Picture distorted! my picture is completely distorted. i tried switching cables, and switching sources and i come to the conclusion that its something wrong w/ my tv. i dont get any funny lamp indicators, just a distorted picture. it hasn't been firing up on the first time lately. i'd have to turn it off and back on to get the fan to start up and the lamp to fire up. is the lamp bad or is it something else?

As the audio is good through the headphones it could be something to do with the headphone socket itself. When headphones are plugged in the socket has a switching mechanism that switches the speakers off. So something around the socket or the actual socket might be causing the problem.

Need more information to answer your question. What is your television source - are you using Cable, Satellite, Antenna? If you have a box from cable or other it could be the setting. I am assuming your distortion is the picture configuration with black boxes on the side, or potentially an incorrect zoom setting which can have people look tall and skinny, or short and fat. If it is just a general picture failure - need more detail on that as well.

Hello

Make sure TV is on the correct channel or input. Check the cables for correct routing from TV to any other devices. Check cables to ensure they are tight and secure.

An analog signal converted to high defintion resolution will cause lines, blurriness or fuzziness in the picture. Change the resolution to a lower or native setting using the media device (cable box, DVD,). This may be an issue that requires a service call to cable provider.

A problem on one channel may just be a error on that channel. If using an antenna, it might need to be adjusted in order to ensure good signal strength. For digtal channels, go into TV Menu. Check the DTV signal. Weak signal can cause picture distortion.

If another device is being used such as a cable box, DVD player or VCR switch between devices and test picture. Check routing of cables that are used to control the image. This should be a series of red, white and yellow cables.

If a VCR with a cable box, make sure the VCR and TV are set to the correct channels for video signal to pass through. If problem is still occuring, try another set of cables. bad cables can cause picture distortion.

Bad cables can cause picture distortion as well. Try another set of cables. If picture is better than when using the cables replaced, this was the issue. If cables are not an issue TV may require service.

Even digital signals can be sensitive to electrical interference and using an antenna, you could be getting garbage from any nearby 'noisy' source. Something you might try is to temporarily switch off any electrical device in your home, one at a time and look for changes in the banding you have.
If the antenna you are using is outside (rooftop) and is rotor equipped, try changing the position to see if there is any increase or decrease of the problem. If an indoor antenna, rotate it slowly while watching the TV display for change. You may be able to determine the general direction of the source of interference. Some seemingly innocent devices that can cause problems; - Light dimmers/controllers - Poorly designed network routers - Cordless phones - Power supplies

First bypass the cable box and hook the tv directly to the cable to see if the problem goes away. if the problem persists you possibly have a bad input board.

it happens because of the connecting wires that they get distorted by other source or have the fault in them
Try to configure when cables are away from any object is the picture distorted or it is clear if clear then change the positon of the cables going

Your Train source may be your scanner Twain driver. Reinstall the driver. 
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=SupportDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=235&modelid=11463#DownloadDetailAct

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

An update from Mccoyb:

I have to take back some of the previous conclusions about the problem being with the Canon Camera. I based conclusion on the belief that I'd previously had the same problems on a different computer. I think that is now incorrect.

Adding to previous comments above:
I pulled the memory card out of my camera and into an SD CardReader. Plugged the cardreader into the USB port where the camera had been. Again, problems. I switched USB ports. Still, problems reading the card reliably just as the camera had done.

I took the same USB cable to another computer. This time, I could access all data flawlessly on BOTH the cardreader the camera. On this computer, no Canon software had been installed, so I used Microsoft's tool (automatically pops up when camera turned on) to copy the pictures to the hard drive.

I'm starting to think my USB drivers on one computer are somehow completely hosed up. So many different hardware USB ports should not simultaneously start failing. In addition, I tried a THUMB DRIVE and it had very slow performance and problems recognizing the drive letter. However, I tried an external 500 GB hard drive, and the drive letter came up without any problems.

Something may have changed with a Microsoft update that caused USB drivers and/or handling of the USB ports to change. Either that, or there is a virus impacting only the USB ports.

Anyhow, I don't believe it's the camera now or the memory cards.

When you say brand new, just how new is it? Your unit could be covered by the warranty. Certainly something worth checking into. If it works fine on all inputs except cable and the cable box has been changed your problem is probably in the digital receiver in the TV. This is something you will need a qualified repair tech to look at but should not be an expensive fix (compared to the cost of the unit). First make sure it is not covered under warranty. Free is still better than having to pay! Good luck.