Dvd screen jitter on the black bars (1 Viewer)

[ReggieW]

I am currently watching Desperately Seeking Susan (1.85:1), and the bottom black bar is shaking like crazy. What causes this? I have noticed this happening on many titles at the top and bottom of the screen. Usually it isn't very distracting, but sometimes it becomes irritating. I would appreciate any comments that would help rectify the problem.

Thanks,

R.C.

 

[jeff peterson]

Sounds like it could be Macrovision biting you. How is your DVD player connected to your television? If it's through your VCR, change it to either a direct connection to your TV or through your receiver. You can't run the DVD signal through your VCR since it'll think you're trying to copy a Macrovision encoded disc and mess up the signal.

 

[ReggieW]

Thanks Jeff.

Actually......It is connected directly to my television via component video monster cables!! My player is a JVC 721 bk DVD audio player. I currently have no VCR, and would never connect my dvd player in this way.

Thanks,

R.C.

 

[Ergin Guney]

Reggie,

I think what you're talking about is how the very first scan and very last lines in the letterboxed display area flicker on an off as the movie is playing. (Otherwise, the black bars are pure black. What else about them could be "shaking", right?) If I'm right about my assumption that you are not using a progressive-scan player or display, I believe that must be what it is.

I've seen this before. It looked to me like the first scan line in the picture was included in only one of the two fields in each video frame, and the last scan line likewise. (Actually this should be the normal state of affairs, since one field includes only even numbered scan lines, and so does not paint line 1, and the other field includes only odd numbered ones, and so does not paint line 480...) If the frequency of this flicker looks like the same frequency as the visible flicker of the interlaced picture up close, then you're seeing what I saw.

I'm not sure what's causing it to look that bad, but I'm pretty sure it's a matter related to the way the DVD is engineered. It may be a mistake that the engineer makes in the way the black bars are drawn in the video signal. (Either that, or this is always the case naturally for movies with a ratio wider than 16:9 and it's just that I or most other people hardly ever notice it.) The bad news is, if I'm right, there's probably nothing that can be done to fix it during playback.

 

[JasonWW]

I know this is an old thread, but I had an suggestion. I saw else where on this forum about using mattes. You can make little black screens out of cardboard and black material and attach them over the black bars. Just attach them so they cover the transition area that's shaking. Using these mattes will give you a true black field and many people say they make the picture look much better. Since they would be so cheap to make, I was planning on trying these out myself to see if they made a difference.