Hopper 3 terrible HD picture

[glabrecque]

It looks like it is stuck at 480p to me but switching the settings on the hopper doesn't seem to change anything.

 

[DWS44]

Yeah...that looks rougher than the "Adjust Screen" suggestion I posted would change. I noticed that was local FOX, are the regular Satellite channels as bad, too?

Here's an off the wall thought...could HDMI-CEC be tossing bad info back and forth related to resolution? I know its mainly for on/off and input change operations. Wonder if it would be worth turning it off, and rebooting the Hopper with it off, to see if it made any difference. Admittedly a longshot, though.

 

[glabrecque]

yes all the channels look that bad

 

[JM42]

From skimming the thread, sound like there is something failing with the HDMI negotiation on the LG 4K sets. Has anyone had any of these issues on non-LG 4K units?

 

[Rixos]

I wonder if you reset your tv to factory default would fix the problem? Did you check for firmware updates?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Update:

Either Dish or LG (I'm betting Dish....but it could be LG, LOL) have found the bug and squashed it.
My TV no longer clicks to HDR when seeing the Hopper and I have control over Contrast and OLED Backlight again.

Since DISH hasn't released an update yet I would venture to say it wasnt DISH.

 

[eddie willers]

Since DISH hasn't released an update yet I would venture to say it wasnt DISH.

After I finish brunch (hey....I'm retired!), I think I may reboot the Hopper and see what happens.

 

[JM42]

Since DISH hasn't released an update yet I would venture to say it wasnt DISH.

It will be classic finger pointing.

Dish - We work with every other TV maker, it must be LG.

LG - We work with every other STB, it must be Dish.

The reality is probably different interpretations of some obscure clause in the spec using the words "should" or "may."

 

[jayiw]

Here are a few pics that show how bad it is.

That's pretty bad... try changing the HDMI cable. Maybe you got a bad one or if you did not use the new one, the one you have may have got kinked or just is an older HDMI cable.

 

[glabrecque]

I have 2 brand new and 1 that was already in the wall all are hi speed and all look the same.

 

[glabrecque]

I hope wish it was a simple as a new HDMI cable but I don't think it is.

 

[bmetelsky]

And do you have a second tv that you could plug the hopper 3 into just to see if it outputs the crappy picture to another?

 

[glabrecque]

And do you have a second tv that you could plug the hopper 3 into just to see if it outputs the crappy picture to another?

yes but not another 4k tv with HDR...my other 4 TVs all look fine with the new Joey but I may try it anyway.

 

[jayiw]

It very well could be the HDMI cable. It sounds like it may be a HDMI 2.0 issue. I mentioned in another posts that the HDMI cables that come with the 4K Joey and H3 look identical to the ones that come with the prior units. If the one that came with the new equipment may not be 2.0 or if you are using an older HDMI? cable which is not 2.0, it could be that indeed. I would get one that you know for sure is 2.0 and try it to see if it does the trick. You don't even need to buy an expensive one, just anything that is 2.0.

 

[BBruin66]

It very well could be the HDMI cable. It sounds like it may be a HDMI 2.0 issue. I mentioned in another posts that the HDMI cables that come with the 4K Joey and H3 look identical to the ones that come with the prior units. If the one that came with the new equipment may not be 2.0 or if you are using an older HDMI? cable which is not 2.0, it could be that indeed. I would get one that you know for sure is 2.0 and try it to see if it does the trick. You don't even need to buy an expensive one, just anything that is 2.0.

This is very unlikely the case. Even if it did say... drop down to HDMI 1.4 it should still output 720p FOX at is full res. There shouldn't be any additional bitrate of data needed to send this channel.

 

[BBruin66]

From skimming the thread, sound like there is something failing with the HDMI negotiation on the LG 4K sets. Has anyone had any of these issues on non-LG 4K units?

I don't think OP had an LG did he?

I hope wish it was a simple as a new HDMI cable but I don't think it is.

What if you set it to 720p, does the PQ change at all?

It very well could be some sort of HDMI issue that would also explain the HDR. eddie willers Do you notice PQ issues other than HDR?

 

[jayiw]

This is very unlikely the case. Even if it did say... drop down to HDMI 1.4 it should still output 720p FOX at is full res. There shouldn't be any additional bitrate of data needed to send this channel.

Yes but what I am thinking is it may be some kind of incompatibility issue between the H3/TV and HDMI Cable. You said that it's forcing your TV to HDR, maybe if it forces HDR through the 2.0 cables it will fix the clarity issue (even if it still forces HDR). In other words, HDR through non-2.0 cables = not good, through 2.0 cables, good regardless of the res.

 

[BBruin66]

Yes but what I am thinking is it may be some kind of incompatibility issue between the H3/TV and HDMI Cable. You said that it's forcing your TV to HDR, maybe if it forces HDR through the 2.0 cables it will fix the clarity issue (even if it still forces HDR). In other words, HDR through non-2.0 cables = not good, through 2.0 cables, good regardless of the res.

I don't have an H3 yet, but HDR should only show on Content with HDR. This should only happen when the H.265 contains it. This should only be 4k content.

Forced HDR and PQ are two different issues, but possibly related if it is an HDMI issue.

 

[jayiw]

I don't have an H3 yet, but HDR should only show on Content with HDR. This should only happen when the H.265 contains it. This should only be 4k content.

Forced HDR and PQ are two different issues, but possibly related if it is an HDMI issue.

Sorry I meant that to the guy who was experiencing that issue. But yeah, it should only show HDR on HDR ready programming but his issue it's showing it all the time which leads me to believe that since the lower version HDMI cables cannot handle HDR it's causing degradation on the video. An HDMI cable (2.0) that is made to handle HDR should theoretically fix the issue even though the underlying issue is something else causing his TV to go to HDR regardless (probably due to early dish firmware comparability with his TV firmware.

 

[dweber]

I don't believe that the HDMI cable is causing the bad picture.

Will I need a new cable?
NO! Well, probably not. Here is the exact quote from HDMI.org: "Version 2.0 of the HDMI Specification does not define new cables or new connectors. Current High Speed cables (category 2 cables) are capable of carrying the increased bandwidth." Emphasis mine. Here's another direct quote: "HDMI 2.0, which is backwards-compatible with earlier versions of the HDMI specifications..."

Version 2.0 (like 1.4 before it) is entirely a hardware change. It is not a cable change. You can expect cable manufacturers to proclaim that you need expensive new "Version 2.0 cables" but this is untrue. Your current High Speed cables should work just fine.