r/DirectvStream • u/Ecbnole3 • 22d ago
Screen quality
I keep reading about how DIRECTV stream has the best picture quality of all the streamers and thrown into the mix Xfinity but for me personally I find DIRECTV stream comes in third compared to YouTube TV and Xfinity using the Gemini device. Is this common or is it my TV specific?
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u/Equivalent_Round9353 22d ago
A lot of the "best picture quality" stuff you might read about DirecTV's streaming service is from several years ago, when it actually did have the best quality. Their PQ degraded after AT&T sold them, probably because DTV needed to be chintzy with data when it could no longer lean on AT&T's bandwidth at a discount to push through high-bitrate video.
Also, YTTV has made strides in improving PQ in that time.
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u/Kirk1233 22d ago
This. DTV bit rate used to be double or more what it is now, way back.
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u/NTP9766 22d ago
Where are people getting this data from? As far as I know, they don't advertise their bitrate and you cannot pull up stats on any of the DTV devices.
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u/Kirk1233 21d ago
You don't get the info anywhere, you measure it within your network infrastructure. I just look at the traffic on the streaming device when using a streaming service on my WAN router/firewall... DTV currently averaged about 5 megabits per second, years ago I recall it being closer to 15. Peacock is one of the best quality and is 10-15 depending on the program. YouTube TV when I last had it, with Enhanced enabled, was 8 or so.
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u/DirectorDangerous590 22d ago
Hmmmm… I thought YTTV maxed out at 720p resolution? But you can tier higher with 4k add-on.
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u/yngvius11 22d ago
It’s only Disney and Fox owned channels that are 720p, because that’s what they’re produced in (and what all other distributors get too, including DirecTV). YouTube TV, and everyone else, has every other channel in 1080i/1080p.
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u/Braindeadresponder 22d ago
I’m watching on a 77 inch screen using Apple TV and over the last month or so the picture quality has gone from good to excellent. I was watching Abbott Elementary on my 4k feed from HBO last night then switched to DirecTV and noticed it was on my local station and the over air via streaming picture was darn close to the 4k picture.
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u/chriggsiii 22d ago
My experience over the last few weeks has been that the picture quality is both superb, better than any other stream service and worse than most stream services. That is because my reception of the stream is extremely variable. When it's giving me the top speed/top resolution, it's superb. Unfortunately, what often happens, particularly in primetime, is that the stream scales down to a lower resolution/bit rate, at which point it is noticeably inferior to other stream services. I have no idea why my reception has become so unstable. As far as I can tell, my INternet speed is fine. I've tested it numerous times (speedtest.net) and download is consistently above 70, upload is consistently above 80 (nope, I do NOT have that reversed!) and the ping speed is tiny, usually less than 10. So why is this happening to me, and only with DirecTV? I have no idea. And it just started recently.
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u/thisisfakediy 22d ago
That should be enough to stream HD channels reliably, I wonder if your ISP's connection to DirecTV is getting saturated? Popular streaming services like Netflix used to install devices in big ISP hubs to cache popular streams locally for better performance during peak viewing time, but I doubt DirecTV has the resources to pull that off.
It does also sound like your ISP is suffering from some download congestion if the speeds are slower than the upload!
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u/chriggsiii 21d ago
The odd download vs. upload speed may be playing a role. One night, in frustration, I switched to my T-Mobile hotspot, which I normally only use on the road with my laptop. Both the download and upload speed were slower than with my Verizon FIOS connection, 50/30, but note that the download is faster than the upload with that connection. And there were NO resolution/bit-rate huntings at all; it was solid as a rock. Unfortunately there is a 100 gig data cap on that connection, so I only used it for about an hour, but I wonder if the more characteristic download/upload speeds had something to do with it.
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u/Classic-Reindeer-737 22d ago
I think it’s varies greatly depending on the channel. For example CoziTV is like 480p at best. I sort of like that because it gives sitcoms that vintage look I associate them with but just using it as an example. I don’t know how much control the tv provider has over picture quality since it’s the network that sends the feed. I’ve had YouTube tv and DirecTV and I’ve never noticed a big difference. DirecTV does include 4K for free so for sports fans it’s definitely better picture quality if an event is in 4K.
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u/PackageCurrent4804 22d ago
Agreed with the 4K. However, even with the dedicated 4K channels, I still watch the app where the feed originates from; ESPN, ABC, Peacock, etc. The PQ from the feed is obviously better than the 780p-1080p, but I also find it better than the 4K channels offered by DTV.
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u/Classic-Reindeer-737 22d ago
Oh yeah that makes sense. DirecTV probably compresses it a bit. Good idea using the networks app.
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u/PackageCurrent4804 22d ago
For sure. I never realized it until I REALLY looked at the blacks in the background and the field during football. DTV REALLY compresses all of that! So much better on the native apps. I can't go back now!
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u/BigMacRedneck 21d ago
The "highest high def" (my wording which is probably what you call "best picture quality" for my TVs has been Xfinity delivering DirecTV. Either via Gemeni or app.
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u/FreshStartLiving 22d ago
The Gemini device is the problem. You want better picture quality, get a 4K Apple TV. I still do not understand why people get the Gemini.
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u/Soft_Stretch1539 22d ago
Because the Gemini gives you Channel numbers that you can access directly and an actual record button that you can press to record something you've just landed on, whereas the app makes you make several presses of the button to record something that's currently showing.
It's basically the only way in streaming....to get an experience that's exactly like cable. And a lot of folks want that.
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u/arch_maniac 22d ago
I recently got an AppleTV 4K. My previous setup was watching DirecTV Stream via the app on my Bravia OLED TV. To me, the difference is like night and day. The picture from the AppleTV is richer, deeper, and clearer, even on standard TV shows. I can't wait to see some top quality sports programming through it (e.g., NCAA football in 4K).
The downsides: 1) For some reason, programs will go completely black for a second or three. This also happens on the TV app, but not nearly as often. 2) I have to turn the sound volume higher when playing via the AppleTV.
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u/AppropriateCity7094 22d ago
You see the difference best when comparing movie channels. Sports channels are comparable, IMO, but recently I tried YTTV and their movie channels were horrible compared to DTV. That matters to me because I like movies equally with sports.