HDMI INPUT FOR NON HIGH DEF CHANNELS WILL NOT DISPLAY FULL SCREEN

Cable: First you need to be using an HD Cable box to get the HD channels that your provider offers. if you don't, you can't get HD channels. Keep in mind that not all of the channels that your provider offers are in HD. Out of the 300+ channels that my provider Cox Communications in Las Vegas offers, they offer 91 of them in HD. If you have an HD box, you need to go into the settings menu and make sure that your video output is set to constant as you do not want it bouncing between different resolutions when you change channels. In your case you will have two options, 720p and 1080i (1080p does not exist for cable due to the amount of bandwidth required). Choose 720p because your set is under 40" and you won't see a a difference between 720p and 1080i except for that because it's progressive, HD may actually look better. (NOTE: although your analog channels will display at 720p, they are not in HD. They are simply up converted SD so don't expect that they will look like HD channels.) Also be sure to set your audio settings on your box to "HDMI out."
In general, HDMI devices should automatically detect HDMI input but since I don't know what kind of box you are using, it is possible that HDMI-out is disabled in the settings. My box (Scientific Atlanta) doesn't have that option, but I don't know about others. As far as the set is concerned, plug the HDMI cable into the input you want to use (if it's a new Vizio, I'm assuming there are three inputs as that's what my 32" Vizio in the kids' room has) and the set will auto-detect the HDMI input and automatically set the resolution accordingly.
SIDE NOTE: The only other way you're going to get HD channels from cable without a box is if you're using your COAX cable directly in to the TV and that is only if your cable provider has them floating on the line and you're only going to get the 5 major networks and Univision in HD.
PS3: This is even easier. WIth your PS3 powered off and your TV powered on, connect one end of your HDMI cable to the HDMI out on the PS3 and the other end to the appropriate HDMI input on your TV (of your choosing). Power on your PS3. Your TV will automatically detect the HDMI input from the PS3 and put that HDMI input on the screen. You will get an on-screen message from the PS3 detecting HDMI and it will ask you if you want o use HDMI or words to that effect (I can't remember the exact message... it's been a while). Choose "yes" and it will adjust the picture accordingly and should automatically choose the highest video resolution your television can display. To verify your settings, first hit the "guide" button on your Vizio remote control and in the upper right corner it will tell you at exactly what resolution it is displaying at. If it's not where you want it to be, on your PS3, go the Settings Menu and scroll down to "Display Settings" and the first item on the list is "Video Output Settings." Follow the step by step on screen menu prompts to determine your display settings, and choose "automatic" when prompted. If everything is copasedic, the highest resolution your television can display at will be listed at the top (and will be the current setting) and all of the other resolutions will be listed below it. If something is wrong between the "handshake" between the HDMI from the PS3 to the TV and it doesn't display in HD, go back into Video Output Settings" and when prompted, choose manual in stead and set the resolution on the PS3 the highest your TV can display. NOTE: Most 32" TV's have a maximum resolution of 720p fir the reasons I stated earlier. Check your manual for the specifics on yours. Furthermore, all PS3 games are in 720p so even if you have a 1080p TV, don't expect higher resolutions than that. AS far as Netflix is concerned, not all of their programming is in HD. The scale for Netflix is SD/Low/Medium/High/X-High. HD/Low/Medium/High/X-High, your quality depends on the program and strength of your Internet connection.
Closing: I'm a little confused by your issue as HDMI is automatic and you should automatically be getting HD so the only other thing I can think of is that your display needs calibrating and you just think you aren't getting HD. In order to get the most out of your new TV and your PS3, I would highly recommend that you calibrate your set with a Blu-Ray calibration disc that comes with color filters. It will take you about an hour or so to get the hang of and use correctly but the results will be very noticeable. The presets that come out of the box and the settings that they use on the floor in the store are awful and you don't realize how much you've been missing in picture quality until you calibrate. Do not rent this disc from Netflix as it does not come eith the color filters. You can buy a calibration disc at Amazon. I got the DVE one, from what I understand, the Spears and Munsel one is very good as well.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_24?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=blu-ray+calibration+disc&sprefix=blu-ray+calibration+disc

First off here is a site listed below that gives you the specifics on this TV. I would highly suggest you review it.

http://www.epinions.com/specs/TruTech_PLV16190_Television

From what I see it only has a Standard NTSC TV Tuner just like old TV's had so it won't receive any new digital or HD channels if you choose to plug your Cable 'Coxial' RF input directly into the RF Tuner input.
The specs say it will display 720p the lower formatted HD signal but with an Analog NTSC tuner I don't see how it can display it for you.
The only high resolution input you have is an S-Video input that you could connect up to a Cable box with but again S-Video isn't going to give you High Def only the lower 480 lines of resolution.
So to answer your question. It you wish to view any digital channels 'yes' you will need a converter box for this TV.
Blessings,
A/V Media Guy

Your TV plays High Def material through either Input 4 (uses component cables R,G,B) or through Input 5 (Uses DVI cable).
Today most equipment uses HDMI cable for High Def or it may have a component (RGB) output that you can use. The DVI hookup is best, so you need a HDMI to DVI cable or Component Cables (Red, Green, Blue). You need some source that OUTPUTS High def (ex. 1080i) either through HDMI or component cable. You need to either connect the component cable(R,G,B) from the source to the Input 4 on the TV or connect the HDMI to DVI cable from the source to the Input 5.
You need to set the AV source on the TV to AV5 (if you are using the DVI input) or AV4 (if you are using component cables).
If you want to play Highdef source like Blue Ray then you can just connect the output of the blu ray player to your Tv using either the HDMI to DVI cable or component cable (Red, Green, Blue) and set the TV input to AV5 (for HDMI/DVI) or AV4 (for component).
But if you are trying to get Free High Def from an antenna then you will need to have a component that can OUTPUT high def. The $40 converter boxes don't do this - they simply convert the Digital signal to Analog (non high def). What you need is a High Def TUNER that OUTPUTS High Def. I was looking for one for this same reason and ordered the centronics ZAT 502 HD. But it cost about $80. Then I saw that Tivo had an upgrade deal where I could upgrade my existing Series 2 Tivo to Tivo HD for $99. It has a High Def Tuner in it. So I cancelled my order with Centronics and got the Tivo. In any case if you want Over the air HD you will need a High Def Tuner that will OUTPUT 1080.

I have a Vizio. If I use the HDMI input I can only get normal and zoom w/ picture buttom on the remote but get full picture on all cable supplied HD channels but not on none HD channels. However, if I switch cable input, I have the TV set up with both inputs from the converter box, I am able to have the options of normal,panoramic,wide and zoom on all non HD channels. I don;t like the black bars top and bottom of the HD channels with this imput mode so I switch back to HDMI. Maybe your TV is simmilar.

LCD TV refers to the substance that creates the picture quality (it would be either LCD or Plasma or Tube) and HD refers to a crisp clear picture that can be attained. So your TV is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TV that is capable of receiving and displaying HD (High Definition) Picture.

What you need to check for is whether the TV has a built-in Tuner. This will either be SD (standard definition) TV Tuner or an HD TV Tuner. The box it came in will tell you or you may still have stickers on your TV.

If it has a built-in SD tuner you will be able to pick up HD channels but in a lower quality. In this case you will only need to plug the TV into a Wall-socket antenna or rabbit-ear antenna.

If it has a built-in HD Tuner you will be able to pick up HD Channels in full HD quaility picture. Simply by plugging the TV into a Wall-socket antenna or rabbit-ear antenna.

If your TV does NOT have a built-in TV-Tuner then this TV is clasified as "HD Ready". Which means that you have to purchase a Set Top Box (STB). you can get either HD or SD set top boxes. In this instance you will plug the cable from the wall socket into the STB then from the STB into the TV using either an HDMI cable (as long as your TV has an HDMI input) or through RCA cables which will be coloured Green, Blue and Red (i think red)

By the Way - best picture quality is from a wall-socket antenna.
HDMI = High Definition Multimedia Interface
STB = Set Top Box
High Definiton RCA cables will also be refered to as YPbPr/YCbCr (depending on equipment)
LCD = Liquid Crystal Display (the method used to make the picture on your TV screen)

If you have anymore questions, ask away.

Hi, first of all you need a high definition source. I'm not sure if your cable box is HD but lets take it as an example. The component leads which you are using isn't 'true' HD video quality, what you need is a hdmi cable from your source to your TV.

Your cable box maybe HD with a HDMI output, if it is then you need the lead to come out of the cable box into your tv's HDMI input using a HDMI lead. Then you switch your TV's source to the HDMI input and it then should be producing a HD quality picture, but to truly get the full HD experience you may want to subscripe to a HD channel or purchase a blueray player becasue most cable TV channels are upscaled to HD and the definition is not as good as on a blue ray disc or a true HD channel.

So in conclusion the cable and input you are using is not designed for HD input. I believe your TV is HD, check for HDMI inputs or DVI inputs.

Hope this explains your problem

I had the exact same problem on a brand new Insignia 26 " LCD with DVD. Comcast tech was able to fix it by changing the Comcast box diagnostics. Here is what he did. Using the Comcast remote with the TV on - press power, cable, menu in that order. A comcast diagnostic srceen will appear. Select Additional HDMI options, then audio options. Change the audio options to L-PCM. Press power again to exit the diagnostics. That will fix it and you get to use the HDMI cable.

If you are hooked up with a DVI cable you need to either use hdmi, component cables or turn off the non hd override...

Greetings caesar975,

Unfortunately if you chose to view the non HD channels in wide screen format, you are going to have the top and bottom of the screen cut off. Eventually this will not be a problem when everything goes to digital. However presently non HD channels are presented in 3:2 ratio where as HD is 16:9, So your choice really is to view them with the lines on either side for now.

I do not have an answer for the white flickering lines.

To get the BEST picture out of your 1080p unit I highly recommend using HDMI cables to hook it up.

I hope some of this helps.

Sincerely,

Dorothy
Go Ahead. Use Us.

in order to get the full HD experience you should be using HDMI cables. if you're using the white/red/yellow cables then your HD channels will not broadcast in full HD and you'll be stuck with the annoying black things around your screen