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Will a HDTV look bad when hooked up to Analog cable?
by roundtowne - 2/6/07 5:42 AMJust bought a Sharp 26" Aquos HDTV(LC26D40U).
Didn't plan on getting a HD cablebox from my Optimum provider until the shock of buying the TV wore off. Plus only going in bedroom.
But I quickly realized that the picture stinks. Is this because it is only hooked up to the "Raw Analog" cable?
Will a HD cablebox fix these problems? Or do you think the TV had a rough ride during shipping?<a Lemon.
Thanks.
Just hooked up my Digital cablebox>Not much better.
by roundtowne - 2/6/07 7:30 AM In reply to: Will a HDTV look bad when hooked up to Analog cable? by roundtowneJust took the Digital cablebox off the "Big TV" in the family-room.(Which is my 'old reliable' [non-HDTV] Sony Trinatron)
Quality still isn't any better.
If I turn in my Digital box for a HDTV cablebox <which I can do for free, will the "standard" channels get any better?
My K-mart special 19" Magnavox from 1999 <which I just traded-up for, has better picture quality with just an Analog signal. 
When I first saw this TV at Best Buy they must have been running a high quality DVD demo to get that crisp picture.
Please don't suggest a Dish
by roundtowne - 2/6/07 7:45 AM In reply to: Just hooked up my Digital cablebox>Not much better. by roundtowneBy the way, please don't suggest a Dish.
Won't work up here on my Mountain. <I see 50mph+ with much stronger gusts...far too often this time of year. My neighbor tried it, only to have the dish nearly "shimmy" off the side of the house. Thus, you can only imagine what happened to the picture quality inside. He's back to cable.
You probably should give the HD cablebox a try, after all
by NM_Bill - 2/6/07 8:18 AM In reply to: Just hooked up my Digital cablebox>Not much better. by roundtowneYes, many here on this forum advocate dish.
Forget windy city comments as apparently you are on a mountainside that spends a lot of time getting virtually whipped by wind. I presume you appreciate that in mid summer; maybe not all of the year.
Here in Albuquerque we have windy spells that some say is the thing the tourism bureau won't mention. Wed always expect the spring windy period as warming air pours off the mountain. Oh well, we're the ones who elect to live her where the high plains & desert meet the southern end of the Rockies. We even accept some manana attitude for the pleasantly slower pace of life.
Isn't it feasible for someone to beat the house vibrating shimmy by really secure attachment to possibly a separate pole. Or does the signal just not make it in those conditions?
All the providers play the marketplace for what it's worth, and the customer is not foremost in mind. They seem to all act as despots when they can, with what they charge & what they package together as required.
I'd naively love to pay for just what channels I prefer to view. On the other hand, I see a couple neighbors so enchanted with the high def thing that they almost exclusively watch high def just because it's high def, rather than choosing for program content.
Now, to me the ultimate in customer management of content would be the ability to program out any & all reference to Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, George Dubya, & Dick Cheney as well as all petty sniping of political cheap shots. That would be better than Zen for establishing inner peace.
Best of luck for your viewing pleasure time.
MR ROUND THE BAD NEWS
by stewart norrie - 2/6/07 9:41 AM In reply to: Just hooked up my Digital cablebox>Not much better. by roundtowneA hi-def t.v. is worthless unless you feed it a hi-def signal, Digital means nothing it has to be a hi-def systemUnless you want to set up a hi-def box in your bedroom your better off just using a s.d t.v. stewee
The Simple answer is "YES"
by Maestro_64 - 2/6/07 11:07 AM In reply to: Will a HDTV look bad when hooked up to Analog cable? by roundtowneThe problem you have is that the TV you bought is so much better than any old analog TV you had in the past. Because of this you would see every bit of noise and garbage in the video that you probably didn't notice in the past because of the TV.
With that said, your TV should not make the video worse, if you are use to watching TV with snow and noise in the image the TV can not make it any worse. However, if you go form a smaller TV like a 20in up to 27in you may think it is worse.
I went from a 27in analog TV to a 52in HDTV and I still get my local channels from analog cable and they do not appear any worse on the 52in than the 27in, other than the fact the static is more obvious.
It seems to depend
by boothssi - 2/9/07 7:22 AM In reply to: Will a HDTV look bad when hooked up to Analog cable? by roundtowneWhen I bought a digital hi-def TV a number of owner reviews said it produced poor results with an analog signal. However I found the opposite so it appears there isn't a simple answer. I've wondered if the Hi-def tv interpolates to create the higher resolution and if this cleans up some of the quality problems.
I have a VHS to DVD recorder. I also find that pre-recorded tape copied to disc produces an improved picture over the original tape directly. This seems to make no sense from a strict data point of view but I remember the digital processing of early space shot video that was able to convert what looked like pure noise into a real picture.
Cool Aid Effect and Carburetors
by jcrobso - 2/9/07 8:17 AM In reply to: Will a HDTV look bad when hooked up to Analog cable? by roundtowneWhat does this have to do with HDTV you ask, well just read on.
We all know how to make Cool Aid:
One pack of Cool Aid, two cups of sugar, two quarts of water!
Drink and enjoy the sugar rush, rotting teeth, etc. But I digress.
Now add two more quarts of water. It will still have some color and some taste.
But won’t be the same as it was before.
This is sort of what happens when you watch SD video on a HDTV.
Some HDTVs are better than others at displaying SD video.
Some work better component cables, some work better with HDMI.
Sadly, this craps shoot!
Many times I have talked about bandwidth, so here is another analogy.
We have a BIG 400 cubic inch V8 engine: this is your HDTV.
Now we put a single barrel carburetor on it: this you HDTV on SD video.
Now we put a two-barrel carburetor on it: this is your HDTV on ED video.
Now we put a four-barrel carburetor on it: this is your HDTV on 720p/1080i
Now we put three two-barrel carburetors on it: this is you HDTV on 1080p.
I hope this will help people understand some of the concepts.
HDTV is a very complicated animal. John
cool aid
by valoidr - 2/9/07 5:16 PM In reply to: Cool Aid Effect and Carburetors by jcrobsoSD TV programs/movies via cable(non HD); latest Plasmas or latest LCDs look better?
Any advice on this subject?
Cool Aid
by Georgie - 2/12/07 2:07 PM In reply to: Cool Aid Effect and Carburetors by jcrobsoWhaaaaat?
Simple answer - YES!
by blangton - 2/9/07 5:08 PM In reply to: Will a HDTV look bad when hooked up to Analog cable? by roundtowneYou just bought a HDTV - go get the HD Cable box. You still get all the same stuff you already have and what is not available in HD will still "stink" - BUT - the HD channels will blow you away.
So - do not walk - RUN down to your local cable company and get the box. You won't regret it...
Good luck,
Bill
analog through hi def tv
by peter reddington - 2/10/07 2:25 AM In reply to: Will a HDTV look bad when hooked up to Analog cable? by roundtowneI have a Hitachi 42"hd tv, the picture through analog cable is absolutely disgusting, but put it through an upscaler and it's brill, pin sharp clear as christal Iv'e waited for NTL to start distributing the hd boxes, it seems they're never going to get here, but i know the pictue will be as good then as it is bad now.
analog on hd, yes bad pic, must have hd signal
by kahalstead - 2/10/07 2:11 PM In reply to: analog through hi def tv by peter reddingtonjust out of curiosity, what upscaler are you using?
dvd upscaler
by peter reddington - 2/12/07 3:09 AM In reply to: analog on hd, yes bad pic, must have hd signal by kahalsteadthe upscaler i am using is a philips DVP5960, this is a replacement for a samsungthat went wrong, something to do with the HDMI input, anyway the picture it produces is just stunning, it even has a USB port at the front, you can even switch manually to 720p or 1080i, and it was only sixty quid, I bought it because I was sick of looking at a lousy picture when watching through a cable box, its digital switching.
Philips DVP5960
by ryanthomas702 - 2/20/07 12:33 PM In reply to: dvd upscaler by peter reddingtonBy any chance did you run your cable box through the Philips DVP5960?
I would like to know if it is possible. I only have the red, white, and yellow connectors and coaxle on my cable box as the out put source. If you gould give me a soulution it would hel alot.
Thanks, Ryan
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