DirecTV HR10-250 quality question

[backintheday]

OK, I have a RCA P61310 with a built in RCA DirecTV Satellite receiver and high def tuner which allows me to view both DTV and OTA signals. I have since purchased the HR10-250 to be used with this set which means I must use the component input on the set to connect the receiver/satellite instead of directly connecting the coaxial to the set (see attached photo). Yesterday I was messing with this before the Super Bowl and noticed that when attaching directly to the set the OTA HD signal on ABC gave a much better picture and I could see the entire ABC logo on the bottom of the screen, but when viewing with the HR10-250 the OTA HD signal was not as sharp and cut off the ABC logo right about half way through the D on ABC HD. With my set I can only set the HR10-250 to 480i and 1080i (the 480p and 720p does not work) so maybe that is problem, but thought I’d ask.
My set is five or so years old now and at the time I (and I know the others I dealt with to buy the set) didn’t know about 1080i and 1080p let alone the difference, but is it possible my set tunes in at 1080p (I can’t find anything in the owner’s manual about this – only says 1080)? That would explain why the 1080i of the HR10-250 would not be as sharp…could someone confirm this? Or perhaps it was because the Super Bowl game was broadcasted in 720p – was that the problem with picture using the HR10-250 since I could only set it to 1080i? Can anyone give me input on how to make my picture work as well on the HR10-250 as it does through my set?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Budget_HT]

Does your TV have separate video settings for each input (e.g., the built-in tuner versus the component input)? If so, those settings may need to be adjusted for the component input. This might help the "sharpness" of the HD signal from the HD TiVo.

The Superbowl was broadcast by ABC in 720p. Most local ABC stations also transmit 720p, but a few may convert to 1080i. Nothing is broadcast in 1080p.

Part of the difference in picture quality could be due to differences in the 720p to 1080i conversions being done in the RCA HDTV tuner and the HD TiVo.

It sounds like you were sure that the HD TiVo output was set for 1080i.

Perhaps the internal conversion in the RCA HDTV from component video to RGB for the CRT affects things a bit.

There are many possibilities here. Let us know if you learn more and are able to make improvements to picture quality as viewed from the HD TiVo.

[A J Ricaud]

OK, I have a RCA P61310 with a built in RCA DirecTV Satellite receiver and high def tuner which allows me to view both DTV and OTA signals. I have since purchased the HR10-250 to be used with this set which means I must use the component input on the set to connect the receiver/satellite instead of directly connecting the coaxial to the set (see attached photo). Yesterday I was messing with this before the Super Bowl and noticed that when attaching directly to the set the OTA HD signal on ABC gave a much better picture and I could see the entire ABC logo on the bottom of the screen, but when viewing with the HR10-250 the OTA HD signal was not as sharp and cut off the ABC logo right about half way through the D on ABC HD. With my set I can only set the HR10-250 to 480i and 1080i (the 480p and 720p does not work) so maybe that is problem, but thought I’d ask.
My set is five or so years old now and at the time I (and I know the others I dealt with to buy the set) didn’t know about 1080i and 1080p let alone the difference, but is it possible my set tunes in at 1080p (I can’t find anything in the owner’s manual about this – only says 1080)? That would explain why the 1080i of the HR10-250 would not be as sharp…could someone confirm this? Or perhaps it was because the Super Bowl game was broadcasted in 720p – was that the problem with picture using the HR10-250 since I could only set it to 1080i? Can anyone give me input on how to make my picture work as well on the HR10-250 as it does through my set?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Generally speaking, OTA HD will almost always look better than HD over the satellite receiver.

[Budget_HT]

I thought he was comparing OTA to OTA for the same program--one using the TV tuner and the other using the HD TiVo OTA tuner.

[backintheday]

Sorry about this late response, but just noticed the responses and wanted to give some feedback. The picture quality I was comparing was OTA to OTA...one passed through the HR10-250 and the other directly connected to the TV via coax. The pass through definitely takes away some of the PQ...I'm guessing it is because of the need to run it thru the component cable as Budget described.

Now that I know more about 1080P I know my initial question is pretty much nubie compliant... :)

[Yog-Sothoth]

Now that I know more about 1080P I know my initial question is pretty much nubie compliant...

If you have a set that supports 1080p, you'll need an Blu-Ray DVD player to use it.

[TyroneShoes]

Well that's at the worst misleading, and at the best, simply ridiculous. Thousands of folks have 1080p sets, and none of them have Blu-Rays. Pretty much all of them seem to be able to "use" their sets just fine without one.

There is only a few things that could make one version of viewing OTA appear different from the other. Connected directly, the DAC in the set is in play, as it would be if connecting the Tivo by HDMI, or connecting the RCA by HDMI (all three getting the same OTA signal). If connected by component, the DAC in the Tivo or the RCA comes into play instead, and while all DACs are not created equal, the DAC in most modern sets and in the Tivo seems to be of top-level quality. The DAC in the RCA and 5-yr-old set might be questionable, or maybe not.

Another factor might be the output resolution setting on the Tivo and how it handshakes with a 5-yr-old TV set. Maybe that was set to downrez, also. With logos getting "cut off" I vote for this as the most likely factor. The HR10 itself can't otherwise affect PQ in any significant manner, and always displays the entire raster on modern sets, regardless of the output rez setting chosen.

But in any case, the tuner itself can have no bearing on PQ regarding OTA DT. All the tuner does is remove the 8VSB modulation from the encoded MPEG-2 signal. It is only the wrapper, and what a box is wrapped in never affects the "quality" of what is in the box, one way or the other.

[Jcast]

I recently update my Samsung Directv HD SIR 160 to the TIVO HR10-250. I only switched the receivers with no cable changes and the difference is disappointing.
The colors are not as strong in HD! I am running all equipment with Component cables and have the HR10-250 set to 1080. The 720 setting does not work.
Any Advice?