Im not satisifed with how cable looks... - Blu-ray Forum

GOAT · 12-17-2009, 03:31 AM

So I just bought a 46'' Sony Bravia... all my blus look AMAZING... my cable on the other hand leaves something to be desired. I know the cable wires are HD (from Time Warner.. we used to have dish with the 32'' TV and it looked like crap too)

What can I do to improve this? Is it something easy with the settings? Calibration?

I know it can look better though as ive seen it at the bar and friends homes.

THANKS

progers13 · 12-17-2009, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOAT

So I just bought a 46'' Sony Bravia... all my blus look AMAZING... my cable on the other hand leaves something to be desired. I know the cable wires are HD (from Time Warner.. we used to have dish with the 32'' TV and it looked like crap too)

What can I do to improve this? Is it something easy with the settings? Calibration?

I know it can look better though as ive seen it at the bar and friends homes.

THANKS

Are you sure you're watching HD programming? Cable won't look as good as your blus, but it shouldn't be that far of a drop off either (by the way you've described it).

GOAT · 12-17-2009, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by progers13

Are you sure you're watching HD programming? Cable won't look as good as your blus, but it shouldn't be that far of a drop off either (by the way you've described it).

According to TW... they came out here to install HD wiring. I played with some settings and I think ESPN looks really good now, but other channels are still kind of bleh.

progers13 · 12-17-2009, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOAT

According to TW... they came out here to install HD wiring. I played with some settings and I think ESPN looks really good now, but other channels are still kind of bleh.

They may have hooked it up correctly, but if you're tuning in to the SD channels instead of the HD channels you'll see a big difference.

I don't know the channel numbering scheme in your area, but in my area the SD channels range from 1 - 199. The HD channels range from 600 - 799. Also, the program description that pops up on your screen should tell you if it is the HD channel (ex. 707 - ESPNHD).

Verify that part of it first, as that was what I had wrong with my first HD set back in 2004.

GOAT · 12-17-2009, 04:02 AM

hmm... the TV in LR (32'') is hooked up to digital cable... I can get that to go to the digital channels just fine... however my TV (the 46'') wont go that high because im guessing i dont have the digital cable package in here... ARG I dont want to pay for the extra channels but want the HD, guess I will be making a call tomorrow! Thanks and I will keep you updated

progers13 · 12-17-2009, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOAT

hmm... the TV in LR (32'') is hooked up to digital cable... I can get that to go to the digital channels just fine... however my TV (the 46'') wont go that high because im guessing i dont have the digital cable package in here... ARG I dont want to pay for the extra channels but want the HD, guess I will be making a call tomorrow! Thanks and I will keep you updated

Sounds like that should take care of it for you. I have the 52" Bravia. Cable looks good on the HD channels. You should be satisfied once you're able to access them.

K_Williamson42 · 12-17-2009, 04:41 AM

get directv

350gt · 12-17-2009, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K_Williamson42

get directv

+2

TW sucks ass.....I cant wait to get rid of their phone and internet...

Oh and to me, I cant bare to watch SD channels on either of my Tv's. Its just horrible and cant wait to all the channels are in HD. Regardless if it was on TW or direct...

doctorsteve · 12-17-2009, 05:52 AM

You may need to swap out the cable box. If, when you signed up, you did not have an HD set - you may have been given a tuner that did not have HD capability

This happened to me.

Once I got my Bravia, I took my original cable box in, they gave me a HD capable one (at no additional charge), and after running the setup function (to tell the box what settings your TV is capable of - eg. 1080i, 1080p, 720p, 480i, etc.) everything was fine.

The only channel that looks like crap is VS. (Versus) for Sabres games. It sucks arse. Home games are on the Sabres channel though and are crystal clear, like you're at the game... Not sure why people are down on TWC. It's just frikken fine here in Buffaluffalo...

Cheers,

Doc

cembros · 12-17-2009, 06:25 AM

make sure that you have your tv tuned to the correct input. Many times the cable company will hook both the coax cable and the component cables to the tv. You will not receive hd from the former. I have seen this happen many times.

Oat07 · 12-17-2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cembros

make sure that you have your tv tuned to the correct input. Many times the cable company will hook both the coax cable and the component cables to the tv. You will not receive hd from the former. I have seen this happen many times.

Actually, you can recieve HD via coax. Thats what an antenna hocked to an HDTV is basically. In my area with comcast, I was able to run the coax directly into to tv and tune into the HD channels available without subscribing to any packages. Unfortunately, my TV did not place the channels in the proper place so I ended up getting an HD cable tuner and using the HDMI connection. I am not sure if the HD cable boxes will transmit HD via the coax, but component and HDMI will work.

Fors* · 12-17-2009, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOAT

hmm... the TV in LR (32'') is hooked up to digital cable... I can get that to go to the digital channels just fine... however my TV (the 46'') wont go that high because im guessing i dont have the digital cable package in here... ARG I dont want to pay for the extra channels but want the HD, guess I will be making a call tomorrow! Thanks and I will keep you updated

Keep in mind that there are still some compression issues with certain channels, so you will still see some HD channels as superior in PQ than others......it is not your TV, it is the cable company and/or the broadcast channel that is creating the poorer PQ.

My_Two_Cents · 12-17-2009, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOAT

According to TW... they came out here to install HD wiring. I played with some settings and I think ESPN looks really good now, but other channels are still kind of bleh.

There is no "HD wiring". HD channels are available through your cable company in two ways (at least this is how it works with Insight).

1) Direct cable into your set (no box) - You will receive OTA HD channels (ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, PBS, etc) that are available locally. That's it. These channels will display as XX.X for the channel numbers. You will not get "cable" HD channels like TBS, TNT, ESPN, etc. You'll need an HD converter box for those.

2) HD cable box - If you pay for HD cable and the converter box, you will get a variety of HD channels that are offered by your cable company.

Don't get HD confused with digital cable. They are not the same thing. Digital cable is still just SD quality and looks (in a lot of cases) like crap on an HD set.

digitalfilmlover · 12-17-2009, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOAT

hmm... the TV in LR (32'') is hooked up to digital cable... I can get that to go to the digital channels just fine... however my TV (the 46'') wont go that high because im guessing i dont have the digital cable package in here... ARG I dont want to pay for the extra channels but want the HD, guess I will be making a call tomorrow! Thanks and I will keep you updated

Is the box hooked up via HDMI? That will make a difference...

My_Two_Cents · 12-17-2009, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalfilmlover

Is the box hooked up via HDMI? That will make a difference...

Hardly.

progers13 · 12-17-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalfilmlover

Is the box hooked up via HDMI? That will make a difference...

I disagree. On the Bravia 46" set, component and HDMI will be nearly indistinguishable. The OP realized the problem is that he was running SD channels. Once he gets his HD box today he'll be good to go.

digitalfilmlover · 12-17-2009, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by progers13

I disagree. On the Bravia 46" set, component and HDMI will be nearly indistinguishable. The OP realized the problem is that he was running SD channels. Once he gets his HD box today he'll be good to go.

I own a Bravia 46" and it makes a NOTICEABLE difference. You can disagree all you want. But, I can clearly see a difference on my set.

digitalfilmlover · 12-17-2009, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Hardly.

How so? I've used both...

progers13 · 12-17-2009, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalfilmlover

I own a Bravia 46" and it makes a NOTICEABLE difference. You can disagree all you want. But, I can clearly see a difference on my set.

Maybe if you're sitting 2 feet from the screen. I've got the 52" of the same set, and from 10 feet away the picture looks the same. I can clearly see the difference between 720p and 1080 (namely on ESPN) much more so than HDMI or Component.

digitalfilmlover · 12-17-2009, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by progers13

Maybe if you're sitting 2 feet from the screen. I've got the 52" of the same set, and from 10 feet away the picture looks the same. I can clearly see the difference between 720p and 1080 (namely on ESPN) much more so than HDMI or Component.

Well, there's numerous factors to take into account. It just depends. I can speak for my set and I offered what worked for me. It may not be the same for everyone especially TW's cable customers.

12-17-2009, 03:31 AM	#1
GOAT Banned Member since:Oct 2008 Location:Maine Blu-ray collection:112 Blu-ray reviews:10 Trading Score:53	Im not satisifed with how cable looks... So I just bought a 46'' Sony Bravia... all my blus look AMAZING... my cable on the other hand leaves something to be desired. I know the cable wires are HD (from Time Warner.. we used to have dish with the 32'' TV and it looked like crap too) What can I do to improve this? Is it something easy with the settings? Calibration? I know it can look better though as ive seen it at the bar and friends homes. THANKS

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12-17-2009, 04:02 AM	#5
GOAT Banned Member since:Oct 2008 Location:Maine Blu-ray collection:112 Blu-ray reviews:10 Trading Score:53	hmm... the TV in LR (32'') is hooked up to digital cable... I can get that to go to the digital channels just fine... however my TV (the 46'') wont go that high because im guessing i dont have the digital cable package in here... ARG I dont want to pay for the extra channels but want the HD, guess I will be making a call tomorrow! Thanks and I will keep you updated

12-17-2009, 04:41 AM	#7
K_Williamson42 Active Member Member since:Oct 2008 Home Theater Gallery:2 Blu-ray collection:418 Trading Score:16	get directv

12-17-2009, 05:52 AM	#9
doctorsteve Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Apr 2007 Location:Tonawanda, NY Home Theater Gallery:15 Blu-ray collection:188 Blu-ray reviews:16	You may need to swap out the cable box. If, when you signed up, you did not have an HD set - you may have been given a tuner that did not have HD capability This happened to me. Once I got my Bravia, I took my original cable box in, they gave me a HD capable one (at no additional charge), and after running the setup function (to tell the box what settings your TV is capable of - eg. 1080i, 1080p, 720p, 480i, etc.) everything was fine. The only channel that looks like crap is VS. (Versus) for Sabres games. It sucks arse. Home games are on the Sabres channel though and are crystal clear, like you're at the game... Not sure why people are down on TWC. It's just frikken fine here in Buffaluffalo... Cheers, Doc

12-17-2009, 06:25 AM	#10
cembros Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Blu-ray collection:456 Trading Score:4	make sure that you have your tv tuned to the correct input. Many times the cable company will hook both the coax cable and the component cables to the tv. You will not receive hd from the former. I have seen this happen many times.

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