the HD DVR from dish and so the recorded HD programs are just like the original. I can get 35 hours of HD or 200 of regular.
I had a DVD recorder, which I suppose you can use to record the HD programming, but it is not going to record it in HD quality. To watch HD DVD nowadays you have to get a Blu-Ray player and rent or buy Blu-Ray movies.
I have a 720p TV and find that 720p looks better than 1080i. The 1080i is nothing like 1080p because only every other line refreshes at the same time. The 720p is not as many lines but all of them refresh together.
The local channels I get from Dish are not HD and are basically terrible. I put up a 50 foot tower and have an antenna and rotor and I can get most all of the "local" channels in HD/digital from about 75 miles away. Right now the only source of 1080p is the blu-ray, the OTA signals are 720p/1080i.
If your tv is a 720p tv then the 720p signal probably looks better due to the fact that your tv has to scale the 1080i signal to fit your screen. For regular movies I really don't think the progressive refresh rate is going to make a better picture, the 1080i signal if your tv is a 1080 television should be a little more crisp. Where the 720p signal may have an advantage though is sports where there are fast moving objects such as a 90mph fastball or a fast moving hockey puck.
