Picture distortion and discoloration are among the most common issues experienced by home television viewers. The issue can sometimes be difficult to troubleshoot as it can be caused by many different things, including a loose coaxial connection inside or outside the home, malfunctioning digital cable equipment, broadcast problems with an individual station or stations, broken audio/video connection cables or some combination thereof. You can contact your cable provider's tech support line to resolve problems like this, but it is useful to learn the same troubleshooting techniques that they would have you do and perform them on your own.
Instructions
1. Reset your cable equipment by unplugging the power cord of your digital cable box or DVR for 30 seconds and plugging it back in. Allow the cable box enough time to reboot and check the picture for any improvements.
2. Unplug the audio/video connection cables that attach your cable equipment to your TV and check them for any dirt or damage. This step is particularly important if you use component cables, as they divide the picture into red, green and blue, represented by cables of the same color. Therefore if the red picture cable is malfunctioning or not plugged in correctly, the chances are good that you will see a noticeably red picture. After plugging all cables back in, check the picture again for any improvement.
3. Scan through multiple TV functions to help determine the scope of the problem. If the red discoloration appears on the guide as well as the main programming, the audio/video connection cables or the cable box are likely at fault and will need to be serviced or replaced. If the guide is colored normal but the programming itself is discolored, the problem is much more likely with the channel broadcast itself and you would need to report the issue to your cable provider. If all of the video inputs on the TV have the same discoloration, the picture components on the TV will most likely need to be serviced.
Tags: your cable, audio video, audio video connection, cable equipment, connection cables, video connection, video connection cables
