What is wrong with my hi-def picture?

[daigoro]

I have recently moved and reconnected my digital cable. I have the same HDTV (48" Mitsubishi) and the same hi-def cable box. But I have noticed a serious degredation in my HD picture quality. I mean, it still looks decent compared to a normal broadcast, but there seems to be a slight shift in the picture so that it looses that super-crisp look. Perhaps the red seems a bit blurry. I can really notice when I see people's eyes on screen; they look blurry.

I can only think of four possiblities. The TV was damaged in the move. The HD cable box was damaged in the move. There is something wrong with the signal coming in. Or there is something wrong with the cables.

Anyone have any suggestions or have a similar problem?

[edtyct]

If this is a CRT set, moving probably upset the convergence. If you've never adjusted convergence before, find it in the menu system and follow the instructions in your manual. Hopefully, the set offers enough points that you won't have to go into the service menu to bring back the clarity. That's my first guess.

Ed

[kexodusc]

I think Ed is right, even moving a tv around the room can sometimes upset the convergence. A lot of units have auto-convergence now. That's quick and easy to run and should tell you quick enough if that's the solution.

[daigoro]

I have a rear projection HDTV. I did get jarred a little bit in the move. I will check the menu when I get home to see if there is a fix there.

[recoveryone]

one other issue you may be facing is the fact that the cable line is not pure, If your cable line is use to input all TV's in the house or if you moved in a heavy conjested area (cable lines vs Customers) then that also could be the problem. But check you TV first, then have you cable company come out and run a seperate feed to your HD box. I was one of the first in my area to get one and that is what they did for me. They told me its the best way to keep a clean picture in HD (no signal loss to other TV's).

[Mr Peabody]

With cable of old I could see how that may be true but with digital I don't see how the signal strength could make any difference as long as it was strong enough for the box to get a reading. On the other hand, when my satelite dish was hooked up, which was all digital signal, they insisted on one dedicated line with no splitting. Satelite was also more concerned about what you done with your line than cable. Cable don't care if you run to another TV while the Dish people would be very upset, they want that additional money.

Anyone know how or why signal strength effects anything on DIGITAL cable or satelite?

[Geoffcin]

I have recently moved and reconnected my digital cable. I have the same HDTV (48" Mitsubishi) and the same hi-def cable box. But I have noticed a serious degredation in my HD picture quality. I mean, it still looks decent compared to a normal broadcast, but there seems to be a slight shift in the picture so that it looses that super-crisp look. Perhaps the red seems a bit blurry. I can really notice when I see people's eyes on screen; they look blurry.

I can only think of four possiblities. The TV was damaged in the move. The HD cable box was damaged in the move. There is something wrong with the signal coming in. Or there is something wrong with the cables.

Anyone have any suggestions or have a similar problem?

After checking your sets convergence you should have the cable company check the signal strength coming into the box. I have cable in 5 rooms of the house, and to make it all work without bringing in two lines I use a 15dB signal booster. It works great on the cable box, but be careful if you use it with a cable modem as it might be too much signal strength for it.

[Geoffcin]

Anyone know how or why signal strength effects anything on DIGITAL cable or satelite?

It looks like blocky "static" in the picture, along with the audio dropping out of Dolby Digital to analog. Also if there's a slow data transfer because of insufficient signal, things like the guide will take a long time to load.