Question About HD, DirecTV, Cable, and My TV (1 Viewer)

[MikeMO]

Hey guys,

I have a question for you all since I'm not highly knowlegeable on this subject yet.

We bought a 19'' Samsung TV for the kitchen...here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LNT19...88490363&sr=8-3

Anyways, I open it up, turn it on, and some channels immediately are in HD (PBS, CBS, and NBC). The other channels are pretty poor, though, as they are very snowy and not too clear.

Now, my questions are these....why are there HD signals only for those three channels? I know, say, the CW probably won't carry a higher signal than what it is. But why isn't ABC carrying an HD signal? Or FOX? I know for a fact both air shows in HD sometimes.

Second, why are the channels that aren't in HD so utterly TERRIBLE? It's odd, because the TV in the kitchen before this one was older, and certainly didn't carry HD signals, but the picture quality on the channels was much better overall. No channel was unwatchable due to the grain or snow. So why is a new TV like this?

Also, is it possible it's the attena we are using? And if so, are there certain attenas that are recommeded and are better so that the rest of the channels are better?

One more question that really puzzles me. I have DirecTV. I have a 46'' Bravia upstairs that I bought in December...in the other bedroom is a smaller Bravia. Now, I have a dual tuner so I can record two shows at once...however, why can I only receive local channels on DirecTV? For example...we bought the Samsung, hooked it up (didn't hook it up to any DTV receiver or cable box, but still), and immediately received local channels in varying quality. While I know my 46'' Bravia is hooked up to a DTV receiver, shouldn't I also be able to receive locals on some sort of...regular, base signal? I ask because I don't have HD on DirecTV at all. I was introduced to HD through the Samsung in the kitchen, and it looked VERY nice. So it has me wondering...is it at all possible to, at the VERY least, get HD on some local channels on the 46'' Bravia just like I get HD on some local channels on the 19'' Samsung in the kitchen? And if not, why?

Thanks for reading, as I know it was long.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

1. You absolutely must do a consumer-level calibration on any HDTV with Avia Guide to Home Theater, Digital Video Essentials or a similar program. The horrible out-of-box "torch mode" settings for brightness, contrast and especially "sharpness" (i.e., "added digital noise") will always make SD channels look horrible on an HDTV.

2. To some degree, the SD channels are still going to look bad for two reasons - your set allows you to see flaws in the image that your low-res set hid, and your set is scaling a 480i TV signal (in practice, probably less than that) to its native resolution of (I'm guessing) 720p. There is a limit to what the scaler can do and it is inevitable you're going to see some digital artifacts.

Also the quality of the incoming signal makes a difference. Some SD channels on my cable system look very good on my HDTVs, others look like crap - even with all my sets properly calibrated. (Of course, some of them looked that way on my old analog feed and sets. )

3. HD stations. In every area I'm familiar with, the HD and SD versions of a channel are transmitted on different frequencies and appear on different channels. I can't tune to local channel 25 to get the ABC HD feed, for instance, I have to tune to ATSC tuner's channel D-203. (If I'm using the TV's built-in tuners. If I'm using my HD-DVR cable box the equivalent channels are 10 and 431.) Are you sure you're tuning in the actual HD and Fox channels?

Another possibility is that your local Fox and ABC affiliates aren't yet geared up for HD. Not every local station in the country is, after all, and if they don't have the gear, they can't pass the network's HD signal.


I'm not familiar with your TV, but I know two things are required to receive an HD local signal if you're not getting HD locals through your cable or satellite service - 1) an antenna to receive the HD signal and 2) an ATSC tuner built into the set. Sets sold as "HD-ready" do not have built-in HD-tuners. They require an external tuner of some sort (cable box, satellite box or stand-alone ATSC tuner connected to an antenna.) Sets sold as "HDTVs" do have built-in tuners, but still require an antenna to capture a signal.

Regards,

Joe