# Blurriness on HDTV



## Patrick T (May 8, 2008)

I have a LCD Toshiba Regza 37 inch HDTV, model 37HL67. I am receiving digital signal over the air with a UHF antenna and booster on the antenna. I have a 4 way 1000 MHz splitter going to 4 different TVs, one is a computer and 2 have the DTV converter boxes on them. The Toshiba had a very clear picture, but could not tune in one of the stations, so I took it back. 5 weeks later and I've just gotten the TV back. They put in a new tuner and I can now tune in the station that was missing before, but now the picture isn't as clear. I've tried everything I can think of. I've turned the sharpness way up and way down. I've adjusted other settings and have checked all of the cable connections. All of the other TVs are crystal clear. This one isn't blurry all the time, but it seems like the eyes and faces aren't clear at times and if there is movement, it's not clear. I've noticed that sometimes in the background, if someone is moving, the background is blurry. The TV was not like this before. I always thought it was crystal clear. 

I should say I've also reset the TV to factory settings, but the problem is still there. Does anybody have any suggestions on anything else I could try? I hate to call the store again and be without the TV for another 5-6 weeks!


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

My suggestion would be to try asking the same question at our sister forum, AVSForum.com as well.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Check the motion compensation settings to see if they make sense. It is also possible that your favorite local channel has added a subchannel and your PQ has gone to pot due to starvation.

I'd be preparing to get another unit coming.


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## Patrick T (May 8, 2008)

harsh said:


> Check the motion compensation settings to see if they make sense. It is also possible that your favorite local channel has added a subchannel and your PQ has gone to pot due to starvation.
> 
> I'd be preparing to get another unit coming.


How do I check the motion compensation settings?

All of the stations are the same. What is the PQ?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Patrick T said:


> How do I check the motion compensation settings?


You'll need to consult the manual for the TV. I don't happen to have one.


> All of the stations are the same.


Then it is likely the TV that is the problem.


> What is the PQ?


Program Quality. How accurate and artifact free the picture looks.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

PQ = Picture Quality


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## Patrick T (May 8, 2008)

OK, the TV store let me bring home another TV to test it and it looks the same way. The picture is just not clear at times. Could this be caused by atmospheric changes since winter? It was a perfectly clear picture when I bought it in January. 

We still have the VHF antenna hooked up and just below the UHF antenna. Could this be causing some noise that would be causing a picture like this on the big TV? The DTV converter boxes hooked up to the old analog TVs are getting a nice, clear picture. 

The signal strength meter on the TV show 5 bars out of 5 bars, or around 94 on a scale of 100. I don't think an in line distribution amp would help, would it?

What about an attenuator? That has also been suggested, but I don't know what kind I'd need. Does anybody know anything about them and if that would work?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Let me make one thing perfectly clear you cannot get a fuzzy picture on a digital TV station. If it is fuzzy, that's the way the station is sending it (possibly compressed beyond recognition). The artifacts of a "bad" signal on digital are usually pretty severe. Bad can be weak or multipath. Most automatic gain controls will bring a hot signal down.


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## PTown (Aug 18, 2007)

Patrick T said:


> I've adjusted other settings and have checked all of the cable connections. All of the other TVs are crystal clear. This one isn't blurry all the time, but it seems like the eyes and faces aren't clear at times and if there is movement, it's not clear. I've noticed that sometimes in the background, if someone is moving, the background is blurry.


In layman's terms put simply, keep in mind you are watching a LCD TV, that will account for most of the blurriness when there is movement.
I'm betting your old TV's with the converters are CRT's which will account for the greater level of clarity.


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## Patrick T (May 8, 2008)

harsh said:


> Let me make one thing perfectly clear you cannot get a fuzzy picture on a digital TV station. If it is fuzzy, that's the way the station is sending it (possibly compressed beyond recognition). The artifacts of a "bad" signal on digital are usually pretty severe. Bad can be weak or multipath. Most automatic gain controls will bring a hot signal down.


It is not fuzzy or snowy. It is unclear. The best way I can describe it is that it looks like a picture on a computer that has been enlarged too much. These are all digital stations. I am receiving them with a UHF antenna. It was my understanding that over the air is not compressed, so it should be a clear picture. I don't know how the local stations receive the network feed. Do the networks have to compress the programs when they send the programs to the local stations? If that is the case, then I suppose that could account for the picture problem, but I've also noticed it on the local news, which should not be compressed.

Would an inline distribution amp help clear up the picture? Could what I'm seeing be caused by the 4-way splitter causing loss of signal or would I not get a picture at all if that was the case? Could the VHF antenna be causing some interference that would show up in this way on the TV? Or again, would I just lose the picture altogether from interference like that?


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## Patrick T (May 8, 2008)

PTown said:


> In layman's terms put simply, keep in mind you are watching a LCD TV, that will account for most of the blurriness when there is movement.
> I'm betting your old TV's with the converters are CRT's which will account for the greater level of clarity.


Yes, the old TV's are CRTs and also smaller, so that would account for a clearer picture. And I have also read that some of the motion blur is probably due to it being a LCD TV. The HD basketball and baseball games have been very clear and sharp, even the backgrounds when people are running.

If motion blur was the only problem, it wouldn't be so bad, but when people's faces are not clear unless it's an up close shot, then it becomes pretty annoying to me.


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

Does your TV indicate what resolution it is displaying? Are you truly tuning an HD channel? When I set up my Sony, it scanned for all channels, analog and digital and I can tune either. FWIW


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## Patrick T (May 8, 2008)

I have skipped the analog channels. It found them, but I took them out of the rotation, so to speak.

The digital stations usually show 1080i or 720p, although most during the daytime programs are in the 4:3 scale. A couple of them are in 480i. It is understandable they are not as clear as what I'd like. Most of the primetime shows are 16:9 and look better, but even then, they aren't always crystal clear.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Are you watching an HD broadcast?

An SD broadcast will look "enlarged" on a large screen, but an HDTV broadcast should look like you are watching through a window.


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## Patrick T (May 8, 2008)

Jim5506 said:


> Are you watching an HD broadcast?
> 
> An SD broadcast will look "enlarged" on a large screen, but an HDTV broadcast should look like you are watching through a window.


If they say they're 1080i or 720p, aren't they HD? When I press the Info button on the remote, it's saying they're 1080i or 720p, but they must not be HD. I watched _Lost_ tonight and it was definitely HD and was a perfect picture. It's the same with sports that I've seen in HD and with the late night talk shows. If that's the case, then I guess I'm making much ado about nothing, but am disappointed in how SD looks on the TV.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Generally an OTA signal from a station will be 1080i or 720p 24/7/365, but your are lucky if half of what they actually broadcast is HD.

Stations do not have the capability or switch from 1080i to 480p, so they use 1080i all the time even for SD content and it is grainy and fuzzy compared to real HD 1080i.


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## Patrick T (May 8, 2008)

OK, that must be what is happening. It's good to know there isn't a problem with the TV, but disappointing that this is the picture I can expect. They sure don't tell you this when you're shopping for a HDTV. I just compared LCD to plasma and thought the LCD had the better picture, so I went with that. During primetime, the picture is much better, everything I expected, and the HD sports are amazing. 

Thanks for the info and the help, everyone!


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