I have had FiOS for since January after a long time waiting for the opportunity to afford it. I left Direct TV cause I believed fiber optics to be the optimal signal transfer medium for any forms of data including HD picture and sound. However, when I turned the TV on to an HD station I wasn't impressed with the HD quality. Here is an example: while I was ordering the FiOS service in the store, there was a 60" television playing Transformers. We all know that movie should look awesome in HD but I wasn't impressed right off the bat. I even asked the salesman what kind of cable they had the system connected to and he said he didn't know. I was sure that it had to be coax or even composite. The picture looked very pixaleted as the faster motions of the characters played out on the screen, they colors appeared to bleed. I see satellite providers HD clarity to much clearer and even at times sharper. Does anyone who has FiOS have the same issue? If you do, what are you thoughts? If verizon is reading this note, what can cause this distortion in the picture?
Thanks,
Hrledood911
If you are not seeing an outstanding quality picture when you switch to an HD channel then something is wrong. Period!!!
So please tell us your setup:
1) Type of STB (model number)
2) Type of connection from the STB to the TV (HDMI, component, composite, S-Video, etc)
3) Video Settings in the IMG - Video Format and SD Override
4) Brand and model of TV, and whether you have made any attempts to adjust any of the TV's settings, and if so, what settings (keep in mind that many TV manufacturers ship their TVs with settings set for viewing in a brightly lit showroom, not your home, and you pretty much must always adjust multiple settings to get a decent picture)
4) Examples of a few (two or three) channels that look bad (channel numbers)
Lets start here and see where we are.
__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
IMG 1.6.2, Build 08.58
Keller, TX 76248
Transformers was shown on HBO/Cinemax. The premium movie channels are distributed by their owners (HBO, Showtime, etc) at lower bitrates, and thus exhibit more compression artifacts. The same is true on all providers.
The HBO and Cinemax premium movie channels are also among the few channels distributed as MPEG-4. Most of Verizon's STB and DVR equipment does not support MPEG-4, so they convert (transcode) those 7-8 Mbps MPEG-4 channels into MPEG-2 @ 14.5 Mbps. Despite Verizon's significantly higher bitrate, the conversion still causes a loss in detail.
In the past few months, Verizon also did something to degrade HBO-East HD and Cinemax-East HD, which were the last of those premium channels still distributed in MPEG-2 @ 10-11 Mbps. Either Verizon switched over to the MPEG-4 versions and began converting (transcoding) them into MPEG-2 like the rest, or they are reprocessing the MPEG-2 versions for whatever reasons. Elsewhere, people have compared before and after images on the same movie to illustrate that the picture on FiOS' HBO-HD is not as good as it used to be, for whatever reason.
Hello and thanks for the responses.
I am using a LG 37" 720p TV with the a high end HDMI cable. I have all my AV equipment ran through a pioneer receiver for the surround sound. I must say the sound quality is much better than satallite providers!! I am using a DVR and where I am at now I can't get a model number. Some examples of channels that look bad are 597 (WFN). Specifically with WFN is the water scenes don't look very clean. The water is distorted and pixelated. But it is just almost all the HD channels I can see the bleeding or distortion in the HD quality. I guess if your saying something is wrong is I should have a tech come out and look into the issue????
Thanks,
Hrledood911
That is a very detailed response and I understand that. Thanks!
Hrledood911
@Hrledood911 wrote:Hello and thanks for the responses.
I am using a LG 37" 720p TV with the a high end HDMI cable. I have all my AV equipment ran through a pioneer receiver for the surround sound. I must say the sound quality is much better than satallite providers!! I am using a DVR and where I am at now I can't get a model number. Some examples of channels that look bad are 597 (WFN). Specifically with WFN is the water scenes don't look very clean. The water is distorted and pixelated. But it is just almost all the HD channels I can see the bleeding or distortion in the HD quality. I guess if your saying something is wrong is I should have a tech come out and look into the issue????
With a few exceptions, Verizon passes HD channels as they receive them. Some HD channels are distributed at significantly lower bitrates than others.
Generally, less popular channels are distributed at lower bitrates. Content providers typically deliver their channels to cable systems across the country using leased satellite space, which is expensive; the more bandwidth a channel requires, the higher the cost of the leased satellite space to deliver it. Further, many cable systems are severely constrained for bandwidth; those systems want channels delivered with as little bandwidth (i.e. a lower bitrate, more compression) as possible, even if that makes for an inferior picture. Smaller content providers tend to do whatever is necessary to make their channels more attractive to cable providers, even if that means apply more compression that degrades quality.
The content providers responsible for WFN, HGTV, Discovery HD, Animal Planet, and Discovery Science devote less bandwidth to their channels, so you'll see more compression artifacts on those channels. The owners of TNT, ESPN, MHD, USA, MHD, and SciFi devote more bandwidth (higher bitrates) to their channels, thereby producing a better picture.
Hello and thanks for the responses.
@Hrledood911 wrote:
I am using a LG 37" 720p TV with the a high end HDMI cable. I have all my AV equipment ran through a pioneer receiver for the surround sound. I must say the sound quality is much better than satallite providers!! I am using a DVR and where I am at now I can't get a model number. Some examples of channels that look bad are 597 (WFN). Specifically with WFN is the water scenes don't look very clean. The water is distorted and pixelated. But it is just almost all the HD channels I can see the bleeding or distortion in the HD quality. I guess if your saying something is wrong is I should have a tech come out and look into the issue????
Thanks,
Hrledood911
The DVR model number is on the front of the box, generally in the lower left hand corner, should be either QIP6416 or QIP7216.
WFN generally looks very good for me, just checked right now, excellent picture. I have an almost 4 year old Sony 720p LCD.
I see KenAF has commented on the bitrate of some of the channels, etc, and he is usually right with his comments, but really, I see a very good picture on all of the HD channels, including WFN, so at least for me a lower bitrate doesn't seem to have much if any effect.
If you could go in and answer the other questions I asked I think it might help someone here give you some better advice. I am thinking that it is maybe a settings or connection problem, especially now that you have mentioned having an A/V receiver in the mix, that most definitely has caused some people issues.
You can certainly go ahead and call for someone to come out and take a look, but I think you would be better prepared, or maybe not even need a visit, if you can tell us more about how your system is set up.
Up to you.
__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
IMG 1.6.2, Build 08.58
Keller, TX 76248
So, I see where this is going. If Verizon wants to claim/blame the poor quality of some their channles on the networks that is one thing. But if it is a matter of satalite time, then it would make more sense that a satalite provider would offer better clairy with their services. I mean, there are some stations that FiOS has that look great but HD should HD, not partial. I could be a little critical with my opinion but I guess when the times comes to renew my contract I will have to consider what is going on.
Thanks,
Hrledood911
@Hrledood911 wrote:So, I see where this is going. If Verizon wants to claim/blame the poor quality of some their channles on the networks that is one thing. But if it is a matter of satalite time, then it would make more sense that a satalite provider would offer better clairy with their services.
I think you misinterpreted my comments above.
When I say that content providers distribute their channels across the country using leased satellite space, I am not talking about the DirecTV or Dish Network satellites. Content providers distribute their channels using lower power satellites that require dishes up to 6-9 feet in diameter to receive.
Verizon FiOS, Comcast, Dish Network, and DirecTV all have "dish farms" with dozens of these large dishes, which they use to receive every channel. They take these channels, reprocess them if necessary and run them through commercial insertion equipment, combine them all into a single channel lineup, and then either reuplink the processed channels with commercial insertion to their own high-power satellites (as in the case of DirecTV and Dish Network) or they distribute them via fiber to various video hub offices (VHOs) around the country.
I see. I may have been a little harsh. I guess I am just frustrated cause I want FiOS to be flawless with their service. I have researched HD and I believe the concept of FiOS to be the best available on the market. A bit pricy but to get the best you have to pay for the best. So, any other suggestions on how I can get the best out of my FiOS???
Thanks,
Hrledood911
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