If you just purchased a new display to see the Superbowl in glorious HDTV here are some useful tips to enjoy the best viewing experience.
There are three possible ways to see the game in High Definition
Cable (including phone companies such as ATT and Verizon Fios)
Over-the-air
Satellite
If you subscribe to Cable TV, you should also have a high definition set top box supplied by your cable provider. If you do, make sure it is connected to one of the two available high definition interfaces, HDMI or component video, otherwise the signal will not be in HD.
HDMI is the preferred HDTV connection, as some TVs do not provide as sharp as a picture with a component video connection. If you need to run out to get an HDMI cable locally first try your nearest Wal-Mart, K Mart or Target, according to their respective websites, they have HDMI 6ft cables available at selected stores for under $20. If you go to Best Buy or Circuit City, they will charge you a rip-off $79.99 for a six-footer. If you have no choice and must purchase an eighty dollar cable, get one, and order a second one for as little as $2.11 (plus shipping) from Amazon.com. When the cable arrives in the mail in a few days, simply return the overpriced one to the retailer you purchased from. I have no problem with retailers making a buck; but in this case, eighty dollars is excessive.
Over an HDMI cable the signal is digital. The picture you will see on screen will either be perfect or if not it black, (or with intermittent blackouts possibly sparkles). You cannot get a sharper image with a “better†cable, regardless of what the store salesman tells you. By the way I have yet to see any 6 ft HDMI cable that did not work perfectly, my experience includes a number of cheapo ones. There is more to this topic, you can refer to an earlier article at hdguru.com/?p=12
Once you have the cable and cablebox are connected you must make sure you have the proper settings on the box and the HDTV.
For the HDTV, you first need to select the input number on the HDTV which is connected to your HDMI or component video cable. Next, make sure the HDTVs aspect ratio is in the “Full†mode.
You will get a better HDTV image, if you change the general picture mode from the showroom “out of the box†setting (it usually reads Vivid or Dynamic depending on the make) to Movie or Custom and lower the contrast (often labeled as “Pictureâ€Â) control to 50%-60% of maximum.
With these basic adjustments you need to make sure your set top cable satellite box is set to output the signal in HDTV. There are two choices 720p and 1080i. Superbowl XLII is on Fox meaning it is broadcast in 720p. If your HDTV display is 720p you may simply set the output of the box to 720p, if it is a 1080i or 1080p set, you can choose 1080i and the HDTV will automatically convert to that rate. If you not sure what you set native display is, adjust the set top box’s output to 1080i because all HDTVs accept this signal, some sets will not accept 720p signals (you can always try the other setting at another time).
Also make sure the cable box is set for a 16:9 display, otherwise the image will be distorted.
What If You Just Got A New HDTV and Don’t Have an HDTV Cable Box?
If you are a cable subscriber you may still be in luck. Most recent HDTVs have tuners that will accept an unencrypted HDTV cable signal. Here is how to connect.
You will need to take the cable from the wall and screw it into antenna/cable input in the back of the set (it is usually labeled ANT). Follow the set makers instructions to select cable signal (versus over-the-air, digital cable signals are also called QAM) and let the HDTV’s tuner scan all the channels as per your owner’s manual. The HDTV will display all the unencrypted cable channels, but you will need to manually check each one (use the Channel up or + button) to find the local FOX channel because many cable systems may not match the over the air channel numbers, i.e. your local HD FOX station may be 5 or 5-1 or 5.1 but with a cable signal it may be a completely different number such as 79.3.
If you don’t have cable or a HDTV satellite set top box or cable TV you can run out to your local Radio Shack an purchase an inexpensive indoor TV antenna and connect it to the ANT input on you TV, and aim the antenna it in the direction of the FOX transmitter tower in your area. Next, set your HDTV to over-the-air tuning, scan in the local channels and see if you get local FOX HD channel. If you are within 20 miles of the transmitter and have flat terrain between you and the broadcast tower, you may be in luck.
Enjoy the game.
Copyright ©2008 Gary Merson/HD Guru™. All rights reserved. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.
You supporters of overpriced cables are laughable! While I do not agree with HDGuru promoting buying something, using it, and then returning it for refund, I fully concur with his intent that his readers not get suckered into buying this overpriced crap. Come on, people, get a BRAIN! Monster cable and such is of value ONLY to people who have far more money than sense. Don’t believe me? For just a single example of the bunk behind their claims go visit: http://consumerist.com/362926/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables
or any number of other sites out their debunking Monster (and the others) claims!
First of all, this is the best reason to plan ahead — to avoid double buying that is. But HD Guru makes his point. The Product Loss Margin a cable being returned is quite minimal, often times a cable maybe shrunk wrapped and re-sold at a discounted open-item price. If not then it may be sent back to the manufacture. Case-closed. Return Policies were created with the customer in mind. Why not take advantage of it? They have price-matching and other various methods just to get the customer adding to their profit and not the competitors’. I do agree that $50 and up for a 6 ft. HDMI cable is excessive. Smart-shopping is essential and consumers can control the market if they didn’t tend to be so ignorant.
What happened to the HDguru?
Ryan: Agreed. I sold Audio/Video/PC equipment at Best Buy for a while and there were many times when a customer was convinced that one cable was better than another simply because of the brand name. I would agree that on most occasions there is an increase in quality and workmanship but not enough to provoke me to spend two to three times the price. If anyone with human eyes can see the difference and tell me about it, I’d be surprised. Deliver video from point A to point B without degradation: done. $25
IMO of course…
–Joel
Three words for you Monster Cable loving fools…
Double-Blind-Test
Unless you are running cable more than 30 feet there is no need to spend more than 30 bucks for an HDMI cable.
BEFORE YOU GO BASHING THE RETAILERS FOR THE AMOUNT THAT A QUALITY HDMI CABLE MAY COST, PLEASE CONSIDER WHAT A LOW COST CABLE WILL OR WON’T DO!! WILL IT SUPPORT 1080P? IS IT 1.3 ?? SOME CABLE AND SATTELITE PROVIDERS ACTUALLY GIVE SUBSCRIBERS CABLES FOR FREE.HA!! I’VE HELD THESE IN MY HANDS. ONE END IN THE LEFT HAND AND ONE END IN MY RIGHT HAND. THEN I PULLED. GUESS WHAT HAPPENED??? IF I WERE BUILDING AN 600hp ENGINE FOR MY STREET ROD YOU THINK I’M GOING TO WALLYMART FOR SPARKPLUG WIRES? YES, I DO SELL AUDIO/VIDEO IN THE RETAIL MARKET. I ONLY INFORM AND EDUCATE MY CUSTOMER ON WHATS AVAILABLE. I DIDN’T SET THE PRICES,BUT I DO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE GETTING.BY THE WAY PROFIT IS NOT A FOUR LETTER WORD!! CHECKED OUT ANY FURNITURE OR JEWELRY LATELY.COME ON LET US POOR COMMISIONED SALESPEOPLE MAKE A DOLLAR SOMEWHERE.
This is not a comment but a question. I didn’t get a box to convert to HD. They put a card in the back of my tv so i could get HD from the cable company. What is the difference in the card and the box. Larry Coleman
this i work at an electronics retailer… first off, we do not, i repeat, do not repackage them and then resell them… we send them back to monster and they ship out new ones to us… and second the easiest why to look at these exspensive cables is to think about it like this, would u go out and buy an expensive sports car, and use $20.00 tires on it, and also us regular gas, or got get better tires like $115.00 to $150.00 a tire and put super in it????
i uses to work for circut city. i know there is about 200-400% mark up on cables, easily. accessories are where they make most of their money. so i have no pitty on them.
A lot of ignorant people out there, even if they have great educations. I work for a independent retailer.
Sold a Panasonic plasma yesterday for $1650.00 I made about $26.00 on the deal. Sold the HDMI cables for $60.00. Probably cost my company $15.00 Did my customer a favor. Competitor was going to sell the same cables for $120.00. Has to be a profit somewhere. Many of my customers purchase their electronics for less on the internet then come to us & ask how to use them. Come on.
That high quality monster cable that you paid $80 still only cost the retailer maybe $13. You return it, they send it to their distribution center or manufacturer for repackaging. Retailers sell you items such as an iPOD at a loss so they can rip you off by selling you cables for it. Trust me you are crying more than the retailers are.
Where is the rip off? They each sell Monster Cables. Monster cables are expensive but they are very good cables that come with a lifetime guarantee. I have bought Monster Cables and I have bought MonoPrice.com cables. I like them both but it depends on what I am using them for. My bedroom system or my game room system. You get what you pay for. Some people like to buy the best they can afford. Some prefer to shop and buy at Wal-Mart. There is more to it than digital 1’s and 0’s. If you are happy with your $3 cable, so be it. Others are happy knowing they bought a high quality cable to go along with their HDTV system. Why skimp on the most import part of connecting your components to your HDTV? I spent over $8K on my game room system. That is nothing to one person and it is alot of money to another person. Why am I going to worry about spending money on quality cables versus taking a chance on saving a few dollars on buying cheap cables? Nobody is forcing anybody to buy anything they do not want. It is up to the consumer to do their homework and buy the best they can afford.
I am disgusted with Mr. HD for advising people who use this site for HDTV information on how to rip off a retailer. The final cost will be passed down to the customers who will have to pay higher prices in the end due to the stores losses for bogus returns. This site just went from a decent HDTV resource to a low class site that peddles junk.
Zelda: I cannot believe you are trying to defend somebody who rips off consumers for a 3 dollar cable in 80 bucks
I cannot believe you are telling people to buy a HDMI cable from Circuit City or Best Buy, then order a cheaper one from an on-line site, then to return the cable they purchased from Circuit City or Best Buy once they get the cheaper cable from the on-line site. That is not ethical and will only cause the retailers to raise their prices that will affect everybody because of your lame advice. I used to respect a lot of the information you post in your site but this is low and make me question your expertise and so called HD knowledge.