Chroma Bug Snub? (1 Viewer)

[Michael Smith]

Hello All! I've been hearing things about Sony's NS999ES DVD player. Mainly things in another forum about it having something called a "Chroma Bug". Has anyone else heard this about this player? What is a Chroma Bug? I have this player and as far as I can tell, the picture in Progressive scan mode looks wonderful! The interlaced mode looks fine as well to my eyes. If this Chroma bug exists, what should I look for? Thanks for reading this, and look forward to your responses!
-Mike.

 

[Mark C.]

Do a search here for "chroma bug'' and you'll get years' worth of reading. Better yet, go to the source: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/main.html

The bug is actually a chroma upsampling error that plagues many machines. Too complicated for a simpleton like me to explain, but the link will help.

 

[Stephen M]

IMO, it is one of the most overhyped problems in video. A writer from the Perfect Vision commented to a reader's letter recently to the effect that he had a seven foot screen and projector and could only see the effect when he stood next to the screen with the image on pause. OTOH, many posters have had more serious problems according to their posts. However, way too many people refuse to buy a player just on the basis of the chroma error which is insane IMO since many posters never bothered to actually look at movies with the offending dvd player and many otherwise great players such as the Sony ES supposedly have this defect. Apparently, sensitivity to the problem varies by viewer, player and size of screen.

 

[FeisalK]

Michael,

I have this player and as far as I can tell, the picture in Progressive scan mode looks wonderful!

if you are happy why look for dissatisfaction? or has upgraditis bitten ya?

 

[Michael Smith]

Well, you know Feisa, upgraditis is ALWAYS a factor in this hobby of ours... Seriously though...I love my Sony and am NOT looking to upgrade, just curious about all the fuss. As far as I'm concerned, my player performs flawlessly. Special thanks to Mark C. for the link, and Stephen M for the knowledge...

 

[Kwang Suh]

IMO, it is one of the most overhyped problems in video.

Ever seen a Toshiba SD5109 or some of the older Denons? The chroma bug was so bad, the only way you'd miss it was to be totally blind.

 

[Stephen M]

OTOH, I have the Pioneer Elite 47ai that supposedly has the chroma bug and I see no problem on my 55" Mitsubishi. Besides, who cares about the problem on older players??? The current griping involves new models that some people have arbitrarily declared unfit due to a problem that a majority of people do not see. The Sony ES is a good example. The first question on many forums when a new player is released is "does it have the bug?" I wonder how many people have eliminated considering a player that may have the chroma bug w/o even looking at the picture these players output?? I stand by my opinion that this defect is overhyped today and you provided no reason for me to alter my view, Kwang.

 

[Jon Oliva]

My problem with the Chroma bug is that I would probably never noticed until someone told me about it. Now that I know about it, I will look for it, and when I find it - I am sure I will if it is there - I will be bothered :frowning:

In the never-ending quest for the best bang for my small buck, I try to do the best I can. If there are good players out there at reasonable cost without such an image problem, then I will buy one of those rather than something that has an inherent 'error' in it; if only to abate my bloodthirsty taste for hobby upgrade-itis, or vice versa. I dunno...my $0.01 (after taxes)...

 

[Kwang Suh]

In the never-ending quest for the best bang for my small buck, I try to do the best I can. If there are good players out there at reasonable cost without such an image problem, then I will buy one of those rather than something that has an inherent 'error' in it; if only to abate my bloodthirsty taste for hobby upgrade-itis, or vice versa. I dunno...my $0.01 (after taxes)...

I've pretty well purchased every single cheapie DVD player I could find the last month, and can confidently say that the only manufacturer you must avoid if you don't want the CUE is Panasonic.

 

[Don_Berg]

JVC models have never had the chroma bug and many of Denon's don't either. The older Panasonics also never had it. Sony and Toshiba were the worst culprits.

 

[Joseph Shaw]

I've heard the Toshibas were the worst when it came to the chroma bug, but I never noticed it with my Toshiba. That is, before it bought the farm.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Apparently, sensitivity to the problem varies by viewer, player and size of screen.

No kidding. My brother Pat has a Sony Dream system hooked up to a nice NTSC Toshiba flat screen 27" monitor. After watching a few movies he actually asked me about this problem he was noticing in reds on some films, mainly animated ones. I knew instantly that he was seeing chroma bug problems, sent him the link, and he confirmed that he was noticing this. So it doesn't have to be a huge screen and high end video gear to notice the problem. It really depends on the eye of the beholder more than anything else. However, the problem is not a constant glitch, just an occasional niggle.

 

[Kwang Suh]

I have to say that if you ever saw the Denon 2800 Mark I (and even the Mark II), you'd hate the chroma bug. I saw the Emporer's New Groove on it with a 27 inch TV, and some of the chroma lines were over 3 cms wide!! On a 27'!! Yikes!