[Ted Lee]

hi all -

ever since i got my new tv (65" widescreen) i've noticed that in some movies, when i have the subtitles on, the text appears jagged. i mean, quite jagged. but, on other movies, they appear fine.

actually, i also got a new dvd player too, so i'm not sure if it's the tv or dvd player doing this.

in any case, just curious as to why.

thx,

ted

[Brian Lawrence]

Could it be SVM causing it?

Not much idea, but you might get a better answer in the Hardware forum.

[Greg_S_H]

Just to get the ball rolling, this may be simply caused by interlacing. Maybe a progressive DVD player would eliminate the symptoms?

[Randy A Salas]

I think you're seeing the difference between subtitles generated by your DVD player and those burned into the film. So, yes, your new player is having an effect.

While many people seem to complain about the quality of the former, player-generated subtitles are definitely affected by the player itself. For example, Panasonic's new line of DVD players produced player-generated subtitles that have a pleasing font, look much like burned-in titles, can be adjusted for brightness and repositioned on the screen.

[Ted Lee]

thx guys.

i forgot to mention, i have the samsung 931 dvd player (which upconverts to 1080i) - so i wonder if that is the issue.

randy - is there a way to tell which is doing the subtitles?

[Max Leung]

i notice this when I play DVDs on my HTPC (TheaterTek). Some titles have very pixellated subtitles, but others don't. My Panasonic RP91 has better play-generated subtitles than theatertek IMHO.

[Randy A Salas]

Quote:

is there a way to tell which is doing the subtitles?

For player-generated subtitles, there should be some kind of indication on the player's display or status menu that one of the subtitle tracks is being used or that they are "on" or "off." It varies by player.

[DeanWalsh]

The reason player generated subs appear pixelated is that when authoring the sub stream, you only have a choice of 4 colours at once for the subs. Without a large colour pallette there's no way to implement anti-aliasing on the text (unless the player itself is capable of that, and that would only be a handful of them out there).

[DaViD Boulet]

Quote:

Panasonic's new line of DVD players produced player-generated subtitles that have a pleasing font, look much like burned-in titles, can be adjusted for brightness and repositioned on the screen.

Fascinating.

Improved subtitle clarity and features (like you just described) were one of the things I made sure were written into our HD-DVD petition (see link). I think this should be fundmantal to the format...that subtitles out to be "rendered" in accordance with user preferences. This could even include outputing subtitles to a separate display system altogether so they don't mar the image (like supertitles at an opera).

Nice to know Panasonic has taken a lead. Haven't seen anything like that on my panny rp91. Any models you're aware of?

dave

[Randy A Salas]

David, it's the new Panasonic line that many people have dismissed because they don't have the same specs as the older RP91. While that's true, they do have some great features. My player, the five-disc DVD-F85, has the subtitle feature (and a built-in DTS decoder, progressive scan, multiformat playback, etc.--all for $149 MSRP). I bought it on a lark, mostly to have the DTS option (so I didn't have to replace the DD 5.1 receiver that I already liked), and it quickly ended up becoming my main player. (I have six.)

I believe all of the new Panasonics have the subtitle feature.

[Vince Maskeeper]

Aren't subtitles just a video overlay file? I was inder the impression any still could be overlayed (or even motion video, like MST3k style, or icons like the rabbit in Matrix).