Corrupted HD signal

a300cowyahoo · Post by **a300cowyahoo** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:52 pm

I have not been able to view a good HD picture since the end of 06 or beginning of 07. The problem is pixelation causing an out of focus picture. After 3 repairs to my set it was replaced with a Sony A2020 SXRD. Although the SXRD has some O/B reliability issues it produces one of the best pics in HD with 6.2 Million pixels. But it also shows signal flaws better than most. New HDTV with the same problem. I then suspected Comcast as being the problem. Their technicians were baffled as they could clearly see the pixelation. As one tech said it's a good pic but nowhere near HD quality. They then realized that they could see it from there office two towns over on a 15 inch LCD. After 5 months of trouble shooting they said with the cable system removed that it was what they were getting for a feed to them. The tech supervisor said he could not believe more people were not complaining about it but there was nothing they could do.
Now I have DirectTv and they have the same problem. Comcast was telling the truth. Anyone who did not have HD prior to 07 would not know what a HD pic is supposed to look like. I am suspecting that the entire network has been compressing the signal beyond it's capability.
I have spent over a year working on this problem.
Rick
PS. Help!!!

akirby · Post by **akirby** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:02 pm

Exactly which channel are we talking about? Local? National? Is it even broadcasting in HD? This can't be happening on all channels.

a300cowyahoo · Post by **a300cowyahoo** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:39 pm

The problem is with all digital and HD channels with some being worse than others. Go to a station like Discovery HD or any station with a fixed logo or lettering in the corner and you will see pixelation around them. Then you will see it's actually in the whole picture. Some sets hide it well but the problem is still there. HD is supposed to be a crisp and detailed picture as it was in 2006. Could it be that when all analog signals are dropped it will be fixed? I just do not know.
Rick

akirby · Post by **akirby** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:51 pm

I just checked and I have no such pixellation on Discovery HD or any other channel. It must be in your equipment or settings.

Which DirecTV receiver/DVR are you using? How is it connected to the TV? What is the native resolution of your display? What resolution are you feeding the TV?

a300cowyahoo · Post by **a300cowyahoo** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:17 pm

I wish it was the equipment. I just came home from a friends house and although it is difficult to see the pixelation on his Plasma set the out of focus picture is there. Keep in mind that Comcast admitted that they could see the problem and that I was only one of a few that brought it to their attention. As a technician myself I have exhausted every path to a solution to this problem. I took a digital pic of my HDTV in early 06 while I was tuned to Discovery HD and it is quite the reminder of what HD is supposed to look like. Is there any way to attach pictures here?
Rick

akirby · Post by **akirby** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:18 pm

You didn't answer my questions.

a300cowyahoo · Post by **a300cowyahoo** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:14 pm

Not sure as to what DirectTv box I have. It has HD/DVR and the same problem as Comcast so I can rule that out. I am connected via HDMI cable with 1080i coming into a 1080p HDTV.
It is important to note that Comcast gave me a video credit back to Feb 07 as they completely ruled out my equipment. But could no longer credit me in the future as it was not their fault but the main feed they where getting without the cable. Comcast was not only honest but correct. I have to tell you I was shocked when I got DirectTv and had the same problem. Even though I could see the problem on other sets besides my own. Think about what Comcast admitted to as a problem and it will point us in a surprising direction. I just do not know the answer. I can only assume. C/C does not replace HDTV'S under warranty for no reason and a independent tech suspected the signal coming in back in July when he hooked up a HD signal generator to my previous tv. The bottom line is we are all paying for HD and only a few of us realize that we are not getting true HD. CNET forums is where I found out that I am not alone. Some interesting posts in 07 prior to my own...subject: Pixelation in HD content the signal or the television.
Rick

akirby · Post by **akirby** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:38 am

Oh good grief - that article is talking about compression artifacts that occur during fast moving scenes. I get that during the flash bulbs on the opening scenes from CSI - even on full bandwidth OTA. Same with the fashion show - mpeg2 just can't keep up when every pixel changes at once.

Every broadcaster does compression of some kind - the question is how much. Some say satellite has more compression but with the new mpeg4 satellites I'm not sure that's true anymore. Cable will do compression because they are bandwidth restricted by the single coax line. Even OTA does compression to some extent - more if they're multi-casting.

So we may be seeing more compression now than before.
But you seem to be talking about a "fuzzy picture" all of the time and I for one don't see that and I've had HDTV for 4-5 years including OTA and satellite.

BTW - while your TV may contain 6.2M pixels, the display is still 1920x1080 or just over 2M pixels displayed.

gfdouglass · Post by **gfdouglass** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:48 am

Y'all guys talk nice to each other, please. We have one person trying to identify a problem he's convinced exists and another wanting to diagnose the problem described. The first thinks Comcast and others have already done all the diagnosing needed, while the second wants to do the diagnosis personally. Y'all work this out because the rest of us are interested in the outcome.
Thank you,
Sandy

akirby · Post by **akirby** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:50 am

I'm just trying to understand the problem. There is a difference between a picture that's "fuzzy all the time" and motion pixellation. Everyone gets some pixellation to some degree during fast motion or flash scenes and some sources are worse than others. But I don't think that has any effect on overall picture quality that would make it look "fuzzy" all the time.

Rick - why don't you have your set ISF calibrated and see what the calibrator says and then see what it looks like?

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