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Digital Cable - Pixelization during motion

Hello Audioigoners,

I don't claim to be a videophile by any notion of the word... Though I'm sure I would be if I had $$$

I have a normal, non-HD CRT 27" TV and Comcast digital cable. As I was sitting down last night to watch the pinnacle of consumer entertainment AKA "American Idol" I was extremely disturbed. Not only from the content, but even more so from the phenominon my TV was producing.

A Static image looks OK, but whenever there is movement, there is pixelization. The images look "chunky." Fast movement makes the entire screen look like a hodge-podge of convoluted colors and shapes. It looks like playing back an MPEG vieo file on a 486 conputer whose CPU is not fast enough to keep up.

To me, this problem is completely unbearable. It starts as a minor distraction, then it become all I can focus on, then it gets even worse and makes me ill. It disturbs my inner balance, and frankly, seeing it makes me 'not OK' with the world.

I have noticed this at various friends houses as well who also have digital cable.

I CAN'T be the only one who's seeing this. I've never seen this phenominom in the many years that I've used analog cable.

Questions:
* What is causing this?
* Do all digital cable receives/services/whatevers have this problem? Or is there some band-aid that can fix it?
* Does satellite TV (DirecTV or DISH) have this problem at all?
* HOW DO YOU GUYS COPE?!?!?
goatwuss
lazarus28
339 posts
 
it's your cable company compressing the hell out of the signal. they figure they can save bandwidth by taking the standard analogue channels, compressing and digitizing them, then broadcasting them, which is why you get the mpeg-like compression artifacts. the worst part is that they sit there and tell average joe consumer that they're going *digital* which they tout as being better in every way. in all honesty, it just means you get VOD (which i love), possibly HD (if they're not compressing that) and a crapload of analogue stations that look like crap if you have a tv bought past 1993.

sadly, there's nothing you can do about it.
goatwuss OP
877 posts
 
Lazarus28 - If I switch to DISH or DirecTV will I still have this problem???

Thanks!
jependleton
155 posts
 
Switching to DirecTV won't help. If anything, the problem that you describe has gotten worse in the past year or so with them. I don't know about Dish Network.
goatwuss OP
877 posts
 
This situation is really frustrating.

If you don't like MP3s, you can listen to CDs...

If you don't like CDs, you can listen to vinyl...

If you don't like your TV picture, you can take a hike.
edesilva
768 posts
 
Er, if you don't like your TV, you can wait a year and then pony up $60 for the "Season 912 of American Idol" box set. ;)
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