Why Do Regular TV Shows Look So Bad on my HDTV?: BigPictureBigSound

Question:

Dear Big Picture Big Sound,

I do and don’t understand why people are upgrading to HDTV. I checked out my Dad’ s 26″ Sharp LCD TV on HDTV cable. If all you do is watch blu-ray or HDTV broadcasts then yes. If you watch everything like me, and channel surf at warp speed, then there is a problem with a HDTV with cable. Since only 15 stations out of 150 are HD with my subscriber, therein lies the main problem.

Land on a 720p or 1080i HDTV broadcast, then bingo – great picture. Land on 480i broadcast, then bingo – crap. ( even in 4:3 format). Even HD channels like ESPNHD are not all HD, it is back and forth…