Cable Vs. OTA HD

[CUBSFAN29]

I recently switched from DirecTV to Comcast Digital Cable with HD Channels. With Comcast I have the new Motorola 8412 Dual Tuner DVR that records HD, and I was very excited about the ability to record HD programs.

I also have an OTA antenna which I use to pull in HD channels. In comparing the two, I notice a rather sharp difference. The OTA looks better...much brighter color saturation. The clarity and sharpness is similar, but things look much more colorful with OTA vs. Cable.

Is this expected, or could it be something with my Comcast DVR? I have it hooked up with an HDMI cable that has a DVI-HDMI adapter on the STB end (the DVR has DVI and my TV has HDMI). So is it possibly the connection? I have not yet tried a Component connection.

Just wondering what others' experience has been in comparing Cable HD vs. OTA.

Thanks!
Cubsfan29

[57U]

If you are using different inputs (which you are) it's often the difference in calibration (or lack of calibration) of the different inputs. See the FAQ on DVI Connectors. Each person will likely see a different result, unless they've had their TV professionally calibrated.

You can often see the same effect when comparing one input to another - say DVD player.

[CUBSFAN29]

Thanks 57U for the info...Any good suggestions on what I could do to calibrate the DVI input...outside of hiring a professional :-)

[57U]

A setup DVD and an upconverting DVD player with a DVI or HDMI output.

You could also simply set it by eye to match?

Or simply use component video.

It is possible that you will never get it to look identical to OTA though, because that's probably the best PQ...

[tvnut]

I was told by an engineer at a local NBC affiliate that the over the air HDTV signal is better than cable, because they have to compress the signal for cable due to bandwidth restrictions.

Now, this may be just true in my area, so I don't want to infer that all cable companies compress their HDTV signals.

I am in eastern NC and I have Cox cable.