MrNegativity
join:2006-11-24
Kent, WA
| Need help setting up Comcast HD box
Anyone else have an HD box for their HDTV? I got an HDTV four days ago but didn't have the HD cable box when the guy came out to set my TV up. He just told me that for the best picture I would need to get the HD cable box and an HDMI cable.
So I picked up the HD box with the HDMI input and set it all up, the picture looks horrible! I have tried everything I can think of to fix the picture, nothing is helping.
Am I set up wrong?:
1. Power cord is plugged into a surge bar where the TV is also plugged into.
2. Coax cable from the cable box RF IN to the TV.
3. HDMI cable from cable box to TV.
I also have an XBOX 360 set up on my TV and it looks great. The only thing that I can think that may be wrong is that I set up my cable box incorrectly or there's something wrong with the box itself.
Should I call Comcast? Could it be something wrong with the box itself? |
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owlyn
Premium,MVM
join:2004-06-05
Newtown, PA
clubs:
| You don't need and should not have an RF cable between the cable box and the TV. Get rid of it now. The HDMI cable carries picture and sound from the cable box to the TV. Make sure your TV knows it is expecting a signal from the HDMI cable (although most do this automatically). Make sure you have selected the HDMI input to watch. |
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gar187er
Premium Alcoholic
join:2006-06-24
Dover, DE | reply to MrNegativity
also your analog channels will look bad....its just what happens when you stretch out a picture that isnt designed to be.... |
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scanpa
Premium
join:2006-09-06
Lebanon, PA | Are you still having any problems? |
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gmw
@comcast.net
| reply to gar187er
Comcast analog channels don't necessarily look bad...the results can and do vary, depending on the 4:3 Override settings you establish during the cable box setup and the quality of the processing and scaling technology in the HDTV you purchase.
An HDTV's internal processing is one reason why some brands cost more than others.
If you have an HDTV with good internal scaling technology (such as a Pioneer plasma) your analog channels can look excellent -- IF you set the 4:3 Override on Comcast/Motorola's 6412 Phase III to Off! Why? Because the Motorola box has terrible internal processing and scaling (as does DirecTV's Satellite HD box). However, turn on the DirecTV or Motorola 4:3 Override and your HDTV's analog channels may well look worse -- even with a Pioneer plasma. Also, it is possible that you have an HDTV with internal scaling technology that is no better than Motorola's. If so, your SOL.
Finally, the quality of analog channels can fluctuate throughout the day on Comcast Cable -- especially if your local system is overloaded with too many users or if bandwidth is limited while your local cable network is being upgraded (going through the analog-to-digital conversion -- which is taking a couple of years here). In Sacramento, Comcast is still going through this painful change, and some analog channels are excellent one day and very poor the next. Heck, the signal quality even fluctuates throughout the day! Then again, on some days, those scaled up analog channels here look quite good -- even better than some of the overcompressed digital channels! No kidding! |
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