Forum Discussion

Dvhr's avatar
Dvhr
New Contributor
6 years ago

image quality with new contour box

I just swapped out my old (11 years) cable box and the image quality on the new one is not nearly as good. The main issue is overall sharpness. I have fiddled extensively with the image controls both on contour and on my tv and cannot match the old sharpness level. Is there something about these new boxes that has changed the quality of the incoming signal from Cox in any way?

This is not a subjective issue such as perhaps the color settings are. The background images are definitely not as sharp as before and the main foreground images also seem somewhat softer at times.

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III
    6 years ago

    You have a good eye...and a good monitor.

    It could be the set-top box but I suspect it's the newer compression scheme:  MPEG-2 vs. MPEG-4.  One scheme is better for quality the other for efficiency.

    MPEG-2 has less compression and impeccable image-quality...but uses more bandwidth.

    MPEG-4 has more compression and less bandwidth...but inferior image-quality.

    If you've fiddled extensively with your video settings, I suspect you've already found the 1080p resolution:  Settings > Device Settings > Video Display > Video Output Resolution.  That's all I can recommend.

  • KevinM2's avatar
    KevinM2
    Former Moderator
    6 years ago
    Hello, are multiple televisions impacted by this issue or only one television? Are you using a standard HDMI connection? What is the age of the television? -Kevin M. Cox Support Forum Moderator