So I am completely new with HDTV and TV in general. Grew tired of watching computers all day so I bought a 56" Samsung HDTV for my new place.

There is the white wire for normal TV channels and such and I plugged it in. I turned on the TV and ALL channels are about 50% fuzzy. I have no idea why this is, I have checked if the cable is tight, and checked that I am to receive standard signals from the antenna. Nothing changed anything.

I will be moving to another housing in about 2 months and I am planning on getting a HD box for the TV. But will it still also have fuzz all over it? and is there something I can do/fix on the TV now in order to fix the noisy signal?

Thanks,
Joe

1) Check the display forums for info on best setting up your TV.

2) Most likely you are watching just SD reception which is not going to look good on a large HD set.

so u think when i get my HD box the signal will then be fine? (sorry i just had to make sure because my warranty runs out soon)

Your set might be just fine but... You really need to test it if you are close to the end of your warranty. What is your tv signal source: OTA antenna, cable, or satellite? If antenna, go to www.antennaweb.com and see which digital channels are available in your area. Digital signals will look better than most analog signals. If cable, then scan for clear QAM channels. Depending on your area, you may find several HD stations. Please note, HD stations do not always broadcast in HD, especially the local stations. Look for HD during prime time.

Picture quality of standard definition programming depends on signal quality, the size of the tv and whether the picture is stretched. Try changing the aspect ratio on your tv from 16:9 to 4:3. Standard definition programming should significantly improve by changing to the correct ratio (4:3).

well its more like a written 30day warranty because it is a second hand TV. however, it is only roughly 2 years old and when I connect my laptop to the DVI it is crystal clear.

I THINK I am running analog (whatever you call the standard white cable coming out of most conventional homes) and I have tried 4:3 and its just the same picture quality as 16:9.

On the side note, what does calibration do exactly? and if DVD players and my computer all works and looks great on it, would I still need to calibrate for TV channels?

My HDTV in my computer room is significantly smaller than yours. I have compared SD from my cableco on both the LG tv and my computer monitor. (My computer has a video capture card for this purpose). Standard definition picture quality is slightly better on the CRT computer monitor than on the my LCD tv. My capture card also tunes clear QAM High definition. The LCD tv has superior picture quality with HD programming.

Based on my testing above and your comments, there appears to be a problem with your tv. Calibration may improve things. A proper calibration will adjust contrast, brightness, color, sharpness, tint, etc on your tv display.

How is it a problem with his TV when he hooks up his laptop and feeds a higher rez signal to it and it looks crystal clear? He's trying to watch SD on a large set, it's never going to look great. I agree calibrating the tuner input would help improve the picture some, doesn't sound like there is actually anything wrong with the TV.

Oops, my bad. I thought he was saying that his inputs (DVI, DVD) looked great on his laptop but terrible on his tv. In my experience, the two computer vs HDTV should be very close, even with a SD source.

... 56" Samsung HDTV ... There is the white wire for normal TV channels and such and I plugged it in. I turned on the TV and ALL channels are about 50% fuzzy. ...

so u think when i get my HD box the signal will then be fine? ...

... What is your tv signal source: OTA antenna, cable, or satellite? ...

... when I connect my laptop to the DVI it is crystal clear.

I THINK I am running analog (whatever you call the standard white cable coming out of most conventional homes) ... You are not giving us enough specific info to help you. IDRick asked you about your TV signal source: Is it antenna, cable or satellite?

You have told us:

"There is the white wire for normal TV channels and such and I plugged it in."

"... when i get my HD box ..."

"I THINK I am running analog (whatever you call the standard white cable coming out of most conventional homes)"What is this white wire? Is it coax? On your TV is it plugged into the ANT 1 IN (CABLE) or the ANT 2 IN (AIR). I have a 56" Samsung HDTV like you.

What about the other end of the white wire? Is it connected to an antenna, cable service, satellite service? Is it possible that it is not connected to any valid service or source?

What do you mean when you mention getting an "HD box"? What kind of box do you mean?

You think you're "running analog" from the "standard white cable." What type of analog do you mean?

Please let us know the answers to these questions. Thanks. :)

Avio

If you have a DVD player, attach using the component (RGB) inputs and play a recent release movie of good quality.

At least you'll know if the display is working OK. It should look much better than the "white wire".

And yes, SD usually looks worse on an HDTV than it does on an older style SDTV.