Why does Direct TV satellite, have such poor picture quality on my brand new LCD TV?

lcd picture
Smirx asked:

Satellite Diagnostics show 90% Signal, I’m using S-Video cable on a brand new, next-gen (non Hi-Def) reciever. The TV is a 26inch Samsung Flat Panel LCD. The picture is very pixelated (especially the Premium channels)
You guys had some good answers, but I should expand my info; I’m using a standard reciever which does’nt have component cables. If I upgrade to an HD reciever the tech said I would need a ,bigger, HD dish, which my apartment probably wouldn’t approve of. This would provide HDMI & Comp Outputs, but wouldn’t be worth more installation/ service fees. On a Direct TV forum I read that right now they are using MPEG 2 video to make room for all the channels, but that in the near future, they are switching to MPEG 4. Any truth to that? Also, I did set the aspect ratio to 16:9 in the reciever settings. Does the 90% signal strength have any thing to do with the quality? Thanks for your help.



Comments (5)    Posted in TVs    

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5 Responses to 'Why does Direct TV satellite, have such poor picture quality on my brand new LCD TV?'

  1. Mr. Brain - March 27th, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    your s video cable is the problem. Upgrade to component video which is the Red Yellow White cable. Much better picture quality. S video is terrible. Also make sure you are using the correct input on your tv. Another option may be that you are using a wide screen TV for a standard broadcast. Make sure your cable box is set for the correct parameters for the size of your television. I would call Direct TV if you don’t know how to check this. They will guide you through it. Satellite is much better than cable if you know its loopholes.

    Note: the Red White Yellow cable will cost you roughly 5$ at radio shack, if even that.

  2. Mightyhunter - March 29th, 2009 at 6:47 am

    It happens with satelies..I have direct tv too..it just happens when its got a bad signal lol

  3. ignorance_apathy - April 1st, 2009 at 10:27 am

    I used to work at a TV repair company. This is the honest answer…when you buy the TV, the place selling the TV has everything connected to it to make it as clear as possible. This is just a gimick so that you will go out to buy the other million cables to get the clearest picture ever.

  4. Luilop_in_LA - April 4th, 2009 at 4:55 am

    The Issue is your box and your cables. If your Sat box does not have Componet connection (Red, Blue, Green), then the S-Video connection is the best you are going to get.

    If you are watching in full screen mode, the picture is just streched and it will look funnny. You can use the Format (also known as zoom or 16:9 button to get the regular image. You will see gray bars on the side but the image will look much better.

    DirecTV charges 10.99 for HD service and you could probably get their customer service to give you the box for free if you want to go that way.

    Even if you don’t keep the HD service, the fact that you now have component cables (or even HDMI) connected to your TV, will make the picture quality that much better. Check out the link below. They have a ton of info that will help you get the most from your new TV. and if you live in the right area, Free HDTV.

  5. anthonyschilders - April 5th, 2009 at 1:39 am

    ok, Half of the response youve gotten is right. First S-video is BETTER than the Yellow composite cable. red/blue/green, or Pb, Pr,& y, are the BEST. Your problem is in the satellite box, AND tv. Your satellite is giving a clear picture based on the 640×480 standard television resolution. Your New tv is trying to show a low resolution image in a high resolution way. The only way for the tv to make a high resolution image is to enlarge it. This leaves the picture grainy. The tv has to make up for not having a true image. The only way to avoid the grainy image is to either upgrade to a hi-def reciever or go back to a standard tv.


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