Which recorder's RF input is closest to cable box quality?

[Bridge]

Here's a question:

The cable company took my digital box away and put in a PVR box. I didn't know until after they left that the picture quality is horrible. Personally, I think that the old box took a signal in and put a signal out; but now the signal comes in and gets all compressed, squished and encoded to some sort of bad quality mpeg and then gets put out. It went from a box with high quality, sharp picture detail and rich color to a box that is washed out, blurry, non sharp at all, bad quality video. Sometimes I even see the blocks from the PVR. I don't get a pure signal I get a Tivo like picture and signal. It looks like if you were watching a VCR tape recorded in SP VCR quality now -- and this is suppose to be the cable signal. So, now I got these DVD recorders but instead of getting good signal quality it's taping SP VCR looking video quality. Yet, the box does so much more than the old one. It doesn't cut out, the search function is great, it's fast, it has dual tuners so you can tape on digital and watch digital (i.e. tape HBO and watch Stars at the same time.)

I would like to keep the new PVR box but wish I could get the great quality picture and signal like the old digital box.

I was wondering, is there any DVD recorder out there that can receive a cable signal (RF input) and put out a great picture quality signal just like a cable box you get from the cable company? I've tried all my recorders and VCRs and nothing so far has come close to the quality that I got from a cable line into a standard digital cable box and out to a DVD recorder.

If I could find some recorder that can accept a cable line in the back and put out great video quality, with rich color and sharp picture detail like a cable box, then I could keep the PVR for regular taping and the new machine for great quality DVD recording.

[lumis]

have you tried connecting the cable directly to your television?

it sounds like they're running an analog + digital system.. since you're able to connect your cable to your vcr & then to your television..

[lordsmurf]

If you think an SP VHS tape looks bad, then you've been using the wrong tapes and VCRs. The only thing "wrong" with a VHS tape is it's a bit softer image. Chroma noise can be removed easily. None of that other stuff exists (color loss, blocky picture, etc) unless your using crap equipment and blanks in EP mode.

Sounds like your box is defective.