How to Make Standard TV Look Better on a Digital Television

Don't be disappointed by your new digital HDTV! Here are ways to deal with the real problem that Standard Definition TV looks worse on your new LCD or Plasma than on your old tube TV.

Why SDTV Doesn't Look So Great

We continue to hear sad stories from buyers of fancy new televisions - that the picture on their big screen looks no better than the picture on their old bulky tube TV. if you find yourself in this situation, don't despair - there are remedies.

The first thing is to understand that video to your TV comes in different formats. Most new network and cable TV shows are being broadcast in High Definition (HD) and more shows are being added every day. But there's 50 years of history and a few laggards, so Standard Definition (SD) TV will be around for a while. One of the unpleasant surprises many who buy any kind of new HD-capable (digital) TV are finding is that SD pictures actually look worse!

Pictures with lots of motion (especially sports) tend to look the worst, which is one reason most sports programs were early adopters of HD. There are also differences between TVs, even of the same type since at some point, the SD picture needs to be converted to a digital picture that can be displayed on the TV. Some TVs are better or worse at this (this is one of the criteria we use to select the TVs on DigitalAdvisor). But there are some things you might consider to make the SD picture look better.

How To Make Standard TV Look Better

Get HD Cable Service

But first, make sure you're really getting HDTV! A recent study shows that many people with HD-capable TVs are watching SD channels. You'll need a new HD box from your cable company, and ... don't forget to tune to the HD versions of the channels! See What You Really Need To Get HDTV for full details.

Up-convert Your SDTV Picture

You may have heard of DVD players that do "up-converting" -- this is one solution that also works for TV, but you'll need something to do the up-converting on the TV signal. It works by filling in the "spaces" between the 480 lines of the SD picture until there are 720 lines, and displays it twice as fast. So up-converting can make a picture look a lot nicer.

Here are three different devices, available today, that can up-convert:

1. An Audio Video Receiver (AVR), like the Yamaha listed below will do the job. You plug your cable or satellite box into the AVR using the right cables, then the AVR converts the signal before sending to the TV. Note: many AVRs will not up-convert, so double check yours.
2. An Up-converter. This product's sole function is the up-conversion of any TV signal that needs it from SD. The Star-Tech listed below is an example of this.
3. A TiVo Series 3 HD DVR does a great job making standard TV look great (but not the Series 2, which makes it even worse!)