Should I upgrade my component cables?

[Jaiguru]

I've had my HD tv for a about a year now and have been using the same cables Comcast provided with my box. I've noticed that the channels have a kind of grainy background to them. I was just wondering if upgrading my cables to something better would help.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Graininess might just be compression in the cable signal or something like that. How long are the cables? The shorter they are, the less difference it's going to make on the quality. If you do want to upgrade, you can get some decent ones for pretty cheap still from monoprice / cablesforless / partsexpress / etc.

Does Comcast have an HDMI version you could use?

 

[Jaiguru]

The cables are about 3ft. in length. I've been begging them for an HDMI box but they always say the same thing, "We can send you a new box this week but I can't guarantee that it will be HDMI".

 

[Tiamat]

A long shot, just clean out the connectors with some 2-propanol. Other than that, the graininess is mostly the cable signal or limitations in resolution in the component (if your screen is 1080p, component can only pass up to 1080i I think).

 

[The Boston Dangler]

most likely, the cables are fine. it's a 1080i picture with mpeg-2 compression. other source of pq loss could be either the tv's inputs or the way it processes the input signal. given the heavy compression, i'll bet everything is working as intended.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
A long shot, just clean out the connectors with some 2-propanol. Other than that, the graininess is mostly the cable signal or limitations in resolution in the component (if your screen is 1080p, component can only pass up to 1080i I think).

As far as I know, component cables are capable of passing 1080p, but the cable signal is probably 720p or 1080p... in addition the box might not be able to send 1080p or the TV might not be able to accept 1080p through component either.

EDIT: oops I meant that the cable signal is 720p or 1080i (duh )

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Tiamat
A long shot, just clean out the connectors with some 2-propanol. Other than that, the graininess is mostly the cable signal or limitations in resolution in the component (if your screen is 1080p, component can only pass up to 1080i I think).

As far as I know, component cables are capable of passing 1080p, but the cable signal is probably 720p or 1080p... in addition the box might not be able to send 1080p or the TV might not be able to accept 1080p through component either.

you might be right. I just checked, and my TV can only accept 1080i through component, but there is nothing that said that it was due to the limitation of component cable, just a limitation of my TV.

 

[zzuupp]

YOyoYOhowsDAjello and others are exactly correct.
It is most likely artifacts from a compressed signal, either from the cable company or the network itself.
The cable company is sending you 720p or 1080i. AFAIK, the only 1080p source is a blueray or HD DVD.

Don't rely on the cable company sending one out. Try to get them to admit when one of their retail offices has HDMI boxes in stock. Then, take your old box in for a replacement.