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  1. Chris Vargas

    Weird Denon AVR-3200 problem

    Thanks again for the replies. Mike, I had taken it to a place that was listed in Denon's website as being an authorized service center. However, now when I go to the website they don't show up as an authorized center. Hmmm. Good to know that the repair at this point is probably not worth it...
  2. Chris Vargas

    Weird Denon AVR-3200 problem

    As I said in my original message, I swapped both cables AND speakers, plus the center channel worked fine with non-DD source material, plus the center channel works fine now with a new receiver.
  3. Chris Vargas

    Weird Denon AVR-3200 problem

    I have a Denon AVR-3200 that's about 5-6 years old and wanted to know if anyone had heard of the following problem. When listening to Dolby Digital material, the center channel either is gone, or comes in and out sounding very scratchy, as if there were a loose connection. I've confirmed by...
  4. Chris Vargas

    Problems w/OTA HDTV tuning in DC area

    Judy: thanks for the quick reply. Misery loves company! I'm glad to know it's not a hardware problem, and glad to know WJLA is finally upgrading their signal. It'd be nice if these stations' websites actually had this kind of info on them (it might be there but I did some searches and...
  5. Chris Vargas

    Problems w/OTA HDTV tuning in DC area

    I have a Samsung SIR-T150 tuner. Lately I've been having some annoying problems with tuning certain channels in the DC area. It started with our local CBS affiliate showing up as "no signal" and then also happened to the ABC affiliate. After a few days of this, I had the Samsung do an...
  6. Chris Vargas

    Good examples for testing progressive scan?

    Hope this is the right forum; I also did do a search and couldn't find any threads dealing with this, but who knows if I typed the right magic words... Are there any good scenes anyone can recommend where you can see interlacing artifacts that are removed/improved by switching to progressive...
  7. Chris Vargas

    Projection screen videogame "burn-in": Myth or Reality?

    You should usually turn sharpness down, but I don't believe it has anything to do with burn-in, or at least not as much as contrast.
  8. Chris Vargas

    Anybody disapointed with the quality of cable on their HDTV?

    For me, yes, regular cable looks awful through my Toshiba 42H81. I do have the option of getting digital cable and may end up going that route if I have to.
  9. Chris Vargas

    ISF calibration report

    Hope some of the DC/VA people are still looking at this thread... I'm interested in getting ISF calibration too. Is the Chuck Williams you're talking about the same as "Williams Electronics" that comes up when you search for DC-area ISF people at the Imaging Science website? If not (or even if...
  10. Chris Vargas

    Get SIRT150 now or wait for $399 model?

    So there's a rebate on the Samsung SIRT150 OTA HDTV tuner that brings the price down to $380 or so after rebate. But I also see on the forum here that they will be introducing a new model listing for $399 sometime in June (new model will be missing one set of analog component outputs). Is...
  11. Chris Vargas

    Help me stop waffling: Toshiba 43HX71 vs 42H81

    Thanks to everyone for their help. I stopped waffling and got the 16:9 screen (42H81) which is what I really wanted anyway. It was good to hear that the step-up features of the HX vs the H were not all that significant. Now I just have to worry about keeping curious fingers out of my DVD player...
  12. Chris Vargas

    Help me stop waffling: Toshiba 43HX71 vs 42H81

    I've ordered a 43HX71 but it's not being delivered until Thursday, so I might still have a chance at switching. I was pretty set on getting a 42H81, but then I saw the 43HX71 and thought it could solve some other problems in my particular setup. Pros for 43HX71: * it's a CinemaSeries...
  13. Chris Vargas

    RP91 Qs on audio setup, CD playback

    I'm not sure of the definition of "bass management" but the RP91 does have a menu where you can set large vs small speakers, and I've set them to small. As for why I'm using analog vs. digital, it's strictly convenience. Since the AVR3200 only has DD and not DTS, I thought if I just left it...
  14. Chris Vargas

    RP91 Qs on audio setup, CD playback

    OK, I have my Panasonic RP91 connected to my Denon AVR-3200 via the six analog outs. I've set up the RP91 for small speakers (NHT SuperOnes L/R, SuperCenter, SuperZeroes as surround, Mirage sub). Question: I've already adjusted speaker delay times in my Denon. Do I need to do it in the RP91's...
  15. Chris Vargas

    Anyone know where to get price online for 42H81 or 42HX81??

    Someone posted good results with onecall.com in another thread here in the HDTV area, ordering a 40H80. Link Removed http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005NGRT/qid=1005704849/sr=8- 1/ref=sr_8_1_1/107-0094986-1689325 PS: I didn't think there was a 42HX81... wish there was...
  16. Chris Vargas

    Gamespot says XBox won't have progressive scan

    Article is here: http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories...824108,00.html Microsoft had originally claimed that it would be providing progressive scan output for DVD playback, but there'd been some hemming and hawing since that announcement. Apparently now they've pulled it altogether. I'm...
  17. Chris Vargas

    Difference between Progressive and 3:2 pulldown?

    That article is excellent but intensive. Here's a quick, hopefully accurate, description of 3-2 pulldown. Movies run at 24 frames per second. Interlaced TV runs at 30 frames a second, 2 fields per frame. In order to pad 24 movie frames out to fit 60 video fields, if you do the math, you have to...
  18. Chris Vargas

    Several Questions... (Toshiba 50HX81 owners could answer a few of them)

    Grady: congrats on the clearance from the wife! Sorry about those deferred birthday presents. :) Some additional comments to add to Jesse's... Question 1: there was indeed a company hypeing a new storage medium that was clear, handled multiple layers, and could hold enough to effectively be...
  19. Chris Vargas

    Toshiba 50H81 Picture Questions

    Here's a highly detailed article discussing the ins and outs of progressive scan: Link Removed Basically, if I understand it correctly, if the line doubler in your HDTV is good enough, you're right, you might not be able to tell the difference between a regular DVD player run through the...
  20. Chris Vargas

    Playstation 2 as DVD

    I don't know about the region-free hack and how it affects performance (if at all). Video specs on the PS2 aren't very complimentary; they say it doesn't perform as well on paper as some DVD players half its price. Link Removed Having said that, I've been using one as my primary DVD player...
  21. Chris Vargas

    Search feature down, Please answer question regaurding Panasonic RP91

    It's not really deinterlacing... maybe it's related to it, but I've seen it described as the zoom function. 16:9 TVs usually have a similar function. If you have a non-anamorphic DVD that is also letterboxed, on a 16:9 TV, you'd actually have left and right bars (since the DVD is really a 4:3...
  22. Chris Vargas

    Best DVD Player for around $500????

    I went with an RP91 mainly due to the positive comments in this forum. There are some concerns on its progressive scan capabilities since it doesn't use the Sage/Faroujda chip, but enough of the positives (DVD audio, DTS and DD decoding, excellent zoom mode for non-anamorphic DVDs) seemed to...
  23. Chris Vargas

    PS2 DVD Vs Pioneer 535 DVD Player.....

    I'll second KennyWayne's comments about using a good cable for PS2 DVD playback. I saw a similar problem with chroma crawl when I first hooked up my PS2; really horrible with Toy Story 2. But I was assuming that using my PS1's S-video cable would work OK. Bad assumption. Once I got a S-video...
  24. Chris Vargas

    Help with RP91 setup for DTS

    OK, the mystery is solved! The culprit? Apparently, after choosing DTS from the main screen of the disc, if you don't sit like a good boy and watch all the FBI warnings and Image Entertainment animated logo junk, and just chapter skip right to the Eagles, it doesn't pick DTS and gives you LPCM...
  25. Chris Vargas

    Help with RP91 setup for DTS

    Scott: do you remember, or can you check, what your settings are on the RP91 to have it decode DTS? Is it the one I mentioned earlier, "PCM" vs "Bitstream"? That's the only pertinent setting I could find. Hope I don't have to buy a DTS disc just to see if things are working as they should...
  26. Chris Vargas

    Help with RP91 setup for DTS

    Everyone: thanks for the replies. I will try some of these settings tonight when I get back home. I guess it's worth a try to switch the DTS setting to bitstream, although the dire warnings in the manual of speaker-damaging noise was what stopped me from doing so (since my denon does not have a...
  27. Chris Vargas

    Help with RP91 setup for DTS

    Phil: thanks for your message, and confirmation that things should be working as I expected them. With the Hell Freezes Over DVD, you're only given a choice to select DTS or PCM at the very beginning of the disc, right when you put it in. I haven't found a way to get back to that opening...
  28. Chris Vargas

    Help with RP91 setup for DTS

    (sorry for redundant msgs -- thought the forum software had locked up). [Edited last by Chris Vargas on October 15, 2001 at 02:42 PM]
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