Why is the picture on my new plasma so bad?

Question

I Just bought a panasonic TH-42px60u. So I LOVED this TV everytime I saw it - in the stores, at a friends place, even just reading the specs online.
But somehow in my living room the PQ just doesn't measure up!
I have Comcast service (Seattle Area, Motorola dual tuner DVR) and the SD channels suck. The HD channels keep showing up with bars on the right and left even though I adjusted the settings on the Moto box. (16:9, component - 1080i, 4:3 override set to stretch).
The TV is at Standard right now, with some brightness and sharpness adjustments.

I hate the idea that I have to keep changing the aspect ratio for the HD programming. And I don't want to watch with the black bars for burn-in reasons and it just looks ugly.

Moreover the HD picture looks bad! It's pixelated and annoying.

Does anyone else have the same problem? If you have the same TV and comcast service please help me.

Answer 1

To begin with, Plasma technology is the most likely to get burn in. Do not watch it with black bars! There should be an option of gray bars. I prefer the stretch modes over the gray bars. The scroll at the bottom of news stations (i.e. CNN) can even burn a Plasma set.

Very few programs on Digital Network Feeds are actually High Definition. If it doesn’t fill your screen, it’s not High Definition.

There is sooooooo much that could be going on here – difficult to diagnose your picture quality issues.

Start with the DVD “Digital Video Essentials” and optimize your Plasma. Watching the DVD will teach you how to make the most of your picture quality. It’s only $19 from Amazon.

Next, if you’re using the cables that came with your equipment, they’re worth what you paid for them. Discard them and at a minimum buy cables from RadioShack with the correct impedance and shielding. For best results - I recommend the cables from BetterCables.com - reasonably priced high-end cables.

You should find a noticeable improvement with those two actions. Now compare your picture quality between DVD’s and Digital Cable.

If the Digital Cable picture is still troublesome, contact Comcast and show them. Tell Comcast if they can’t fix it you’ll switch to satellite. I bet they’ll improve the picture, but you may ultimately need to switch. (Dish networks picture is far superior to digital cable).

Good Luck

Answer 2

I have a few suggestions:
First, you probably won't have to worry about any burn-in. The black bars show up when a standard broadcast is on an HD channel. There's really not a whole lot you can do about it, but again, burn in shouldn't be an issue with a plasma. I had comcast HD service and I was never able to get rid of the lines unless I turned it to a standard definition channel. Just remember than in one or two years, everything will be broadcast in HD so the black bars are a temporary thing.
For the pixels, you need to turn down a) the color heat (neutral or cool instead of warm) and b) the sharpness. You may also want to verify that you have the tuner connected to your HDMI, DVI or component video inputs.
Finally, expect the picture on standard television to look a little blurry. New televisions use what is called progressive scanning. This allows the tv to show all of the lines of resolution at once, instead of only half of the lines like old televisions.

Answer 3

I have the same plasma but with directv service and using a outdoor antenna for hd. the picture quality is fine in hd and sd channels are watchable. The problem is not the plasma.

I would check the comcast signal coming in from the street. I saw the same problem (pixelation) with the same tv at a house in Kirkland, WA (we added an signal amp and the problem was fixed). Comcast might provide the amp if they find that the signal is weak.

Unfortunately, SD programs are going to look bad (Ch. 2-77) because Comcast broadcasts those channels in an analog format. Channels above 100 should look better because they belong to Comcast's digital lineup.

Also not all HD programs are broadcast in 16:9, generally only prime time television after 8 pm.

Try sticking some rabbit ears into the built-in HD tuner and compare the pictures.

Good Luck

Answer 4

IF its Vizio, it also could except HDMI cables and with that you should be able to authentic interpret the signal that looks ideal, 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p. Now in case you dvd participant is previous and does not or can not settle for HDMI then make investments in both a sparkling HD dvd participant about one hundred-one hundred and fifty funds, or bypass the blu-ray course 250-four hundred funds. yet when I were you i'd first commence taking area in round with the settings on the vizio and make constructive you've the finest ones. playstation dont make investments in those 80 greenback cables, you may get HDMI cables for variety of a 10th of the fee in case you go searching.

Answer 5

Damn Booya.....Smartass and Kyle are so good at explaining....I don't have to waste any time answering this question!!

They are BOTH CORRECT!