I'm a DISH Network Newbie. I know that they use MPEG2 which is what DVD uses. However, DISH must be using a much higher compression ratio because I am seeing quite a bit of distortion during motion. The darks look terrible too. I know the DISH is getting a good signal. It was just installed 3 days ago. Many on this board tout that DISH is great quality but I don't agree. Am I missing something? The picture has got to be better than this.

I have DISH and the quality sucks after a a few days. Even though my signal is high, apparently, it's not high enough. My friend has DISH and his is crystal clear and sharp. Mine is the same if I readjust it, but after a few days it's screwy again. That dish is very tight but seem like a little wind would affect it. My friend's signal is lower than mine but his picture quality is much better. May be it's the reciever and the dish.

It may not be an issue of signal strength but bandwidth. With the Must Carry policies for locals and international channels, they've had to cut bandwidth on some stations. More satellites will fix this problem. I'm sure there are experts around here who are up to date on everything, but on both Dish and DirecTV, certain channels will be lower quality than others. Your premium channels should be getting the most bandwidth if you want to compare.

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If I am not mistaken, isn't the fact that it is digital mean you only get the signal or not...It doesn't degrade based on signal strength unless you fall below a certain point then you either pixalate or completely lose it...right?

Mine always looked great. Are you viewing it on a huge screen? What have you used in the past?

You're completely right. The problem is with dishnetwork. The signal they put out is, let's just say 'lower quality', than the one they could put out. This is due to mainly bandwidth problems, and some technical issues as well. Hopefully with the coming of Echostar VII and more spotbeams, the picture signal should be upgraded. For me anyway, the signal is great; it helps that I'm using a 501 and have signals in the 100 range consistently. I'm also using S-video instead of regular rca cables.

OK, I talked to a DISH Tech tonight and they said a new satelite will improve the picture. I guess they are over capacity and are having to increase the compression of the signal. I have a 32" Sony and am using S-Video oand TOSLink cables. The new satelite was supposed to launch last Saturday but was delayed due to weather. I can only hope it launches soon. :-)

Yup, that's the Echostar 7. Hopefully with this new bandwidth, they can add more HD channels on the side sats.

It's a capacity issue. Dish is working on launching EchoStar VIII which will allow locals to be moved to spots and free up capacity. However, the June launch has been postponed to July 16th due to a last minute issue, so the satellite won't be operational until mid-September.

I wonder if I can get a concession for the bad picture in the meantime? Honestly I don't think I should be paying full price when I'm not getting a full picture. This really does upset me because I was all excited about the high quality of DISH and now it looks like a really poor quality DVD. Granted I agreed to a year contract. Anyone here get a free month or something? Other than the current promotion.

my picture quality is great. the only ones that are a bit under-par are my local channels. my signal is usually between 85 - 100 and i have the 501 receiver.

My dish picture is great on my 36" Toshiba flat screen tube. Never had DirectTV but no complaints with Dish.

I think their response would be that when they have enough bandwidth and decrease the compression, you'll get higher quality for the same price. Free higher quality; what more can you ask for? It's still better than any cable, and cheaper than locla digital for me.

Just about the same with me. My signal is anywhere from 90 to 105.