Hi, I know this is a dumb girl question but just roll with it – I bought a Vizio 42′ TV. I have digital cable through my cable company. Everything is hooked up using the audio vodeo cables and the picture is HORRIBLE. It’s grainy, blurry and just a lot of channels look like crap. I know that reading in the book the tv came with it says that the HDMI cord it the best quality. If I get this will it change things dramatically? Will the HDMI hook in from my tv to my cable box? Or are there any other options for a better picture?? I paid a lot for the TV and want to enojy it!
Remember digital cable does not mean high definition.
Only HD means high def. You may very well have digital cable as it has been around for years but you have to have the HD subscription also. This will most likley be an additional 10 bucks a month or so.
Also you will have to go into the cable box setup and set it to output a high def signal to your tv. Set it to the resolution of your tv or to at least 720p.
As for cables use either the HDMI or Component video (red blue green) cable.
HDMI is easier to hook up. But your cable box must have HDMI output. If it does not have HDMI or Component outputs then the box is not HD. There is also DVI but it is not so common anymore.
Call the cable company and verify it with them. As mentioned by others. Not all the channels are HD either even if you have the HD subscription.
All the major networks offer it.
FOX,NBC,CBS,ABC,CW, also Discovery channel,History channel, TBS,TNT, AE . and a whole slew of sports channels. This is just a sampling there are more.
December 11th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
HDMI is the highest quality, and if you’re currently hoooked up to normal audio/video then you will definitely see a dramatic change if you hook to the HDMI. Your cable box may or may not work with it. You might have to get a new cable box or maybe even switch cable providers to get HD. If nothing else, you should get your local channels in HD by hooking up an antenna and then watch cable channels without HD.
Also some things to know:
HDMI also has audio along with it, you only have to plug in the one cable.
Component is lower quality, but still HD. It’s 3 video cables and 2 audio cables. I forget the colors. It looks like normal audio/video rca cables, except for there are 5 instead of 3.
S-video is higher quality than normal audio/video, but not by much.
hopefully this helps!
References :
December 11th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
You need the HDMI cable for the TV’s best performance. Trust me… there is a big difference! Then again Cable is very poor at providing HD. If you must stay with Cable make sure they provide you with the latest equipment that accepts the HDMI cable.
References :
December 11th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
not all channels are hi def yet. hdmi will look better, but your cable box needs to be a hd box. call your sevice provider and ask if their hd boxes have hdmi capability. if you have one now, look on the back for it.
References :
December 11th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Remember digital cable does not mean high definition.
Only HD means high def. You may very well have digital cable as it has been around for years but you have to have the HD subscription also. This will most likley be an additional 10 bucks a month or so.
Also you will have to go into the cable box setup and set it to output a high def signal to your tv. Set it to the resolution of your tv or to at least 720p.
As for cables use either the HDMI or Component video (red blue green) cable.
HDMI is easier to hook up. But your cable box must have HDMI output. If it does not have HDMI or Component outputs then the box is not HD. There is also DVI but it is not so common anymore.
Call the cable company and verify it with them. As mentioned by others. Not all the channels are HD either even if you have the HD subscription.
All the major networks offer it.
FOX,NBC,CBS,ABC,CW, also Discovery channel,History channel, TBS,TNT, AE . and a whole slew of sports channels. This is just a sampling there are more.
References :