How to get 480p dvd (1 Viewer)

[Chris Tsutsui]

Hello my friend's home theatre is in the process of being made... He built it before we tumbled upon this forum and AVSforum so yeah we may regret a few things but oh well.

Bear with me, I forgot model numbers and the manuals have multiple model numbers written on the cover.

Mitsubishi 55" rear projection ($4000)

Sony DVD player ($120) (non-progressive scan)

Yamaha 5.1 receiver

Klipsch center channel and 2 front towers. (no sub or surrounds at the moment)

Monster cables

The problem is when we are watching a DVD movie.. the TV has the option for 960i or 480p (which also confuses me cause the TV says 1080i on it). If we choose either and then push the info button it still says 480i. I've tried messing with the DVD player which is very simplified and the TV display controls.

It said in the TV manual that when switched to 480p, the TV is supposed to serve as a line doubler and help produce a better image with less flicker. But we can't get it to change to 480p. Is it because we don't have a progressive scan DVD player or the TV has a bad line doubler?

I noticed the picture isn't as good as a lot of other TVs I've seen playing DVDs. The screen appears to be moving around and sometimes there are purple outlines when an Image is displayed on white backgrounds.

The TV's primary use is ONLY dvds and laser discs because we watch cable TV in a different room and don't have an HDTV tuner.

My friend's parents went to pauls tv's and best buy for the equiptment. They don't know how anything works right now so I'm trying to help them out. thanks.

 

[ChrisMatson]

What type of connection do you have between the DVD player and TV? This is just a guess, as I am unfamiliar with Mitsubishi TVs, but you may have to use a component or RGB connection to utilize the line doubler?

 

[Allan Jayne]

The difference between 480p and 960i is in the TV and has nothing to do with the DVD player.
In 480p, the 480 scan lines, either after doubling of an S-video or composite or non-progressive component input by the TV's doubler or directly from a progressive component (only) input, occupy the same 480 positions up and down the screen for all video frames.
In 960i the same 480 scan lines are staggered ever so slightly on every other video frame, so they occupy 960 positions up and down the screen. The video content is the same as 480p although a high end TV may do some blending just before the video reaches the picture tubes to make diagonals a wee bit smoother. Currently there is no video source material expressly designed for 960i, and 960i is not a standard.
Usually a TV with progressive scan will double all interlaced inputs to 480p and/or upscale to 1080i without giving you a choice. This is done because it is easier to keep the picture tubes in calibration if the scanning is done at only one speed 1080i only or two close speeds 1080i/(480p & 960i) as opposed to 1080i/(480p & 960i)/480i. This suggests that the choice of 480p/960i should not depend on the S-video versus component input.
But some HDTV sets have the third speed of 480i. Do you "see noticeable scan lines" when watching broadcast TV or DVD's? This may be more noticed by folks who wear glasses particularly if the glasses are wiggled up and down. If so the TV is really in 480i mode.
Do you see a difference, when viewing from a distance of nine inches, when you switch between 960i and 480p, namely see the staggering of every other frame? At normal distances the effect will be very subtle.
If your instruction manual covers several models of TV sets, are you sure your set has the 480p/960i feature?
Are the purple outlines on all sides of all objects, or are they only on the back side of moving light objects and on the leading edge of moving dark objects? It is possible that the picture tube phosphors don't fade fast enough so moving objects leave a smear (called comet trails for small bright moving objects).
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[CRyan]

Simply put. You have to have a progressive DVD player to get 480p. The set will automatically detect a 480P source through the component inputs. You deffinately want a progressive DVD player for that set. I also have a 55" HD Mits.

C. Ryan

 

[CRyan]

Also, just for more clarification. Your set is capable of producing a true HD 1080i image. Currently, the best DVD can do is 480p. In order to get 1080i, you would have to have an HD source such as a satellite system or over-the-air networks. Your set will auto-detect the source and display appropriately.

Non-progressive DVD player-480i

Progressive DVD player-480p

HD - 1080i

C. Ryan

 

[Brad Craig]

So can you really tell any difference in 960i vs 480p???

 

[CRyan]

You should just keep the set on 480p. I see no difference when watching DVD's on my progressive player. Again, remember, you cannot make the set go into 480p without a 480p source such as a progressive DVD player.

Also, you have noted that you don't seem to like the picture coming from the set. First of all, have them GET A CALLIBRATION DVD just as AVIA. It is a must for these higher end displays. You are probably getting blooming and all sorts of distortion if the set has not been changed from its shipped settings. The contrast is shipped all the way up and color is probably way off. Go into the settings menu and change the contrast to at least mid way between the lowest setting and the middle. Also, take the sharpness level down further than that. You will need the disc to get these right and to adjust saturation and hue.

See how this affects the quality of the image.

C. Ryan

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

thanks, will have to recommend a calibration DVD

The parents havn't even read through the manuals. Just used the EZ hookup card with pics. The DVD player is a month old, they don't plan on getting another anytime soon so a prog scan player is a no go.

So I guess we just have to deal with it.. At least they use component cables for the dvd player.

The purple edges trail a dark object with a white background. I think some playing around with video settings would help since we havn't touched those settings.

The picture is definitley 480i.. I guess it's pretty sad to see an HDTV being used just for 480i dvd movies and nothing else. It doesn't look that bad though the family is happy

 

[CRyan]

Well, as long as they are pleased. They may not see the need for a calibration disc. If not, at least get the set off torch mode. Meaning, get the contrast way down from 100%.

We recently moved with our set. I had not had time till a few days ago to recalibrate it using my AVIA disc. So we had watched a few movies with a quick calibration I did to get it closer to normal. Anyway, I cannot tell you what a difference I noticed following calibration. It is truely remarkable to see the difference it can make. My wife immediately picked up on it exclaiming how much better it looked.

C. Ryan

 

[Allan Jayne]

For a projection TV the contrast should be kept less than a third of the range (or what a calibration test pattern recommends, whichever is less), otherwise the picture is likely to develop "burned in shadows" early in its lifetime.

Turning down the contrast may help out with the purple edge shadow problem.

Also some TV sets use separate component jack clusters for HDTV versus DVD. Check the instructions to be sure which cluster to use if more than one.

While it may seem overkill to use an HDTV set just to view DVD's in 480p or even 480i, practically no HDTV sets these days will show HDTV until a set top tuner box is purchased separately.

 

[Scott Page]

Chris,

Yes, immediately turn down the brightness, contrast, and sharpness to about 1/3 the factory level as those levels will quickly generate another sale for the electronics store (a new TV that is).

The purple lines are most likely because your convergency is off. Convergency changes from shipping and as things settle in and must be redone quite a bit after getting a new set.

There are lots of things that can be done to improve the picture of the set. If you email me I can tell you where to go to get tons of information in that TV. But since it isn't yours, you may not be up to the hours it may take to learn about all the tweaks that can be done.

However, a basic calibration with AVIA is a must preceeded by getting the convergence set (the manual explains this, it is easy just a pain in the butt).