i've never paid for cable before, let alone digital cable...cable dude stopped by today to drop off the box and make sure everything worked and i only had a chance to see it turn on before i had to head back to school...i've been fiddling with it all evening and i can't get it to show any of the channels in widescreen, only 4:3 with black letterboxes on the left and right of the picture

i've tried the signal over component and DVI/HDMI...i've changed the output to 4:3 and 16:9 and still no change

there's a 3-way splitter on the input - one goes to the digital box, one goes to my HTPC tuner card, and one goes to the cable modem...when i use media center to view cable television on the HTPC, the signal comes in 16:9 just fine

suggestions? i have zero experience with this, but i'm definitely more knowledgeable than the average person (average, not y'all) regarding A/V...i've tried all of the obvious settings (i think)...the box is a scientific atlanta 3250HD

1/27/2010 9:16:30 PM

I cant say for sure this is your problem, but its possible the box is in SD mode (although first Id make sure youre viewing the HD channels (in the 200s)...not trying to treat you like an idiot, but you did say you had never paid for digital cable before .

Anyhow, if its in SD mode, go to the box itself. Hold down the Channel Up and Volume Up buttons at the same time (I think this is right, or its Channel Up and Volume Down). This should switch modes, and the box should indicate what mode youre in. That being said, Im not sure youre in SD mode anyhow, as I THINK if you have SD mode and a component connection, you would get a bad looking black and white picture.

1/27/2010 9:32:37 PM

you on TWC?


Well, out here you turn the power off on the box, then you hit menu, then you can select the output size/resolution, then turn it back on.

The manual on the other hand says.....

turn on tv
turn off cable box
press info and guide on the box simultaneously
press the yellow triangle on the remote to enter HDTV setup wizard
follow on screen instructions
press cable and pwr to turn on box

1/27/2010 10:47:15 PM

you know, i checked the 200's for the stations and never got anything...as noted, i've never had it before so i assumed this was normal...they did say i only get 180 channels, so durr, i thought it was only up through 180...i didn't think to mention it because, well, i'm a n00b >.<

anyway, i called tech support last night and when they went to verify the serial number, they said that it was off by one number in the system...they said they'd update it, and then asked me to turn it off, wait 15 minutes, and turn it back on

sure enough, i got the 200's and my blessed HD

thanks for the input, y'all

1/28/2010 7:55:26 AM

1/28/2010 8:54:14 AM

i figured i'd just bump my old thread, though the issue is different

never having digital cable...is it SOP for the HD channels to cut in and out during bad weather? i had this trouble with OTA HD during rain: sound would cut out fairly often (every 20-30 seconds) and sometimes the picture would pixelate or disappear completely...but that's one of the reasons i decided to pay for cable in the first place

2/9/2010 4:05:49 PM

TWC generally just sucks. Is your box the 8300HDC or have they improved it yet? I switched to dish and only had 2 occasions where I was without a signal. One of those, I was terrified the wind would blow trees over on my home and wasnt' really watching TV and the other situation I lost the signal for about 20-30 seconds in a HEAVY down pour.

With TWC, after awhile it became an hourly thing to have the channel pixelate for a split second.

2/9/2010 6:32:51 PM