FiOS TV Technical Assistance

[#1]

I recently switch to Verizon Fios and find that my previous provider DirecTV had a sharper and cleaner picture.  I am a bit disappointed because I had heard that Fios had the best picture quality.  I have not found that to be the case.  Is there a way to fine tune the Fios picture.  I called support and they tried setting my box and resending the signal however this does not appear to have helped improve my picture.

[#2]

Is this affecting all TVs? What cables are used to connect STB to TV? Is there a direct connection from stb to tv or they go through an a/v reciever?

Do a comparision test between SD and HD channels. Do those all look similar or any difference between them? I am assuming you have a HD tv and HD stb. QIP 7100, QIP 7232, QIP 6200, QIP 6416 and Cisco stbs are HD stbs.

Ch 100 CNN - Ch 600 CNN HD

Ch 70 ESPN  - Ch 570 ESPN HD

[#3]

Really need more data to answer your question:

1.  What connection were you using and are you using now? HDMI, Component, Composite...

2.  What NATIVE resolution is your display? HD capable displays can be non-HD natively.

3.  What resolution do you have the DVR set to for output?

4.  Are you looking at the SD or HD channel?  Just because you have an HD tv does not mean the picture is automatically HD.  You have to have an HD source as well.

FiOS HD "should" be a clearer, better image, but there are several factors involved in the whole viewing experience, as the questions above indicate.

Thanks!

[#4]

Using HDMI on both HD Plasma sets.  I do not have a DVR.  Native Resolution set to HD/1080i.  I am specifically looking at HD channels and HD programming, such as live sports broadcast in HD, and news programming such as on CNN HD, HDNet, Palladia channel programming.  These are all programs that I watch on a regular basis that had outstanding HD pictures on Direct TV.  I don't see the detail on close up shots of people that I saw with Direct TV.

[#5]

This affects both of my Panasonic Viera HD sets.  The SD picture on my son's non-HD set look great for SD.  There are differences between the HD and non HD versions of these channels, however the HD is not as sharp and clear as I was accustomed to with DirectTV.  There is a noticeble difference between the HD picture quality of my previous Direct TV service and my new Fios service.  I have 2 HD set top boxes connected with HDMI on both.  One of my sets even has CAT 5 structured wired running through the wall which uses a binary extender HD Cat 5e/6 to ensure no signal loss between the box and HD TV.  

[#6]

Go to your stb menu, settings, video settings and make sure resolution is set to 1080i 16x9.

[#7]

Thanks, had already tried that.  However, I believe that I solved the issue last night.  I have structured wired an I have a 8 way splitter in the box that distributes the incoming signal to all of the rooms pre-wired in my home.  I had F style terminal caps on 3 of the unused connections, however I had one connection that had coax installed but was not using the collection (no stb in that room).  I disconnected the coax cable and replaced it with another F style terminal cap on that output and it seemed to have improved the HD picture quality considerably.  I found that suggestion online. I don't believe that the Verizon technician too enough care to determine that my picture quality was the best it could be before leaving my home.  He should have noticed that there was a problem.  

[#8]

Great! Glad to hear you were able to figure it out.  Wow! A connector... Good catch.

I will salt that tidbit away for the nxt person who has a similar problem.  

Kudos to you for being a smart guy and rechecking all the physical connections too!

Enjoy that HD - I watch mine on an 8 foot screen!