What is Wrong With My TV?

[Ro_Laren]

I have an older non-flat Panasonic TV. My sister was borrowing this TV and I just got it back. When I hooked my DVD player up to the TV, the picture looked perfect. However, when I hook cable up to the TV, the picture looks fuzzy. I know that the problem is not with Comcast because I hooked another TV up to my Comcast cable (using the same cable box and coaxial cable) and everything looked perfect on that TV. Do you think that perhaps the “Cable In” input thingy is screwed up on my Panasonic TV? Or could it be something else in my TV that makes DVD look perfect and cable TV look screwy? BTW, I played a video game on the TV and everything looked perfect.

 

[sojourner]

Are the dvd player and cable using the same "cable in" port?

 

[Ro_Laren]

No. I hook them up with an RCA connector cable (the yellow/white/red cable combo thingy). Is there any small piece of tech out there where I could plug the cable into the tech and then hook up an RCA connector cable from that tech to my TV (I tried using my old RF Modulator, but it didn't improve anything? If there was something like that out there then I think I could use it to get clear picture. Basically, I'm trying to avoid spending money on a new TV. Perhaps there are DVD players out there with cable hook-ups, (cable in ports), but I don't want to spend the money on that either.

 

[Metryq]

Ro_Laren, this thread sounds very similar to the HDTV thread. I'm guessing that this "non-flat" TV is CRT—the old fashioned style glass tube. This question also sounds like those I heard many, many years ago by people looking for cheap solutions to turn their black-and-white TVs into color TVs without having to buy entirely new sets.

The short answer is: stop wasting time and petty money with halfway measures. Just tough it out with your existing set, or spend the $150 to $200 for a small (24") LCD. You can even find smaller models for under $100. If this is for personal use, say in a bedroom or home office, such a TV can even double as a secondary computer monitor.

The "F" connector (cable or antenna in) on an old CRT will be limited to the frequencies of the analog tuner. It will give you the lowest quality video. The other connectors (RCA, BNC, S-video, SCART, etc.) will deliver better video, but all will be limited by the technology of the monitor itself.

HDTVs are very cheap, very light, and (depending on the type) typically consume very little power. That's just the consumer angle. There are lots of technical advantages, too, and this board is loaded with people who will gladly make you dizzy with acronyms and other techno talk.

If you can't afford even a small LCD right now, then you have a goal to aim for.

 

[Ro_Laren]

^ Thanks for your thoughts. To be honest, I don't like to spend money when I don't have to. Besides, I'm sure America's landfills are full of plenty of usable items that could be fixed with a little TLC.

 

[Metryq]

I'm sure America's landfills are full of plenty of usable items that could be fixed with a little TLC.

A noble sentiment. Just don't knock yourself out with unrealistic expectations of transforming your old set into something it is not. Also, technology can be "old" both by obsolescence and through material age. That is, an old CRT may start to look softer and fuzzier as the electronic components age. No "tune up" will get rid of that.

One option—that will not improve your TV, but may improve your TV viewing—is a tuner for your computer. I'm assuming your computer has an LCD screen, otherwise we're talking about a very old monitor. Anyway, about the tuner. Elgato caters to the Mac community, but many of their devices work on Windows, either with Elgato software, or other software available for Windows. Adding a tuner to your computer means you can watch TV on your computer screen, or even turn your computer into a DVR (recorder).

Elgato used to sell a small tuner the size of a USB thumb drive. (It had ATSC, so it would receive HD digital channels.) Some other company might sell a similar device, or you might find one on eBay.

 

[Ro_Laren]

One option—that will not improve your TV, but may improve your TV viewing—is a tuner for your computer. I'm assuming your computer has an LCD screen, otherwise we're talking about a very old monitor. Anyway, about the tuner. Elgato caters to the Mac community, but many of their devices work on Windows, either with Elgato software, or other software available for Windows. Adding a tuner to your computer means you can watch TV on your computer screen, or even turn your computer into a DVR (recorder).

Elgato used to sell a small tuner the size of a USB thumb drive. (It had ATSC, so it would receive HD digital channels.) Some other company might sell a similar device, or you might find one on eBay.

Interesting ideas.

 

[MacLeod]

Rather than going through the RCA in, you could get an RCA to SCART adaptor and use a SCART socket.

 

[farmkid]

I'm sure America's landfills are full of plenty of usable items that could be fixed with a little TLC.

A noble sentiment. Just don't knock yourself out with unrealistic expectations of transforming your old set into something it is not. Also, technology can be "old" both by obsolescence and through material age. That is, an old CRT may start to look softer and fuzzier as the electronic components age. No "tune up" will get rid of that.

One option—that will not improve your TV, but may improve your TV viewing—is a tuner for your computer. I'm assuming your computer has an LCD screen, otherwise we're talking about a very old monitor. Anyway, about the tuner. Elgato caters to the Mac community, but many of their devices work on Windows, either with Elgato software, or other software available for Windows. Adding a tuner to your computer means you can watch TV on your computer screen, or even turn your computer into a DVR (recorder).

Elgato used to sell a small tuner the size of a USB thumb drive. (It had ATSC, so it would receive HD digital channels.) Some other company might sell a similar device, or you might find one on eBay.

Have a look at Hauppauge as well. They are one of the better-respected brands of TV tuner cards out there, and they're compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.

 

[publiusr]

I still like the picture quality of my tube television. At the lady friends house I was watching her big flat screen (Andy Griffith) and the figures seemed to move un-naturally.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Got a VCR? (Remember those? ) Cable into the VCR, then out to the TV with the RCA cables.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'm sure America's landfills are full of plenty of usable items that could be fixed with a little TLC.

A noble sentiment. Just don't knock yourself out with unrealistic expectations of transforming your old set into something it is not. Also, technology can be "old" both by obsolescence and through material age. That is, an old CRT may start to look softer and fuzzier as the electronic components age. No "tune up" will get rid of that.

One option—that will not improve your TV, but may improve your TV viewing—is a tuner for your computer. I'm assuming your computer has an LCD screen, otherwise we're talking about a very old monitor. Anyway, about the tuner. Elgato caters to the Mac community, but many of their devices work on Windows, either with Elgato software, or other software available for Windows. Adding a tuner to your computer means you can watch TV on your computer screen, or even turn your computer into a DVR (recorder).

Elgato used to sell a small tuner the size of a USB thumb drive. (It had ATSC, so it would receive HD digital channels.) Some other company might sell a similar device, or you might find one on eBay.

Have a look at Hauppauge as well. They are one of the better-respected brands of TV tuner cards out there, and they're compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.

I have a Hauppauge card I used to "rip" from VHS. It did as good a job as I think was possible for a slightly wonky VHS player. Later Hauppauge models have more options for input types.

I've also have a setup from Pinnacle, but it had lots of A/V sync problems.

 

[Irishman]

I still like the picture quality of my tube television. At the lady friends house I was watching her big flat screen (Andy Griffith) and the figures seemed to move un-naturally.

Of course, standard definition content will look better on standard definition sets, especially at smaller sizes.

Also, the motion you observed is an artifact of current LCD TVs called the soap opera effect. It's a frame interpolation feature designed to smooth motion. It can be turned off or lessened in all TVs that have it.