HD 10-250 resolution

[jerrydf]

It seems to me that the resolution of the TV shows I watch of my local HD stations using my roof antenna and the built-in HD tuner of my TV is better than the resolution of HD shows either network or satellite I watch from the component outputs of my HD 10-250. I called Directv to ask what the resolution from the HD 10-250 was but was not able to find anyone who could answer the question. Anyone can guess but do any of you actually KNOW what resolution the HD 10-250's component outputs are? I have the output set for 1080i vertical resolution; it's the horizontal resolution I am questioning.

[btwyx]

Originally Posted by jerrydf

the built-in HD tuner of my TV is better than the resolution of HD shows either network or satellite

By "network" do you mean from the over the air antenna into your HD TiVo or something else.

If you're comparing over the air to over the air, I'd be quite surprised if there was a difference. D* is notorious for reducing the resolution of anything which comes over the satellite so I wouldn't be surprised if you saw a resolution difference between over the air and satellite.

The output resolution of the component outputs should be the same as the signal its receiving. Over the air should be 1080x1920 for 1080i (1080i received), and 720x1280 for 720p (which would be ABC or Fox). What comes off the satellite could well be less, I've heard reports that its 1080x1280 for 1080i. Its difficult to know what you're receiving and D* really don't want to tell you. If you have an HD TiVo with older rev software there was a backdooor code which would display the resolution you were receiving.

Edited to correct 720p resolution.

[jerrydf]

I was contrasting my OTA image thru my TV's HD tuner with the same program viewed on Directv's signal through my component video connection. I suspected that the satellite picture was inferior to the OTA because of compression but I wanted to know if anyone could quantify the resolution loss. Your figures of 1250 vs 1920 would answer my query. I bought my HR10-250 last October. Is that old enough to have the ability to view the specs and if so, how?

[btwyx]

Originally Posted by jerrydf

]Is that old enough to have the ability to view the specs and if so, how?

Its most likely to have been updated at sometime, so you probably have the latest system. The current is 3.1.5f, it was 3.1.5d or so which had the backdoor. I can't remember how to activate it, it could be found via a search, if you had the right system.

[TyroneShoes]

Originally Posted by btwyx

...D* is notorious for reducing the resolution of anything which comes over the satellite so I wouldn't be surprised if you saw a resolution difference between over the air and satellite.

The output resolution of the component outputs should be the same as the signal its receiving. Over the air should be 1080x1920 for 1080i (1080i received), and 720x1520 for 720p (which would be ABC or Fox). What comes off the satellite could well be less, I've heard reports that its 1080x1280 for 1080i. Its difficult to know what you're receiving and D* really don't want to tell you...

DTV reducing rez generally is in the case of analog turnarounds. Analog signals quite often need signal conditioning to make sure nothing gets encoded that isn't necessary, but it's an arbitrary choice, a judgment call that they are sometimes motivated to err on the "soft" side of.

Digital signals don't need preconditioning, so there is no need, but there is still motivation. If they are down-rezzing 1920x1080 to 1280x1080, that opens up a potential for further conditioning if they are doing a D/A/D conversion to get there.

And apparently garden-variety freeware on the net can tell you what the delivered rez actually is, so I don't think it's difficult to suss out. Plenty of folks seems to have been able to figure this out. True resolution of the video is always less, and is impossible to determine.

Bottom line, the rez of the HR10 is a function of how it is set. "1080" implies that it is set to display in 1920x1080 format, for instance, even if the video itself has a different rez. If you have a 1080p set, there is a chance you might detect less resolution, but that is not the HR10's fault, it is due to whatever happened to the signal between DTV receiving it and them sending it to your HR10.

If you can determine a difference between OTA on your HR10 and through your HDTV tuner, that would be surprising, as no one has reported being able to detect that yet. If so, suspect a faulty HR10, faulty cables, or a faulty input on your display. If not, suspect whatever DTV might be doing to down-rez their signal.

(P. S. : btwyx, you might want to edit 1520 to 1280)

[btwyx]

Originally Posted by TyroneShoes

(P. S. : btwyx, you might want to edit 1520 to 1280)

I didn't think that looked right, but I calculated it twice. (I seemed to have use 19:9 instead of 16:9, I blame it on taxes.)