Is Ignite TV quality really this bad?

[dalehuhtala]

I switched from Motorola PVR boxes recently to the new Ignite WiFi boxes (Bluecurve)  and I can't believe how bad the picture quality is! I'm trying to figure out if this is just the way it is (terrible) or if there's something wrong with my setup. I spent hours online with Shaw to try troubleshooting and they don't know - they will send someone out eventually but I'm still trying to figure this out. Are other people seeing this and just living with it? The Motorola boxes were most definitely superior to these boxes. The pixelation around edges of all images is very bad, graphics/text on the screen are terrible - I would estimate the resolution to be lower than 720 at this point. 

I have my Ignite modem in bridge mode so they really hate that - tried going back to router mode and reconnecting the TV boxes directly to their modem but that makes no difference. The network throughput is very good - over 500 Mbps down, 100 up, tested at each TV location. No issues there. I even tried connecting directly with a physical Ethernet cable - no difference. If you sit 15-20 feet away, it's not bad so I'm trying to figure out if most people just aren't very discerning - or if this is not set up right.

Any suggestions? I don't know what else to try - reset everything multiple times and the picture quality hasn't changed at all. The 4K channels look almost as good as my old Motorola box, but still not quite as good. If this is as good as it gets, then I will be cutting cable completely - this is junk.

[mdk]

@dalehuhtala -- what TV(s) do you have? Manufacturer? Model-number? Screen size?

TV's built-in resolution: HD? Full HD? 4K? 8K? 

Are you setting the TV to "stretch" low-resolution images to fit the full screen?

At what video resolution is the output from the BlueCurve?

[dalehuhtala]

Sony X900 4K, Sony X85 4K, His3nse U68 4K TV...65", 43", 50". Not stretching the picture. Box is connecting at 4K.

[rstra]

@dalehuhtala  I recently picked up a U68H, it is an amazing TV for the price. 

Not sure what the problem is, maybe go into  the settings for the box and make sure your resolution settings are correct. I have the old Ignite XG1v4 and XIDs, the picture is outstanding. 

[mdk]

@dalehuhtala -- Sony X900 4K

A TV from 2020, with 3840x2160 resolution, and "upscaling".

Supports: HDMI™ signals:

1. 4096 x 2160p (24, 60 Hz),
2. 3840 x 2160p (24, 30, 60, 120 Hz),
3. 1080p (30, 60, 120 Hz),
4. 1080/24p, 1080i (60 Hz),
5. 720p (30, 60 Hz),
6. 720/24p, 480p

Here is a very-partial list of specifications of the 4K TV Player (Model: XG1v4).

1. HD Compatible Yes, 1080p
2. 4K Compatible Yes, 4Kp60
3. ...

It seems that there is some overlap between "video-out" and "video-in" resolution.

I wonder what the resolution is that your video-out is sending ??

Note that 3840 is exactly 3 times 1080. So, sending one pixel at 1080 will "upscale" to light a 3x3 rectangle on a 3840-resolution display.

[dalehuhtala]

Yes, no question the best bang for the buck!

Yes, I have checked the configuration multiple times and confirmed that the TV itself reports it is receiving a 4K signal and it is. Tried dropping it to 1080 as well but it made no difference.

I noticed if I run one of the TSN 4K channels, it improves close to what my old 1080mcoax cable feed used to look like. 

Maybe I need an XG box...is that a wifi box as well?

[dalehuhtala]

Sorry, I'm not sure what you're getting at? You're wondering if the TV supports the input? I'm sure it does. I've had a PS5 and UHD bluray connected and they look amazing so I can't see why this box would be an issue. And the other TVs are less than a year old but behaving exactly the same way.

[rstra]

@dalehuhtala  The XG1v4 is the second generation of BlueCurve, it is connected by coax and it is not wireless, is 4K and does cloud recordings. The portal boxes are Xid, they are wired but don’t do 4K. You could call Rogers and see if you could swap to that box.

Edit: Also, try opening the Ignite TV app and casting to your Hisense and Sony TVs, how does that look?

[mdk]

@dalehuhtala -- your Sony TV has 3840x2160 resolution, called "UHD". Is that slightly less than "4K" resolution? There is a difference in ratios: 16:9 versus 16:10.

When your TV is receiving 4096 ("4K") by some-pixels, then is your TV interpolating ("down-scaling") ? Doing so can result in a "fuzzy" picture. 

Try a Google-search for "3840 vs 4096 resolution" to get a lot of comments, which might be helpful.

[dalehuhtala]

Nope, think you're on the wrong track there. UHD is simply Ultra High Definition, another name for 4K. Same s16:9 ratio. There is no down-scaling issues here. All Sony TVs use the standard 4K resolution. There are only a few computer monitors that might use a 16:10 ratio.