Question about TV formats

[Kryptonite]

My cable box can output 3 different formats (480i, 720p, 1080i). However, every time I flip channels and I go to a different format, I have to deal with about 5-7 seconds of the screen going black, flickering and then finally re-sizing.

Also, sometimes an HD channel will "blink" non-stop and the fix is to put it on an analog channel for a few seconds, then go back to that HD channel.

Are these problems with my cable box, TV, cable provider, or "just the way things are"??

[Dante]

I have DirecTV and when I switch channels it take a few seconds for the channel to come in. This is only with my HD receiver hooked up to my HDTV. What it's doing is resetting the picture to the proper resolution.

There's an option to have it at a set resolution, but I want to see the show the way it's supposed to be broacast.

[ElJefe]

I have DirecTV and when I switch channels it take a few seconds for the channel to come in. This is only with my HD receiver hooked up to my HDTV. What it's doing is resetting the picture to the proper resolution.

There's an option to have it at a set resolution, but I want to see the show the way it's supposed to be broacast.

I turned off native mode on my DirecTV HD box and just have it locked at 1080i. To be honest, I couldn't tell any difference in picture quality between the box's doing the resolution conversion and the TV's doing it, and this way, channel changing is much quicker.

[guamster]

I turned off native mode on my DirecTV HD box and just have it locked at 1080i. To be honest, I couldn't tell any difference in picture quality between the box's doing the resolution conversion and the TV's doing it, and this way, channel changing is much quicker.

Exactly. Just set your cable box to always output in either 720p or 1080i, depending on your display. Try both: see if one setting looks better than the other to you and then lock it into that particular setting.

[royalstilton]

I turned off native mode on my DirecTV HD box and just have it locked at 1080i. To be honest, I couldn't tell any difference in picture quality between the box's doing the resolution conversion and the TV's doing it, and this way, channel changing is much quicker.
do you do this at the box? is it in the guide? or could you just tell me? :o

[ElJefe]

do you do this at the box? is it in the guide? or could you just tell me? :o

It's in the setup menu under "HDTV."