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Momitsu V880 vs Zenith 318 (1 Viewer)

DamianC

Grip
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May 5, 2004
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18
In an attempt to get a quick consensus and get away from the hectic XP30 vs 318 thread, I was just hoping to get your guys opinions on these two players. My biggest objectives are to get the best quality picture and retain aspect ratio.
I have a BenQ 6200 as my projector which is 4:3 native and doesn't accept DVI. So (from my understanding) the white crush and aspect locking problems shouldn't be a problem since I'd be running component from player to PJ and always running in 1080i mode. If I'm wrong in this assumption, please let me know.
Anyway, these are the two players I'm looking at and any thoughts/suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.
 

Don_Berg

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 30, 2003
Messages
931
Sounds to me like the Zenith's deficiencies wouldn't affect you with a 4:3 display and with 1080i output only. The only problem is that the zenith is now sold out until a new batch comes out in late July and early August, and the rumour is at that time the 1080i component output may be disabled, only the DVI port will allow HD upconversion. So the Momitsu may be your only alternative for 1080i component output.
 

DamianC

Grip
Joined
May 5, 2004
Messages
18
I was hoping to hear from you Don. It sounded like your viewing habits are a lot like mine but, do to the fact that I'll be using the PJ, wanted to see if you felt it counteracted the problems with the 318.
 

NickSo

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Nick So
I believe the BenQ (at least the 6100 will, IIRC) will lock to a 16:9 aspect ratio for any 1080i signal, DVI or component. So watching 4:3 material on your projector would be a problem with the Zenith.
 

DamianC

Grip
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May 5, 2004
Messages
18
Really? Can anyone confirm what Nick says?
And actually Nick, wouldn't it make more sense that it would lock to a 4:3 ratio and skew 16:9 material?

And if this does occur at 1080i, wouldn't it also happen with the Momitsu?
 

Don_Berg

Supporting Actor
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May 30, 2003
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Test it with a 1080i HD source like an HD STB, see if you can unlock the 16:9 squeeze. Many displays lock to 16:9 full mode with 720p or 1080i HD input since all HD is supposed to be 16:9. Unfortunately the Zenith violates that rule by not formatting 4:3 properly for a 16:9 output.
 

Jay Blair

Second Unit
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Nov 3, 2001
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333
"And if this does occur at 1080i, wouldn't it also happen with the Momitsu?"

No, it wouldn't happen with the Momitsu.

I have a Sony 4:3 display that locks into 16:9 mode at 1080i and the Momitsu displays 4:3 material properly pillar boxed. The Momitsu will display everything correctly in this mode, automatically with 4:3 DVDs and anamorphic widescreen DVDs. With non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs you have to use the zoom button on the Momitsu remote to get them to fill the 16:9 screen.

The one exception I've seen with the Momitsu is that with 1:66 non-anamorphic DVDs, the zoom button will over-zoom in on the image, cutting off part of it. For 1:66 DVDs, I just don't use the zoom, which means the image doesn't quite completely fill the 16:9 display area.

If your display doesn't lock into 16:9 mode at 1080i, then you have nothing to worry about. But this is rare.

As a footnote, with my Sony I can go into the service menu to make my display not lock into 16:9 mode using 1080i, but it's more of a hassle than it's worth to switch back and forth.
 

Don_Berg

Supporting Actor
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May 30, 2003
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I've seen claims that the Momitsu has no layer change delay, while the Zenith has a long one. Also I've heard that the zenith does not support SVCDs.
 

DamianC

Grip
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May 5, 2004
Messages
18
I've heard the same thing about the Momitsu and the layer change. Ok, so if my 6200 does in deed lock at 16:9 with 1080i input, then the Momitsu may be the way to go for me. Jay, how do you like your player? And are there any problems you have with it?
 

Jay Blair

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 3, 2001
Messages
333
Damian

I think the Momitsu is a great player for 1080i and is even decent at 480i. I have only used the component output, but primarily got the unit as a back up for my RP91 and for future DVI use, and for playing 4:3 PAL DVDs at 1080i--which the RP91 can't handle well (I run the RP91 through an iScan HD to get 1080i).

My unit is only a couple weeks old and it did develope the stuttering-DVD/weak-loader problem after a few days that plagues a large number of these units. If you receive a unit with a bad loader you have two choices, either return it to get another unit that works (and Momitsu and its distributors do have good customer support) or use an aftermarket loader. I decided to use the aftermarket LiteOn loader that many have tried, and it is much faster and more reliable than the OEM loader. I actually swapped out the loader from my LiteOn LVD-2001 with the Momitsu, and now the player has no flaws, unless not having a time remaining display is considered a flaw (I'd prefer to call it an annoying oversight).
 

DamianC

Grip
Joined
May 5, 2004
Messages
18
Thanks for the info Jay. I've heard the same thing about the loader from a friend that just got the Momitsu. Think he's just gonna buy a new loader as well.
 

DamianC

Grip
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May 5, 2004
Messages
18
Oh, one more thing Jay, what are your impressions of the Momitsu at other resolutions? Such as 480p and 720p? Or do you feel there's no need to even use those?
 

Jay Blair

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 3, 2001
Messages
333
My Sony RPTV converts 720P to a lower resolution so that I can't speak for the quality. I've yet to try 480P for more than a couple minutes, but wasn't that impressed. And I have run 480i into an iScan HD video processor, and the 480i output using the Momitsu this way is quite good, but no match for my Panasonic RP91 which has a reputation of having among the best if not the best 480i output of any DVD player, at least any reasonably priced one. Still, the Momitsu looks better at 480i than any of the other players I've tried with the iScan, including a Pioneer Elite DV-37 which had a good reputation for 480i output in its day.

I've also used PAL 576i and this looks quite good. My iScan HD takes the PAL output and converts it to 1080i NTSC so that the Momitsu doesn't first have to downrez to 480i NTSC.

I've read though that the Momitsu is very good at 720P (better than 1080i)and other resolutions other than just 1080i. Several of the lower cost upscaling players look very bad at anything other than 1080i, but apparently this isn't the case with the Momitsu, though I can only say this based on what I've seen posted.
 

Brajesh Upadhyay

Supporting Actor
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Jul 11, 1998
Messages
787
I'm using the Momitsu @ 720p with my 1280x720 native Panny PT-AE500U projector via DVI. The picture is the best I've seen from any DVD player I've tried until now. (I've tried over 15 players since '97, including the LiteOn LVD-2001 @ 1080i most recently.)
 

TerryKan

Auditioning
Joined
May 30, 2004
Messages
1
Hi all.
Maybe one of the Momitsu owners can answer these:

1) Have you found a way to record using one of the outputs of Momitsu (SVideo/Composite), when the Momitsu plays something on DVI?
I only get audio in this case. I believe the same happens when it plays on Component.

2) Does your Momitsu play back properly on component at 720p or 1080i?
In my system I get a screen split in 3 images across, for the 720p case, and no image at all on the 1080i.

My TV (Hitachi plasma 32PD3000) plays back properly these resolutions when I use the Momitsu's DVI. Bad cables or something else? The Momitsu has the latest firmware by the way.
Thanks in advance.
 

Ravi K

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 24, 2003
Messages
707
Is there a special all-region hack/secret menu for the Momitsu V880 or is it just a simple menu command?
 

Jay Blair

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 3, 2001
Messages
333
The menu isn't much of a secret but it is hidden.

With the disc tray empty hit the down arrow on the remote followed by the up arrow, then down arrow again followed by up arrow, then right arrow followed by the left arrow. The menu allowing you to turn macrovision on or off will appear and allowing you to set any region, 0 for region free.
 

brentl

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May 7, 1999
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2,921
Better late than never, but the Benq 6100 does NOT lock witha 1080i input!

Brent
 

Ralph B

Supporting Actor
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Apr 27, 2003
Messages
584
I was gonna say that I have an X1 and 1080i does not lock with my Comcast HD box. sure the image is stretched but I can select 4:3 in 1080i.
 

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