New LCD Tv, Poor picture with digital cable maybe someone here can help.

**Jeff22** · July 21st, 2009, 07:59 AM

I just bought a toshiba 37" LCD tv. Resolution is 720p not 1080p but after doing some research on the difference I didn't think it would really matter much.

The picture doesn't look very good when I'm watching cable tv. I have digital cable but no HD channels. I have a small comcast digital box that is hooked up with a regular cable wire from the box to the TV.

I also use the TV as a large computer monitor and it looks great connected to the computer with the vga hookup. I can watch online content or put a dvd in the computer and play it on the tv and everything is very nice and crisp and clear.

So it seems like the cable tv is problem and not the TV itself.

Does anyone know why my cable tv looks bad on this tv, It looked really nice and clear on my old 27" CRT TV, I thought digital cable was supposed to look good on LCD's.

**bobreaze** · July 21st, 2009, 03:25 PM

From my experience you need a cable box and hd channels for cable to look remotley ok on an LCDTV. If you have a cable box try using an HDMI cable to hook it to your tv maybe that will give you a better picture. You can get a 3$ 6ft hdmi cable off amazon. They are good quality ive used 2 to hook up a cable box and dvd player. Need to get a new one and see if there is an hdmi switch box tv only has 2 hdmi inputs and i just got a PS3 so i need a way to switch between it and my dvd player.

**Imperion1** · July 21st, 2009, 05:08 PM

If your cable box and lcd tv have hdmi, use those plugs.
If both have Dvi, then use 'em. But you'll also need to connect audio cables from the cable box to the tv.
Coax gives the worst picture, then A/V, then s-video.

**osprey4** · July 21st, 2009, 05:54 PM

You'd be amazed how common this problem is. You really ought to look into an HD box. Many cable providers don't charge extra for HD, and many broadcast their HD channels in 720p, so your picture would look quite good.

For example, we have Verizon FIOS. Their HD DVR is only $5 more per month, and we get about 50 free HD channels. HDTV is 1080i so it would look just fine on a 37" at 720p.

**Jeff22** · July 21st, 2009, 09:15 PM

thanks for the responses, I actually went ahead and traded my standard digital cable box for the HD box today, for $6.50 more a month. The TV looks so much better with hd programming I'm really impressed with the picture quality while watching hd.

I'm still really disappointed though that standard definition tv looks so poor on this tv. I think I get maybe 30 hd channels and probably 70+ regular channels so most of the shows are on standard digital.

**cheeser** · July 22nd, 2009, 12:30 AM

Originally Posted by Jeff22

thanks for the responses, I actually went ahead and traded my standard digital cable box for the HD box today, for $6.50 more a month. The TV looks so much better with hd programming I'm really impressed with the picture quality while watching hd.

I'm still really disappointed though that standard definition tv looks so poor on this tv. I think I get maybe 30 hd channels and probably 70+ regular channels so most of the shows are on standard digital.

yea, your HDTV has a 16:9 aspect ratio, and Standard TV has a 4:3 aspect ratio. Often the stretching of the 4:3 aspect to fit into the 16:9 aspect changes the images and makes it look worse.

you could try to watch the standard def channels in 4:3 by switching the format on your TV and leaving bars on either side. This may make it look a little better, but by no means will it look as good as HD programming.

**PoonDoggy** · July 22nd, 2009, 07:21 AM

SD Broadcast/programming looks horrible on HD TV's. Thats the nature of the beast. Cables do matter.

Listed from worst to best:

Coaxial
Composite
S-Video
DVI

Component
HDMI

**Jeff22** · July 24th, 2009, 11:41 AM

wow thanks for the help green, I can't afford $1500 and that's only a 32"

maybe you should send me the extra $1000 and I will take my TV back and buy one.

1. How are deeper blacks going to make standard definition tv look better?

2. My tv is already pretty slim, how is a slimmer tv going to make standard definition tv look better?

3. My understanding is that regular LCD tv's have lower power consumption than similarly sized CRT tvs, I haven't got my electric bill since buying my new tv but I'd be surprised if it increases much.

4. How are more displayable colors going to make standard definition tv look better?