Vizio LCD and Standard Cable Problems. Upgrade needed?
Question:
I recently bought a 37" Vizio LCD. I was very surprised at how well my xbox 360 looked, and how well DVDs looked, but I am on standard cable and no matter how much I tweak the picture settings, it looks like crap.
I was wondering if upgrading to digital cable, or digital HD through comcast would be an improvement over standard cable? I can't stand watching cable anymore, as the picture looks horrible.
I would rather get just digital, since there arent many HD channels yet, but I would still like to know what would look best on the TV.
Thanks.
Answer:
HD will look great, but that won't change your favorite stations or the TV shows recorded in Low Definition...
It's going to be a few years before the MAIN stations on Cable upgrade their systems to DIGITAL..yes, Digital - not Digital HD..
You see, the FCC has no Power over Cable or Satellite or TV stations NOT TRANSMITTING over the airwaves.only over the stations in your local area that transmit thru the air.
SO.A&E, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Nickolodeon, ESPN.they don't have to switch over if they don't want to, AND they don't have to even go HD at all..
But you notice that ESPN does have an HD channel.as does Discovery...they'll do the digital upgrade if and when they want...
So that means..enjoy your TV as it is.you'll get used to it.
Join the club. Everyone has this problem. You need to upgrade to digital cable and HD service.
What you are seeing is a side-effect of upscaling a 480i signal to 720p or 1080i or 1080p, whatever the native resolution of your TV is.
For those people who are not planning on upgrading to digital cable or HD service, I advise them to stick with a old-fashion tube CRT TV. It will look sharper than a HDTV.
On the back of your vizio their should be two coaxial jacks one Cable antenna one digital, turn off your T.V hook your standard cable line to the digital jack then turn the T.V back on, now press the HDMI button on your remote till the T.V says DTV now press menu then scroll over to DTV TUNER SETUP now make sure cable/air/auto is set to auto then go down to scan and press ok a few minutes later u should have some digital channels, you can also use a splitter so u can have standard cable plus the digital channels.boo-yah!
I do know that Comcast charges less than $10 per month for HD and they do replace your receiver. Where I live Comcast provides horrible HD signals. I wouldn't even watch the last pay per view fight at a Comcast neighbor's house because the picture is pathethic for HD. I recomend that you investigate Directv... I've had them for 9 years, two with HD sercice. Believe me, there is plenty on HD including my local stations, HD only channels and HD HBO and Showtime. 800-directv.
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