Comcast or TV problem?
BobK
I have HDTV with the DVR from Comcast and have an older 36" tube TV.
Everything has worked well until recently.
I have a horizontal line (or band) across the top of the screen that
is about 3" wide and you can see through it.
Does anyone think that this might be a Comcast thing or is my TV
going?
Thanks,
Bob
BobK
>
>
> KenW
Yes, I get all the stations perfectly - high def and standard. There
is just a line at the top of the screen and none of my TV or Comcast
controls makes it go away.
Bob
daytripper
"It's dead, Jim"
If it's on every channel it's not the cable. And it's unlikely to be the DVR,
but you could connect the cable directly to the tv just to verify that your
old tube is moving toward the light...
paul_0090
If it is occasional/sometimes, it is Comcast. I get some lines at the top
on occassion & have read on avsforum that it is Comcast using part of the
signal to send data/info/advert to some customers; or perhaps it was the
station, don't remember. "Not supposed to happen" tho, if done right.
QN
> Yes, I get all the stations perfectly - high def and standard. There
> is just a line at the top of the screen and none of my TV or Comcast
> controls makes it go away.
>
> Bob
Is this by any chance a thin white line with blinking bits across it? You
might be describing the closed caption information, which is sent at the top
of the picture.
If so, a vertical size adjustment on the TV might push the thin line out of
view.
catpandaddy
"QN" <gof...@bogus.net> wrote in message
news:1hd7l.7908$pr6...@flpi149.ffdc.sbc.com...
Or if the tv has one, a "noise cropping feature" which just shaves a sliver
off all four sides of the screen.
daytripper
C'mon, folks. He said it's a 3" wide band. Even if CommieCast was transmitting
some kind of data on *every* freakin' channel, it would be during the VBI
(vertical blanking interval) not in the top 3 inches of the channel content.
His tv is dying. He now has a buying opportunity.
RickMerrill
I too have seen this phenom before a set gives up the ghost, as they
say. Durned if I can remember the reason tho!
MikeGibson
"RickMerrill" <Rick0....@gmail.NOSPAM.com> wrote in message
news:gjjqeo$ars$1...@news.motzarella.org...
Bad capacitor in the vertical control circuit. Any good old time TV
service tech should be able to locate & replace it in 15 to 30
minutes. Most are soldered in place. If the TV is total solid state
they simply replace the board. Many of the newer boards simply plug in
like a card in a PC.
Mike
Adam H. Kerman
When tube tvs got bigger 12 years ago or so, they tended to use a single
capacitator for the tube and other internal functions, instead of
multiple capacitators. A friend pointed out that it saved money.
Obviously the tube is going to be the biggest power consumer. Save a
the cost of a relatively expensive (at the time) part in production,
save millions in production costs, even though the consumer is only
saving a few bucks himself.
Two different tvs died on me before I got HD sets. No repair technician
could find replacement parts and the manufacturers were out of stock.
MikeGibson
"Adam H. Kerman" <a...@chinet.com> wrote in message
news:gjk7df$ma3$1...@news.motzarella.org...
Most of those parts are readily available at Radio Shack or at local
electronic stores. I have a friend in California who is still using
his old tube type console Magnavox 27" with twin antenna connectors
and a cable adaptor. He orders any parts from some mail order
electronics catalog. Even tubes from the 50's TV sets are still
available if you can find a place that sells them. Finding a real TV
tech that can actually repair TV's is harder than finding the parts.
The so called techs of today are simply circuit board changers.
Not to date myself but when I was a child there were TV / radio
service technicians that diagnosed and repaired TV's in the customers
home. I can remember walking over a mile to a friends house to see
Mitch Miller with a green beard on a color TV that spent more time in
the shop than in their home. The guy used to haul the monster into the
repair shop to save the service call fees.
Mike
BobK
Hello,
Actually, the horizontal line at the top varies in width. It a 3 inch
see-through band most often, but it also goes down to a thin 1/2 inch
band with blinking bits across it on occasion.
I will try and play with the closed caption controls and see if that
is it.
Also, someone mentioned the vertical / horizontal control of the
screen where you can nudge the screen UP. I know how this works on a
PC Monitor but I don't have these kind of controls on this TV. I will
look in the back to see if there are any controls back there.
Thanks everyone. Any other suggestions?
Bob
BobK
>>>
>>>I have HDTV with the DVR from Comcast and have an older 36" tube
>>>TV.
>>>Everything has worked well until recently.
>>>
>>>I have a horizontal line (or band) across the top of the screen
>>>that
>>>is about 3" wide and you can see through it.
>>>
>>>Does anyone think that this might be a Comcast thing or is my TV
>>>going?
>>
>> "It's dead, Jim"
>>
>> If it's on every channel it's not the cable. And it's unlikely to
>> be the DVR,
>> but you could connect the cable directly to the tv just to verify
>> that your
>> old tube is moving toward the light...
>
> If it is occasional/sometimes, it is Comcast. I get some lines at
> the top
> on occassion & have read on avsforum that it is Comcast using part
> of the
> signal to send data/info/advert to some customers; or perhaps it was
> the
> station, don't remember. "Not supposed to happen" tho, if done
> right.
It is the size of the line at top that varies from 1/2 to 3 inches but
the line is always there. It's tolerable at night when many of the
shows have a dark background and you don't notice the see-through
line.
MikeGibson
"BobK" <ergobob@sonic[REMOVE].net> wrote in message
news:4960d4d0$0$1596$742e...@news.sonic.net...
If you still have a TV shop with a real repairman ( Someone that can
still repair the old tube type TV's ) you should have the set checked
out. Most TV's do have the adjustment controls and many are accessed
through the back. Often through holes marked for the type of
adjustment. Radio shack has different sets of the tools needed on that
type of adjuster. They are a plastic type material and a full set will
have both hex ends and flat blade tools for under 10 bucks. "metal
adjustment tools should never be used" Some TV's even have the
horizontal and vertical size and placement adjuster knobs on the back.
( usually a wheel type. )
Mike