BloodRed Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Ok, well on Thursday night, while driving home from the parents places for Thanksgiving, my wife says she wants to see about us getting a new, bigger TV. I am like, ok, no problem with me. Well with out doing much more than looking at prices on line, we went into Circuit City on Saturday and picked up a 40" Sony Bravia 1080p (biggest that would fit in our entertainment center) for $1200. So we get home and I hook things up and I have been dissappointed in how bad things look on the screen. DVD's and the Wii look great (hooked up with composite cables), but regular TV sometimes looks really blocky. I have Insight digital cable and I have tried both using the coax cable and RCA hook up without much luck. My cable box does not have S-Video outlet or composite hook ups. So any suggestions on what I should do to make my picture better? Should I upgrade to the HD service? My friends have the DVR box and they said that box has the composite hook ups? I really don't need the DVR, but if it is cheaper than HD service, I may go with that. So any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAOLE Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 First of all regular cable service will look terrible on that TV. They don't tell you that at the store before you buy them. Secondly if you are using composite cables you are using right and left audio and then a single cable for video. All the the video is compressed onto the single cable resulting in poor video quality. Need to use at least an RGB video cable and separate audio. This is what I use and the picture in HD is great. Better yet use an HDMI cable for your video. The only reason I did not use HDMI is because I needed about a 75' cable for my custom install and I did not want to pay $300 for a cable that long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morabu Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 i'm pretty sure you mean "component" hook-ups = red, green, blue composite is rca = red, white, yellow anyway, a box with component hook-ups will help, as well as calibrating your tv, and i would also recommend that you turn on mpeg smoothing and noise reduction, for your cable input only, if your tv supports it, don't use them for your dvd or game inputs though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodRed Posted November 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 For the DVD and Wii, I am using the RGB video cables. They look great. But yeah, my cable box only has the 3 wire RCA (Yellow, Red, White) and that doesn't look the best. Unfortunitly, I live in an apartment complex and only have Insight or Direct TV as options for cable service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAOLE Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 For the DVD and Wii, I am using the RGB video cables. They look great. But yeah, my cable box only has the 3 wire RCA (Yellow, Red, White) and that doesn't look the best. Unfortunitly, I live in an apartment complex and only have Insight or Direct TV as options for cable service. you need to upgrade your box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black00ws6 Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 , as well as calibrating your tv, How hard is this with a calibration DVD? Anyone know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 I had that problem with mine as well... I had to upgrade to HD in order to get a good picture... if you have an ATSC tuner in your TV, just get a TV antenna and use the over the air HD for your local channels... it looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffmeden Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 For a cheap fix, get a coax splitter and put it in before the cable box, then run a line into your TV's antenna/cable input. This will let you tune QAM (assuming your TV supports it) so you can watch the local OTA channels in HD by tuning them in with the TV. Then, go get an HD box from your cable co, preferably one with HDMI output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTurbo Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 I did not want to pay $300 for a cable that long. Ebay is your friend when buying stuff like this. I just picked up a brand new 30ft HDMI to DVI cable for $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAOLE Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Ebay is your friend when buying stuff like this. I just picked up a brand new 30ft HDMI to DVI cable for $20. And you got a $20 HDMI cable j/k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffmeden Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 HDMI cables? I missed that on the first pass. Monoprice.com is your friend, they have certified, in-wall capable cables at a fraction of the cost of retail stores. Also, HDMI carries digital audio along with the video, so you don't need a separate coax or optical audio line to get pristine sound. HDMI is well worth the investment (just spend your money at a place like monoprice, and NOT best buy or circuit city). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l36tols1 Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 How hard is this with a calibration DVD? Anyone know? Took me 2 hours! get it to look perfect on my t.v I just got the 47' lg best buy had for 1500 2 hours well spent though that was my first time so I'm sure a more experience person can get the t.v calibrated a lot faster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodRed Posted November 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 TV needs to be "calibrated?" What exactly is this? Sorry, this is really my first flat panel, HD TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 First of all regular cable service will look terrible on that TV. They don't tell you that at the store before you buy them. Secondly if you are using composite cables you are using right and left audio and then a single cable for video. All the the video is compressed onto the single cable resulting in poor video quality. Need to use at least an RGB video cable and separate audio. This is what I use and the picture in HD is great. Better yet use an HDMI cable for your video. The only reason I did not use HDMI is because I needed about a 75' cable for my custom install and I did not want to pay $300 for a cable that long. This is a bit cheaper I also have a 10% off code for that site if you are interested. I just ordered a 6 footer or something from them for my xbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodRed Posted November 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Well I found a website that reviews LCD TV's and they have a calibration set up for my TV. I am going to give it a shot tonight. If you check out the TV's that have been reviewed, they have a calibration set up. http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtvreviews/reviews.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black00ws6 Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Took me 2 hours! get it to look perfect on my t.v I just got the 47' lg best buy had for 1500 2 hours well spent though that was my first time so I'm sure a more experience person can get the t.v calibrated a lot faster Where did you get the calibration DVD from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Regular tv will always look horrible on a LCD tv because it is stretching the picture from a 4:3 letterbox picture into a 16:9 widescreen picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAOLE Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Where did you get the calibration DVD from? I 2nd that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 not necessarily. I have a 42" 1080P Panasonic Plasma in our bedroom and it looks great even running straight from the WOW cable / wall into the TV. It's not HD up there yet, but I'm getting my 65" 1080P for the family room delivered this week and am waiting to do the HD upgrade to WOW until I get it set up. Regular tv will always look horrible on a LCD tv because it is stretching the picture from a 4:3 letterbox picture into a 16:9 widescreen picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 not necessarily. I have a 42" 1080P Panasonic Plasma in our bedroom and it looks great even running straight from the WOW cable / wall into the TV. It's not HD up there yet, but I'm getting my 65" 1080P for the family room delivered this week and am waiting to do the HD upgrade to WOW until I get it set up. You think it looks great, but trust me, it really doesn't. It has nothing to do with what cable you have or anything, it is the ratio it is being broadcast in Unless you are watching it in 4:3 letterbox mode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAOLE Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 but I'm getting my 65" 1080P for the family room delivered this week and am waiting to do the HD upgrade to WOW until I get it set up. Baller! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 You think it looks great, but trust me, it really doesn't. It has nothing to do with what cable you have or anything, it is the ratio it is being broadcast in Unless you are watching it in 4:3 letterbox mode I never, EVER strech/zoom my picture. I hate the stretched out faces. My g/f does it on hers, but her Sony LCD Rear Projection does some deal where it progressively stretches + slightly zooms, so it doesn't stretch the center as much. It actually looks pretty good as far as a stretch picture is concerned. My Sony doesn't do that, and I'd still rather watch my 4:3 programs as 4:3 programs (though the majority of my regularly watched programming is in HD). BTW people, don't get too sold on the HDMI thing. I've seen TV's look WORSE with an HDMI signal than a component signal; all else being equal. I've seen it look slightly better before as well, and have seen off brand and older TV's that aren't HDCP compatiable not work at all thru HDMI / DVI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 get hd package, you will never be happier. don't stretch the picture of analog signal and it will clean up a bit but all standard def will look like ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morabu Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Where did you get the calibration DVD from? I 2nd that... Digital Video Essentials (my personal favorite) http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Video-Essentials-Combo-Disc/dp/B000IHYY3Y/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1196230104&sr=8-1 and the other 2 i also use Avia 2 - the original is what i use, but this update looks good http://www.amazon.com/Avia-II-Guide-Home-Theater/dp/B000X4NJNS/ref=pd_bbs_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1196230104&sr=8-5 Sound & Vision Home Theater Setup http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Vision-Home-Theater-Tune-Up/dp/B00005TRZA/ref=pd_bbs_9?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1196230104&sr=8-9 don't rent them through netflix or blockbuster, you need the color filters to fully setup i have done enough t.v.'s for friends and family now that i tend to take about 30-45 mins J.R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodRed Posted November 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Well last night I used the calibration set up from the website I listed above and it really helped a lot. Cleared up a lot of the problems I was having with it. I would suggest anyone trying out the set up they have listed on the website for your TV before I would attempt it on my own. Just my opinion. I am still going to make the appointment for Insight to come out and upgrade me to HD service. It is only going to cost me an extra $10 over the extra I already pay for the digital box plus I get the DVR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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