How should digital sd look on an HDTV? I have a samsung lcd 40" HDTV with ALL DIGITAL CABLE (motorola box 3416 HDTV box) and my HD channels look great but the standard non-HD channels look bad. the picture is sharp but there is so many artifacts everywhere, ghosting around all of the edges and macroblocking and tiling everywhere. I tryed every thing someone please help me out!

Ive rewired my house, called out a comcast tech, got a new box, got new HDMI and Component cables, tryed every setting possible on the box (4:3 override and such). Nothing helps. Please someone help me!

My digital standard channels have tons of artifacts everywhere!!!!

please help!

Some TVs are better than others, and some are really bad. I'm not familiar with your Samsung. However, I notice on my Toshiba 52hm84 DLP monitor that some SD channels look worse and some better, which tells me that the picture is also very source-dependent. All that to say, continue trying things like you already have (different cables, settings, cable boxes, etc.). If they fail, I'd think strongly about returning the TV and researching those that do SD signals better (if you watch a lot of them). Some TVs are more forgiving of bad signals than others, but bad signals are always going to produce less quality pictures, so you might also consider getting a different source for your SD TV (satellite, FIOS (if available), etc.).

Oh, also, one thing that might help you realize if the fault lies more with the TV vs. the signal is trying an OTA antenna. Depending on where you live, you could even try a set top (I pick up both SD and HD signals from about 60 miles away with mine, but it depends on where you live). OTA signals are often higher quality than cable/sat (not always). But if you your SD signals look better OTA, then I would place more blame on signal you're getting from your cable box. Trial and error is your best approach, I'm afraid.

Some TVs are better than others, and some are really bad. I'm not familiar with your Samsung. However, I notice on my Toshiba 52hm84 DLP monitor that some SD channels look worse and some better, which tells me that the picture is also very source-dependent. All that to say, continue trying things like you already have (different cables, settings, cable boxes, etc.). If they fail, I'd think strongly about returning the TV and researching those that do SD signals better (if you watch a lot of them). Some TVs are more forgiving of bad signals than others, but bad signals are always going to produce less quality pictures, so you might also consider getting a different source for your SD TV (satellite, FIOS (if available), etc.).

Oh, also, one thing that might help you realize if the fault lies more with the TV vs. the signal is trying an OTA antenna. Depending on where you live, you could even try a set top (I pick up both SD and HD signals from about 60 miles away with mine, but it depends on where you live). OTA signals are often higher quality than cable/sat (not always). But if you your SD signals look better OTA, then I would place more blame on signal you're getting from your cable box. Trial and error is your best approach, I'm afraid.thanks for the fast reply, and I think your right... up until now (I've had this problem eversince I've got this tv at christmas)I have been just using trial and error with new connections, cables, hdmi, component, settings boxes, everything.

But I think I just need to call comcast out agian and be firm with them and tell them to FIX it!

LOL
It's a Hit or Miss on Cable Channels in SD
;)

well my tv

Samsung LNS-4041D

is that a good tv for SD? Could it be my TV?????

It's probably the source more than anything. SD material is just not at a resolution friendly to HDTVs.

I have a Samsung DLP (50") and some SD shows are pretty good, and some are just barely watchable.

Looks OK for me, but definitely it's a soft image given a 50" screen and only so much resolution in the source - better than analog channels though, at least in my case, anyway.

I live in Dade City (30 miles north of channel 28 antenna)
In the morning I get a very strong signal with a perfect picture. Meter shows 90
In the late afternoon I get a lot of total dropouts of the signal. Meter show 40 to 0
This happens during clear and cloudy days
Has anybody had this problem? If so what was the solution

oldjay

It's probably the source more than anything. SD material is just not at a resolution friendly to HDTVs. I have a Samsung DLP (50") and some SD shows are pretty good, and some are just barely watchable.Indeed. I've got the same and notice the same.

Looks OK for me, but definitely it's a soft image given a 50" screen and only so much resolution in the source - better than analog channels though, at least in my case, anyway.That's the problem with going HD -- you come to expect so much better, and some networks just aren't providing it yet.

I was so ticked off at most of the SD channels (TimeWarnerCable in Los Angeles) that I took the CRT my HDTV replaced, hooked it to the 2nd cable box output tuner, and watch it for 4:3 shows. Granted, there's no TV in my bedroom now, but I have a relatively nice picture when the HDTV can't provide it.

This is definately HDTV's dirty little secret. My 36" 9 year old tube TV that I replaced with a top of the line 50" HDTV kicks the living hell out of it on 90% of the programming available to me. And to think I waited an additional 5 years to get a HDTV as I didnt want to be an early adopter. :eek: At least with the move from VHS to DVD my VHS's looked the same as they did before the DVD player entered the equation. :( Its like one step forward two steps back.

Give it time. There'll be more HD material coming the more people adopt it.

And let's face it, the actual HD stuff (discs and programming) kicks ass imagewise. :D

SD looks fine, most of the time, on my year-2000 64" CRT 1080i RPTV (16X9). Years back, before enhanced 480i=>1080i cable-box upconversion, I was really impressed with SD premium movie channels viewed at 480/60p (S-video with the set's Genesis-chip deinterlacing). Now I view all HD and SD at 1080i, 8' from the screen. Yup, that requires watching 1080i SD at 4X3 with gray side pillars from a SA8300HD cable box, but the side pillars effectively disappear--can be ignored--this close, and the 480i=>1080i upconversion usually 'smooths out' artifacts that might be noticed with 480i=>480p viewing. All-digital SD/HD cable channels aid the PQ, I find. -- John

Korean TVs are notoriously poor with their post processing circuitry (including deinterlacing and scaling). You get what you pay for when viewing SD on an HD or HD Ready TV.

Blocking and motion artifacts are usually a result of compression and degraded signals at the source (cableco).

That said, many sets only apply video processing to signals coming in on tuner, composite and S-Video inputs and pass through component and digital signals untouched. It's counterintuitive but have you tried those connections from the box?

The best SD on an HDTV I've personally seen was a Pioneer Elite 50" Plasma TV. The scaler in that TV is really top notch.

What other model HDTV's do you guys know of that has a scaler as good (if not better) than a Pioneer Elite? Do you think Plasma's handle SDTV better than LCD's? I know if I run my computer resolution less than 1280x1024, my 19" Dell LCD looks like crap. (Not that I would ever run at any resolution lower than that anyway).

Korean TVs are notoriously poor with their post processing circuitry (including deinterlacing and scaling). You get what you pay for when viewing SD on an HD or HD Ready TV.

Blocking and motion artifacts are usually a result of compression and degraded signals at the source (cableco).

That said, many sets only apply video processing to signals coming in on tuner, composite and S-Video inputs and pass through component and digital signals untouched. It's counterintuitive but have you tried those connections from the box?
yes i have tryed that, and that does help, but i still want to use JUST one connection for HD and SD and besides there are still artifacts over S-Video. Only way there are no artifacts are when i plug my cable DIRECTLY into my TV.

Does your TV have an internal QAM tuner? Even if it does, it would only get unencrypted digital channels unless you also have a cablecard. I suspect that your comparison of direct connection vs box connection is actually a comparison of analog vs digital. Does your cable systen use ADS? (simulcast of analog stations and an equivalent digital channel: for example a channel 10 is actually broadcast twice, the standard analog and a digital conversion)

If you are comparing analog vs digital, then the artifacts could be the normal result of reducing resolution and bitratres beyond reason by your cableco and there is nothing you can do about it. Digital cable does not mean better resolution. Quite the contrary, good analog can much better than SD digital cable. They use it because thay can squeeze 5 - 10 stations in the space formerly used by one analog channel. The tradeoff is a clean image with motion artifacts instead of a snowy or grainy picture with fewer artifacts. (digital processing elsewhere in their system can still produce the artifacts)

If you are actually comparing the box tuner vs TV tuner, then this would mean the TV has a better tuner than the box has, which is very possible, but I don't think this is what you are doing. To offer any more ideas, we'd need to know the tuner capabilities of your specific TV (QAM, CableCard, etc) and the particulars of the system being used by your cable company (ADS, QAM 256, QAM 64, resolution and bitrate of problem channels, etc)

Does your TV have an internal QAM tuner? Even if it does, it would only get unencrypted digital channels unless you also have a cablecard. I suspect that your comparison of direct connection vs box connection is actually a comparison of analog vs digital. Does your cable systen use ADS? (simulcast of analog stations and an equivalent digital channel: for example a channel 10 is actually broadcast twice, the standard analog and a digital conversion)

If you are comparing analog vs digital, then the artifacts could be the normal result of reducing resolution and bitratres beyond reason by your cableco and there is nothing you can do about it. Digital cable does not mean better resolution. Quite the contrary, good analog can much better than SD digital cable. They use it because thay can squeeze 5 - 10 stations in the space formerly used by one analog channel. The tradeoff is a clean image with motion artifacts instead of a snowy or grainy picture with fewer artifacts. (digital processing elsewhere in their system can still produce the artifacts)

If you are actually comparing the box tuner vs TV tuner, then this would mean the TV has a better tuner than the box has, which is very possible, but I don't think this is what you are doing. To offer any more ideas, we'd need to know the tuner capabilities of your specific TV (QAM, CableCard, etc) and the particulars of the system being used by your cable company (ADS, QAM 256, QAM 64, resolution and bitrate of problem channels, etc)I think im comparing analog (cable directly from my wall to my tv) vs Digital (cable from my wall to my box through HDMI to my TV) the analog has no artifacts but digital does. And i dont think i have a Qam tuner either so what is my best solution? I've seen cable look good on HDTVs before else where but I cant seem to fix my problem. :mad:

If the analog looks better and you'd prefer to watch those over the digital versions, split the incoming coax, with one lead going into the RF input on the display, and the other to the digital cable box, so you can view the digital channels not available in analog. You'll just have to switch inputs between the TV's tuner and the cable box to watch each.

thanks for the explanation Joxer. I knew it had to be going somewhere. I figured i would lose a few gig to partitions and such but that amount kind of threw me.

Again thanks for all the help everyone.

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