Am I experiencing HDTV?

[j-p]

I purchased a Sharp LC32D62U and have basic cable plugged into the tv (no box). I did a scan and am getting a bunch of digital channels for free. On NBC-HD shows like The Office come in widescreen and "dot by dot" mode is engaged. Commercials and non HD shows are window boxed on all sides.
Is the old fashion cable wire I have going into the tv capable of carrying a HD signal or do I need to subscribe to the HD cable package with better connectors?
ps the HD channel is better than the analog one when I switch back and forth, but its not night and day.
Thanks for any help!
-jp

 

[markw]

many variables here.

1) Your cable box needs to output HDTV via either HDMI or red/bue/green component. S-video or composite (yellow RCA jack) cables won't do it. (this is for anyone else who might be reading this)

2) All HDTV is digital, but not all digital TV is HD. Depending on your service provider, you may need to upgrade your service, and possibly rent a HD cable box, to gain access to HDTV channels. I have Comcast and I had to. I got dsome digital but no HD w/o the box and service upgrade

2.5) If you have a built in ATSC tuner, you might be able to receive some HDTV over the air.

3) If you are receiving either 720 or 1080 HD, you WILL be able to, without any doubt, discern the difference between that and 480 SD. PBS or Discovery TV offer eye-popping HD shows. But, shows made for HDTV fill the entire screen. They are not letterboxed, nor are there bars on the sides. "regular" shows shown on a HD channels will have bars, though.

I'm not sure what "dot by dot" mode is. Perhaps others might be able to offer assistance but from what you describe about "the office", you MIGHT be getting HD but I don't know enough about your TV or service to offer a definitive answer.

With my HDTV setup, most SD shows and virtually all commercials fill the screen top-to-bottom with bars up and down the sides . A few shows have some letterboxing all around, but not many.

 

[Thunder18]

What you might do is switch to one of the network channels 1/2 an hour before the prime time shows start. Usually around 7 p.m. central standard time. You should see a huge difference when the prime time shows come on. Try watching Heroes monday.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

I purchased a Sharp LC32D62U and have basic cable plugged into the tv (no box).

You have answered your own question............


No....you are not.


Unless you are getting HD sources over the air, you are not watching HD.

 

[markw]

Network SD and netrwork HD are broadcast on two separate channels.

What you might do is switch to one of the network channels 1/2 an hour before the prime time shows start. Usually around 7 p.m. central standard time. You should see a huge difference when the prime time shows come on. Try watching Heroes monday.

when receiving OTA signals, CBS SD somes in on channel 2. CBS HD comes in on channel 2-1. This pattern is the same for the other six network feeds I get OTA. SD on the original "analog" OTA channel number and it's HD counterpart on the "-1" channel. Amazingly, with the ATSC digital tuner I also get quite a few different "piggybacked" channels in the "-2", "-3", "-4" and other "dash" channels. Where I used to get 7 analog VHF channels, I get over thirty digital channels.

On our comcast cable, the "normal" analog channels come in on their original channel positions but their HD counterparts come in somewhere in the 200's

 

[j-p]

Thanks for all the replys! The reason I am confused is: using the NBC-HD channel as an example; The Office(broadcast in HD) fills the entire screen and the "dot-by-dot"(1:1 mapping) is engaged. This mode is used only with HD sources (my upconvert dvd placer connected with hdmi).
Now Scrubs-a non HD show and some commercials appears like a "mini tv" 4:3 ratio I guess, and you can only select from certian modes ie: zoom and strech.
I'm sorry for the dumb questions, I don't want to spend extra $ on a box and bunch of cable packages if I don't have to.
The cable is service electric in western New Jersey if it helps.
Thanks again- jp

 

[rgriffin25]

Yes! There is a possiblity you are watching HD with Basic cable. Here in Wichita KS. our local cable company (Cox) sends an unscrambled local digital feed. These channels are the same as the locals you are getting with basic cable. However they are found on a different channel*. Your TV is doing this with its QAM digital tuner and is perfectly legal.

*Here is an example, in Wichita, NBC is found on channel 3 for analog broadcasts. The digital feed is 115-1, and when available the programming on this channel is HD.

Most people do not know this due to the fact that their local cable company would rather them pay higher monthly bills.

 

[Hi Ho]

Unless you are getting HD sources over the air, you are not watching HD.

That depends on where one lives. Here in western Washington it is possible to receive all of the networks in HD plus about 60 other digital channels on Comcast basic cable without a cable box.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Yes! There is a possiblity you are watching HD with Basic cable. Here in Wichita KS. our local cable company (Cox) sends an unscrambled local digital feed. These channels are the same as the locals you are getting with basic cable. However they are found on a different channel*. Your TV is doing this with its QAM digital tuner and is perfectly legal.

*Here is an example, in Wichita, NBC is found on channel 3 for analog broadcasts. The digital feed is 115-1, and when available the programming on this channel is HD.

Most people do not know this due to the fact that their local cable company would rather them pay higher monthly bills.

Wow.... that's very interesting.

I've never heard of that.....

 

[j-p]

Thanks so much for the help everyone. When I first set up the tv, I was amazed at all the "hidden" channels I was getting. I looked up the lineup for my cable company and I'm getting most of the basic digital package 15-20 channels and about 30 all-music channels for free. I'm still not sure if I'm getting "true" hi-def signals on some channels or not, but the difference is pretty noticable- I don't know the name of the show but jennifer love hewitt? was on last night on CBS and the digital HD channel was much less "pixelated" than the analog channel.
Thanks again for all the help and suggestions, for now I'll keep the "free stuff" and think about subscribing to a HD package when I move in a few months. Thanks again. -jp

 

[markw]

you're lucky.

That depends on where one lives. Here in western Washington it is possible to receive all of the networks in HD plus about 60 other digital channels on Comcast basic cable without a cable box.

Here in NE Jersey with Comcast, we only get the analog signals below channel 100 with one step up from basic cable. No HD at all. My QAM tuner is cirtually useless. But, OTA is a different story. I love my ATSC tuner. Seven HD channels.

 

[BMXTRIX]

FEDERAL REGULATIONS:

Most people are unaware of this, but the digital over the air stations that you can receive with an antenna that are carried by your local cable television provider are REQUIRED BY LAW to be unencrypted.

This means that any ATSC equipped television can get the digital channels which (at times) include HD content that most often include NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and WB.

This is across the country and anyone who doesn't want to get all the 'premium' digital channels (non-broadcast) can simply buy any ATSC equipped HDTV and plug the cable from their cable company right into the TV and immediately get HD programming. There is no added charge and it is not well known that this is possible.

For me, I ran CableCard in my bedroom, but then I found that I was either watching the DVR in my family room or I was watching prime time TV in the bedroom - none of the premium digitals. So, I traded in the CableCard and just watched HDTV direct from the cable line upstairs from that point on.

Nifty eh?

So, yes, you are capable of receiving HDTV over the cable line as you have things hooked up right now. Yes, you should see a very significant difference between your analog cable broadcasts and your digital and HD cable broadcasts. If you don't, then you either have a fantastic cable provider and connection, or you have a lousy connection that just stinks across the board.

 

[markw]

Very interesting.

FEDERAL REGULATIONS:

Most people are unaware of this, but the digital over the air stations that you can receive with an antenna that are carried by your local cable television provider are REQUIRED BY LAW to be unencrypted.

This means that any ATSC equipped television can get the digital channels which (at times) include HD content that most often include NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and WB.

I tried this and it didn't work. Then again, I didn't think to check out the channels in the 200 - 250 range, where all the HD content is located.

We have a guest staying in that room this week but I'll most certainly be trying it again next week. If it doesn't work, I'll be asking for some specifics on this little-known law, such as the numbers

 

[BMXTRIX]

It isn't in the normal cable numbers - typically it is 5-1 or 7-1 and your TV must be equipped with a ATSC tuner. I'm not sure if something else on your TV is necessary, but I don't think it is an issue on the cable system side of things.

I should add that I'm only about 80% certain of what I am saying on this as I heard it on the radio about a year ago. Cable companies tried to say that they wanted to charge people for the HD channels they could receive for free over the air and were already being provided in the standard analog cable connection, the FCC said no. But, what I hear on the radio doesn't always equate to reality or the full story.

I can just say that I have two televisions in my home - a Digital Cable Ready Samsung, and a cheapie Olveia LCD that both get the cable distributed HD channels without a problem.

 

[markw]

I'll get back to ya next week on this.

My tosh has NTSC, ATSC and QAM. I'm fairly sure that if it's out there I'll be able to pick it up. I that "-1" scenario works for my OTA channels but I didn't try them on cable. Likewise, I didn't try to skip up to the 200 - 250 range where the cable versions of the network HD feeds reside.

 

[Hi Ho]

The following thread at AVS Forum has an insane amount of information organized by city.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=453241

 

[niget2002]

The following thread at AVS Forum has an insane amount of information organized by city.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=453241

I did a search for QAM Time Warner listing, and found a similar thread for non-OTA digital channels. It's Here: http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21661

One thing I did note, was that, even though the tv scanned those channels, it didn't find anything. If I punched the number in manually, it then found the signal.

It does take a slight bit longer for these channels to show up on the tv, so I'm guessing the tv just didn't search hard enough.

 

[j-p]

Quick Question

Thanks for all the information, I appreciate it. If I get digital cable will the box "clean up" all the channels? Does the box do any kind of processing or does it just have component and hdmi outputs to make the hi-def channels look better? Some of the analog channels (just cable going into tv) look pretty fugly right now. Will there be less "noise" on the screen?
Thanks for all the help and listening to my dumb questions.
-jp

 

[markw]

In all this time you never checked with your local cable company?

That's the first place you should have looked for information.

We're all just speculating based on our experiences with our local cable franchises, but your local cable company is the only one that can give you your "real" answer.

But, it can't hurt to put up a decent outside antenna for your ATSC tuner.

 

[j-p]

Sorry, I assumed my cable company would just push their most expensive products/packages not what would best for me. I tried looking online to see what a digital cable box is and what it does, but could not find much of use. I thought maybe someone here could just tell me in laymans terms what it actually does. Again I apologize. -jp