Why do my regular cable channels on my HDTV have such bad lines running across them but my HD channels are ok?

Question

The TV is Toshiba, if that helps. All of the cables are plugged in to HD1. My Video on Demand has such squiggley lines running across the screen I can't even see the picture at all. My regular cable channels like mtv, vh1, e, disney, none of them are viewable because of these lines i'm talking about. My HD channels are okay though. Any suggestions? 10 pts best answer!

Answer 1

You are getting some type of interference, on the analog channels.  Digital  does not pick it up. (One reason for the switch to digital). It is probably a bad cable either in your home or the drop line coming into your home from the cable system.  Replace the Cable TV jumper wire from the wall to the cable box with a new one. Use a high quality RG6 quad shield cable.

Also make sure the connections are tight.  Remove the screws from the wall jack face plate and insure the cable wire is screwed in tight in the back of the jack.  Do the same where the cable comes into the home and into the splitter. (The splitter that send signal to various rooms in the home)  Change the port on the splitter where the Toshiba is plugged into to another port on the splitter.

I bet this corrects the problem.  If it does not you are going to have to call the cable company and have them come out and look at the problem. It could be a bad drop line into your home.

Answer 2

Analog TV signals (your regular cable channels) are prone to interference from noise on the cable plant (coax). The lines you see are from the noise on your cable line. Digital channels (like your HD channels) have a greater immunity to noise. You typically will not see this interference unless it gets to the point where you can not receive the digital channel. So you either see a clean, sharp picture or no picture at all with digital channels(HD).

Additional details: How original is the diagnosis that follows? This guy claims to be a Cable Channel Manager and like typical cable companies deflects the blaim to your wiring. In most cases, the source for this type of interference is noise on the cable company's plant (coax), a very common problem. Rather than spending your money to replace cables, contact the cable company and register a compalin about their service. Let them determine that it's NOT their problem before you spend a dime on new cables.