Question on watching nonHD non high resolution braodcasts on an HDTV

[hershon]

Sorry my typo/mistake its a 1080i picture. I have no idea of how the picture its connected by the cable people via the HD Digital box & HD DVR but I'm using component cables and getting a 1081i picture for the HD channels Time Warner carries. What I'm having trouble understanding/comprehending is: 1. A show like Star Trek Enterprise is broadcasting in HD on UPN (Channel 13) but Time Warner Cable does not have a UPN HD Channel only UPN 13( while say ABC HD is a seperate channel 1107 from ABC normal channel 7 and they broadcast the same show.). When I therefore watch Star Trek Enterprise on UPN 13 it appears the resolution is better than on my non HD TV but it is not HD per se as there are bars and not a full HD picture. I can live with this. However, on non HD broadcasts on non HD channels such as Sci Fi Channel 71 the picture on my 1081i screen is a bit distorted. I could get it much less distorted if I put it on a 480input but the way things are hooked up, I can't watch TV on the 480 input. Appologize if this sounds a tad confiusing, some of the terminology and reality of HDTV is new to me.

You can't get a HD picture through a composite connection. It is impossible. There is also no such thing as 1081 HD picture. Could you be talking about a 1080i HD picture? You would need to use a component or DVI connection to get that picture, not a composite connection. Your picture will be much better if you use a component or DVI connection.

[eisforelectronic]

Sorry my typo/mistake its a 1080i picture. I have no idea of how the picture its connected by the cable people via the HD Digital box & HD DVR but I'm using component cables and getting a 1081i picture for the HD channels Time Warner carries. What I'm having trouble understanding/comprehending is: 1. A show like Star Trek Enterprise is broadcasting in HD on UPN (Channel 13) but Time Warner Cable does not have a UPN HD Channel only UPN 13( while say ABC HD is a seperate channel 1107 from ABC normal channel 7 and they broadcast the same show.). When I therefore watch Star Trek Enterprise on UPN 13 it appears the resolution is better than on my non HD TV but it is not HD per se as there are bars and not a full HD picture. I can live with this. However, on non HD broadcasts on non HD channels such as Sci Fi Channel 71 the picture on my 1081i screen is a bit distorted. I could get it much less distorted if I put it on a 480input but the way things are hooked up, I can't watch TV on the 480 input. Appologize if this sounds a tad confiusing, some of the terminology and reality of HDTV is new to me.

First of all, in order for your cable provider to have an HD channel they need someone to provide that feed. So, in the case of UPN in your area, either the local affiliate is not broadcasting in HD or has not been able to work out a deal with the Cable company to carry that feed. Also many cable providers need to strike a delicate balance between keeping their current feeds and offering new services and channels. If a cable provider is going to carry a particular HD channel they need to make for damn sure people will be watching it because an Hd channel basically takes up the bandwidth of three SD digital channels.

As far as distortion on SD channels viewed through the component input on your TV, do you mean the picture is stretched in some way or are you seeing some sort of digital artifact occuring? Now the default output of the Scientific Atlanta HD DVR is 1080i. It does have a few picture settings you can choose, including 480i and p, 720p, as well as 1080i of course. The distortion you are seeing I think may have more to do with the cable boxes' own video processing. It is also not uncommon to see a little bit of macroblocking produced by the television as well. Could be a result of both factors possibly.

These are the directions for a regular HD box, I can only assume the setup process is the same for an HD DVR.

To set the picture options on the box, turn the box off, but keep the tv on. Press and hold "info" and "guide" at the same time on the front of the box. This should bring up the picture setup mode. Follow the on screen instructions to select the various modes your tv can display. Once you do this setup you should be able to access the different picture formats through the "settings" button on your remote.

[hershon]

Out of curiosity does Time Warner give you seperate HD channels of the WB & UPN?
In LA on the basic HD package we get ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Discovery & some education channel and because I get HBO & Showtime I can also see them on HD.
While I do watch some sports on ESPN, its not worth paying another $10 a month for HDNET as this becomes like a bottomless spending pit.

First of all, in order for your cable provider to have an HD channel they need someone to provide that feed. So, in the case of UPN in your area, either the local affiliate is not broadcasting in HD or has not been able to work out a deal with the Cable company to carry that feed. Also many cable providers need to strike a delicate balance between keeping their current feeds and offering new services and channels. If a cable provider is going to carry a particular HD channel they need to make for damn sure people will be watching it because an Hd channel basically takes up the bandwidth of three SD digital channels.

As far as distortion on SD channels viewed through the component input on your TV, do you mean the picture is stretched in some way or are you seeing some sort of digital artifact occuring? Now the default output of the Scientific Atlanta HD DVR is 1080i. It does have a few picture settings you can choose, including 480i and p, 720p, as well as 1080i of course. The distortion you are seeing I think may have more to do with the cable boxes' own video processing. It is also not uncommon to see a little bit of macroblocking produced by the television as well. Could be a result of both factors possibly.

These are the directions for a regular HD box, I can only assume the setup process is the same for an HD DVR.

To set the picture options on the box, turn the box off, but keep the tv on. Press and hold "info" and "guide" at the same time on the front of the box. This should bring up the picture setup mode. Follow the on screen instructions to select the various modes your tv can display. Once you do this setup you should be able to access the different picture formats through the "settings" button on your remote.

[eisforelectronic]

Out of curiosity does Time Warner give you seperate HD channels of the WB & UPN?
In LA on the basic HD package we get ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Discovery & some education channel and because I get HBO & Showtime I can also see them on HD.
While I do watch some sports on ESPN, its not worth paying another $10 a month for HDNET as this becomes like a bottomless spending pit.

Any HD channel will be separate from it's SD counterpart. Even though your HBO probably has the same programming on HD and SD, the cable company is getting them from HBO as two different feeds. Each individual broadcaster must put together their own Hd channel before the cable company can in turn provide said channel to their customers.

HDnet and ESPN are completely different networks. ESPN HD just launched here in Hawaii and it comes with any pre-existing HD package at no additional cost.

[Jonny Ice]

Well i know that iO Digital Cable by Cablevision gives you HD versions of whatever channels it carries in HD that you subscribe to...meaning if you subscribe to HBO then u get HBO-HD at no extra cost...you also get the normal guys: NBC, ABC, ESPN, etc in HD gratis...the problem is they dont have discovery theater yet!

[hershon]

I wrote before I thought, sorry about that. As you correctly said, there is and I have a seperate HD HBO and HD Showtime channel that's included free of charge in in my Time Warner package because I was already paying for them along with HD ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Discovery & some educational channel. Is this what's included in the Time Warner Hawai package? For some bizarre reason UPN (I loves that black TV, lol) and the WB are not part of the HD package here in LA. For another $10 or so I can get ESPN & a couple of HD Net movie channels, but this isn't worth my while (unless the NCAA basketball tournament is on).

Any HD channel will be separate from it's SD counterpart. Even though your HBO probably has the same programming on HD and SD, the cable company is getting them from HBO as two different feeds. Each individual broadcaster must put together their own Hd channel before the cable company can in turn provide said channel to their customers.

HDnet and ESPN are completely different networks. ESPN HD just launched here in Hawaii and it comes with any pre-existing HD package at no additional cost.