Sony 4tv looks terrible

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by zeno

I know almost zero about HDTV but... When it came out I noticed high
end sets gave a great pix on digital or NTSC stations. Cheap sets
gave a CRAP NTSC pix but HD was good. I had to be sure crap sets
ran HD or everyone would walk. No big deal as you only made abt
$30 on a 13" set but it may apply here.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

I have a 32" Insignia HDTV which makes an excellent picture, both on Spectrum streaming service and on my own DVDs. Never had any trouble with it at all. I am sold on Insignia televisions for just this reason. My first HDTV was also an Insignia, 19-inch; however, I am keeping it for standby use in case the 32" set goes bad (I'm not expecting it to any time soon, as I've had it a few years now and it just keeps going).

BTW, I don't know what it was that made cheap HDTVs give such a poor picture when fed an NTSC (analog) signal, unless the signal processing systems in those sets weren't that good to begin with (poor quality jungle ICs, for example). I would think most HDTVs would produce at least a passable picture if fed a half-decent NTSC signal; of course, if the signal quality is poor, the picture quality will be poor or unusable as well (GIGO: garbage in, garbage out).

I've had Spectrum TV service since I've lived here (20+ years), even before the DTV transition, and have never had even five minutes worth of trouble with it; however, I have Spectrum's lowest level of service ("streaming" service, which does not use a cable box), and couldn't be happier. No cable box means I do not have to be concerned about an extra charge on my bill (this is important to me since I am a senior citizen on a fixed income), not to mention fewer cables dangling around behind the TV.