Did you have the same TV in Alaska, or an older non HDTV unit?

Feeding a standard def signal into an HDTV tends to look bad in any case, as there isn't much data to work with to fill the higher resolution screen. Add onto that the point Tony brought up of cable companies cramming as many channels as possible down the pipe, and it gets worse.

Lack of a good HD alternative when Voom went under was one of my reasons I gave up on dealing with any subscription TV service. Buying shows off iTunes, or on DVD/BluRay has resulted in a much higher quality viewing environment.