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I just bought the latest 40” Sony XBR2 LCD TV. It’s great. Digital channels look amazing. It’s the non digital channels that are fuzzy. For example: Spongebob Squarepants is fuzzy, Pokemon, and all the other shows my kids like to watch.I did not plug the new tv into the cable box. I just went from the wall to the tv. My question is: Will switching my old cable box for a digital one make the other channels clearer?
Or is it a matter of time before most of the other channels become digital and I should just wait?
TIA!
Godzilla
Follow Ups:
You're just seeing the lower res Standard Definition image after the analog-to-digital conversion compounded by the additional video filters in the box, then expanded on a larger screen. Some of my SD channels can be so murky on my 53" screen that they're unwatchable.Jack G is right on target about using a direct analog feed for SD if you can. However, some providers digitize the "midrange" channels so you may need the box for them. I have Time Warner cable and must use the box for all channels above 99. My Pioneer TV has 6 inputs, so I have a splitter ahead of the box and connected to the 'antenna' input on the TV. I get a substantially better image on several SD channels on the straight-thru connection.
I have, though, noticed over the past few months that some of the SD channels have substantially improved their image quality; often its almost HD quality. I'm sure how they get SD to look so good, but can be amazing. Its mainly those cable networks who produce their own content; Discovery, Nat'l Geo, etc. I don't know whether this is because those networks have improved their source image feeds or perhaps because Time Warner has a cleaner system than our old provider whom they bought out.
He has a digital tuner in his TV, so he can get any unblocked digital channels his service offers. If nothing else, he'll probably get his local HD channels without a box (I do), quite possibly more. Boxes tend to degrade the signal-a cable card is worth a thought, if his cable company offers them.
Jack
Let me ask... if i don't get a box and continue to use the tuner built into the tv, will other channels, over time, become digital giving me the better picture quality?
That will depend on your provider as to whether or not they will let you have them. For example, Comcast in my area was playing around with digital simulcasts of all of their analog channels. I got all of them with my set. I didn't get any new channels, just digital versions of the analog channels I got. They since stopped doing that, and even people with boxes aren't getting them. If I had to *guess*, I would say you would get the standard channels digitized without a box, when that happens. Have you done a scan, to see just how many channels you can get with the cable hooked directly to the TV? You might be surprised.
Jack
It will depend on the channel,and your cable company. Some analog channels are OK, but many like sci-fi are crap. Not all digital channels are great either-some are still SD, others are just upscaled SD broadcast as (pseudo)HD. Have you found a true HD picture yet?
I don't know what service you get, but you really only need the box to get premium channels. Since you have both a digital and analog tuner in your TV, you can get quite a few channels directly without the box.
Jack
has noted is that the imposition of the digital programs on the same line as the analog signal simultaneously tends to add a 'haze' to the upper channels of the analog. Apparently the digital signal intermodulated with the analog at the upper freuqencies.
Stu
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