Plasma Question

[Tazz]

I recently bought my first plasma. I connected both the hd cable box and up-convert dvd with hdmi cables. My question is, is it normal for there to be fuzzyness in the picture? None of the hd channels are even perfectly clear. It's a 720P, so I am not sure if that matters.

Thanks

[MobCounty]

Don't freak out yet.

Signal plays a lot. Your cable box might be shit. I get better signal from the wall than I do through the box. Also, if your viewing low-def channels it pretty much looks like crap and sometimes it looks like compressed jpg's.

In my opinion, play a DVD and judge that signal, if you have a DVD player that will bump up the picture to higher res you will have your answer. That image should be pretty clean.

Also, view the DVD in component mode.

If all that fails, check out your contrast and brightness.. Out of the box lots of TV's look terrible.

[nickeye]

Maybe you got dog plasma by mistake.

[zathrus]

you might want to contact your cable company and have them test the box. It may not be working correctly.

[Devo37]

did you get an HD cable box?

if so, make sure your cable box is broadcasting a 720p signal. when i sot my LCD recently, i hooked everything up, turned on a HD channel, but it didn't look right. i checked the cable box settings, and sure enough, it was only broadcasting 480p.

[Tazz]

Thanks for the feedback. I was a little misleading when I said that it was "fuzzy". I guess what I meant to ask, was whether a small amount of staticy "snow" in the background was normal, even in HD channels, or whether the solid colors in the back should be solid, with no snow.

I am confusing even myself here.

[Bob Impact]

Thanks for the feedback. I was a little misleading when I said that it was "fuzzy". I guess what I meant to ask, was whether a small amount of staticy "snow" in the background was normal, even in HD channels, or whether the solid colors in the back should be solid, with no snow.

I am confusing even myself here.

It's possible to get fuzz in a digital image, with several possible causes, and from from several sources:

1) Sitting too close to the set.
2) A bad/weak/non-upconverted signal.
3) A bad wire.
4) A lower quality TV.


The most common cause is number 1 just because you have a plasma doesn't mean the old rules dont apply. Figure 1/2 a foot for each diagonal inch of screen space. There's a great chart that shows where the distance comes into play:
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4323/3437/1600/155178/resolution_chart.jpg
For issue 2, the simple test is to pop a DVD in and see how much better the quality is. If you have the same quality or a minor difference you are most likely dealing with 2 or 3. If the quality takes a significant jump you need to call the cable company.

3 is rare, as HDMI is a digital signal (meaning that for the most part, you have signal or you don't. While cross talk noise and signal degradation can still be a factor it's much more rare.) MUCH more likely in this case is lack of clean power. Plasma's can be very picky about their power source. Think of it like this: You wouldn't take unrefined gas and dump it into your car, you shouldn't do it with your plasma's power source either.

4 is obvious. There are deals in plasma, but a $1,500 50 inch is priced that way for a reason, and a $3,000 50 inch is priced that way for a reason. I would suggest moving your sitting position back.

[Mike Teacher]

Well yeah plasma rocks I mean 90% of the universe is plasma we forget coz its the stars you see when high energy gas molecules get stripped of electrons and they become electrically condufuckme wrong plasma

[Bob Impact]

Well yeah plasma rocks I mean 90% of the universe is plasma we forget coz its the stars you see when high energy gas molecules get stripped of electrons and they become electrically condufuckme wrong plasma

I love you. That post reminded me of a customer who once asked me "What happens if the plasma gets out? Is it bad for you?"