[breynoldsitt]

I have had 3 different charter hd boxes and they all had the same problem. the regular analog channels, 2-99 look like crap. they have severe static and pixilization. the hd channels look like direct v or dish network regular digital channels. not even as good as a standard DVD. the hd channels also cant seem to handle fast movement on screen. does anybody else have this issue?

 

[sitlet]

the problem you are having with the SD channels sounds like you dont have enough signal strength. call comcast and have them send a tech out to measure the strength going to your box. they may be able to just look at the cable box's menus to get that depending on what model box you have.

Quote:
the hd channels also cant seem to handle fast movement on screen.

thats a problem with comcast compressing the hell out of the HD channels. My cable company doesnt compress a whole lot, but my friend has comcast, and i am amazed at how much worse the same channels are on comcast.


on a related note, how is the box connected to the tv? are you sure the settings are correct on the box to output hd? are you sure the tv is getting the hd signal? do you have the tv's "wide" settings correct?

 

[HDMI Guy]

Is the box connected to the Tv with HDMI or component???

 

[breynoldsitt]

i looked in the diagnostics menu and it says signal strength is 19

 

[breynoldsitt]

im using hdmi but if i switch to component the sd signal looks better and the hd is worse

 

[breynoldsitt]

the box is set to 1080i output and the tv has 2 settings, regular and full hd. full hd seems to zoom in and loose so much of the picture you cant even see the channel name display at the bottom. full hd does seem to improve the picture quality but i cant see all of charters menu because it cuts it off

 

[Ken H]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sitlet /forum/post/18180510


thats a problem with comcast compressing the hell out of the HD channels. My cable company doesnt compress a whole lot, but my friend has comcast, and i am amazed at how much worse the same channels are on comcast.

This is a generalization that may or may not apply to the area in question.


In most all areas, Comcast passes local HD without additional compression in 2:1 QAM, and they also pass some national HD channels, like ESPN & TNT, without additional compression in 2:1 QAM.


Other Comcast HD channels are 3:1 QAM, which come from Comcast Media Center, and can look very good depending on the state of the system they are being viewed on.


Other cablecos, like Cablevision and WOW, use 4:1 QAM.


In A/B comparisons between Comcast and DirecTV that I've seen, Comcast looks better on all HD, especially the locals and 2:1 QAM channels. Again, this may depend on the Comcast area you are viewing in. And of course it may change when DirecTV gets it's new satellite operational this spring.

 

[breynoldsitt]

I got a tivo hd and had them put 2 cable cards in it and everything looks much better now. apparently the charter hd boxes suck.