[Steve Schaffer]

yes, it can do 1080i via component. PQ on my crt based HD-ready rptv when watching film based material is close to but not equal to the same movie on HBO-HD or Showtime HD, but not close to video based HD stuff from HDNet, Discovery HD, or INHD.

I'm not at all familiar with your pj, and am assuming it's an lcd or dlp unit. I've waded thru the entire thread over at AVS and results with fixed pixel displays vary widely. That being said, if your pj handles 1080i from an HDTV tuner box well it should also work well with the DVB-318.

You will have to switch the Zenith to 480p for 4/3 stuff if your pj locks into widescreen mode when fed 1080i, and some people have reported color bleeding at 480p though I've seen none at 480p with my crt based display. One guy in particular with an Infocus pj is reporting bad color bleeding at 480p. For non-anamorphic widescreen you can do a vertical-only zoom with the player that looks very nice, and leave it at 1080i.

The Zenith does have the Faroudja dcdi chip.

[Don_Berg]

You won't get true HD quality with the Zenith, all DVDs have a source resolution of 720x480. Upconverting to an HD format won't create true HD resolution since the source doesn't have the pixels, you have to wait for blue-laser HD-DVD format for that.

[Larry Sutliff]

Quote:

You won't get true HD quality with the Zenith, all DVDs have a source resolution of 720x480. Upconverting to an HD format won't create true HD resolution since the source doesn't have the pixels, you have to wait for blue-laser HD-DVD format for that.

Chris did mention in his post the awareness of limitations inherent in upconverting, so no one is under the illusion that the DVB 318 will give "true" HD quality. But it does look incredible; I watched FINDING NEMO last night, and the image looked amazing, with incredible depth and color. Many people would have assumed it was a HD source if they just walked in the room without knowing that it was a DVD. It looked much better than my top rated RP 82.

[greg_t]

Quote:

It looked much better than my top rated RP 82.

Here's a link to the new Secrets test of the Zenith. It scored well below the RP82, and according to secrets, it "has a lot of issues in it's core performance".

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...h&articles=118

[Steve Schaffer]

Don,
Ya know, I still like the pic from the Zenith better than that of my CP-72. 15 clipped pixels gets eaten up by overscan on my tv and the YC delay at 1080i over component is the same as my Panny CP-72. My CP-72 also failed the 2/2 thing, same as the Z. The overall score difference between my CP-72 and my DVB-318 is only 3 points, not a huge difference and their test totally ignores the improved resolution and scaling features of the Zenith which for my purposes is more important than the stuff it rated lower for.

Frankly I don't see enough bad about the Zenith in the Secrets report to negate the advantages of 1080i upconversion via component and the ability to very nicely scale non-anamorphic widescreen, but as I've said before different users have different priorities. Hell, I prefer my JVC to my Panny, and the JVC only scored a lousy 59 (still better than the $1799 model though).

So tell ya what, Don, you keep your panny and I'll keep my Z and we'll both be happy with our choices.:wink: :wink:

[Larry Sutliff]

Quote:

Yes - Secrets finally tested the Zenith, as expected the classic top-rated models like the RP82 and XP30 still rate better

Not on my setup they don't(well, at least the RP82; I've never seen the XP30). I've watched portions of the following movies so far, and all of them-with one exception-look better on the DVB 318 than the RP82 on my setup:
EPISODE II
FINDING NEMO
PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN(so-so transfer, but what is good in it was brought out by the 318)
ALIEN
X-MEN 2
TERMINATOR 2 Extreme Edition(jaw droppingly gorgeous; almost HD in appearance)
TERMINATOR 3
SPIDER-MAN Superbit
LOTR:FOTR EE
MOULIN ROUGE!
THE MASK OF ZORRO Superbit
SEABISCUIT
MATRIX RELOADED
The only DVD that didn't seem as good to me on the 382 compared to the 82 was RETURN OF THE KING. For some reason, it just had a flat, grainy look, with loads of noticable edge enhancement. I thought it looked better on the 82, perhaps because there is slightly less detail on that machine, and the picture was "smoothed" out. Otherwise, the 318 is a superb machine in every way. I don't care about remote control ergonomics or how much of a pain in the ass something is to set up(though, like anyone, I prefer everything to be as perfect as possible), I only want the best picture quality I can get for the money I can afford. The DVB 318 has done that for me in spades. I'll be happy with this machine until HD-DVD comes along, in whatever form.

[Don_Berg]

The Secrets tests showed the increase in Y/C delay (the cause of reported color bleeding) in 480p mode which is needed for watching 4:3 DVD titles to get proper aspect ratio since the Zenith stretches 4:3 titles in 1080i mode. The large amount of pixel cropping on the Zenith isn't hidden by a TV's overscan - it adds to that. The XP30 is rated 11 points higher, I'll still recommend it as the best choice for now.

[Steve Schaffer]

Don,

Since I obviously have an imperfect understanding of "pixel cropping" maybe I could politely ask what percentage of the picture 15 pixels represents at a 1080i scanrate (if scanrate makes a difference).?

My Sony rptv has noticeaby more overscan when fed 1080i than 480p anyway, probably due to the limitations of it's 7" crts and their inability to display what a purist would call a true HD pixel count. I've noticed that picture centering can vary from one source to another regardless of incoming scanrate, so am probably unusual in my tolerance for overscan, preferring it to the possibility of black lines at the side of the screen if a source is off-center by an inch or more.

Another funny thing is that although I never noticed scanlines at 480p on my crt based set (scanlines don't appear on fixed pixel displays iirc?) since using the Zenith in 1080i I'm more conscious of them when watching at 480p. Not that it ruins the experience outright, just that 480p looks more like video and 1080i looks more like film.

That "looking more like film" is also why I still like crt based rptvs to the new fixed pixel displays despite the latter's advantages with regard to burn-in resistance and viewing angle. Maybe it could be equated to those who prefer the sound of vinyl records to cds, though I'm not one of those!

[dpippel]

Quote:

If anyone has the Pronto IR code for switching upconversion settings, I'd really appreciate if you'd post it!