I recently bought a 42 inch lcd from target. I have mediacom cable and a digital box with dvr service. I enjoy the hd channels but seems to be having some problems. I can't decide if it is the dvr or the tv. When I go back and forth between hd channels the screen comes on and then goes away and then black screen then top right hand corner says hdmi 3. It seems to have this pause almost everytime I do this. It always has done it int he past going from a non hd channel to a hd channel. 480 to 1080 assuming it has to reset the picture. Anyways I am looking for some help with any of this. Not sure where to start to find out what is the problem here. Thanks for any replies.
You probably will not like my answer, but my personal opinion is you should ditch Mediacom. When I had Mediacom HD the picture constantly pixelated, froze up or went black for short periods of time. It was as if the box could not keep up with the data, or maybe the signal was too weak and I was getting dropouts. I don't really know what the problem was, but I can tell you my in-laws are having the same problems with Mediacom now. I think you would be much happier with satellite HD.
I have seen this before. It is more than likely a lag in your tv's processor. Mediacom dvr outputs whatever the program is being broadcast 480i, 720p, or 1080i, so the tv has to decode what signal is coming in, Directv set top boxes scale everything to what you select on the back 720p, 1080i. You could try just pluging cable into your tv and bypassing the box, re scan tv, then go between digital 8.1 etc, to standard and see if there is a lag. Just some thoughts.
So does the picture go black for a second and then come back and work fine, or does it never come back? If it just cuts out for a second and then tunes in, then I don't think you have a problem. My tv often takes a second when switching from non-hd content to hd content. It is like it needs time to switch resolutions. Another suggestion would be to hook up the cable box with component video rather than HDMI. HDMI has some built in security features that require an electronic handshake between devices. The problem is, since the HDMI protocol is an evolving standard, there are a lot of compatability issues between devices. Back when I used to have Mediacom, I had lots of picture issues over HDMI which stoppen when I switched to component. Don't worry, your picture quality will be the same over either type of cable. The only advantage to HDMI is that it is a single cable solution, and you need it for some of the fancy new blu-ray audio formats. For HD cable, it doesn't provide an advantage.
I had this same issue last year when I had a different cable company. I now have Comcast and use a cable card instead of the HD DVR box from Comcast. I no longer have this "lag" when going back and fourth. I use the same tv so I would say it is not the tv, but either the DVR box or Mediacom. Within the next month I will be switching to Mediacom so we will see what happens.
