New TV, Cable Looks Worse

It's been so long since I've gone shopping for a TV and done any reading on them that I've really fallen behind.

But I went with my brother last week to help him pick out a new TV after the last one he had suffered an accident. We got a 4K Sony, inexpensive but rather nice. A definite upgrade from what he had before, which was a 1080p Samsung at around the same price, a few years ago.

Netflix and Amazon Video look excellent on the new TV. But the cable broadcast looks noticeably worse, partly due to what looks like motion blur. Any thoughts on what could be causing this? Is it possible that an old cable box is a poor match for a TV with a higher resolution?

Thanks folks

 

If you list the precise model, other members might have some insight

 

I'm sure yr going to get some advice about going into the settings and turning a buncha stuff off! I'd chk but right now I'm watching the game!

 

Check your TV picture settings for something like sports mode, cinema, vivid, etc.

 

And check the cable box’s video settings while you’re at it.

 

Given that this issue is noticed with cable, there’s the possibility the box reset to standard definition. I’m wondering, though, if the culprit is Sony’s motion interpolation technology and the so-called soap opera effect.

 

I'd check the motion interpolation setting and turn it off (if on).

 

Your TV is probably just showing you how bad cable looks.

make sure the "soap opera effect" stuff is turned off. On my TV it can be ON for some inputs and OFF on others - make sure it's off on all of them.

Also - if the new TV is bigger then cable will look worse - because the imperfections will be bigger. Think a small JPEG blow up to a larger size.

 

It's possible that the cable box settings are not optimized for the set.

On the LGs, I kill the following modes (except as noted):

Dynamic Contrast off
Super Resolution off
Color Gamut auto
Edge Enhancer on
Color Filter off
NR off
MPEG NR off
Real Cinema off
Motion Eye Care off
TruMotion off

There are similar kinds of modes in the Sonys, and I would head over to the AVS Forum to see what the experts there advise. If there's a mode for Rec709, go for that, and if you can set gamma range, go for 2.4 (assuming a dark room) or 2.2 for a bright room. Color temp should generally be set to "warm" (6500°).

 

What if he's got a DVR (like a TiVO), instead of a cable box (like civilized people)? Because I'll pobably be dealing with that myself sooner than later...

 

Thanks everybody for the replies and advice. I thought I'd have a chance to check out the TV this weekend but it didn't work out. I should have more info soon and will post then, as I know the suspense is killing everybody.

 

try on the remote "action menu" then picture>advance settings> Motion flow whichever setting you select here will change your problem into something else or fix it. I think Standard is the best compromise. There is one thing you should know. All these settings might be memorised individually for every input and type of signal so what you have set for a bluray player might not be applied when you are playing a lower resolution DVD or watching open air tv and so on so double check. Reading the manual can be helpful as I haven't done it in ages.

 

You might want to reconsider Real Cinema. The "on" setting allows for 5:5 repeating of 24fps material, no motion interpretation.

 

Also make sure of these:
Tuned to the cable HD channels
Paying for HD/or HD cable box

 

I've tried setting color temps to warm, but that setting just makes everything look too reddish-yellow. Black & white programs look like they're sepia-toned. I generally prefer the middle color temperature of "natural" or "neutral".

 

Hire an ISF or THX-certified calibration person and have them set it for Rec709, 6500°, BT1886. Black & white will look as close to real B&W as the panel consistency will allow.