Is it possible to loose resolution after a long period of time or because the tv is getting old? the reason I ask is because it seems my 3 year old Hitachi Ultravision Projection doesnt look as good when showing the High Def channels on cable as it used to. I turn on say Discovery Channels HD channel and it doesnt look as good as when it was first set up. Is the resolution deminishing or could it be that I am used to it already and arent getting that "wow" affect I used to get. I have it set up to 1080i, using component cables. Thanks

Thanks twojays, I will try that.

I agree with Mark, if it's a DLP set it could be time for a new bulb. The picture will dim and sometimes lose brightness suddenly in the middle of a program. Plasmas will eventually get dimmer over time but it shouldn't be after a couple of years. You should be able to get a lot more usage out a plasma or lcd for that matter. DLP, while I love the picture, is a pain because of the bulb. Anyway, hope you find your answer...Hope it's nothing too serious. Good luck, keep us posted.

Sorry guys, I thought I had mentioned that is was a projection tv. It is a 57" HD rear preojection tv. I ran the THX test track and made a few settings but for right now my only DVD player is a PS2 and its only connected via S-Video so I dont get HD and its hard to tell what its going to look like in HD.I switch between HD channels and see a difference in picture quality, maybe some of the channels are sending out a better signal than others.

Quoting davidperez:

Quote:
Sorry guys, I thought I had mentioned that is was a projection tv. It is a 57" HD rear preojection tv. I ran the THX test track and made a few settings but for right now my only DVD player is a PS2 and its only connected via S-Video so I dont get HD and its hard to tell what its going to look like in HD.I switch between HD channels and see a difference in picture quality, maybe some of the channels are sending out a better signal than others.

Ok.  I think I know what you're talking about.  Some HD channels seem to "pop" better than others, right?  For instance, HDNet looks better than TBS-HD, right?  If so, I might be able to help you understand a bit better what is going on.

It depends on the amount of compression taking place and what type of professional equipment was used to capture and present the programming.  Some HD channels use lower bitrates than others (and different codecs).  On top of that, the provider (cable or satellite) could compress that even more.  OTA (Over The Air) HD transmissions are usually @ 19.2Mbps.  That is MUCH higher bandwidth than cable or satellite provider deliver to consumers (cable providers generally provides more bandwidth than satellite providers).  I'm not sure exactly what each provider has set for their limit, but I would bet it's probably half as much as OTA HD broadcasts.

So, the use of AVC or MPEG-2 @ 10 to 14Mbps bandwidth (and same content to make this simple) would yield a better image quality for the channel that uses the AVC codec over the channel that uses MPEG-2.  That could be what you register as a resolution difference.  Or you are actually seeing a solution difference.  Some content is presented @ 720p and some @ 1080i.  For the most part, a 720p signal can look better than a 1080i signal @ low bitrate.  This would be do to more compression being applied to the 1080i signal over the 720p (the 1080i signal requires more space than a 720p signal).

I hope that is what you were looking for.

Thanks for all infor guys, I bought a Sony Blu-ray yesterday and wow, the "pop" is back. It is amazing, even at only 1080i. Thanks again