Got a New 32 LCD HDTV, need Help.

So I decided to get a HDTV, because I had some store credit, I checked online for reviews in circuit city, ended up getting a FLM-3232 32" HD LCD TV with ATSC Tuner from Polariod.

Hooked it up to my cable box, CABLEVISION and it looks horrible, you can see the lines on the TV and some channels look awful. I know it won't look like a HDTV with a regular cable box, and I dont want to purchase there HDTV package (too much). But from the reviews I heard it can look very good, but to my eyes it doesn't look good.

Question 1

Should I ask the cable company to check out the signal on our cable? They said if it's not a cable issue, they would charge me 46.54 for a tech to come out. If it is a cable issue, they won't charge.

Then, I bought a Sony dvd player with Progessive Scan and HDMI and Component outlets. Right now, I'm using the Component cables that came with the TV. Looks good but not the very best.

Should I buy a better Component cable? Such as Monster cables?

Any advice would be great.

Monster cables are the bomb, but they wouldnt have that much better of a look (if theres lines going through your tv, id say its something wrong w/ your box, or w/ the cable) also doesnt your tv have an internal tuner? maybe bypass the box if you dont even have HD

cable is garbage especially if it's standard definition. they compress the hell out of it to the point that it looks worse on a higher resolution tv. garbage in = garbage out, there's no getting around it. however, if a dvd player connected via component cables looks bad it may just be a problem with the display. if lines are going through it on both sd cable and dvds you may have a problem with the tv. what about a pc going into the vga input? how does that look? if there is a problem it's of course a good idea to contact the store you got it from for an exchange. and, in my opinion, it is DEFINITELY worth it to get a high def cable box if you've spent money on a hdtv. It's usually not that much more money and they often let you just swap your set top box out. I have dishnetwork and needed to spend about $400 to upgrade my hd box last month.

Agreed, SD cable programming on an HD set looks pretty awful, especially analog channels. The higher quality of the HD panel makes artifacts and noise, that you wouldn't notice on an SD CRT, stick out like a sore thumb.

I have a 60" SXRD that looks awesome with HD channels, pretty damn good with DirecTV SD, and okay with most of my Charter cable SD channels. But many of the cable channels look like total, washed out, blurry crap.

Oh, and don't waste your money on Monster cables -- they are one of the biggest scams perpetuated on a gullible public. They are also corporate bullies who love to push other business around. Don't get me started...

SXRD <drool> I want me one of those...
bow
I got a 36xrb400 about 6 years ago. It's a great tv, but right now with 22 high def channels as opposed to the 2 I had back then a larger widescreen would be nicer.
anyway, are you getting lines through dvds? can you post a picture? have you used something like avia or video essentials to calibrate it?

[quote375ceb5171="tramahound"]SXRD <drool> I want me one of those...

I got a 36xrb400 about 6 years ago. It's a great tv, but right now with 22 high def channels as opposed to the 2 I had back then a larger widescreen would be nicer.
anyway, are you getting lines through dvds? can you post a picture? have you used something like avia or video essentials to calibrate it?[/quote375ceb5171]
Lines through DVD's? Are you talking about SFE (Screen Door Effect)? There is no SFE with SXRD/LCoS. ;) I also have an Oppo 1080i upconverting DVD player, running through a Yamaha RX-V2600 receiver with HDMI switching. So needless to say, DVD's look amazing even though they are SD source. And yes, I have Aria and have calibrated with it.

Not that I"m trying to spam it, but since you asked, here's a link to a quick & dirty page I threw together for some friends to showoff my HT setup

http//www.morrisonline.us/ht

The only change since those pics is that I don't have DirecTV anymore. I now have a Charter Digital MOXI HD-DVR in place of the DirecTivo. Also since I didn't have HD at the time there are no HD pics, nor any DVD pics. I should update them...

the lines through the dvds question was directed at the original poster.
man, that ps2 must look jagged as hell on that tv! yeah, you need to take more pictures preferrably without the flash on. 60 is great and all but i'd be happy with a 'little' 50 inch sxrd.

[quotea15b01e27c="tramahound"]the lines through the dvds question was directed at the original poster.
man, that ps2 must look jagged as hell on that tv! yeah, you need to take more pictures preferrably without the flash on. 60 is great and all but i'd be happy with a 'little' 50 inch sxrd.[/quotea15b01e27c]
Actually, the PS2 doesn't look half bad, for what it is. It's running Svideo because that's the best I had on my old CRT TV, I'm sure it would look better via component. However I'm not going to buy those rediculously overpriced PS2 component cables for something I don't even play anymore -- I'm waiting on a PS3. Possibly a 360, but definitely a PS3. The PS2 was for my kids anyway, although I did play quite a bit of it when it was new (stood in line past midnight the night they were first released several years ago).

Yeah, the flash screwed up the picture but the lighting was such at the time that I couldn't get a decent exposure without it, even after adjusting the ISO and aperture on the camera. I was in a hurry though and didn't spend much time trying. Like I said, quick & dirty. )