I currently have TWC w/HD- got all my locals in HD along with a few other cable channels (HBO, TNT, Cinemax, etc), 2 DVR's going etc. Problem is that on my 65" Toshiba HDTV the SD channels looks grainy, and basically look like crap.

Wondering how DirecTV or similar handles SD channels, I am just sick of watching Spike and the programming looks nothing like I feel it should. Also anyone know of any deals going on out there, I don't want to lose the option of 2 HD DVR's.

I just want better PQ! :)
Thanks!

that said... SD is going to look like crap regardless

My thoughts are that SD on Cable will not be good because the signal is analog. All of D* channels are digital. Also how one sets up their tv and the technology of the tv makes a difference. First I do not stretch my SD signals - I allow them to be letterboxed (since I have a 60" the picture is still big.) Also a factor are things like the contrast etc.

The other thing to remember is that in the next year D* will be adding the capability for 100+ HD channels - the sat is being launched on Friday.
Cable is bandwidth limited so they can not add very more HD signals.

Also remember - the cut off date for analog signal is early 2009 - a year and a half away.

If you are 10 or 12' away there's not a lot you can do to improve the picture unless you can sit further back.

CRT RPJ sets are very unforgiving with analog images.

How is the TWC box connected to your set?

I had TWC about a year and absolutely hated the picture quality. Glad to be back with DirecTV. TWC either used much lower bandwidth per station or had the worst MPEG-2 encoders ever made.

the further south you are, the less of an issue it is.

That said, in the 7 years I've been using DirecTV here in Houston, I've experienced less than an hour of outage due to rain fade.

That's more than I can say for cable TV.

Rain fade tends to be a bit more frequent than a cable outage, but when it happens it's just for a few seconds in most cases... while with cable, when you're out - you're out. And it may be days before you're back.

Off air is free, you'll watch a lot less garbage and commercials, and blu-ray movies from Netflix are the state of the art in picture quality.

Total monthly cost (5 at a time subscription), $30

one can get dishes designed for Alaska.

Also how come DirecTV only gives me options for 1x HD-DVR box for their setup, I can add more then 1 correct? Do I need to have a phone line for DirecTV- cause I have one, but it is on the other side of the house- only in the kitchen.

almost all have to be recorded on my HD-DVR, but I am not sure how long I could go without Spike, TNT, TBS, FX and HBO when my shows are playing (I cancel it when the series end)

you can have as many HD-DVRs as you want, for $299/ea. (Plus $5/mo/ea)

You do not need a phone line UNLESS you use pay-per-view. Even then, you can get away without it.

I'd suggest being at least 18" away. Given that this may not be possible for you, upgrading to D* might help a bit, but you still won't be thrilled until everything is in HD or until you get a smaller screen.

How is your box connected to your TV when watching SD?

<center><img src="http://images26.fotki.com/v890/photos/4/41932/209087/IMG_0052-vi.jpg"></center><p>This is from Spike TV at 3:11pm CST, watching some Jet Li movie that was on. Now HD channels look awesome, no complaints there at all, but since I only have about 10 HD channels total (6 of them are locals) its hard to adjust from that to this aweful picture! Just so you also know the convergence was not inline- I had just turned on the set 30 seconds prior, takes about 5-6 minutes for it to totally converge perfectly<ul><li><a href="http://public.fotki.com/hackths/random_temp/">Few more pics located in this temp folder</a></li></ul>

only the old 101/110/119 MPEG-2 stuff.

There is a HDMI option, but that is currently being used on my set for Blu-Ray, and I have not gotten a switch yet.

Plus the TV and racks will be pushed back about 3 feet- I have them all kinda pulled forward right now as i was rewiring

Or when you order online does an installer come out?

they can probably use the old location, but it'll require a new mounting bracket, not just a new dish.

also... there's a good chance that the old dish only points at the 101 satellite. The new dish needs a wider angle view of the sky. So depending on how things are laid out, you may not be able to use the old location.

you're not likely to beat directv's price by much if anything.

Equipment replacement... I was under the impression that they'd done away with that when they went to leased receivers. You don't own any of the equipment, you pay $5/mo to 'rent' them. IMHO, if they break, they should replace it with a new one.

I have 2-3 HD devices that I would want a box for possibly. At least 2 that I would like HD-PVRs for.

I just want it all integrated like how cable is for the local HD channels I just go to 5XX and the XX is the same channel in SD... so 04 is 504 in HD. Without local integrated I am not even interested in this.

in fact, it's easier than cable.

My local networks are channels 2, 11, 13, and 26.

The HD channels are 2, 11, 13, and 26.

You get one free lease included with your base package, and pay $5/mo for each additional receiver. That's for any type of receiver.

But to get the HD boxes, and sometimes the SD DVR, you pay an up-front lease upgrade fee. It's non-refundable, and you still don't own the box.

so it sounds like his problems are not normal.

I'm curious though. Is the Direct TV box faster when flipping through the guide than the cable boxes? I have a Scientific Atlanta box, standard issue from TW Austin, and it's slow as shyte. It's so bad that I've thought about getting the HD box with DVR just to see if it's faster...and I don't have an HDTV and couldn't care less about DVR.

I would assume I need to give DirecTV a call, but I don't need to pay them a lease fee do I, if I bought it from someone else?

Also I looked up the local market for my area. Looks like I get all the SD channels without issue, and I get FOX, NBC and ABC in HD. My question is if there is a way to get PBS, CBS and CW? And if there is a way to get them in, will my DVR be able to record from them using the guide?

But getting a lot more sleep! That Futurama every night from 11-12 was a killer.

Time Warner's cable boxes are horrible

meaning with an antenna. The DVR has an antenna input, and will record those channels... and they maintain full guide data as well.

You can't, as far as I know, buy an HR20-x00 - which is the current generation HD DVR. Even if you can, when you activate it - you'll have to pay a $5/mo mirroring charge (per receiver). You either pay $5/mo to lease, or $5/mo to mirror to an owned receiver.

If you're looking at the older (tivo based) HR10-250, don't.

Yeah I was only looking for the latest boxes- and I figured there would be a $5.00 fee for every box beyond the first one. First HR20 is $200 and no leasing fee. Assuming I would need to give the equipment back if i leave them early- otherwise after 2 years I own it right?

Is there any way to negotiate with them beyond their deal online? Or is it only possible to negotiate with them after I am a customer and looking to upgrade, etc? Just been reading about a lot of people negotiating better deals, etc.

You saw my picture below of how pixilated the video is on TWC over SD, right? DirecTV should be much better right?

garbage in = garbage out does apply

but it usually looks better than cable