57h81 - awesome baby (1 Viewer)

[steve jaros]

I've enjoyed this set for 3 days now. The really amazing thing is what it does to non-anamorphic DVDs. They have no scan lines at all. Must be the prog. scan or 3/2 pulldown. Whatever, it rocks.

 

[Chris Biggs]

I am considering purchasing this TV. Do you have a progressive scan DVD player or interlaced?
How does broadcast/cable and (ugh) VHS look?
Thanks

 

[steve jaros]

I have an ancient (1997) Toshiba 3006, as low-tech interlaced as they come. But it does have component outputs.
My understanding is that unless you have a *really* good prog-scan DVD player, you don't need to get one to use with this tv, because the tv will progressive-scan the interlaced signal from the DVD player (there is no advantage to having *both* the dvd player and the tv do progressive scanning), and it does it better than most DVD players will. The 57h81 converts a 480i signal to 540p.
BTW, even though i bought this model, i only got it instead of a 4:3 tv because i got a good deal on it. IMO, the best option is to get a 4:3 tv that has *good* 16:9 enhancement and 3/2 pulldown for DVD, like the Toshiba 60h71. That way, you get to see widescreen DVDs in their full anamorphic glory, yet still can watch 4:3 content on a big screen...

 

[Stefan A]

Yeah - I have to agree with Frank here. I do not own a P scan player yet but I will one day. I have seen the extent to which the **h81 does the progressive/3:2 pulldown. Somebody on this message board suggested using the scene in Saving Private Ryan where Mrs. Ryan is getting the bad news. Watch the car as it pulls up to the house. Specifically, the grill. It will flicker all over the place. Now go back and forth between video and film mode (non 3:2 vs. 3:2) In the video mode you will see even more flickering. In film mode, it is a bit improved, so you know it's doing something, but not 100% improved. I believe a P scan player will improve this - and similar situations. Also, the way some things are supposed to move smoothly across a screen and not jumpy. Watch the stars in a Paramount introduction as it moves around the mountain. Or the word "Universal" as it moves around the planet.
Stefan Antwarg

 

[Mike I]

Progressive scan will always give you a superior picture to a hd ready sets internal line doubler evan if the internal line doubler does a 3.2 pull down..
With progressive scan the 3.2 pulldown is accomplished in the digital domain using the frame flags encoded in the dvd's mpeg bitstream..
Advantages of progressive conversion
Line doublers are used in other high-end home entertainment systems to provide progressive scanning. These may be stand-alone devices or incorporated into a digital TV. Impressive as they may be, DVD in-player progressive conversion has three big advantages over line doublers:
1) High precision and stability
A DVD-Video disc mastered from a film holds all the data necessary to produce an accurate progressive image, whereas an external line doubler must take hints from the video source to determine the source material and frame allocation.
2) All-digital conversion minimizes signal degradation
Since the signal from the DVD-Video disc is digital, progressive conversion can be performed digitally inside the player. Signal quality is protected until it leaves the player's analog output. In contrast, a stand-alone or in-TV doubler first receives information from the analog output of the source device then converts this analog signal back to digital for processing. Finally, it must translate the signal back to analog before outputting it. All this back-and-forth translation is much more likely to degrade the signal.
3) Processing is optimized to DVD-Video's high image quality
Line doublers built into digital TV sets are designed to work with a variety of video sources, so their settings are not necessarily ideal for DVD-Video. Progressive conversion is optimized for the high resolution and low noise of the DVD-Video format. This enables the unit to preserve DVD-Video picture quality for display on all screen sizes, from direct-view CRT to projectors.
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[RichieL]

I've had the 57H81 for a week now. I agree the line-doubler is good, but not as good as a true progressive player. I've got a non-progressive Panasonic RV-30 and a HTPC hooked up.
With casual viewing there's not much difference. On specific scenes there is a noticeable difference. I looked at the 'Saving Private Ryan' scene and there was marked flickering of the car grill on the Panasonic. On the HTPC there was NO flickering. On some fast moving scenes in 'Toy Story 2' you can notice some jaggies which disappear on the HTPC.

 

[Craig]

I you have an older player you might benefit just from advancements in technology as well as the direct benefits of progressive scan. Even the interlaced picture from my Toshiba 6200 was better than my Tosh 3109. If you're using an interlaced player over 2 years old I think you'll notice an improvement going to a new prog scan player.

 

[steve jaros]

Thanks, fellas for all the comments on progressive scan DVD players. Perhaps i've grown complacent to my old 3006 and it's time for an upgrade.