orestes

Problems with my Toshiba TW40X81--any advice?

I have problems with my Toshiba tw40x81 unit. Let me explain. Recently I bought an XBOX 360, and when I was reading my unit's manual, I found out that my TV supports 480p and 480i, 1080i.

Then, I went ahead and set my xbox 360 to 1081i to play DOA 3, a 1080i game, but at first I noticed some waving lines at the top of the screen going all the way across. Then, I remember that the same thing happen when Comcast install the digital box for HDTV. I remember this because I had to set an appointment with Comcast to fix this problem. The tech came and fix it, but he did not explain well what the problem was.

So yesterday, I look at the menu of the digital box set, and sure enough it is set to broadcast 480p. I wonder why it cannot be set 1080i? I was also reading on the net that most HD broadcast are sending only 720p which my TV does not support. Thus, the motorola box set is down converting the signal. So I am only getting a DVD quality picture instead of HD, right?

So questions:

1) Isn't 480p a DVD quality picture?
2) Is it true that HD broadcast is on 720p in most areas?
3) Does anyone know why Comcast box set cannot upconvert to 1080i?
(I already ask Comcast this question, and hopefully I will get some answers)
4) TV is about 5 years old, I wonder if the 1080i problem can be fixed. I cannot replace this unit until the end of 2007 at the earliest.

It does bother me that I cannot play games on 1080i when I do have source programming to play at 1080i. Oh, one final question, isn't 1080i better than 480p?

NOTE:
Toshiba TW40X81 supports 480p, 480i, and 1080i. It does not support 720p, period.
This unit only has two sets of component inputs. It is a HDTV ready and it is about 5 years old.
END NOTE.

Thanks.
orestes

Mort Corey

Re: Problems with my Toshiba TW40X81--any advice?

Not familiar with your TV, but I'd venture to guess that the prolem lies there. DVD is recorded 480i and can be sent to a digital set at 480p with a progressive scan player. HDTV is 1080i or 720p...depending on the broadcaster. Perhaps there is some configuration menu for your display that needs to be adjusted.

What type of input cables are you using?

Mort

Jack Briggs

Re: Problems with my Toshiba TW40X81--any advice?

His Toshiba is one of the classic early high-def-capable sets (from circa 1999). To answer his questions:

1) As Mort notes, DVDs are natively 480i. However, you can screen them in 480p on your set (which is what you want to do).

2) Most HD broadcasts are in 1080i. ABC-TV does 720p, however.

3) I would think that the Comcast box should be able to be set at 1080i, but I do not know without looking at it.

4) You do not know if your Tosh can display 1080i without feeding it a 1080i source. It was designed to run at 1080i (and 480p). Remember, many techies from local cable companies are woefully ignorant.

This set was maginificent back in the day, and quite a few HTFers had them.

orestes

Re: Problems with my Toshiba TW40X81--any advice?

Jack:

According to the xbox 360, it delivers 1080i. However, when the xbox 360 is set to 1080i, I get the band of waving lands on top. Shouldn't this be a problem with the set itself?

I sent a request to Comcast to see why my box set is set to 480p/480i. Isn't it better if it can be set to 1080i?

BTW, no all the xbox 360 games support 1080i, but DOA 3 does. However, I cannot watch DOA 3 with lots of artifacts waving at the top of screen. The warning information from this game which scrolls up gets kind of dissolved when it it hits those annoying lines on top.

I am annoyed by this since I was not able to see HD until a year ago, and now I am finding out that I am not getting my money worth.

I am not complaining about the DVD displaying in either 480p or 480i, but my main issue is with the HD capability of this unit, and I am about to buy a new set until late 2007 at the earliest. Anyway, thanks for your input.

Regards,
orestes
P.S. I hope I am making myself clear here.