Upgraded From Dss to Cable HDTV

mantis

Comcast Finally got the Dual Tuner DVR HDTV receivers in and I've been wanting to make the move for quite some time. I own TiVo DSS dual tuner and love it but it's standard Dss so When I upgraded to HDTV , I added a HDTV Dss receiver with no TiVo. Running a HDTV receiver just for HD channels kinda sucked. It was cool and all that I finally got HD but I missed out on the TiVo features.
Then the TiVo Dss 10250 hit the market but damn a Grand?? I sure didn't want to spend that on a DSS receiver after all the mney I have spent on TiVo Dss dual tuners around the house and the HDTV Dss. Not to mention no local channels come over the Dss , you have to Install a roof mount antenna. I'm no fan of the ugly looking 14 foot antenna mounted on my house.
I thought about adding a Antenna for awhile but the wife and I agree that it would look like crap.
Comcast has local channels in HDTV. There HDTV line is much better then DSS and also as a slighty better picture. I did a shootout a customers house of mine and found this out there . I also now have done it on my Tv and found the same results. I performed this test here using custom build R59sd Component cables that I built using Liberity wire and custom r59 rca compression ends.
Now that my demoing is over , I uninstalled HDTV dss and added DVI to HDMI conversion cable made by Monstercable.Comcast has DVI out and my TV has HDMI in. Monster makes very high quality video cables. Not to mention I didn't have to go shopping for a HDMI to DVI cable anywhere else then our store.

HDMI/DVI vs component is a slight difference in picture quality. It's hard to tell the differenceright away but after a few trys you can see slight different color and edge detail. It doesn't stick out and grap you but it's there. I think the picture looked killer in Component. In theory the DVI / HDMI should look better due to the digital transfer and one less conversion but I will assume the conversion doesn't loose enough to make a huge difference. It's very small difference.

With that in mind I have been considering upgrading to the new Pioneer Elite dv59avi from my older dv47a. My dv47a had awesome looking video but the dv59avi had 208 and 14 bit plus a HDMI out so I could go pure digital connection to the Tv.I'm wondering if it wuld be a smarter decesion to wait got Blue ray or HD DVD.I'm no where near unhappy with the 47a.This is it's 3rd Tv I'm running it on and it just looks better and better everytime I upgrade. Sound quality I've always beeen completely happy with.

Back to Comcast , the DVR functions are almost as cool as TiVo but you know what??? It's not TiVo. TiVo is much better in my opnion and I hope down the road someone makes a Cable intergraded Dual Tuner HDTV Cablebox. I would give the Comcast box back and use that. For now I 'm ok with Comcasts DVR service and I plan on turning off Dss this weekend.

One real reason I made the move is the fact that the Playoffs are on now and I wanted to watch in HD.

E A G L E S............... GO EAGLES!!!!!!!!!

danger boy

nice read.

i too want to go with a dual tuner from Dish. but they tell me it's only for new customers. WTF!! I've called them several times and they won't let me have one of the new dual tuners.

I really don't want to go with Comcast cable.. they are way to expensive here.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I just dropped DishNetwork and had Comcast HD installed this Wednesday.

I've got the Motorola 6412 I think with dual tuner and HD recording ability...

This is SO much better than satellite, with the HD channels and PVR and all...I'm really liking it...

mantis

Polkmaniac,
yes it is. It's the same box I have. The DTC6412 has dual tuner DVR HDTV recording. I like it better then DSS

danger boy,
Dude.....just go for it if Dish is giving you problem with Dual tuners. I don't see how you can watch tv without one. Recording and watching sucks. I think it defeats the whole purpose except when your not watching and taping.

I plan on spending some time with it to get all the DVR function down. It works alot differently then TiVo so I gotta get used to the different technology.

Watching Football this weekend in Hd is golden.

Dan

gshisme

Hmmm, I'm just a little surprised that a cable company connection would yield better picture quality than a dss. I was leaning toward VOOM or DISHNETWORK for HD but maybe RCN (which offers local HD) is the way to go. Not sure if I could pick up off-air HD signals from Philly from my area anyway. Anyhow, thanks for the read Mantis. And ya got me thinking about the DVR thingy.

fireshoes

I know Dish is going to make an annoucement about 522 being available to existing subscribers in February. Perhaps they will do that with the 921/922 as well.

Frank Z

Dishnetwork spanks cable like a redheaded stepchild under the blue light special lamp at K-Mart..... At least as far as Adelphia is concerned. I'll take my Dual Tuner/OTA tuner 921 over anything that cable can come up with. I can record 2 Satellite HD or SD programs while watching my local OTA-HD channels, better picture quality, better audio, better monthly fee, better service. There is no comparison.

bknauss

mantis, how do you rate the quality of the local standard channels between the two services? On my little LCD TV, the standard channels looked beyond terrible with Comcast. Very pixelated!

Just a heads up for everyone who is on Comcast... once the promotional period is over for whatever you've got, call up Comcast and say you want to ditch their service for DSS. The prices drop dramatically once you say you're getting rid of Comcast. I had the internet + HD + tivo, and when I said I was going to DirecTV, instead of the price jumping over $100 based on the advertised prices after the promotional period, it was only going to go up $15. What a way to run a business!