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General discussion

4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face

Dec 6, 2004 8:45AM PST

I did watch NBC news on HD what a perfect picture. The problem i have is when i watch some other channels lets say CNN and wolf blitzers face blurs slightly real quickly and its worse in the wide screen zoom mode and full mode. Question is ,when you take the analog signal 4.3 and stretch it can you get that especially if the TV is trying to compensate the signal??? Does not happen with HDTV. I do have the cable man coming to check the outside lines etc. Since i heard when its a small picture you do not see any issues but with a bigger picture you'll see more problems that actually are existing in the 4.3. Does anyone out there have any ideas?? is it the TV or the Cable signal?? Did call Sony no help so far, will give the cable man a go first. Does anyone have the same TV with the same problem?? KDF-55XS955

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 7, 2004 3:10AM PST

your just realizing a dirty little secret about hdtv. non-hd signals on a hd set can vary from decent to down right awful depending on the source especially if you have a larger screen. despite whatever display features your hdtv has, a regular broadcast only has so much signal. any picture manipulation often enhances the lack of quality of the signal. imagine those who drop several thousand on a plasma and having to watch regular tv on them.

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 7, 2004 7:12AM PST

Thanks- I did think about that that how can a 4.3 signal expanded to 16.9 wide zoom really hold the sharpness. Some channels are better than others. Its like the sharpness goes from left (more blur) to the right (more grainy). Does not happen when in HDTV mode. Though i did chec k the outside cable splitter . Its totally rusted and one of the connections that goes to the house is coming apart and one cable is as thin as spaghetti. Definitely not RG 6 catv cable. I doubt that will help the issue but worth a go. How come the sharpness problem is on only some channels??? Not All??? Can hardly wait for the HDTV it is outstanding on this TV

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 7, 2004 7:42AM PST

it all depends on the stations, some just do a better job senting out a stronger signal. fixing your cable connection should help, but the harsh reality is once you get use to HD viewing, it's hard to have go back to regular broadcasting. too often, people spend $$$$ and realize they only spend 10% of the time watching HDTV.

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 7, 2004 8:54AM PST

you're right. What kills me, most of my problem is with CNN.I'm sure they can afford to upgrade a little. I'll let you know how things go. Do you think using satellite would be better on the signal??

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 7, 2004 4:18PM PST

MY BUDDY HAS DIRECTV AND ALL HE GETS IS A HIGHER BILL. HE DOSEN'T EVEN GET LOCAL HD (ABC, CBS, NBC). I HAVE COMCAST IN MY AREA AND GET 6 DEDICATED HD CHANNELS ALONG WITH THE BIG 3 NETWORKS FOR THEIR PRIMETIME SHOWS. THIS IS THEIR BASIC PACKAGE FOR $50 ($45 FOR THE LINEUP, $5 FOR THE BOX) IS THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK. HOWEVER, I HAVE HEARD GOOD THINGS ABOUT ONE UP AND COMING COMPANY CALL ZOOM, BUT THEIR PACKAGES START AT $100 PER MONTH.

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 8, 2004 12:57AM PST

ditto, you need an electrical engineering degree these days to know what's going on in consumer elctronics -- HDTV is messy, too many media companies delivering various formats, cable guys delivering NTSC + 480p/1080i, displays munging data (scalers), ... on and on. When a consumer buys a widescreen display, beware, some media will look incredible, others look down right poor. The explanations are very technical (BSEE required), and solutions are an enigma.

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 8, 2004 1:09AM PST

I agree. I just had the cable guy upgrade the old connections etc outside. I guess if i get the "sharpness" quick blur in certain areas of the picture more noticable in face area and is different on each channel i guess its all where the singnal comes from. Is it comcasts problem or from where the signal is originated??? Otherwise I will say the Sony i have does give an outstanding picture. I just wanted to make sure its a signal problem and not a TV probem.But i do agree with you.

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 8, 2004 6:42AM PST

Hi BONSPEED. Just an update The cable man came and replaced all the rusted outdated splitter and redid all the wires. An incredibly nice guy I can see the difference already. People should if they can check out the equipment outside to make sure its Okay. They will come if you call or the outdated and damaged stuff will just remain.

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Re: 4.3 vs 16.9 ratio and slight in and out blur in face
Dec 14, 2004 12:00AM PST

Well notice a blur on and off at night very slight and in 16.9 modes seems worse at night. Did talk to Comcast they are giving me their digital free for a month. I do not want the box but worth seeing if it helps. I feel the guy should climb the pole and BOOST the signal since it goes down at night. This Tv should not need the box or cablcard unless of course i Want other features which i do not. I hope I am not approaching this backwards.I have a digital ready TV and has a HDTV tuner built in