Sony XBR has arrived, no HD...

univera

My t.v. arrived today promptly and in mint shape. However; I can't seem to pick up the HD channels. I have the component cable hooked up properly (the box doesn't have HDMI) and I subscribed to the full digital/HD package. Any suggestions? I am wondering if the t.v. has to "look" for the component hookups. Thanks in advance.

opus

Cable or satelite?

Have you had HD before?

Are you getting anything on the HD channels?

Mike Reeter

Should be a menu for screen size,format,inputs,etc.

danger boy

what model of Sony XBR is it?

but i'm thinking you either need to look in the TV menu OR the cable/satellite box menu for outputs.

univera

opus wrote:

Cable or satelite?

Have you had HD before?

Are you getting anything on the HD channels?

Its the newest, Sony KDL40XBR2 LCD. Comcast cable. First time with HD. I get audio on the HD channels and the channel bar on bottom. The audio just comes from the regular coax signal. When the channel bar disappears, its just a blank screen. I never get any picture on those channels. Is there something I need to "turn on" in the menu that will cause the t.v. to look at the component connections? Or, does it automatically know to look there or at the HDMI for a HD signal?

I tried going to the output menu and signaling the one corresponding to the component hookups, but nothing happened. I will see if the cable box has something.

dorokusai

Did you have Comcast HD previously or is everything new today? I have Comcast HD and nothing has to be set or changed on the cable box, it simply has to be an HDTV box. Silver I presume?

Try hitting the "Input" or "TV/Video" buttons on the Sony remote control.

jtgranby

What model is your comcast box? If it doesn't have HDMI,is there a DVI hookup?

JT

univera

Scientic Atlanta3100 HD. No DVI, only S-video. If I get a DVR from Comcast, it will have HDMI. Total scam. You have to have that service to get optimum connections. However; I believe I can get that box without subscribing to the DVR service, which I would likely go ahead and do anyhow.

danger boy

univera wrote:

Scientic Atlanta3100 HD. No DVI, only S-video. If I get a DVR from Comcast, it will have HDMI. Total scam. You have to have that service to get optimum connections. However; I believe I can get that box without subscribing to the DVR service, which I would likely go ahead and do anyhow.

you said. the cable box only has S-video. but you are trying to use component video hook up. maybe i missed something there. the cable box should have component outputs.

also.. with component video. it's extemely easy to get one of the cables plugged into the wrong corresponing color.. the blue and green get me every damn time.. and you won't get any video if they are crossed. recheck your connections.

sounds like you may also be on the wrong input on your tv. my Zenith HDTV had tons of inputs. and outputs.. and it's very easy to mistakenly hook up a composite video input. thinking it was component. :eek:

good luck

jtgranby

How many componet outputs are coming from your cable box? sorry just looked at your cable box. I vote that comcast has not set up your account correctly for HD. I had to call three times for them get the right pkg.

JT

dorokusai

Nm...good luck in all your AV needs.

univera

Scrolling the inputs did the trick. The Sony picks up 1080i with no problem via component inputs. I can't imagine HD-DVD in 1080p. It looks unreal right now.

I meant that there was only S video in addition to component. If I turn off the cable box, I have to go back through the inputs again to get back to HD, which seems odd. I also have to scroll up a channel and then back down sometimes after going from SD to HD channels. It's like the signal doesn't kick in on the HD station I jump to. The channels have a little delay at times coming in, but maybe that's normal for HD.

univera

By the way, HD is unfriggin believeable. I hadn't actually viewed this set before purchasing. SD is sucky as expected, but HD is beautiful. That's without any adjustments whatsoever and no line conditioning as of yet. Not too grainy or anything. Super sharp and very natural. Red looks a bit pink so far, but I haven't spent any time with settings. Best LCD out there, put it to the test.

Holydoc

univera wrote:

By the way, HD is unfriggin believeable. I hadn't actually viewed this set before purchasing. SD is sucky as expected, but HD is beautiful. That's without any adjustments whatsoever and no line conditioning as of yet. Not too grainy or anything. Super sharp and very natural. Red looks a bit pink so far, but I haven't spent any time with settings. Best LCD out there, put it to the test.

Yes, I am totally in love with my first HD set and could never go back now. As far as your color settings and such grab an AVIA Calibration DVD and get your TV set up to optimal settings. It will become even more stunning.

Since the Sony XBR is so popular right now, you may also want to look around for threads on calibration techniques and tricks. I did that with my panasonic after self-calibrating and discovered a few tricks as well about break-in, firmware upgrades, and some fine adjustments that made my calibrations even that much better.

Enjoy and welcome to HD !

danger boy

glad you figured it out..

enjoy your new HDTV LCD

univera

Thanks for all the suggestions. This is one sweet picture. Compared to what I have seen on other LCD's, this set is NOT overpriced. If you want the best, this is it as far as LCD's. The set itself is as nice as they come, particuarly in black. I looked long and hard and really did my research and this set makes me believe Sony LCD's have turned that proverbial corner. I am glad I waited until now and watched a 20" POS.

Will it get better? Sure. But this is damn good and I want to enjoy it while I am still young! I may not leave the house for a while. If only all channels were in HD.....I feel an Oppo player headed my way in the very near future...

Holydoc

univera wrote:

Thanks for all the suggestions. This is one sweet picture. Compared to what I have seen on other LCD's, this set is NOT overpriced. If you want the best, this is it as far as LCD's. The set itself is as nice as they come, particuarly in black. I looked long and hard and really did my research and this set makes me believe Sony LCD's have turned that proverbial corner. I am glad I waited until now and watched a 20" POS.

Will it get better? Sure. But this is damn good and I want to enjoy it while I am still young! I may not leave the house for a while. If only all channels were in HD.....I feel an Oppo player headed my way in the very near future...

Remember that the Oppo players are not in High Definition. If you have a decent player currently (or one that will get your through for a bit), I would recommend waiting a bit until the Blue-ray, HDDVD war is over.

billbillw

If you've got time on your hands, look over at AVSforum in this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=707726

720 posts and counting, all about your TV set (and its siblings). Should be able to learn some tricks on how to tweak it.
Warning: You may also read about problems with your set that you wouldn't otherwise notice.

Holydoc

billbillw wrote:

Warning: You may also read about problems with your set that you wouldn't otherwise notice.

OMG this is so true! You have to be very careful. I bought an item I was completely happy with. After reading about its faults on the forums, I convinced myself to replace it.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss!

billbillw

Holydoc wrote:

OMG this is so true! You have to be very careful. I bought an item I was completely happy with. After reading about its faults on the forums, I convinced myself to replace it.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss!

No doubt.

There was a subtle problem with my old RCA DirecTV HD receiver. I never noticed until I read the forums. I had to sit there and LOOK for it, still couldn't find it. Then all of a sudden one time, I'm looking, and there it is! From then on, its all I saw. I replaced it with a better receiver, but turns out, it had its own problems (but I was the only one complaining), so I ended up upgrading again to the HDTivo and it has been great. Ultimately, I sold everything for at least as much as I paid, so nothing lost.

Similar thing with my Toshiba HDTV although I didn't have to read to figure out there was a problem, it was obvious. There are loads of problems with the TV Guide On Screen software. It is the most unreliable thing I've ever used. Its been more than 18 months, the thread has like 1600+ replies, and the problem is still not totally solved. I quit keeping up with it over a year ago since I don't really use the feature anyway.
Since then, I've quit reading the AVS forums for my TV.

univera

Yea, I don't know that I want to know any other flaws besides what I have read on C-Net. I will say that SD just flat out sucks. I expected that but it is probably worse than I expected.

I know the Oppo isn't HD, but it has a really good picture for the money and I can experiment with SACD and have HDCD. I just have an older Toshiba at the moment that I have always liked.

One thing I would like to figure out is how to switch to SD channels and then back again without having to scroll the inputs every time. If I go from HD to SD, I then have to scroll the inputs again before I can get it to see the HD channels. And, sometimes, the ESPN's, which are the lower most HD channels that are actually broadcasting, won't kick in right away. I have to scroll up or go to a higher channel first before going to ESPN.

billbillw

That might be dealing with a combination of issues between the TV and the STB. Check for a setting on the STB that lets you change the output resolution. If you have it, try changing to always output either 720p or 1080i.

Honestly, If I were you, I would go ahead and get the newer DVR box from the Cable Co. Its not much more per month ($5-$10?) and you will find that it is worth much more than that because it lets you actually watch more programing! You can save stuff on INHD or movie channels that are on in the middle of then night and watch at your leisure. Never miss a show, pause when the phone rings, etc. The convenience factor easily outweighs the cost. Just my opinion. Plus you get HDMI connection, which is usually an improvment.

univera

Thanks, Bill. Agreed on the DVR. I thought this was going to have a DVR box. If I get one, I will activate the service and get HDMI. I don't have HDMI switching on my NAD AVR, but that is minor. I can do it with component. I also had a vivid setting enabled on SD which was making it look worse. SD is decent but still a disappointment compared to a cheap tube set.


Any recommendations on ideal setting for volume between cable box/AVR?

sickicw

did you check out avsforum yet? i have the same tv in the 46" version. I found these settings on the forum that make the tv color pop. i still need to do some more tweeking, but i like these for now. Let me know if these work for you...

EDIT: The comments below are not mine, but from the person who posed the setting in avsforum...

Picture MENU
Mode = custom
Backlight = 5
Picture = 90
Brightness = 52
Color = 46
Hue = 0
Sharpness = 27 (I see a lot of people having this up in the 50-60 range... adds a lot of digital noise on my set)
Noise Reduction = OFF (turn this OFF...it just adds blurring to the image - if you drop your sharpness control down you shouldn't need to have it on, except maybe on SD programs)
DRC mode = mode 1 (standard setting of 1 seems to work best for me... when I turned it off, the picture didn't seem as clear... but its content dependent, sometimes its hard to tell any difference... haven't played around with setting 2)
DRC palette = reality = 5, clarity = 5 (I haven't played at all with this yet... I just have it at the default settings.... cant wait to start fiddling with this...
Advanced Settings sub menu
Black corrector = OFF (I turned this off, but it really depends on the lighting environment in your room... seems to darken the picture a bit too much, sacrificing a bit of black detail, but I can see having this turned on in certain situations)
Advanced C.E. = LOW (I have this on low, again, it really depends on the amount of ambient light in your room, I can see changing this at different times of the day)
Gamma = OFF
Clear White = OFF
Color space = WIDE (I belive this turns on the Wide Color Gamut (WCG-CCFL) circuit, reproducing over 102% of NTSC color according to Sony...in any case, it does make the colors more vivid, BUT, you have to then offset this by dropping your main COLOR setting above, otherwise it gets too saturated. This is really a personal preference setting, but I really like how colors pop when this is on)
Detail enhancer = MEDIUM (I actually have this at medium, but notice my sharpness control is turned down to 27, I can see this going down to LOW or even OFF, I suggest playing around with the interaction of the sharpness control with this setting to what looks best.
Edge enhancer = OFF (I didn't really notice much of a difference at the low setting, so I figured I'd turn it off)
White balance sub menu (No changes here... all default settings)
R gain = 0
G gain = 0
B gain = 0
R bias = 0
G bias = 0
B bias = 0

---

Screen Menu (I think these settings are pretty standard for most.)
Wide mode = Full
Auto wide = on
4:3 default = off
Display area = normal
Horizontal center = 0

TheReaper

univera wrote:

...Any recommendations on ideal setting for volume between cable box/AVR?

I would recommend using the digital connection, unless you don't have one. This will give up to DD5.1 on the HD/digital channels (depending on the program).

Besides the digital out from my cable box connected to my receiver, I have the stereo out connected to my computer at a volume level of 92 (why, I don't know).

Edit: I played with the volume, and now remember why I set it to 92. Because 100->96 sounded like it was over driving a little.

univera

univera wrote:

Thanks, Bill. Agreed on the DVR. I thought this was going to have a DVR box. If I get one, I will activate the service and get HDMI. I don't have HDMI switching on my NAD AVR, but that is minor. I can do it with component. I also had a vivid setting enabled on SD which was making it look worse. SD is decent but still a disappointment compared to a cheap tube set.


Any recommendations on ideal setting for volume between cable box/AVR?

Update: I got the DVR box and it works MUCH better than the previous one. Not only does it have the HDMI inputs which I haven't yet used, but it seems to have cured my A/V sync problems and it hones in the station much more quickly. If the sync problems were not a product of the box itself, then it is a result of rebooting the box itself as it was gone once this box was installed. (Previous threads suggested rebooting a box when sync problems occur. Unplugging for 30 seconds or less acheives this.) Additionally, the problem with having to scroll up and then back down to another station after going from SD to HD has disappeared. The installer felt this was the best box on all levels. Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 in silver. The other box was a piece of crap as the stations took forever to build.

univera

Last night I noticed what I believe are referred to as "artifacts." It isn't related to motion specifically and looks like a "grid" or "matrix" type effect. I notice it a lot around graphics and the constant channel logos. Things don't look as crisp/sharp. It was particuarly noticeable on the bottom graphics/stats grid on the bottom of the screen during the Sunday night football game.

The only change I made was yesterday by using the thin, Sony provided coax from the cable box output into the t.v. in place of the Comcast provied cable, which is much thicker. Changed that out a nothing different.

Just curious if external factors could cause this problem before I pull all the other wiring required for me to use the shorter, Comcast provided cable. I needed a longer run to be able to use my other digital cables with the box, so that's why I switched to the thinner Sony.

univera

Can someone give me some feedback on this "problem?" I really don't think its the t.v., but I don't know. I swear it wasn't there before. I see a grid with a block pattern from time to time that doesn't seem to be related to rapid motion. It is short lived and goes away but repeats itself as I watch. It seems to be more noticeable on the MTV music channel for some reason (which has a darker/less bright background than most channels), but all the channels just don't have the "pop" they had when I first got the t.v. Football games that are bright look like they a little hazy at times and far away pan shots of the crowd don't look as defined as they should. As I mentioned, the images in general don't look as sharp, graphics included. Sometimes they do just right, that's why I don't think it's the set. Could this be an electrical issue or a cable box issue? I have this plugged into the line conditioner and a cheap surge at the moment. This isn't ideal, but it is the same as initially set up. Anyone seen this on their set? Suggestions greatly appreciated as this driving me crazy.

Also, from time to time, the HD signal seems to go out for a second or two, which my SD t.v. never did. This may be common for everyone for all I know.

Holydoc

Sorry Univera. My HD set is crystal clear and HD signal is always constant.

Have you tried contacting your cable company to ensure your signal is ok?

billbillw

Univera,
You are probably just getting more critical.
These motion artifacts, pixelization, mosquito noise, etc. comes from bad encoding and/or from over compression. The broadcasters, cable coompanies, and satellite companies all have this problem, some worse than others. The more you watch, the more you will find them. HD is still a relatively new, developing technology. Just get used to it.

As far as the connection, I'm not sure what you mean by the "thin coax from Sony". Do you mean the supplied component video cables (blue/green/red)? If so, they are probably not the best and could result in a noticable degradation of the pic quality.

You should really be using the HDMI connection for video. I suggest going that route because that is the only way you will be assured of getting the most out of your TV. The cables aren't cheap, but think about the total cost of the setup. Cables are worth upgrading, especially for video. Of course, like anything, there is a point of diminishing return. In other words, don't overspend on the big name brands (Monster), just get one from someplace like Bluejeanscable.com or Ramelectronics.net. Their quality is all you need. I like the BJC-Series 2 HDMI. Seems to be a great cable for the price.

univera

Bill, thanks for the recommendations. I was actually referring to the 75 ohm video cable, but replacing that didn't make any difference. I am currently using the cheap **** component cables and will be upgrading, but I just didn't see this stuff previously, but I may just be noticing things. As far as HDMI, I haven't gotten that yet as it seems debatable whether or not they are any better (even my installer says he can't tell any noticeable difference) and my NAD AVR doesn't have HDMI switching, so component is easier. I'll check out Blue Jean cables as someone else recommended them as well.

BTW, does anyone upgrade the actual video cable provided by the cable company that comes out of the wall?