New HD owner with a problem

[sdadds]

I bought a JCV LT-26X466 from Costco and have a local cable company
I upgraded my cable box to HD and hooked everything up with great expectation. The picture is very good when I use the coax out from the back of the cable box (Explorer 3250HD) from Scientific Atlanta. The TV is set to input. When I use Video 1, which is the 3 RCA plugs the picture is very bright.
To bright to watch, the whites are super nova bright. My question is, can a high output from the cable box cause this. Is my video signal to strong ?
JVC said the TV is OK because the Input (coax) and input 3 DVD player are fine. The cable people said there is no adjustment for signal strength from their box. Also, as a side note the manual for the cable box states that I must use the RCA jacks if I want true HD. Anyone have any suggestions or comments?
Thanks for all the advice, I have been reading tons about this stuff and I still haven't figured out why the TV is so bright, I did check the video cables and I have been through the info in the cable box about signal strength and eveything looks good but here is a side note that still concernes me.
Two years ago I had the same cable company and had the Encore channels.
I started to get pixelation on the Encore channels so I called the cable company. They came out and could not find a problem with the cable but did see the problem I had. Since they could not fix the pixelation on those channels the added some kind of booster to the system that plugs into the wall. I still had the problem so they switched me to Stars. Fast foward 2 years, I get a new TV and a New HD cable box. I change back to Encore channels and it still does not work. So I had them switch me back to Stars. Every other channel works fine. That is why I was wondering about signal strength.

[Ratman]

First, read though some of the tips to verify that your cable box is setup properly:
http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=8721

When you state '3 RCA plugs', I hope you mean component video cable (red, green, and blue plugs). Make sure that they are secure! Twist and push in to verify that they are completely inserted.

What happens if you adjust brightness/contrast? Try reading some of the tips here:
http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=1440

[57U]

It is possible for the inputs and/or formats to be calibrated differently on your TV and you may need to "compensate" for this by performing a proper calibration, on input 1 for example (or 1080i vs 480P). See the HDTV FAQs referenced above, as well as any other FAQs of interest.

[abeas]

Also, as a side note the manual for the cable box states that I must use the RCA jacks if I want true HD. Anyone have any suggestions or comments?


I don't want you to be mislead, but there is no such thing as "True HD", like your manual states. HD is HD, whether it is 720P 1080i, or 1080P, though Sony tried to say that 1080P was the only "true HD." Anyways, as long as you connect your cable box via Component video cables (red green blue) DVI, or HDMI, you will experience HD on the channels that your cable company provides. Lastly, since you are new to this as you say, don't be tricked by retail stores to buy monster cable. It does not improve the picture, and its a waste of your money.

[skiflyer]

Forgive me if this sounds pedantic, but just in case... make sure you're actually using component video cables from the cable box to the TV... not the RCA jack + Video (which would be yellow + red + black)... you need the component video cable which should have each one makred as red,green,blue

[Ratman]

When you state '3 RCA plugs', I hope you mean component video cable (red, green, and blue plugs). Make sure that they are secure! Twist and push in to verify that they are completely inserted.

Had that one covered in post #2. But thanks for the edification.