My TV has a fuzzy or low quality picture



Document ID: 4009195

 

Posted Date: 2016-06-28

 

Distribution: View Public Website

 

Resolution

 

The standard cable channels or standard over-the-air (OTA) channels often appear fuzzy or blurry on your LCD TV because of a mismatch between the resolution capability of your TV and the resolution of the analog signal transmitted by your cable company or OTA broadcaster. The signal you are getting from your cable company is a low definition 480i signal, with a resolution of approximately 640 by 480. In most cases, your LCD TV is a high definition TV with a resolution capability of 1366 by 768, 1440 by 900, or 1920 by 1080. It is this mismatch between the standard cable or OTA signal resolution and the TV resolution that causes the problem.

Note: In many cases, even when you are viewing digital channels, the picture will look fuzzy. This happens because the signal your set is receiving, although digital, is a digitized standard (480i or 480p) transmission, not a digital high definition transmission. Again, you have the mismatch between a standard resolution picture and your high definition TV display.

Fixing the Problem

There are three ways you may be able to fix the blurriness problem:

  • Reducing the picture size to 4:3
  • Using the Sharpness function
  • If you have a cable box, by changing the connections

All three are described below.

 

Reducing the Picture Size to 4:3

  • If you are watching an analog channel or transmission, and the picture is fuzzy, you may be able to clear up the picture by reducing the size of the picture to 4:3, the native size of analog TV pictures.
  • To change the picture size to 4:3, press the P.Size button on your remote until 4:3 appears on the screen. The 4:3 picture has black or grey borders on the left and right.

 

Using the Sharpness Function If the picture on your LCD TV is blurry, you may be able to clear it up with the Sharpness function. To use the Sharpness function on most Toshiba LCD TVs, follow these steps:

  1. Turn on your TV.
  2. Press the Menu button on your remote. The Main menu appears.
  3. Press the Right or Left arrow button on your remote to select Picture, and then press the Down button. The Picture menu appears.
  4. Use the Up or Down button on your remote to select Sharpness.

Note: On some model LCD TVs, you use the Enter button to select Sharpness.
Use the Right arrow button on your remote to increase the sharpness.
Press the Exit button to exit.

 

If You Have A Cable Box

  • If you have a cable box and the picture on your LCD TV is fuzzy or blurry, chances are you have it connected to your cable box using the Composite (standard, AV, Cable) or S-video connections. These are the lowest quality connections.
  • To improve your picture, try connecting your LCD TV to your cable box using the Component (Pb, Pr, and Y) connections. If you have digital cable or you receive over-the-air digital programs, try adding digital DVI or HDMI connections.
  • Component and DVI connections carry video only. If you choose the Component or DVI connections, you must also connect the Left and Right Audio out on your cable box to the appropriate Left and Right audio in jacks on your TV. HDMI carries both video and audio. If you choose HDMI, you need to connect only the HDMI cable.
  • Also, if you choose DVI or HDMI, and you have a set-top-box or cable box, you must set the output resolution of the box to at least 480p. Most DVI and HDMI inputs do not accept 480i (standard analog) signals.

Note 1: If your cable box doesn't have Component, DVI, or HDMI connections, contact your cable company to see if they have replacement boxes with these kinds of connections built in. Also, connecting using DVI or HDMI will only help on the digital channels.

Note 2: If you connect using DVI or HDMI, you must also leave your Composite (AV) or S-Video connections intact to receive standard, analog stations.

Important: If you add connections, make sure you use the Source button on your remote to change to the appropriate video source when you watch your TV.

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