when switching my inputs on my TV to my dvd player i get these bars that scroll up the screen and a hum out the speakers. when i unplug the coaxil cable line from the TV it goes away. So im assuming the loop is happening with the cable line. Will one of those surge protectors that you can plug the cable coaxile line into fix teh problem?

No you will need to check the ground loop problem by checking it where it enters the building or home and make sure that it is attached,
A power strip might not fix the problem.

To be a bit more specific, where the cable enters your house, it should be grounded. It might be grounded to a ground rod near the entry point, but this is not good enough and might still cause a ground loop. It needs to be grounded to the same ground level as the rest of your electrical service. If that's near your main service panel, you can ground it to there.

I was able to call my cable provider and they handeled it for me, once I pointed out the issue.

Best,
jeff

when switching my inputs on my TV to my dvd player i get these bars that scroll up the screen and a hum out the speakers. when i unplug the coaxil cable line from the TV it goes away. So im assuming the loop is happening with the cable line. Will one of those surge protectors that you can plug the cable coaxile line into fix teh problem?
Your problem can be fixed with a transformer they can be had from Jensen Transformers model # VRD-1FF I had the same problem that you are having and this little transformer fixed the problem you can order this from jensen transformer you can go to there web site and all the info is there you can order it on the phone the cost is70.00 and to install it you connect the incoming cable to the xformer and run a short cable to your set top box

The root issue is different ground levels (I'm 99% sure) between the electrical service and the cable (CATV). This should be fixed at no cost by the cableco.

jeff

I am getting the same scrolling horizontal bars from my DVD player but no audio hum, and sadly I don't see any change when removing the coaxial cable (or when trying other troubleshooting steps). Is this really a ground loop issue or just a problem with the DVD player? I swapped component cables and even tried an S-video cable but all show the same bars. Moreover, last month I noticed a horizontal scrolling line on my cable signal (during HD broadcasts) and I was only able to get rid of it by switching from component cables to a HDMI cable. Could this be a coincidence or the same problem?

Your problem can be fixed with a transformer they can be had from Jensen Transformers model # VRD-1FF I had the same problem that you are having and this little transformer fixed the problem you can order this from jensen transformer you can go to there web site and all the info is there you can order it on the phone the cost is70.00 and to install it you connect the incoming cable to the xformer and run a short cable to your set top box
This fixed it for me as well. I wish I had called the cable company, though, and saved the $70.

I had a tech from comcast come swap out a DVR a while back and he checked the grounding of the cable line. He said that on every service call they were told to check the ground and if it wasn't correct they were to fix it.

larry