Im a newbie and i got just got a brand new spankin TV (1 Viewer)

[Jae_P]

Hey whats up everyone? I am new to the home theater scene so i was hoping i could come on here and get some helpful tips and advices from some of you experts. Ok, ive recently purchased a new HDTV called the Toshiba 50h71 TheaterView HD. When i first turned on my TV i realized how horrible my cable signal was and also my DVD picture wasnt too great either so i went out and upgraded all my cables to monster cables. Wow cables are expensive thats all i got to say. I noticed a huge difference in picture quality from my DVDs and my cable channels. I do watch alot of DVDs and the component output is great but i was wondering if there is anything else i could do to make the picture more clearer and sharper? Im not too worried about my cable channels since they look pretty clear. I still cant believe how much of a differenc the monster RF cables made but i am very happy with my cable channels. At the moment my only concern is my DVD picture. I can honestly say that the DVD picture is pretty good right now but ive seen better. So far ive only set the convergence and upgraded my cables because those are the only things i know how to do. What else can be done to improve the picture quality of my DVDs? Thanks for taking the time to read all this. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Peace.

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Jae;
Welcome to the Forum!
The first thing I would do if I were you would be to pick up a copy of a DVD called the Avia Guide to Home Theater. In it, you will find a series of video (and audio) test patterns along with instructions on how to use them. If you follow these directions, you will take your first step at getting a better picture. You can find it at various online retailers. Do a search on "Avia" here to find the best price.
However, there are many, many tweaks you can perform to improve the quality of your picture. Take a look around at this website in the Toshiba Tips and Tweaks section for more ideas.
However, the best thing you could do--as well as the most expensive thing you could do--would be to have the set calibrated by an ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) technician. This will probably set you back several hundred dollars, but believe me, it's worth it. I just had mine calibrated on Tuesday and the difference I see in the picture is remarkable. However, I wouldn't worry about this yet. Give yourself some time to break in the set a little before you take this step.

 

[Eric M L]

Well, you didn't say what kind of DVD player you have. With a HDTV, you'll definitely want a progressive scan DVD player to get the most performance out of your DVD's.

 

[John Morris]

Jae: Congrats and Welcome to the world of HiDef TV!

Yes, replacing your coax cables can make a world of difference in your cable images. I recently found out that my coax cable connectors/connections were the primary cause for my fuzzy cable images. I also was splitting my primary cable input into 6 other connections. When I simply ran a new dedicated RG6QS run down to only my HDTV, I was amazed! Now, almost all of my cable channels look as good as the digital OTA upconverted signals I can get from local broadcasters during non-HDTV broadcasts.

Speaking of HDTV, if you live in an area where you can get either OTA, DSS, or Cable HDTV... do so, and prepared to be truly AMAZED!

 

[Jae_P]

Thanks everyone for replying back. I did a search on the Avia Guide and they are selling it for $34.97. Is this the correct one? Is it worth the money? As of right now im not too happy with my DVD picture quality. The monster cables greatly improved the picture but it still seems a little blocky. It just doesnt look smooth. Im currently using an interlaced DVD player but i plan on upgrading that to a progressive scan but from what i heard the interlaced DVD player should still send out a pretty clear picture which im not seeing with mine. Im hoping the progressive scan will eliminate this problem but i also heard that the difference isnt really noticeable from interlaced to progressive. When i watch DVDs i notice that the white letters arent solid looking. They seem to have curvy black lines and dots inside the edge of the letters. When the white letters are on a colorful background there are black curvy lines and dots on the outside edges of the white letters. Can anybody explain to me what this is called? Is it normal? Overall my DVD just doesnt look clear, sharp and solid.