Horizontal Waves on my Television

[hfullerton@bcsd1.net]

Alright guys, I have a 52" Toshiba with Directv hooked up. I'm getting Horizontal Lines on my tv but not when I watch a DVD. Only when watching Directv. So I'm thinking its not the tv. I have made sure that the cables are tight. Would any RCA Cables be causing me fits? We have a DVD Player, Playstation2 and a Wii hooked up? Any thoughts?? I really need help.

[CogoSWSDS]

Without seeing a picture, it is difficult to say. It could quite possibly be a ground loop. Is there a 50 or 60Hz hum in the audio?

You can check for a ground loop by disconnecting everything, then hooking each piece of hardware up one at a time. After you hook up each piece of hardware, check for the horizontal waves you are seeing. When you see the horizontal bars come back, then you know that you have found the hardware that is causing the ground loop. An isolator on the last piece of equipment hooked up should solve the problem.

For more information on Ground loops, read http://www.epanorama.net/documents/groundloop/. For info on how to fix a ground loop, read http://www.epanorama.net/documents/groundloop/home_solving.html

CogoSWSDS

[redwudz]

You might want to describe the lines a bit better. What color, how many, do they move or drift? Are they straight across or at an angle? Thin or thick lines? A screen shot might be helpful. A digital camera may work if you turn off the flash and turn down the room lights.

Usually RF interference lines move on the screen. Fixed lines sound more like a monitor problem.

RCA cables could be the cause, but usually the longer ones are more suspect. Unplug a few and check to see if the problem is still there. Or switch them around.

And welcome to our forums.

[hfullerton@bcsd1.net]

The waves go up and down. Sometimes they are stronger than at other times. For instance, When I turn the channel on dtv you can see them waving on the blue background. You think unplugging the rca wires would work?

[ytrouble]

in many cases its the cables ya use. dont be cheap wif the audio and video cables ya use.

[MysticE]

The waves go up and down. Sometimes they are stronger than at other times. For instance, When I turn the channel on dtv you can see them waving on the blue background. You think unplugging the rca wires would work?

I don't think you should be using RCA cables in the first place. What outputs does your Directv box have available?

[johns0]

Go with good quality cables,i found cheap ones would not ground properly and give off that effect.Use hdmi if you can and component as second choice,dont ever use composite cable(regular rca cable).