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is it my tv or my cable box

post #1 of 10
8/11/08 at 11:11am
Thread Starter 
i bought an LG 42PG20 plasma tv about 3 weeks ago and im happy with it so far but over the weekend i noticed that when watching tv moving stuff seemed blurry and even pixelated at times. i have an upconverting dvd player that i watched cars on with my son and didnt see it nor was it apparent withmy xbox. i tried switching inputs and hdmi cables and even tried reconnecting the cable box with component hd cables but its still not crisp during moving pictures, but it still looks good when its still stuff. my question is could this be an issue with my tv or is it the cable box? i have a limited window with which i can return the tv so any help is invaluable. thanks in advance , ed
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post #2 of 10
8/11/08 at 12:03pm
.. can you adjust your cable box's settings; does switching to another, either 720p or 1080i work better w/ compressed signals??
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post #3 of 10
8/11/08 at 2:23pm
Basically the problem is that the HD channels are highly compressed. It's not really the fault of either the TV or cable box -- they're doing their best to work with bit starved signals.

If it's really bugging you, you might want to switch to a different provider. People are usually very happy with FIOS, if that's available in your area.
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post #4 of 10
8/11/08 at 2:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisherbert View Post

Basically the problem is that the HD channels are highly compressed. It's not really the fault of either the TV or cable box -- they're doing their best to work with bit starved signals.

If it's really bugging you, you might want to switch to a different provider. People are usually very happy with FIOS, if that's available in your area.

so why didnt i notice it before now? oh well i guess it doesnt matter, im kind of relieved its somewhat normal and not just a bad panel.


*EDIT* ok just one more quick question. when i first set up the digital box it asks me to click on the formats i can see if id like to save them. which of those formats should i save? all of them? also when i go to the settings menu for the digital box it has 4 display options...
1 - upconverting 1
2 - upconverting 2
3 - auto dvi
4 - fixed
what setting should that be set to? sorry if i posted this in the wrong forum but im pretty new to this site
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post #5 of 10
8/11/08 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by edthepimp View Post

so why didnt i notice it before now? oh well i guess it doesnt matter, im kind of relieved its somewhat normal and not just a bad panel.


*EDIT* ok just one more quick question. when i first set up the digital box it asks me to click on the formats i can see if id like to save them. which of those formats should i save? all of them? also when i go to the settings menu for the digital box it has 4 display options...
1 - upconverting 1
2 - upconverting 2
3 - auto dvi
4 - fixed
what setting should that be set to? sorry if i posted this in the wrong forum but im pretty new to this site

Auto DVI is probably best, but first go into the initial setup menu (turn off box, then press GUIDE and INFO at the same time on the box itself, not the remote). Choose the advanced menu then enable 480i, 720p and 1080i.

How big was your old TV? Was it HD? If it was significantly smaller and not HD then you probably wouldn't have noticed the compression artifacts.

There also may be settings that will help mask the compression. I prefer the "movie" preset -- then turn sharpness all the way down. Turn off all other image enhancement features.
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post #6 of 10
8/11/08 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisherbert View Post

Auto DVI is probably best, but first go into the initial setup menu (turn off box, then press GUIDE and INFO at the same time on the box itself, not the remote). Choose the advanced menu then enable 480i, 720p and 1080i.

How big was your old TV? Was it HD? If it was significantly smaller and not HD then you probably wouldn't have noticed the compression artifacts.

There also may be settings that will help mask the compression. I prefer the "movie" preset -- then turn sharpness all the way down. Turn off all other image enhancement features.

yeah the old tv was a 32 inch and not hd. thanks for your help. im pretty clueless when it comes to this stuff but im trying to learn by trolling the forums. thanks for all your help
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post #7 of 10
8/11/08 at 4:41pm
Just a quick question. Is the cable box you are using an HD cable box or just a digital cable box? If its not an HD box upgrade to the HD package with the cable company.
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post #8 of 10
8/11/08 at 4:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by edthepimp View Post

watching tv moving stuff seemed blurry and even pixelated at times.

If you have an antenna, you could connect to your RF input
and watch HD OTA.

If the blurriness goes away, you'll have proven it's your service.
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post #9 of 10
8/11/08 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
it is an hd cable box and i dont have an antenna so the OTA idea is sort of shot i guess.
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post #10 of 10
8/11/08 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by edthepimp View Post

it is an hd cable box and i dont have an antenna so the OTA idea is sort of shot i guess.

How close are you to the digital broadcasting towers? An "HD" antenna is cheap and if your within say 30 miles you should be able to pull in the local digital/HD channels so you can compare the picture quality to your cable. I can get ALL my locals with a pair of cheap $4 VHF/UHF rabbit ears, and i'm 29 miles from the towers.

You should set your cable box to output all the channels at their native resolution (ie: ABC and FOX at 720p, and 1080i for all the other channels).
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