Poor quality On-Demand

What TV do you have? What box do you have? How do you have them connected? Is it just EOD? Are HD channels fine?

TV is a VIZIO 32" 720p Box is Motorola.

Resizing only occurs when switching to Channel 1 (On Demand).  The On Demand movies/TV shows play in 480p mode.  When I switch back to regular channels, I have to physically reset the Box Menu screen size from 480p to 720p.

I have no problem with the regular cable channels 2 and up. It is the Box or the On Demand that does the resetting.

TV is a VIZIO 32" 720p

Box is Motorola.

Resizing only occurs when switching to Channel 1 (On Demand).  The On Demand movies/TV shows play in 480p mode.  When I switch back to regular channels, I have to physically reset the Box Menu screen size from 480p to 720p.

I have no problem with the regular cable channels 2 and up. It is the Box or the On Demand that does the resetting.

Coaxial from wall to Box.

HDMI from Box to TV.

I have not moved or changed the physical setup in years.  The problem is NOT with the cables.  It is the OnDemand SERVICE from Cox,

I click on the remote for Channel 1.  The Box/Service takes several moments to connect.  During that time, I get a brief 'no service' screen.  When it shows the OnDemand Menu, it has reset my TV resolution from 720p to 480p. 

When I exit out of OnDemand to go to any TV channel, my resolution is still at 480p.  I have to manually select the Box Menu and change the resolution from 480p to 720p.

This only started about 2 months ago.  It did the same thing a couple of years ago, but seemed to self-correct.  So far this session, it has not self-corrected.

The qualify of the OD in 480p mode is, of course, poor.

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I just tried resetting the resolution from 480p to 729p while IN OnDemand.  It seemed to 'take' until I exited the menu and returned to OD.  OD reverted to 480p mode.

The problem is with the OnDemand coming into the Box.  My screen resolution does NOT change automatically when I switch channels otherwise, or switch from HDMI 1 to HDMI 2 or to Composite or Component connections.

The resolution ONLY changes when I go into ON DEMAND. 

Several weeks ago Cox made changes to the OnDemand Menu system.  THAT is when the problem started. 

When you say "Cox made changes to the OnDemand Menu system..." are you referring to automatic stretching of the low-def menu from 4:3 to 16:9?  I hate that.  It looks like it was written on a rubber band but you read it while the rubber band is stretched.  Who's brilliant idea?

Anyway, once you enter the OnDemand menu, all video thereafter is locked into that stretchy, low-def resolution?  If so, it's not readjusting somewhere.

What Output Formats do you have selected in the cable-box settings?  All (1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i)?

Also, what Screen Format do you have selected in your Vizio settings?  Normal, Full, etc?

"Cox made changes to the OnDemand Menu system..."

Cox restructured the menu contents.

MY output format in cable box settings is 720p.  Box is on HDMI-1.   When I enter OnDemand, the Box or OD changes my HDMI-1 TV resolution to 480p.  Anything I watch in OD is in 480p stretched format.  If I select Box and Menu, it shows the resolution at 480p.  It stays at that when I return to the regular channel lineup.  I have to physically select the Box menu and change the resolution to 720p.

This morning I tested setting the Box menu to 720p while still in OnDemand.  When I returned to OnDemand menu, the resolution reset to 480p.  When I exited OnDemand, the resolution remained at 480p.

VIZIO screen format is set to Wide. 

ADDITIONAL INFO:  Resolution is not changes if I switch the TV to Composite or Component or HDMI-2.

Select all the Output Formats in your cable-box settings:  1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i

Change your Vizio format to Full, Automatic, Normal, whatever...I don't know the setting for Vizio...but your TV shouldn't be resizing your video.

"Select all the Output Formats in your cable-box settings:  1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i"

There is no all selection in the Box Menu Output Formats.

"your TV shouldn't be resizing your video."

The TV is not doing the resizing, it is the OnDemand that is doing it.  OnDemand is changing the output from 720p to 480p.  It only happens AFTER I hit the OnDemand button on the remote or select Channel 1 from the remote or guide.

Don't have cable, so can't test anything, could be because EOD menu is 480p. Try going to the specific EOD menu instead of the main EOD menu (CH 1). To find that channel, go through channel 1 like normal, and then say go to HBO HD EOD section and press "Info" on your remote and it should tell you the channel. See if going to that channel causes the same thing.

Another thing you could try is a different type box. 

Sorry, I didn't mean to select an All option because, you're right, there is no All option.

In Settings, highlight the Output Format settings...press Select on Remote...notice all the output formats are listed...highlight 1080i...press Select on your remote...and repeat for each remaining format.  On my box, there is a little dot next to each of the output formats I have selected.  If I highlight 720p and repeatedly press Select on my remote, the dot disappears, reappears, etc.

Even if you direct dial to a specific OnDemand folder, it'll still take you to a 480 OnDemand menu.

Bruce said:
Even if you direct dial to a specific OnDemand folder, it'll still take you to a 480 OnDemand menu.

Ahh, darn. Used to work on Motorola boxes. Guess my knowledge is getting out of date.  TY

I have Rovi.  Maybe you can with Contour or the other programs.

The new GUIDE does not have all of the individual OD stations listed.  Mine only has the major categories -- Premiums, Movies, etc.  If I select the one STARZ listing, it takes me to the OD channel.  The box still shows 720p, but the screen image looks like an old analog VCR screen.  When I exit out to the main TV channels, the box and screen are back at the 480p resolution.

The problem is with the OnDemand.  It started when Cox revised the OD menu about 2 months ago.  They messed something up either at the local level or the wherever OD originates.

It is a Cox problem.  It happened exactly the same way about 2 years ago when they did some changes to the OnDemand system.  That time, it lasted a couple of weeks and got corrected externally to my hookup.