So I got DH a TV for Chirstmas and now all of our channels look terrible...?

[disneybound31]

We are one of the last to jump on board the flat screen LCD tv thing...for Christmas I gave on a got DH a 32 inch Samsung 720 hp(?) LCD tv and now all the channels that are not in 'DTV' (whatever that means...digital tv maybe) look absolutely terrible. Looks nothing like in Best Buy except when I get to some weird channels labled 'dtv' and they are perfect. But that is not every channel we watch- like FoodNetwork. FoodNetwork looks bad.

We have Comcast regular cable- not Digital, so is that our problem? Am I going to have to upgrade to 'better' and more expensive cable to see the picture? The channels that are not labled dtv look blurry and as if people are moving in slow motion- it is awful.

Does anyone understand what I am talking about? I let the tv auto setup the channels for me and now we have some (like the History 2 channel) that we never had before with the old tv and it is perfect in its look, but it also says 'dtv' beside the channel number. What does this mean?

Regular NBC looks terrible, but when I use the remote to scan through the channels I found a 'new' NBC labled 'dtv' (it is some weird channel number like 144-1 dtv) and it is perfect...so I am trying to figure out if my problem is that we have a new tv that cannot handle our crappy cable plan? We are not super savvy when it comes to electronic change so I don't have the right words to communicate about the problem- so that is why this is sooo terribly wordy.

Please help! I am very unhappy about spending several hundred $'s on a better tv and messing up our ability to watch tv with a clear picture. Please tell me this is an easy fix and I don't have to pay $200 a month for cable?!

 

[MommytoCaitlyn]

You need to upgrade your cable to high definition cable. It will be an additional expense per month. The cable guy will come out, do the upgrade, and can help you optimize your TV viewing.

 

[GillieRose]

My inlaws just bought us a tv for Christmas. My husband went to the cable company and they gave in a HDMI cable to hook in the cable box from the tv that fixed are problem. All the channels came in clear after that. We have some HD channels that come free but usually end up on the normal channels. The cable was free and easy to do.

 

[ilovejack02]

You don't always have to upgrade to high def cable ...


You need to see if you have an RG 6 coaxiel cable ( the cable wire ) .. if you don't you need to get one, it might help . My guess is you don't have one.

My parents don't have a hdtv cable box.. and they have a clear tv.. just not as clear as it would be with it .. such as what you saw in Best buy.

 

[disneybound31]

You need to upgrade your cable to high definition cable. It will be an additional expense per month. The cable guy will come out, do the upgrade, and can help you optimize your TV viewing.

Okay, but I looked on Comcast.com and I have a choice of "digital cable" (which is more expensive and better than what we have, but affordable for us and has 80 channels most of which say high definition beside them OR the choice is "high definition cable" which is WAY more expensive and more than we can afford and has about 200 channels that say high definition beside them.

So I probably just need to call them and have them come out? I soooo hate anytime I have to change of mess with the tv cable because it is never fixed properly the first time and takes months to get it set up. I think I just do not handle change very well

 

[disneybound31]

My inlaws just bought us a tv for Christmas. My husband went to the cable company and they gave in a HDMI cable to hook in the cable box from the tv that fixed are problem. All the channels came in clear after that. We have some HD channels that come free but usually end up on the normal channels. The cable was free and easy to do.

Oh, this sounds WAY better! So I need a special cable?! We do not have a cable box- we have a white cable that they installed coming from the wall when we had an internet/basic cable bundle installed a year ago. Up til then we still had dial-up so that was a huge change for us!

Can I run the HDMI cable from the wall cable socket to the tv and fix my problem then? I hate being so uneducated about these type things...

 

[ilovejack02]

Oh, this sounds WAY better! So I need a special cable?! We do not have a cable box- we have a white cable that they installed coming from the wall when we had an internet/basic cable bundle installed a year ago. Up til then we still had dial-up so that was a huge change for us!

Can I run the HDMI cable from the wall cable socket to the tv and fix my problem then? I hate being so uneducated about these type things...

HDMI cable is for a cable box if you have that ... which you don't : )

RG 6 cable is what you need ... I would bet you have rg 59 cable .. the better reception will come with the rg 6.. it is the main cable line running through the house. The cable company would have to come out and run a new line through the house.

It could be several things but easiest fix is cable box

 

[disneybound31]

You don't always have to upgrade to high def cable ...


You need to see if you have an RG 6 coaxiel cable ( the cable wire ) .. if you don't you need to get one, it might help . My guess is you don't have one.

My parents don't have a hdtv cable box.. and they have a clear tv.. just not as clear as it would be with it .. such as what you saw in Best buy.

What does an RG 6 coaxiel cable look like?

We do have quite a few channels a new, weird numbers that are just as clear and perfect as what we saw in Best buy but those channels are labled on the screen as 'dtv' channels...whereas our regular channels - i.e., nbc- is fuzzy and like in slo-mo....if I find 'dtv nbc' it is clear as a bell. But I want ALL my channels clear as a bell- not to have to scroll and search to see if we have a channel in 'dtv' each time I turn on the new tv. We spent hours on this last night after the kids went to bed and I found that about half of our channels have like a 'dtv twin' and come in great ,but I can only find them if I scroll through ALL the channels...I cannot just punch in 144-1 on the remote and find it.

Then the OTHER half of our channels have no 'dtv' twin and we would just have to suffer and struggle to watch them and get blinding headaches like the one I had last night after trying to watch the news in fuzzy slo-mo.

 

[ilovejack02]

What does an RG 6 coaxiel cable look like?

We do have quite a few channels a new, weird numbers that are just as clear and perfect as what we saw in Best buy but those channels are labled on the screen as 'dtv' channels...whereas our regular channels - i.e., nbc- is fuzzy and like in slo-mo....if I find 'dtv nbc' it is clear as a bell. But I want ALL my channels clear as a bell- not to have to scroll and search to see if we have a channel in 'dtv' each time I turn on the new tv. We spent hours on this last night after the kids went to bed and I found that about half of our channels have like a 'dtv twin' and come in great ,but I can only find them if I scroll through ALL the channels...I cannot just punch in 144-1 on the remote and find it.

Then the OTHER half of our channels have no 'dtv' twin and we would just have to suffer and struggle to watch them and get blinding headaches like the one I had last night after trying to watch the news in fuzzy slo-mo.

okie , im getting it now . you will have to watch the DTV channels now .. ... those are your new channels now .. you won't get the others back in clear most likely . I don't know why you cant just punch in the numbers once you learn them . TO get a bigger selection of channels in the digital signal you will need the box.

 

[disneybound31]

HDMI cable is for a cable box if you have that ... which you don't : )

RG 6 cable is what you need ... I would bet you have rg 59 cable .. the better reception will come with the rg 6.. it is the main cable line running through the house. The cable company would have to come out and run a new line through the house.

It could be several things but easiest fix is cable box

Okay, I hate being so uneducated about this- but how do I get my hands on a cable box and then what is it I do with it?

Comcast has run a thick, white cable from our TV in the bedroom to my computer at the desk in the bedroom and I think it is for my highspeed internet and our cable plan did not change as far as channels or quality.

When the whole changeover from regular broadcast to digital broadcast happened a few years ago it did not affect us (back when they said everyone would need to get a cable box or if you had rabbit ears it would not work or whatever) I think because we have always had the old-fashioned type of tv with the huge back. We have NEVER owned a flat screen led or lcd type tv and our picture has always looked just fine.

I believe all that hoopla was to avoid picture problem we are now having, correct?

The government was providing vouchers for people to get cable boxes at a discount so the picture could adapt to the new regulations? Am I anywhere close to being right?

So now we are those people who need a cable box to fix our picture tuning problem? Correct?

Here is my fear: that I will call Comcast and with my inablility to communicate using the correct lingo I will get hosed and end up paying for service that we do not need when this may very well be fixable in an easier and less expensive way.

 

[ilovejack02]

Cable comapny will come set your box up if you don't know how to do it . They will charge for it .

You can just go pick up box and hook up yourself, they will tell you how to do it, very easy . They will give you the cables you need .

You shouldn't get hosed, just tell them you want the basic hd channels... no extras easy peasy.

You will be amazed at how much clearer your channels will be .. yes they will be differernt numbers . Eventually your old tv will go out if it hasn't yet and you will have to do this one day regardless.

 

[disneybound31]

okie , im getting it now . you will have to watch the DTV channels now .. ... those are your new channels now .. you won't get the others back in clear most likely . I don't know why you cant just punch in the numbers once you learn them . TO get a bigger selection of channels in the digital signal you will need the box.

Yes, I fear so. I told DH that I could sit up for another 4 hours and write down all the new, weird channel numbers that correspond with the channels we watch and make ourselves our own 'tv guide' to use ...except that we dont GET all the channels we watch and pay for in that weird digital dtv mode...so that is upetting. Disney channel has no digital signal, foodnetwork, TBS and there are more. I would love to sit and manually remove the fuzzy and keep the digital clea ones, but then we would only have about 14 channels and would never be able to see the other 10 we watch regularly and pay for.

He was able to watch the Bowl game broadcast on NBC last night on the weird digital NBC that I found by scrolling with the remote channel button for like 15 minutes, so he was happy. But then when I tried to watch the 11pm news on ABC I could not because I could not find a digital counterpart and my head was splitting in two from the eye strain of trying to suffer through the regular ABC channel.

 

[disneybound31]

Cable comapny will come set your box up if you don't know how to do it . They will charge for it .

You can just go pick up box and hook up yourself, they will tell you how to do it, very easy . They will give you the cables you need .

Thank you- I will try this tomorrow. You really are helping me to understand this better and I appreciate your help very much. DH and I were about to kill each other trying to understand the problem and he knows I HATE dealing with the cable company.

I have written down your advice and helpful info and will call them and try to sort it out tomorrow.

Thank you again. Seriously! And I will happily take any other electronic help anyone is willing to offer. I am so in the dark!

 

[ilovejack02]

Thank you- I will try this tomorrow. You really are helping me to understand this better and I appreciate your help very much. DH and I were about to kill each other trying to understand the problem and he knows I HATE dealing with the cable company.

I have written down your advice and helpful info and will call them and try to sort it out tomorrow.

Thank you again. Seriously! And I will happily take any other electronic help anyone is willing to offer. I am so in the dark!

LOL ill thank my hubby for you , i was sitting here asking him all the questions. Im sorry couldn't explain it a bit better . Just tell the cable company the issue, they should be able to help, just tell them you want a basic cable package, no big extras.. unless there is something you want specifically. You prob can look up the packages online before calling. Good luck !

 

[WheelCEO]

I have comcast digital cable with the hd option. The HD option itself is only $10/month extra where I live (south florida). The low # channels are the regular channels and all of the HD channels are high 300's on up. Also, invest in the HDMI cables, but you have to make sure your box has the hdmi inputs.

 

[DawnM]

Do you have an antenna at all?

I would first hook up your new TV to an antenna and see if you get clearer channels.

If you don't have the right cables running through your walls and you want them in your walls you may be out of luck.....they are very pricey to rip out from the walls. If they aren't in your walls it will be easier to get them replaced.

 

[seashoreCM]

The government subsidized tuner (channel selector) boxes are for reception over the air using an antenna only; those boxes are not used or needed for cable TV.

The subsidized boxes are all non-high-definition. They are meant for older TV sets although they will work on flat panel sets also. Non-subsidized boxes are available for hi-def TV sets that don't have modern (ATSC) tuners.

The extra boxes are also not needed for TV sets manufactured in the past couple of years.

If you have a splitter in the coax line going to your TV try making a direct connection without the splitter. Sometimes the cable system doesn't deliver enough signal strength for two TV sets.

If your new TV is somewhat larger than your old TV, the shortcomings of non-hi-def channels will be much easier to see.

Non-hi-def channels on a cable system can be any of the following:
1. Analog to begin with, analog through the cable system.
2. Analog to begin with, digital through the cable system.
3. Digital to begin with, analog through the cable system.
4. Digital to begin with, digital through the cable system.
The first 3 categories have a high likelihood of being not that clear. If you connect to the yellow jack behind the TV, all 4 categories have a high likelihood of not being that clear. Channels that show a "DTV" logo are (should be) digital to begin with.

 

[torinsmom]

Just go up to Comcast and tell them you want a cable converter box for a new HDTV. They will give you the box and I believe they will also give you the HDMI cable to connect the box to the tv. The cable coming out of the wall will connect to the back of the converter box and then the HDMI cable will connect the box to the tv. The box should come with instructions, and the tv may have instructions as well. It is not hard at all, and I would not pay the cable people to do it. If you need help, find a neighbor in the 16-24 age range and they will do it in 5 minutes, LOL

 

[Nayan]

First tell them that you want an HD converter box.

If they do not give you an HDMI cable (some companies do, mine did not), go to WalMart and buy a 6 foot long HDMI cable. DO NOT spend more than $20 on it. You don't need a fancy one.

HDMI is easy to hook up. Just plug one end into your new TV (both ends are the same) and the other end into your new HD cable box. Unhook the cable from your TV and connect it to your cable box. Plug in your cable box and turn it on. Tune your TV to channel 3. You should now have HD channels (you can always go to Comcast's website and pull up a channel guide).

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We just purchased a plasma HDTV. We have Comcast - basic and expanded basic cable. We only used a digital coverter box on all the TV's till now. For the new TV--I called comcast to ask what package would work with an HD Tv? Currently we pay $65ish for the basix/expanded basic cable. We upgraded to their digital package for $85ish -which also includes the basic and expanded basic channels. The new cable box is $8 a month. The new cable box does come with an HDMI cable- very easy hook up. We have not programmed the cable box to control the TV yet-( ie turn on/off TV, volume control). we r just using the 2 remotes. So far we can't see the difference btwn HD and reg channels.

good luck!