cable card vs. stb

homerhd · Post by **homerhd** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 2:48 pm

I recently purchased a 50" Sony LCD and am very happy with it. I had a hd/dvr box from Comcast but last weekend had them swap it out for a cable card. I don't know if it's my imagination or what but the hd picture seemed ever so slightly better when I had the box. I know that doesn't quite make sense since it's the same feed. The box was connected via the component plugs and now the coax connects directly to the cable connection on the tv. I realize that now I'm utilizing the tuner in the tv rather than the cable box tuner. I have to believe that the tv tuner is higher quality than the cable box. Any thoughts? I like being able to use the tv remote but I do miss the dvr feature of the cable box.

raff · Post by **raff** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 5:21 pm

The picture quality will not change from STB to Cablecard, but it will change from input to input. The STB was connected via Component input, which had it's own picture settings. The internal tuner is on a different input, even if you can't connect to it, which has a seperate set of settings.

akirby · Post by **akirby** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 8:43 pm

Exactly. Have you calibrated the user controls with Avia or DVE or some other setup disk? You need to do that on each input. The path to the display is different. Since your display is digital the cablecard signal will stay digital. With the cable box and component cables you were converting the digital signal to analog (component video) then back to digital inside the TV. If anything the cablecard picture should look better once it's setup correctly.

homerhd · Post by **homerhd** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:10 am

Thanks for the feedback. As far as calibration goes, I have to admit that I am relatively new to high end video and really don't have a clue of how to go about calibrating. Any recommendations on sites where I could educate myself on this? I am fairly computer savy and have a solid understanding of color and color management from years spent in the digital/desktop printing field so I am willing to dive in to this and see how much I can do on my own (with some time spent educating myself first).

akirby · Post by **akirby** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:38 am

homerhd wrote:Any recommendations on sites where I could educate myself on this?

First, check your contrast. It's probably 100% which is also known as "Torch Mode". It's the factory default so the sets look better in a brightly lit showroom. Turn it down to around 50%. In CRTs this is crucial to prevent burn-in but on a LCD that's not an issue.

Next, find either a DVE (digital video essentials) or Avia calibration DVD. Available online or from a well stocked DVD store. The DVD is self explanatory and will walk you through how to set your user controls properly (tint, color, contrast, sharpness, etc.) using test patterns. It will probably take you an hour or more if you go through all the tutorials. It will also help you set up your surround sound.

The next step is a professional calibration which is explained in detail in other topics.

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 10:18 am

Any recommendations on sites where I could educate myself on this?

The best education would come from viewing one of these calibration DVDs as Allen suggested.

After that we can be more helpful with the following link...

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