Charter Cable question -West Bend

[Scott]

Hi Guys--quick question.

I just went over to a friends house in West Bend.  He got a new Sony 40" LCD, the KDL40s2000.   He's never had an HD set before.  

He has Charter cable in West Bend and a digital set-top box.  I'd have to say that the channels 782-790 that were supposed to be HD weren't HD but SD.  Additionally, the typical analog stations from 0-100 looked terrible on this TV.

My friend isn't real up on technical matters.  Does Charter Cable even truly have HD and what is anyone's opinion on the normal picture quality for your typical cable channels?

Thanks......

[budda]

I live in Oconomowoc, and had Charter HD, with MOXI/DVR found box to be great, however you are correct, below 100 all channels look pretty bad on a LCD,plasma, RPTV or DLP. On a tube you really don't see such a difference. Yes, there is real HD and on those few channels it is a good picture, They do not offer ALL HD locals and you can't hook up a OTA, ANT to the box. value wise I think there are better choices, I went back to DISH with the VIP622 DVR. I am really happy with the content and HD line up. Charter did manage to get FOX in HD after football was over. Should be good for next year. One last thing if you have a newer T.V. charter box has DVI not HDMI connection, also it has componet as well as optical. I guess it is back to what you want and how geeky you are. Just my two cents.Peace

[PJFW8]

I'm in West Bend.  Charter HD is fine.  The digital channels are ok. Analog varies from ok to awfull.  I suspect that the box or TV are set up wrong.  The box will upconvert all signals to 1080i or 720p or pass through.  On his set I would bet he is better off letting the TV handle all low def sources.  Your friend should try both.  The settings are on a hidden menu.   He needs to verify his TV settings too.  I have found charter installations using s-video  because the HD input was turned off on the TV's menu.  He may also want to try the component input rather than DVI.  DVI is sometimes a problem on the HD box.

[dslomski]

Charter is awful, but there must be a setup problem.  I'm in Jackson, the HD's look great.  Basically cannot watch an anolog station through the MOXI box.  I've been told for over a year that Charter is going to switch to all digital.  Then I've also been told that its too expensive to roll out for so few customers in Washington County.

Bottom line....if anyone claims to hate TWC...move north, you'll be begging to get it back.

DAVE

[TPK]

He has Charter cable in West Bend and a digital set-top box.  I'd have to say that the channels 782-790 that were supposed to be HD weren't HD but SD.  Additionally, the typical analog stations from 0-100 looked terrible on this TV.

My friend isn't real up on technical matters.  Does Charter Cable even truly have HD and what is anyone's opinion on the normal picture quality for your typical cable channels?

Maybe this is a silly question, but how does your friend have the box hooked up to the television??  Put another way, what 'input' does he turn the television to to recieve the signal from the box??

Ive seen my share of HD televisions hooked up to HD set top boxes (even when 'professionally' installed by technicians hired by the cable company) with composite cables (that would be a single yellow cable for video, and perhaps a red and white cable for audio right and left)...  Or sometimes with an s-video cable...

... That would kill any HD signal

In order to recieve HD, the box needs to connect to the television at least with component cables, which would be 3 cables (red, green, blue) for video and perhaps a red and white cable for audio right and left..

Or better would be a digital connection with HDMI or a DVI cable (HDMI is a single cable with a small flat connector, and DVI is a single cable with a larger d-type connector perhaps paired with a red and white cable for audio right and left)

Additionally, if your friend has a surround reciever, you may want to hook up the cable box with a digital audio cable to get dolby digital for true 5.1 surround sound, but that is another topic...