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New Contributor
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TV Quality check
Not sure if it is the size/viewing distance of my TV, or the cable line itself, but I feel as if the picture quality is much better in my bedroom than in my living room. Annoying because I have a 52-55 inch 3dTV in the living room, and about a 37inch in the bedroom. Due to living in a small condo, the distance ratio for my living room is for sure worse than my bedroom. (i.e. I'm sitting closer to a bigger TV).
Anyone know how to check the diagnostic on the Whole Home DVR system? I have the SA1642/8642 set. (Main DVR is in the living room, client box in the bedroom). I just want to know if the picture quality issues is just due to the size of the TV and the viewing conditions, or if their is some sort of signal loss I'm experiencing in the living room.
Thanks!
Matt
Domino
Valued Contributor III
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To enter diagnostics on the 8642...
From the remote, hold down the "SELECT" button until the Power Icon LED on the front panel starts blinking (about 5-10 seconds.) Press the UP ARROW (just above the "SELECT" button.) Diagnostic summary will appear with other diagnostic sections listed at left.
But...your picture quality difference is more likely in STB/DVR hook-up differences and TV quality differences. Try swapping the locations of the two TVs and see if the smaller one still looks better.
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StephanieA
Former Moderator
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Picture quality comes more from the cables connenting the receiver to the TV. Can you verify what cables you are using for your TVs? Instead of changing the locations of the TVs, I suggest changing the cables and see what happens.
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Domino
Valued Contributor III
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Swapping the TVs at the two locations would eliminate (his suspected) signal quality issues as the problem. I [perhaps wrongly] assumed that he had eliminated poor connections as a cause. Many of my friends think my 27" gameroom TV has a better picture than my large screen Sony in my living room.
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Bruce
+4 more
Honored Contributor III
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The TV is too big for the small room. If MKM is sitting too close to a 52- to 55-inch screen, he or she will notice the picture elements (pixels) that make up the images. This could be especially distracting with lower-quality content, such as streaming video.
Here are the preferred screen sizes to room sizes:
50+ inches where you'll be sitting 10+ feet away
46- to 50-inch where you'll be sitting 8 to 10 feet away
26- to 32-inch for casual viewing in bedrooms
Smaller screens for kitchens and home offices
First, as Domino recommended, relocate the 37-inch to the living room.
Second, use an HDMI cable. Buy only modestly priced HDMI cables. Any modestly-priced, "high-speed" (Category 2) HDMI cable is adequate for a TV, even for 3D.
If the picture quality is still low, then start troubleshooting signal quality, such as replacing the set-top box and scheduling a technician.
After you're completely satisfied, sell your jumbo TV. Are there larger condos in your community? If so, sell the TV to a neighbor. If you're honest, "my TV is too big for my small condo," you should be able to recoup some money.
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ChrisL
Former Moderator
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Another factor that may be worth considering too is are we talking about SD or HD channels? TV's have to upscale SD content to display on an HD panel and the quality of upscalers can vary from one set manufacturer to another.
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mkm1998
New Contributor
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A few clarifications. Before anyone thinks I'm just imagining things or are hypercritical, I've been living in my condo for about 3 years now. Same TV layout as always. Never had a problem or noticed any pixel issue until I swapped my old Cox Cable boxes for the Cisco Whole Home DVRs. Nothing else connected to the living room TV has this issue.
The PS3, 360, WiiU, Ouya are all fine. I don't notice any pixel issues with any of them. Only when using this Whole Room DVR does it look noticeable. Hence why I wanted to check diagnosis to see if any of the readings confirmed my suspicions that the box was getting a weak signal. Domino, since you advised me on how to get to the Diag screen, can you help me figure out what numbers I should be looking at on there and what is ideal signal numbers?
As far as other issues suggested I'll address them as such:
SWAP DVR boxes: Not a bad idea. I've been in and out of the house lately on trips but I will try that as soon as I can to see if that does the trick. If suddenly the picture is better out in the living room then I think we have our culptit.
NEW HDMI: I hardly doubt this is the issue since it was the exact same HDMI cable that was used on the old DVR and had no issues there. I'm not sure the company. It's either the Amazon brand that was the newest HDMI standard number at the time, or possible one supplied by COX when they came and installed the Cisco boxes themselves.
Swapping TV: Again hardly doubt this is the issue since the 55inch TV provides excellent picture for every other device hooked up to it.
Sell TV: Gotta say I laughed at this one. Telling someone to go sell his TV was pretty hilarious. And I did my homework when I purchased the TV, and I don't know where you got your 10+ feet from but everywhere I've looked said 55inch is fine for a room 7-8 feet away. Every other device is great, except when watching the DVR. So sorry, I won't be selling my TV. And honestly if a Cox representative told me that in person I would laugh in their face.
HD or SD: No, I know I'm watching the HD stations. I hardly ever watch SD stations anymore since the quality is pretty sad, especially when exaggerated on a TV of my size. Usually the worst for me is actually AMCHD, it's where I noticed it the most, but other stations have it as well.
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Domino
Valued Contributor III
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