How to Change the Resolution With a DirecTV HD DVR

By Nick Davis

Updated September 28, 2017

Home theater
i Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images

Your DIRECTV HD DVR receiver has an array of features and controls including the ability to record television programs and change the resolution. Resolution is the number of horizontal lines displayed to create each frame of a video image. The more lines of resolution used, the more detailed and sharp the image will be. So if you have a HDTV (High Definition Television), you want the ability to change the resolution to its highest setting so you can receive the sharpest picture possible.

Press the “RES” button on your DIRECTV HD DVR receiver's remote control one time for 480p resolution. This setting is standard television resolution.

Press the “RES” button again for 480i resolution.

Press the “RES” button again for 720p resolution. This setting is the first level of HDTV (High Definition Television) resolution.

Press the “RES” button again for 1080i resolution. This is the highest HDTV level of resolution.

Look at the “RESOLUTION INDICATOR” on your DIRECTV HD DVR receiver to see which resolution your receiver is currently set on if you press the “RES” too fast or were distracted.

Tips

The “RES” function only changes the resolution on the DIRECTV HD DVR receiver—it does not change the format a television program was created in. So a television program that was created for standard television resolution will not suddenly become sharper or look like a program that was created for HDTV.

×