margemac wrote:... I ordered a new DVR but the only thing that seems to have remedied the issue is using a component cable instead of HDMI. Yes, I did lose the wonderful HD quality that made it seem like live images would pop right out of my TV but now I have audio no matter what. The component cable was the recommendation of the Verizon tech that I spoke with.
Component and HDMI both put out identical quality HD signals so you should be getting HD quality over component. The only difference is that highest supported resolution for component cables is 1080i, and HDMI supports 1080p resolution. But since the STBs do not output 1080p (only 1080i or 720p) then this is not an issue -- the provided HD quality is the same.
That said, your TV may have different picture settings for the HDMI inputs than component inputs (mine does). I had been using component and switched to HDMI and saw a perceived decrease in quality. But when I adjusted the HDMI input picture settings to the equivalent of those I had set for the component input, the picture quality was equal.