Hello all, we are brand new to HDTV and are excited about our purchase! We bought a Pioneer plasma TV and ordered digital cable through Cogeco. Prior to hooking up the box, we had 2 days of regular TV patched into the Pioneer, and we were very impressed with the HD signals it did decode. Awesome clarity! However now that the box is installed, the signal does not look as sharp on the HD channels. Is this a signal issue? Is the box adjustable in any way?
I would appreciate the opinions of the HDTV members. Thanks
Have you got all the connections right? The most desirable would be with a HDMI or DVI cable, but if your cable box does not have that, then you will need to use component cables, the red, green and blue. No other cables will pass a HD signal. Also, go into the setup menu of the cable box and make sure it is set to 16:9 and that it is outputing a HD resolution, such as 1080i/720p. Then use the "source" or "input" button on the TV remote to match the connection you used in the rear of the TV, such as component 1.
Hopefully, you are also using a digital audio connection, such as HDMI, coaxial, or optical. You won't get the good surround sound through the red and white RCA cables.
Dave, thanks for your reply. The box (Motorola) does not have HDMI connections, and the instructions clearly indicate that I was to use another length of "regular" cable (which came with the box) back into the TV. Is this wrong??
Well, that explains why your HD shows don't look so hot.
That sounds like either a coax (just like the cable coming out of the wall) or S-video, neither of which support HD.
Look on the back of the cable box. You should see HDMI or DVI digital outputs or component (3 rca connectors - Red/Green/Blue might be labeled YPrPb). You must use one of these to get HD resolution. If you only have S video or standard (composite) video then they did not give you a HD capable cable box.
If you'll post the brand and model number of the box and the TV we can help more.
If Coax is used to carry OTA signals then yes, it can be connected to a HD tuner and you can get HDTV.
In your case it sounds like the output from the digital cable box to the TV is coax and if so then that is the worst possible connection and you aren't receiving any HD signals. Does the TV have to be on a certain channel for it to work? The HD receiver is sending out a SD signal on the coax on a NTSC channel (usually 3 or 4) which is different from the ATSC signal you get from the OTA antenna. Apples and oranges. That type of connection is only used on older TVs where the only input is a NTSC coax.
You should have the coax cable going to the cable box and from the cable box to the tv should be HDMI, DVI or Component Video. Check the cable box output options and your TV input options.
Hi sorry for the delay it is a Motorola 6200. I have swapped out the coax and have run component and the picture is amazing!
Would I get significant picture improvement by upgrading to DVI (no HDMI which is strange considering the unit is brand new?)?
I have never understood this (and don't want to confuse anyone)...
I am using an off air antenna to get my HDTV...it is connected directly to the set via coax. So, if coax does not support HD, how am I getting HD???
twmattox never really got his question answered. I think I know but am not sure, so I will defer to someone more capable. So, why does a coax (RG-6 type) carry a HD signal from an antenna into a TV tuner, or into a cable/sat STB, but will not carry a HD signal OUT of that same cable/sat STB into the TV???????
Akirby did answer it but it was so quick I missed it too...
If Coax is used to carry OTA signals then yes, it can be connected to a HD tuner and you can get HDTV.
but then you said...
but will not carry a HD signal OUT of that same cable/sat STB into the TV???????
Akirby answered that too...
The HD receiver is sending out a SD signal on the coax on a NTSC channel (usually 3 or 4) which is different from the ATSC signal you get from the OTA antenna. Apples and oranges. That type of connection is only used on older TVs where the only input is a NTSC coax.
So, if I understand this correctly, my TV has a tuner in it that will decode HD provided via coax. A cable box also has a tuner in it that will decode HD but relays that signal to the TV via component or HDMI cables only...all other outputs on the cable box are SD...
So, technically, coax can "handle" HD signals...it just isn't wired that way??? I would assume this is due to signal loss from combining all information on one wire???
There is RF DTV which can carry HD content. That is no different than RF NTSC, what you have watched your whole life, but NTSC is SD only. Either one requires a different tuner to receive and decode the signal into...
RGBHV, Component video or digital video via HDMI/DVI for HD or composite video for SD.
If the tuner is built into your TV you won't know that but that is what had to happen for you to watch it.
External HD sources output component video or digital video.
Cable and Satellite HD receivers retain RF and video SD connections for SD users. If you have an HD display then you must use the component video or digital video outputs to get HD.
While it is certainly possible to output HD as an RF signal and have your tuner receive and decode that just like your old TV that would cost more money and is of questionable benefit.
Let me try the novice explanation. Sorry, Richard, but yours gave me a headache!
Coax carries a RF signal. That RF signal contains one or more UHF or VHF channel. Each UHF or VHF channel can be NTSC (analog cable or antenna) or ATSC (OTA Digital TV). Only ATSC supports HD resolutions. NTSC is always SD.
If your TV has a HD tuner then it can accept the ATSC signals and decode them into HDTV channels. Otherwise the coax input only decodes NTSC (SD).
What the cable box is doing is broadcasting a NTSC channel (usually on channel 3 or 4) over the coax. This was done back when TVs only had a coax input (cable ready) and not A/V type inputs. It's not the cable - it's what is being put on the cable that determines whether it's HD or SD. And in the case of a VCR or cable box or even a DVD player or DVR, using the coax restricts you to NTSC which means SD only. And it's usually the worst quality SD at that.
I might be oversimplifying it but I think that's how it works.
I read your chain from Dec/Jan on picture quaity. I have a similar issue. I have a new 5053 Samsung Plasma and had HD service installed yesterday by Charter. I have a Motorola box with the 5 cables and NO HDMI conections. The cable technician even thought the HD channels did not look good. He said the signal strenght was right in the middle but I could get a booster to get better picture. Do I need that or is there another recommendation you might have?
I read your chain from Dec/Jan on picture quaity. I have a similar issue. I have a new 5053 Samsung Plasma and had HD service installed yesterday by Charter. I have a Motorola box with the 5 cables and NO HDMI conections. The cable technician even thought the HD channels did not look good. He said the signal strenght was right in the middle but I could get a booster to get better picture. Do I need that or is there another recommendation you might have?
Thanks!
If you have enough signal to get a digital picture without pixellation or dropouts then increasing the signal won't help it. Make sure the Charter box is outputting HD resolution and matches the TV's native resolution as closely as possible. Then use DVE or Avia to set your user controls correctly.
At the risk of "upsetting" some of our other readers, I have experienced the solution to our problems by getting the ONLY cable box from COX which does have a "HDMI cable" to the TV set, rather than those "composites" - it had to be the recorder version, at $10 month extra but that solved the issues!!!
You might try to exchange your new cable box/remote
for their HD Recorder Box / Remote.
Why would your statement upset readers? Because you found HDMI superior to component? There are plenty of reason for that revolving around proper circuit design for those connections.
Hi -
We solved some wierd "HD Issues" by exchanging the initial HD Cable Box/Remote for the ONLY one our
company had that used "HDMI" from it to the HDTV.
(A Recorder)---Costs $10/Mo. more but FIXED our issues, for live or recorded shows!!! Since your TV has (2) HDMI ports, worth a try !!! We were told that this was ONLY way for All Digital "2-Way" hook-up between TV & HD Cable Box.
Your mileage is going to vary because that all depends on design and technology used.
As I recall...
Plasma, LCD flat or projection and LCoS require a final analog stage to drive the panel. CRT is 100% analog front to back. DLP is true 100% digital, front to back.
A properly designed display should not show any differences of merit due to input type. I repeat, differences of merit that would have an end user consider spending more money for the perceived difference.
Then there are the sources. Was more attention applied to the HDMI output than the analog? Are there any internal conversions taking place such as the Samsung Blu-ray player (which took the 1080P24 bitstream, converted it to 1080I60 and then converted it back to 1080P60 for the HDMI)?
