Why do analog/basic cable channels look worse than before?
In some cases, there might be a difference in perceived picture quality between analog and digital channels. This may be due to the differences in technologies for transmission of signal types. There are 3 reasons for this. (1) Analog channels tend to pick up “noise”, which is typically processed out on digital channels. (2) Certain TVs offer different levels of noise reduction (filtering) among their video inputs. (3) The DVR functionality interjects slight video degradation on analog channels, as part of the conversion process from analog to digital in order to store onto the digital hard drive. The cable and telecommunications industry is collaborating on a resolution to this issue. To see a more detailed answer on this question click here.