I just got a new television for my bedroom. The old tv was fine, but a tube tv, and had no RCA jacks, so I couldnt plug my xbox 360 into it.

I only have my cable box (Comcast newer HD box) directly into the old tv by coax cable. We could see the 800-level (HD) channels, but with a picture box top and bottom. It did seem to look better than the basic cable equivalent channel (local ABC affilliate is ch 03 and 803).. but I cant be 100% sure. Oh, and I couldn't see the channel info (blue box on bottom of screen with program, channel info and time) on HD channels. I only knew what channel I am on by looking at the box itself.

Anyway, flash forward to now. I have a new LG LCD and it is beautiful. I have the cable box plugged in the same way as before (coax from the box to the tv). THe tv is set to the correct aspect ratio (16x9) and everything seems in order - but the HD channels do not fill up the screen (and I am looking at hd programs that SHOULD fill the screen) I am still getting the picture box - and I still do not see the info box at bottom like before.

Any ideas? Am I missing the fact that I need to buy a HDMI cable or something like that?

By the way, I also plugged in the xbox into the tv (with an hdmi cable I bought in the past) and it looks stunning.

thanks,
Kit

Thanks, Bob. May I pick your brain some more?

Our current set-up includes a DVR, DVD player and the new HDTV. We will soon be adding a Roku Netflix player to the mix. So here's my quandary:

Both the DVR and TV have HDMI connection. The DVR one and the TV two. Right now, the DVD player is connected directly to the TV via component cables. The DVR is connected through a cable converter box via component cables to DVR and converter box, cable connection to TV. I assume the Roku will have an HDMI connection.

So how would I go about setting this up? The converter box currently connecting DVR to TV has no HDMI port. The DVD player does not have an HDMI port. Both, however, do have S video ports (as well as, obviously, component cable connections).

Any ideas? I'm completely befuddled.

Sue

You have the optimum connection for your DVD player, so let's forget about it for now.

You should connect the DVR to the TV using an HDMI cable. Here's the important takeaway point: An HDMI connection is the best you can have, so always default to an HDMI connection whenever possible. Since your DVR player has HDMI, use that connection.

Connect the cable box to the DVR with component cables. This is a far better connection than composite video or even S-video. The downside is that the only way to watch a live program from the cable box is to feed it through the DVR. The DVR will probably allow you to watch a recorded program while you record another, but you won't be able to watch one live program and record a different program simultaneously. However, if you have HD cable service, connecting things this way is the only way for you to view HD images and still have the ability to record on your DVR.

From best quality to lowest quality, the connection choices are:

HDMI - always the best (maximum of 1080p resolution)
Component - excellent second best (maximum 1080i resolution)
S-Video - very good standard definition connection
Composite - good standard definition connection
RF - the poorest quality connection between components

Off-the-air HD reception is equivalent to a component connection -- it makes very good HD, usually better than what your cable company provides. Of course, you can only get your local TV channels with off-the-air reception and only if you have an antenna connected.

Edit: I have no idea what a Roku Netflix player is. However, if it has an HDMI output, connect it using an HDMI cable. Between your DVR and the Roku Netflix player, that fills the available HDMI ports on the TV.

Hope this helps!

--Bob