Cable compared to VOOM

[cleanerguy]

Hey, got a question,
I have been playing around with the idea of getting some HD,

So recently my cable company Adelphia came out here in Erie, PA with HD, we get HDNet, HDMovies and ESPNHD.

I have the cable box hooked up to my SONY 36HS500
Input #1 is the cable box on SD, just audio input (white, red) and video is (yellow) when viewing standard cable the picture is 4:3 the gray bars are on top and bottom when I go to the HD channels.

Input#7 is the HD input and I am using the component hook up red, green, and blue. along with audio. When viewing the HD channels black bars are on the top and bottom of the 3 HD channels

I do not notice any real difference in PQ, I would up it back and forth and see not differnce, Is this how HD would be on VOOM?
I have 2 days left for a free install.

Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks

 

[Sean Mota]

How big is your screen?

 

[cleanerguy]

Sony 36HS500 is a Wega 36 inch tube.

 

[Sean Mota]

Sony 36HS500 is a Wega 36 inch tube.

This is just a thought but maybe it has to do with the size of your TV. I have 42 DLP and 60 LCD and can clearly see differences between SD channels and SD content on HD channels.

 

[tdillon]

cleanerguy-

I believe that your picture tube is a 4:3 aspect ratio tube. When it kicks in to "HDTV" mode it compresses the scan lines vertically to give you full resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio, which causes the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen (letter-boxing). Nearly all of VOOM's HD content is transmitted as 16:9 aspect ratio, even if the content is 4:3. You will always experience letter-boxing with a 4:3 display when it displays 16:9 content.

 

[tdillon]

I just checked the specs on your TV. It uses HiScan technology, which accepts 1080i and 720p inputs, but I am not certain what resolution it actually displays it on the CRT display. Hi-Scan is good in that it will use all the lines of resolution that the display is capable of and squeeze the lines together vertically, creating the black bands at the top and bottom.

It is rescaling the image, but I am not sure if it is displaying 1080 lines after it rescales or not.

 

[vurbano]

I may get flamed for this but at 36 inches why bother? analog and sd look fine. and on 4:3, wont 16:9 just have bars on top and bottom further reducing the image? everyone knows that bigger screens need more pixels or they look like crap. Face it thats why we have HD. If you have a 50 inch display you have to have HD or its just blah. But with 36 inches, Id wait till I made the investment in a big screen. IMO your just wasting your money at this point. Kinda like putting hitest in your lawnmower. Sorry just calling it like I see it.

 

[Ken F]

cleaner,

1. Keep in mind that ESPN only shows certain sporting events, plus the studio on Sportscenter, in HDTV. Have you watched one of these events?
   
   
2. Have you confirmed that you cable box is in 1080i HDTV mode? Sometimes, HDTV cable boxes are set to output 480i by default. Look at the back of your box to get the model number, and then post a message over on the AVS HDTV Hardware forum and ask how to verify that your cable box is sending a HDTV picture to your TV. For example, in the case of the Scientific Atlanta 3250HD, you would hold down the Guide and Info buttons on the front of the box (while it is off) to enter the HDTV Setup Wizard.
   
   
3. How close do you sit to the TV? With a 36" standard TV, you only get a 32" widescreen image on HDTV content, and you'll probably need to sit five or six feet away to see a significant difference.

 

[barth2k]

To answer your question: if you don't see a difference with your cable HD, you'll most likely not see any difference with voom hd either. Assuming that your cable box is working properly and sending out an HD signal and your TV is receiving it.

It's possible your TV is not HD capable. It may be able to ACCEPT an HD signal, but that doesn't mean it can display it in HD resolution. So called EDTV plasmas, for example, accept all HD formats (480p,720p,1080i), but display everything in 480p.

Btw, it's not true that you can't see a difference between HD and SD on a 36" set. I've seen 36" sets displaying HD that look very good. ESometimes better than the larger sets just because it's packing the same resolution into a smaller area and also being direct view vs RPTV.

 

[cleanerguy]

Hey, that is a good one, I do have a 3250HD box,

Do you have one, do you notice a difference when selecting formats?

Thanks

 

[Ken F]

cleaner,

Yes, there is a significant difference between the formats. You need to be in 1080i mode to see true HD on your set. The best setup for the 3250HD on your Sony would be passthrough mode, with 720p disabled. That way, SD channels will still fill your screen, while you will see all HD in 1080i format.

You can find the AVS users guide for the SA3250HD right here.

 

[Ron61250]

I have the same set in the bedroom and you should see a huge difference in picture quality. Make sure all connections and set-up are ok.Picture settings can also make a difference Ron

 

[cleanerguy]

I went into the cable box setup by pressing Guide and Info which let me set up which resolution I want to use, what happens if you put in 1080i and 720P?

Thanks

 

[Ken F]

cleaner,

Just do what I said. Set the 3250HD to passthrough mode with 720p disabled. That will give you the best picture on your TV. If you enable 720p, the picture won't be as good on certain channels because of the way the Sony does its conversion.