Comcast (Terrible picture)

[Jwheel]

Looking for some help here guys. I had Comcast Digital cable installed yesterday. I waited all day in anticipation of going home to check it out but was disappointed at the terrible picture. I have a Mitsubishi 65" and the picture is awful. With regular antenna hooked up to the TV it looked good. The box that they installed is a motarolla with just the coax connections and composite audio out. My question is, what do I need to get a good picture? I ordered the Digital Classic package.

 

[trw005]

Jwheel i suggest using the digital spdif out of the STB to a receiver for audio. And a minimum of component and preferably the DVI out to your set.
I just got the Moto DCT 6200 today and the picture is not too good and I had the cable guy rewire my cables in house for best signal. When he got here he said I had bad readings on signal strength which was fixed. I also only get 4:3 ratio on most channels and I see no setting for aspect in the STB. Not happy yet. I'll be calling Comcast tech support on this too. I have a 42" plasma and dvi to hdmi to the TV.

 

[Methost]

Any idea how many times your cable is split before it gets to your TV? Cheap cable or loose splitters can really take away from signal strength.

 

[Jwheel]

Unfortuatly the motorolla box they gave me does not have a digital out for the audio - only the red and white composite. The box doesn't have component out, DVI out, S-video out or anything. It just has the coax from the wall to the box and from the box to the TV.

Thanks for the reply. I hope we both get this worked out. What type of video out connections does the Moto DCT 6200 have on it?

 

[MDS]

You have one of the very first Motorola digital cable boxes. My sister had the same problem with Comcast trying to get one with digital out. The installers we dealt with are totally clueless.

Definitely check the splitter issue that was mentioned and try to get them to verify you have adequate signal strength. But beware, blowing up a standard def signal to 65" is still going to be somewhat lacking in picture quality.

 

[Jwheel]

At the splitter, it is runs to the 65" mentioned and then only once to the master bedroom. The wire is about 6 years old. I'm not sure on the quality of the wire. Can comcast rewire?

I just got off the phone with Comcast and they want to run some signal strength tests when I get home from work to verify that I am getting a good signal. I also asked about getting a different box with digital audio out and component video. The man I talked to was clueless. He said that I could not upgrade the box unless I wanted to buy the DVR option they offer. That is ridiculous!! They have to have something with more features for audio and video that they can offer me. Anyone know of a box or model number I can request?

MDS, is there any way to get a good picture with Comcast on my 65"? I'm just disappointed so far with what I am seeing.

 

[Methost]

The splitter may be guilty here. If it's just a cheapo 75 ohm spliiter, then you may be missing some bandwidth. The newer splitters support bandwidth to over 2k MHz.

I had a similer problem when I first switched to digital.

I would also get on comcast to give you a newer box. You should have digital outs on that box. You are paying for them.

 

[MDS]

I would also get on comcast to give you a newer box. You should have digital outs on that box. You are paying for them.

You would think so, but it isn't the case with Comcast, at least in my experience dealing with them when I went to South FL to visit my family. We did eventually get a box that had a coaxial digital out, but it took months. We got the same line about paying for DVR and HD service being required to get a box with digital out.

JWheel, you should be able to get an acceptable picture if they can verify you have adequate signal strength and are using the proper splitter (1 GHz bandwidth minimum). I wouldn't be surprised if the installer has no idea what you are talking about when you ask about a splitter. Just don't confuse them even more by saying '2K MHz' (as Methost put it). The guys I dealt with wouldn't have a clue that 2K MHz = 2 Ghz.

 

[Jwheel]

Thanks for all the suggestions!! I really appreciate it. I'll have to check the splitter when I get home. I'm assuming it will have the bandwidth that it supports somewhere on it. If not, I'm sure I can get one that supports 2Ghz at Rat Shack.

I'll also see about getting another box. Sounds like a real pain to get one. It will be totally worthless unless I can get one with digital out. I'll keep you guys updated on the progress. I didn't think this would be such a hassle.

 

[Mort Corey]

My cable company (Adelphia) had the same options. I could have swapped the box for one with S-video but they wanted to send out an installer as S-video was pretty hi-tech

When they finally began offering an HD package I grabbed it. The 6200 series comes with coaxal digital audio out and a choice of composite, component and DVI for video (I went with DVI for my HD display). For the extra ten bucks a month I get the box and nine HD channels (plus the other digital cable stuff) and it's been well worth the effort. They have no clue about HD PVR'S yet but I'm happy to wait. My present box also has a firewire out but the installer had no idea what is was or what it was for......it's inoperable anyway as I tested it after he left.

Once everything settles in and works, it's pretty good to great PQ. Most problems can be trouble shooted by the "tech" support people over the phone.

Mort

 

[beam3]

I have comcast also and have a pretty bad picture as well. I'd recommend to switch over to satellite if you are able to since all of your SD programming will be digital. With Comcast all the lower channels upto about 130 or so are analog. The only thing I'm happy with is the HD DVR. And higher channels digital pictures like hbo have a decent picture to them.

 

[Jwheel]

I have comcast also and have a pretty bad picture as well. I'd recommend to switch over to satellite if you are able to since all of your SD programming will be digital. With Comcast all the lower channels upto about 130 or so are analog. The only thing I'm happy with is the HD DVR. And higher channels digital pictures like hbo have a decent picture to them.

I might do that. I'll probably wait until the promotional period is over though. We'll see. Thanks!

 

[Lincoln]

Try hooking the cable directly to the tv and circumvent the box. This will yield an analog signal into the TV but it's good test to see how much of your problem is the crappy hardware Comcast gave you. I haven't had cable in 9 years, recently I was at a friends house with Comcast HD. The HD channels looked great, his Panasonic plasma is well calibrated but more then 1/2 of the other channels were unwatchable IMHO. I'm sticking with D*.

 

[jzero]

In TN, Comcast's DVR and HD service is $10 extra a month, well worth the price. The Motorola box they provided has component, DVI, s/pdif and optical. Can't comment on how it looks really as I've not purchased an HDTV yet.

 

[L-Jay]

Same comment as everyone else. Nice HD, Good digital, bad SD. $10 for HD & HD DVR service. If it's worth anything you can get the Digital Silver package for 1/2 price for 6 months.

O yeah. I was getting really bad reception two months ago on my digital channels and it turned out to be a loose connection OUTSIDE of my house. I never though to check outside connections. Comcast tightened the connection and all was good.

 

[Gradyman]

comcast set top box problem

I recently upgraded to Comcast HD from regular digital cable. The set top box will not deliver the regular cable channels (analog or digital) through the component cables into my hd tv. Therefore, I have had to loop the cable back through the old digital box back to the television. This means I have two set top boxes now and I have to switch input channels on my tv when wishing to view HDTV. Does anyone have a suggestion? Comcast is sending a tech, and my tv (a philips 55" widescreen HDTV) tech says the proper box would remedy the problem. Thanks for any tips.

 

[rgriffin25]

I recently upgraded to Comcast HD from regular digital cable. The set top box will not deliver the regular cable channels (analog or digital) through the component cables into my hd tv. Therefore, I have had to loop the cable back through the old digital box back to the television. This means I have two set top boxes now and I have to switch input channels on my tv when wishing to view HDTV. Does anyone have a suggestion? Comcast is sending a tech, and my tv (a philips 55" widescreen HDTV) tech says the proper box would remedy the problem. Thanks for any tips.

You may need to change a setting on the HD box to work on your Philips TV. I have seen quite a few Philips HD sets that have one HD component input. That input will only accept 480p and 1080i. Most cable boxes are not properly configured to send out a 480p signal.

There should be an area in the settings menu where you can change the output settings. For your TV it should be on 1080i/480p.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jwheel]

To be honest, I think I am going to switch to a dish service. Comcast has been just terrible to deal with. Once the promotional offer is over, I'm done with Comcast.