newclassicfilmfan1 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Well, for the last 3-4 weeks my analog tv set has distorted pictures - some are narrow like stringbeans, others are wider and go off the screen and other pictures are tiny with black bars on top and bottom. The worst are the lower channels like 2, 4, 5, 7, etc....A poster here said my adaptor needs to be changed to a digital adpater or converter....so the Comcast tech. comes here and says "it's the channels that are putting out these types of signal now"....it has nothing to do with Comcast and he looks at my adaptor and says it is the only adaptor they have and tells me it is a digital adapter....so I guess I'm stuck with distorted pictures now....this guy said lots of people are complaining. Does anyone else notice this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NipkowDisc Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Well, for the last 3-4 weeks my analog tv set has distorted pictures - some are narrow like stringbeans, others are wider and go off the screen and other pictures are tiny with black bars on top and bottom. The worst are the lower channels like 2, 4, 5, 7, etc....A poster here said my adaptor needs to be changed to a digital adpater or converter....so the Comcast tech. comes here and says "it's the channels that are putting out these types of signal now"....it has nothing to do with Comcast and he looks at my adaptor and says it is the only adaptor they have and tells me it is a digital adapter....so I guess I'm stuck with distorted pictures now....this guy said lots of people are complaining. Does anyone else notice this? you need a flatscreen TV. get a cheap 720p unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newclassicfilmfan1 Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 I have a flat screen - but I also have a secondary analog tv that was fine before 3 weeks ago and then all of a sudden, the pictures were distorted on the lower channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markfp2 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'm not accusing anyone, but some cable companies have been known to, shall we say, "bend" the truth a little. The channels are sending out a digital signal and it's the cable company, itself, that "down-converts" it to analog. There's nothing they'd like better to do than get everyone off of an analog signal and switch them to a higher priced digital package. That's why they're always movimg the better channels to a digital only tier. You might want to try another TV just in case that's the problem. Around here you can find tons of them at charity thrift stores for as little as five bucks. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkblue Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'm not accusing anyone, but some cable companies have been known to, shall we say, "bend" the truth a little. The channels are sending out a digital signal and it's the cable company, itself, that "down-converts" it to analog. There's nothing they'd like better to do than get everyone off of an analog signal and switch them to a higher priced digital package. You know too much. Watch your back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markfp2 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 You know too much. Watch your back. Hey! I'm not afraid, somebody has to stand up to them. Besides, I have DirecTV. Of course, if I suddenly stop posting on these boards.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikisoo Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Well I have a higher priced flat screen TV and my local news is ALWAYS stretched. No matter what setting I try, it remains either stretched or super stretched making everyone look fat & squatty. It's ONLY my local news-everything else can be "fixed". I'd trust markp on this one.....it's the broadcaster's signal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovieMadness Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Unless the TV manufacturers paid off the broadcasters I just can't see a conspiracy in this, even if I wanted to. My cheepie flat screen has 5 different settings for the screen. Normal 16:9 Movie Expand Zoom Wide Most flat screens have these options, so the old analog stuff is sadly like a dodo bird now. If that signal is affecting only the analog but not the flat screen I doubt they will change anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Collector OH Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Well I have a higher priced flat screen TV and my local news is ALWAYS stretched. No matter what setting I try, it remains either stretched or super stretched making everyone look fat & squatty. It's ONLY my local news-everything else can be "fixed". I'd trust markp on this one.....it's the broadcaster's signal. I think so too. It sounds like a SD 4:3 source, carried over a digital channel. They should probably pillarbox it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Collector OH Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Well, for the last 3-4 weeks my analog tv set has distorted pictures - some are narrow like stringbeans, others are wider and go off the screen and other pictures are tiny with black bars on top and bottom. The worst are the lower channels like 2, 4, 5, 7, etc....A poster here said my adaptor needs to be changed to a digital adpater or converter....so the Comcast tech. comes here and says "it's the channels that are putting out these types of signal now"....it has nothing to do with Comcast and he looks at my adaptor and says it is the only adaptor they have and tells me it is a digital adapter....so I guess I'm stuck with distorted pictures now....this guy said lots of people are complaining. Does anyone else notice this? So you are limited by your DTA box (as per the last thread). We used to have Time Warner before we went to Directv. TW's DTA box did have a menu button on the remote, and for the life of me I cannot remember what all the options were, but I think there might have been an output matching selector. We used it on a flatscreen though, so that is why I cannot say for sure. There are different DTAs out there. Whether Comcast might be using more than one I can't say. Their techs may not know, they might even just be contracted help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Collector OH Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 P.S. I forget which DTA box you said you have, but I looked on my computer and found the instruction manual for the DTA which I had. Here is somebody else's link to the instructions for that box. Take a look at the last page. Caveat: I am not sure if these settings apply to the SD (RF) output or just the HDMI (HD) output. But this is an example of a DTA where the end user can adjust the output settings. Cisco DTA 170HD http://www.oceanic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DTA170_SoftwareGuide.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamradio Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I still have some analog television sets that uses Suddenlink's DTA boxes. Have no problems, get perfect reception 1-1 to 13-1 for the regular SD network channels and 14-1 to 78-1 for cable services. What's laughable is that people sell these on Ebay which are FREE from Suddenlink! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Collector OH Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I still have some analog television sets that uses Suddenlink's DTA boxes. Have no problems, get perfect reception 1-1 to 13-1 for the regular SD network channels and 14-1 to 78-1 for cable services. What's laughable is that people sell these on Ebay which are FREE from Suddenlink! Hi Hamradio, since you have a DTA, and it works, do you know if they shut down the analog service in your area yet? Can you still use a "cable-ready" TV set to receive just the basic channels, or do you need that DTA for everything? In NE Ohio, ours was shut down just last Summer (only locals remain). I suspected in an earlier thread that the OP's analog was recently shut down, and the box he has probably is so old that it can no longer correctly output to an analog device. Cable system extended outside of intended DTA use perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamradio Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Hi Hamradio, since you have a DTA, and it works, do you know if they shut down the analog service in your area yet? Can you still use a "cable-ready" TV set to receive just the basic channels, or do you need that DTA for everything? In NE Ohio, ours was shut down just last Summer (only locals remain). I suspected in an earlier thread that the OP's analog was recently shut down, and the box he has probably is so old that it can no longer correctly output to an analog device. Cable system extended outside of intended DTA use perhaps? They shut down analog above channel 22 a couple of years ago but since the boxes are free, why complain? Like to add the DTA has their own volume and mute so if one has the older type television sets you get the sound upgrade as well. Want to mention, anyone that has a mint condition television made before the advent of HD sets should take care of them, put it in storage if not planning to use again. (show your grandchildren) Anyone wishes they had a mint condition floor radio of the 30's to 40's especially the ones with the Magic Eye? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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