Hi,

We have digital cable with Rogers. My mom has a non-hd digital box and used to have a newish Sony tube tv. The picture was perfectly fine...no complaints.

Then my brother bought her a new Sony flat screen hd-tv and her picture is now terrible...often very pixelated. Every show or commercial is different. It seems the lower the budget on the commercial, the worse the look. Sports looks terrible to me..I would have thought the picture quality would be better for sports but perhaps it's the fast movement. The pixelation is particularly noticeable when it's on the guide channel with the tv show still showing in the little box in the top right hand corner..terrible, terrible pixelation...would also think that a smaller picture would be clearer. We've tried every setting we can find on the tv...no luck.

Before I run out and get her hooked up with hd, which she doesn't particularly want, is there anything else we should try?

Sony KDL32L4000 32" High Definition LCD TV

Rogers 3200 Digital Cable Box
Scientific Atlanta

My brother hooked it up...probably with the impressive looking av cables included with my hd box.

Thanks for any help!

Welcome to the forum. :)

And welcome to the wonderful world of Digital Television. That Trinitron tube delivered a nice picture. Flat screen TVs routinely have issues with SD content. Some sets are worse than others. Some providers are worse than others at providing optimum signal. Major compression related artifacts abound. Flat screens are really made for HD and even worse, some can't even display HD without artifacts. Motion blur as you referenced is but one example. I have never seen it with Plasma but often see it with LCDs, even ones with the latest and greatest technology.

Two ways to go:
1) Bring back the tube TV and let your Mom continue enjoying as before. Just know that upgrading service will gain her nothing.
2) Stick with the flat screen and upgrade to HD. Your Mom will noticeably enjoy her service more if she upgrades to HD. Once you go this way, even though usually more expensive, your viewing enjoyment, channel selections, etc. will make it all worthwhile. Most (but not all) of the most watched SD channels have an HD equivalent. I find I rarely watch SD channels anymore. Also, recording HD with a DVR is the icing on the cake. The first time I saw an HD recording on the HD DVR my jaw dropped. You literally cannot differentiate it from the original broadcast.

Hi,

We have digital cable with Rogers. My mom has a non-hd digital box and used to have a newish Sony tube tv. The picture was perfectly fine...no complaints.

Then my brother bought her a new Sony flat screen hd-tv and her picture is now terrible...often very pixelated. Every show or commercial is different. It seems the lower the budget on the commercial, the worse the look. Sports looks terrible to me..I would have thought the picture quality would be better for sports but perhaps it's the fast movement. The pixelation is particularly noticeable when it's on the guide channel with the tv show still showing in the little box in the top right hand corner..terrible, terrible pixelation...would also think that a smaller picture would be clearer. We've tried every setting we can find on the tv...no luck.

Before I run out and get her hooked up with hd, which she doesn't particularly want, is there anything else we should try?

Sony KDL32L4000 32" High Definition LCD TV

Rogers 3200 Digital Cable Box
Scientific Atlanta

My brother hooked it up...probably with the impressive looking av cables included with my hd box.

Thanks for any help!
Do mom a favor and get her connected to HD. The difference is incredible.

Well, in the OP's defense, he's in Canada (Rogers), where they have to buy cable boxes for a fairly good chunk of change.

I agree totally that he should go to HD and there's not much if anything he can do with the SD box, but I can also see why he's asking if he can make a go of the SD box somehow.

Use S-Video to watch SD content, it'll look better on an HDTV.