Cable quality or conversion quality

[itschris]

I noticed bad artifacts the other day while watching U571 on cable (it was on one of the normal standard 480i channels) Whenever they would show an underwater scene of the u-boat, there would be really bad banding across the screen, almost like waves. Like it could graduate the color smoothly and there were basically boxes of of color on the screen, almost like giant pixelization about 2" square.

I also noticed last night a lot of grain on darker scenes of regualr cable as well.

I played with the settings quite a bit during U571, turning 120hz, Noise Filter, and Sharp Edge on and off and in combinations none didn't really do anything for the artifacts I was seeing. I'm wondering if the signal just blow from my cable company or if these are artifacts created by the upconvert by the Mits or SA8300. The Mits 65833 converts everything to 1080p or it's supposed to anyway. I don't think there's a way to turn the on or off. I have the SA 8300 upconvert set to Auto

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

 

[bandphan]

more than likely its overly compressed hd I get it with TNT HD and AMC HD from comcast

 

[obscbyclouds]

I think the OP stated this was on a normal SD channel (480i), if that's the case, then I'd say the graining and artifacts you saw are normal. Your television settings can help a bit, but you'll really never be happy with SD (at least I know I never am). Some outboard scalers can help (note help, not fix), but they are usually expensive. Some higher end recievers have onboard scalers in them as well.

Your TV will always scale everything to 1080p, since that's the native resolution of the display. No, there is no way to turn this off, the only way to bypass the TV's scaler is to send it a signal that's already 1080p or 1080i (in which case it will still need de-interlacing).

Bottom line, SD stinks, so stop watching it and go get the U-571 BR!

 

[itschris]

You're probably right. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't a conversion issue. I'm still figuring out the best way to set things up between the SA83000 and my WD65833. I'm not sure what the difference on the SA box is between Upconvert 1&2.

I believe the SA8300 can only output 1080i, then the Mits converts it to 1080p. I'm wondering if that the best scenario.

 

[Mort Corey]

I've got a Motorola cable box and get the best overall results by having the box output 480i on SD programming and 1080i on the HD channels. My display does the conversion to it's native rate a lot better than the box (which doesn't match the display rate anyway). The artifacts you describe I get on occasion but never on any specific channel or at any particular time. I figure it's just a crummy broadcast.

Mort

 

[Davemcc]

It sounds like you are describing blocking artifacts, basically a result of digital compression of the signal. The surest way to deal with it is to swap your cable provider for a satellite. Aside from that, you could look at equipment with mosquito noise and block artifact reduction. When it's time to upgrade, you could look at the Onkyo 905 or Integra DTC-9.8, which I believe include MN and BAR processing. If you simply want a stand alone solution, you could look at the Algolith Flea, which I use and find to be effective.

 

[itschris]

Thanks Dave. I've been thinking about satellite, but here in FL we get so many storms during the summer that it literally kills the signal. Yesterday my neighbor across the street was moaning that she lost reception for almost an hour during the thunderstorm. I guess it's not a huge deal. I also put a call in Knology, our cable provider, to double check the signal.

 

[obscbyclouds]

I switched from cable to satellite about a year ago. I've noticed significantly less artifacts on SD channels (though some channels still don't look good). I do loose signal every once an a while due to storms, probably about 1-2 hrs per week during the summer. Of course, we don't have the kind of thunderstorms you get in FL.

 

[itschris]

Another issue is that we get our cable subsidized through our ridiculously high association fees in our neighborhood. Really all our money goes to fixing the gates every couple weeks and paying for the cable. Adding the digital and HD was only an additional $30 or so.

I'm grappling a bit with the idea of basically paying twice to watch tv. If I could watch more, it wouldn't be a big deal, but I just don't get the downtime to really sit all that often and just watch for 2-3 hours. It's usually a bit here and there, though we have carved out time for movie night on the weekend.

It's a tough call.... and <gasp> another remote!