Power conditioner needed????

dude, i'm the first one to admit that i know next to nothing about the science behind electronics and can't tell you for sure (obviously) what you're experiencing, but i would suggest trying one in your situation.

i've had shunyata, ps audio (passive), and audience conditioners in my systems, and the ps audio ones made the biggest improvement in video. i would try something like a ps audio quintet from a company with a return policy if you're not sure about it (if you shop around, you can find them "on sale" a few places...). quintets have a cable hook up as well, so if your signal is getting junk directly on the cable line maybe it could help it that way, too.

i have my cable box on a upc200 and my lcd tv on an ultimate outlet, and they cleaned up the picture noticeably and cured my banding issues (the conditioner on the cable box/dvd player seems to have a greater effect than on the tv itself, actually).

shielded cables to the tv, the dvd, the cable box, and the power conditioner help noticeably as well.

good luck, though, keep us posted of any results.

Baffled,

Do you have a dimmer switch in your home? Either in a wall or on a light??? If so, try pulling them out of the circuit and see if that solves the problem, if you have a light with a dimer, just unplug it, if it's in the wall, you may get away with turning the light all the way on, or you might need to replace them with better dimmers, forget what they call them, but dimmers throw all kinds of noise into the power circuits.....

Just a thought, but I have seen this before and if it is your problem, it is easy to solve cheaply with eliminating dimmers or replacing them with better ones.....

I'll vote for a cable induced issue. Most troublesome audio and frequently video anomolies are the result of the cable or satellite grounding.

Simply go out to the power pole where the cable or sat is grounded and lift (disconnect) it temporarily. Wait about 30 mins and look at the picture. it may taek a few more mins but in an hour or so you should know if that is the issue.

it's a simple enough task/test. If it is the issue there are isolation transformers that can solve the problem very cheaply.

True too you might not have a good enough ground. Sandy soil sheds water quickly too. Arid areas can be issues. I've heard from more than one source simply watering the ground rod area can remedy things.... which might account for the late night no prob thingy you have going on there.

If in an apt. simply remove the coax feeding the sat/cable box. Wait a while like i SAID ABOVE AND CHECK IT OUT.

Battery chargers too can cause problems in an audio or video rig if in close ckt proximity to the gear. timers too, like on hot water heaters, dishwashers, and or lighting.

If it is a ground loop, a power filter/conditioner usually isn't the fix.

you can also try using a decent sized ext cord and plug the TV into another ckt altogether.

Dew point raises at night, and your situation eases then, and why I say I feel it is a ground oriented issue. Unless you and your neighbor are using the same service I doubt the neighbor is the problem.

Good luck

Thanks for the responses. There are no dimmers in use. Good suggestion though............I forgot all about that one. I did not even think to disconnect the sat. system. I assumed since there is distortion even when I am only using the DVD player, that eliminates the sat. TV. I suppose if it is a grounding problem it will be there as long as the sat. cables are connected. Since this is a weekend lake house, I will have to wait a few days to give that one a try.
The dry ground rod theory is interesting since the ground rods are under a covered deck. Hmmmm...that could even be a safety issue. Dang. Just dang.