Fixing Common Problems with HDTV's
As HDTVs are becoming more popular and "rabbit ear" TVs are being completely elliminated, you may be interested in how to troubleshoot your HDTV. The following tips and pictures are from Jonathan Gromer's "Troubleshoot your HDTV." I would definitely take these common problems and concerns into heart, as one day the only thing you'll be watching on TV is HD.
Check out the following picture, and then see how to fix the numbered problems (1-6). The image seems fine in its current state, but when you really blow up the image, you'll find 6 very common problems with HD, and since you're already spending a nive fortune for a flat-screen HDTV, you might as well know and understand all of the problems with HDTV and how to fix them, so that you can potentially avoid a service fee from hiring a technician to come check out your television.
1. Clouds of digital "mosquitoes" surround fast-moving objects.
This is a picture artifact (or distortion) that can occur as a side effect of digital television-signal compression.
THE FIX: Don't worry. This problem is caused at the broadcaster or at your cable/satellite provider. The good news is that motion artifacts should be greatly reduced in the next few years as compression technology improves. The bad news is that if you want to fix it now, you'll need an outboard digital noise processor such as the Algolith Mosquito HDMI, which costs $3000.
2. Flesh tones and colors look unnatural.
Most HDTV sets have several picture settings with varying combinations of brightness, contrast, color saturation and color temperature. The "color" of white on HDTV sets is usually bluish, or "cold," when you are using the factory settings—which are optimized for the showroom.
THE FIX: In the picture menu, look for modes such as Movie or Natural. For precise control, try calibrating your set using a color meter, such as Datacolor's Spyder TV ($269), or a DVD such as Monster/ISF's HDTV Calibration Wizard ($30).
3. People and objects have weird white outlines around them.
There are two potential causes of these artificial edges. Either your TV's sharpness is set way too high or your set is using some sort of edge-enhancement processing that is generally unnecessary for hi-def signals.
THE FIX: Go to the Picture or Image settings in your TV's menu, and adjust the sharpness until the outlines disappear. If you want to turn off the edge-enhancement processing completely, you may need to employ the services of a qualified technician to disable it in your set's service menu.
4. "Crawling moss" is seen in dark areas of a movie or TV show.
This is a picture artifact known as dynamic false contouring, and it is usually seen on older plasma, DLP rear-projection, and some LCD TVs.
THE FIX: Most major manufacturers should have this problem under control, but some 2nd-tier companies are still using inadequate signal processing. If your HDTV exhibits false contouring and is still returnable, take it back. When you check out other HDTVs, ask to see a video source with lots of dark shading and look carefully.
5. HD programs break up into pixels and then go back to normal.
This is caused by low-level digital video signals dropping in and out. It's often fixable, assuming the problem isn't originating at the cable or satellite headend, or at a TV broadcast station.
THE FIX: Ask your cable or satellite installer to check if DTV signals are strong enough for your set-top box. If they're too wimpy, a commercial-quality in-line amplifier (about $80) will provide the missing oomph. If you receive digital TV signals off-air, install a preamplifier (about $60) at the antenna to boost signal strength.
6. HDTV looks good on my screen, but standard-definition programs don't.
Standard-definition TV signals (about 480 visible lines) are blown up to fill your HDTV screen (anywhere from 720 to 1080 lines). The original standard-def TV specifications were optimized for smaller screens than are common today.
THE FIX: If you haven't bought an HD set yet, here's a reason to wait: Future sets will be better at upconverting images to HD. Meanwhile, outboard video scalers can convert a 480i signal to 1080p. Models from Lumagen and DVDO range from $1000 to $2500.
Check out the following picture, and then see how to fix the numbered problems (1-6). The image seems fine in its current state, but when you really blow up the image, you'll find 6 very common problems with HD, and since you're already spending a nive fortune for a flat-screen HDTV, you might as well know and understand all of the problems with HDTV and how to fix them, so that you can potentially avoid a service fee from hiring a technician to come check out your television.
This is a picture artifact (or distortion) that can occur as a side effect of digital television-signal compression.
THE FIX: Don't worry. This problem is caused at the broadcaster or at your cable/satellite provider. The good news is that motion artifacts should be greatly reduced in the next few years as compression technology improves. The bad news is that if you want to fix it now, you'll need an outboard digital noise processor such as the Algolith Mosquito HDMI, which costs $3000.
Most HDTV sets have several picture settings with varying combinations of brightness, contrast, color saturation and color temperature. The "color" of white on HDTV sets is usually bluish, or "cold," when you are using the factory settings—which are optimized for the showroom.
THE FIX: In the picture menu, look for modes such as Movie or Natural. For precise control, try calibrating your set using a color meter, such as Datacolor's Spyder TV ($269), or a DVD such as Monster/ISF's HDTV Calibration Wizard ($30).
There are two potential causes of these artificial edges. Either your TV's sharpness is set way too high or your set is using some sort of edge-enhancement processing that is generally unnecessary for hi-def signals.
THE FIX: Go to the Picture or Image settings in your TV's menu, and adjust the sharpness until the outlines disappear. If you want to turn off the edge-enhancement processing completely, you may need to employ the services of a qualified technician to disable it in your set's service menu.
This is a picture artifact known as dynamic false contouring, and it is usually seen on older plasma, DLP rear-projection, and some LCD TVs.
THE FIX: Most major manufacturers should have this problem under control, but some 2nd-tier companies are still using inadequate signal processing. If your HDTV exhibits false contouring and is still returnable, take it back. When you check out other HDTVs, ask to see a video source with lots of dark shading and look carefully.
This is caused by low-level digital video signals dropping in and out. It's often fixable, assuming the problem isn't originating at the cable or satellite headend, or at a TV broadcast station.
THE FIX: Ask your cable or satellite installer to check if DTV signals are strong enough for your set-top box. If they're too wimpy, a commercial-quality in-line amplifier (about $80) will provide the missing oomph. If you receive digital TV signals off-air, install a preamplifier (about $60) at the antenna to boost signal strength.
Standard-definition TV signals (about 480 visible lines) are blown up to fill your HDTV screen (anywhere from 720 to 1080 lines). The original standard-def TV specifications were optimized for smaller screens than are common today.
THE FIX: If you haven't bought an HD set yet, here's a reason to wait: Future sets will be better at upconverting images to HD. Meanwhile, outboard video scalers can convert a 480i signal to 1080p. Models from Lumagen and DVDO range from $1000 to $2500.
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