picture quality
gcctrpt
Newbie

Hello,

We switched from Bright House Networks to FIOS a few days ago.  I was expecting the picture quality to be at least just as good as BH, but it is not.  The HD picture is just not as crisp...almost a slight dullness/fuzziness to it...I notice the difference on almost all channels, although some are better than others.  Even ESPN and HDTV, which were incredible through BH, have the fuzziness. Nat GEO, too. They aren't horrible, but there is a definite difference.  I have tried switching from component to HDMI but it didn't help.  The STB is set to 1080I.  The TV is as well.   VZ support said that they checked the link and it looked fine.  They had me check the STB "In -band Status" and the SNR was reading 35.8 db, which is "good" according to the box and the rep at VZ.  Is there anything else that can be done?  The HD picture is better than the SD picture, which is really bad, but if the pq isn't going to match up to Bright House, there is no sense in keeping it. 

Thanks...

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Re: picture quality
GaryDoug
Specialist - Level 1

Before switching service, I would swap out the Verizon STB. 35-36db seems slightly low to me. I get about 38 normally. Of course it depends upon the channel selected. You should be able to swap it at a local Verizon store (like in a shopping mall or something). Just make sure they give you an activation code before you leave the store.

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Re: picture quality
PJL
Master - Level 3

What type of TV do you have?  You might try the various picture settings on your TV.  If you are using a different input than what you used with Bright House, your TV settings are likely different.  Most TVs allow you to set different settings (brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc.).  Also, Bright House may have been running "hot" on some of these settings.  Verizon tends to proved a very "neutral" signal so you may have to up the settings to get the same apparent or better clarity than you had before.  In my case, for my Panasonic plasma, I had to tailor the input settings to get the best picture.  Once I found what worked (changing the sharpness, contract and brightness) and changing some of the auto-processing features of the TV, I got the superior picture quality I had expected.

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Re: picture quality
gcctrpt
Newbie

Thanks for the replies...I have a Sony SXRD - KDS-R60xbr1.   I have tried both the component and hdmi inputs and there is little difference between the two.  Certain channels/shows look better than others, but the best way to describe it is that there is a bluriness to it that wasn't there with BH - especially when movement is involved.  I am trying to adjust the tv settings.  There is a DRC pallette btu I am not familiar with what it does, so I will experiment with that.  With BH, it all just worked fine without any fine tuning.  Is it possible that BH just has a better resolution/picture than FIOS?  I wasn't expecting that to be the case at all. 

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Re: picture quality
PJL
Master - Level 3

@gcctrpt wrote:

...Is it possible that BH just has a better resolution/picture than FIOS?  I wasn't expecting that to be the case at all. 


Actually, what you're seeing is something that has been seen by others when they move to FiOS:  FiOS is actually providing a higher-bandwidth signal (they don't compress at all, which most other providers do to preserve bandwidth).  This higher-bandwidth signal can be a challenge for the processing on some older TVs (of which yours appear to be -- circa-2005).  So you might want to turn off the Noise Reduction and Direct Mode settings (see page 82 of your manual).  Also, make sure that the Set Top Box is set to 1080i, not 720p.  For me, the 720p setting produces a much softer picture.

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Re: picture quality
GaryDoug
Specialist - Level 1

About a month ago, I switched from BH to VZ and for 2 weeks was able to compare the services side-by-side on the same TV. I saw no difference on HD channels, but I did notice more artifacts (I think that's the right term) on some SD channels on BH, especially in slow moving scenes (go figger). I guess that may be due to the data compression on BH. Make sure you are using the same input (HDMI-1 versus HDMI-2 for example) as before. On some sets, there are separate setups for each input.

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Re: picture quality
gcctrpt
Newbie

That is informative - thanks for the info.  The Set top box is set to 1080i and I have turned off Noise reduction and direct mode.  The picture still looks "softer" or a little "blurier" during movement, but better on shots where very little is moving.   I will keep playing with settings to see if it helps any. 

I am glad to know I am not the only one who has had this issue.  I hope to solve it soon!

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Re: picture quality
Hubrisnxs
Legend

Also, I think your mileage may vary with the 1080i vs 720p setting.  my 73 inch looks far superior in 720p than it does in 1080i.   720p is actually a superior format anyways  so that makes sense to me, so try that just in case.

it should at least resolve blur on fast action and sports.

fios menu button

settings

video settings

video format

change to 720p.  

I would personally change standard definition (found in same section under sd override) to 480p, but some people like it to stretch to full screen.  you lose picture quality when you do it, so I'd rather have black bars on the side with a better picture, than have it stretched personally.

 here are some basic tips to your tv's settings for the optimal HD picture

http://reviews.cnet.com/basic-hdtv-tips/?tag=rb_content;contentNav

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Re: picture quality
dex4
Enthusiast - Level 1

Hi,

I'm experiencing the same problem. Just switched over to FiOS from Time Warner Cable and noticed the same fuzziness you're talking about here. 

I've changed cables and tried different settings including turning off the Digital Noise Reduction on my Samsung which improved it slightly but the artifacts, fuzziness, and compression are still there. All the links are fine too according to a technician that came over. The STB is set to 1080i and SNR ranges between 35-38.

The quality of the video looks very much like it was playing from the VCR or a pirated DVD. I don't think it's the TV as when we play Apple TV or Xbox, the picture quality is as good as Time Warner.

Have you resolved this issue?

Thanks

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