My movies look very green...what's going on? (1 Viewer)

[Jason Cheung]

Hi,

Things to do with video are not my specialty. That's why I need help.

Here's what I have:
Sony 35" XBR (pre-Wega)
Denon 3803
Toshiba DVD player

The tv is getting a direct "component video" hook up from the DVD player.

MY PROBLEM: occasionally, when I pop in a DVD, the picture looks very green. I was watching Matrix Reloaded and thought, "Boy, they're really going overboard with this green tint." But as I watched longer, I realized, "this can't be right. So I went around to the back and check the component cable connections. It was ok. Nothing fixed. So I popped the DVD out, put it back in. Presto. The picture was no longer green.

So, what is causing this excessive green? How can I fix it?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Jason Cheung

 

[Neil Joseph]

Keep in mind that when inside the matrix, the directors tinted everything green. I can't remember the beginning of The Matrix Reloaded as to the green tint or not. I assume you don't see this with other dvd's???

 

[Jason Cheung]

Neil,

As a matter of fact I do see this "green" tint with other movies. That's what I thought when I first saw the Matrix Reloaded in this saturated "greenish" colouring. This was the second time around watching the movie, and it definitely didn't seem right. So when I popped it out, then back in again, the colour returned to normal.

This same "greenish" tint also happened when watching Black Hawk Down. I did the same thing: pop out, pop in, fixed.

Is there something wrong with my dvd player, perhaps?

Jason

 

[Neil Joseph]

Question, when you get the green tint, if the red component cable is unplugged, does it remain exactly the same.... ie, is there a loss of red on an intermittant basis?

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

Make sure you do not confuse artistic intent for something wrong with your display.

If most films and programming look fine, then it is likely the film itself. DVD's are not selective ...

Regards

 

[Qui-Gon John]

The Ring had a strong greenish hue as well.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Want to see a strong green-blue tint? Try screening The Blue Max. As Michael said, don't confuse artistic intent with what you think should be the proper color balance.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Another one that looked kinda crappy, but was also artistic intent (sic), was PAYBACK. Don't these directors know that sharp crisp vibrant color is what most people like to see, not washed out, faded, tinted looking crap!

Just MHO, of course!

 

[Jason Cheung]

Neil,

I'll try pulling the red component video cable out and see the next time this "green" thing happens again. Lately, it hasn't been happening. But I'm expecting it to again.

To Michael and John,

I did account for "artistic intent." I realized I definitely had a problem when, acting on suspicion, I popped out the dvd, put it back in and saw that the colour returned to what I expected it would be--totally different from that "greenish" picture.

Again, I understand that "The Matrix Reloaded" has a greenish tint to it. But a movie like Black Hawk Down doesn't (although it has a hazy look to it).

Well, I keep you posted Neil if this happens again.
Thanks,

Jason

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I had a KV35XBR-48 for a few years--the last non-wega XBR and the first with component video inputs. Everything thru the component inputs looked greenish, regardless of cables etc. I switched to S-video and the color was fine, no degradation in pq either.

My green tint was not intermittent. I could get rid of it by playing with the cuts and drives in the service menu, but then all other sources were off. The cuts and drives could not be set separately for the component inputs.

Since I saw no difference in pq between S-video and component, I just used S.

Maybe you should try using the S-video connection and see if your intermittent green tinge goes away.

 

[Jason Cheung]

Steve,

Thanks! Finally, somebody who understands me!
(no knock to others who have tried to help)

Wow, I didn't expect a Sony set to have trouble like this. To be sure, this is the first time in about 6 years I've had the set I've had this problem. It "seems" to be intermittent, but it's only happened twice.

One other peculiar note: This problem only came up after having played with the pre-set "movie" settings of the tv set. I wonder if this might have anything to do with the green in/green out problem. (AND, I'm not even using the "movie" mode when I watch movies and the problem happens. Interesting eh?)

Cheers,

Jason

 

[Guy Kuo]

Turn the color control of your TV all the way down, thus making the picture black and white. Is the green tint still present?

Yes - You probably have a problem with grayscale

No - Your grayscale is fine. Don't play with the cuts and gains! The problem is in the way color signals are being handled. On some DVD players you have a choice of the type of component signal is output. Look in the DVD player's setup menu. You many need to switch to a different form of component signal. The labeling may differ from DVD player to player. Look for something that lets you chose between YPbPr & YCbCr or SMPTE/EBU. Basically, those adjust the voltage ratios between the color signals. The type of component signal output by the player must match that expected by the display. Speaking of which, the display may also have a place for selecting the type of component signal it expects.

 

[Guy Kuo]

Oh yes. I strongly second NEVER using the Matrix to judge coloration. It is intentionally quite a bit off normal.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Sorry to beat this issue but (knowing the Matrix is a green tinted movie) when you say you pop out the disk and insert the disk and things get back to normal again, is this at the same exact point in the movie? Just want to clarify this because if the same scene is not green then this issue about The Matrix is getting off topic and not really fixing your issue.

 

[Jason Cheung]

Hey Neil,

Hahah...this does seem to be dragging on doesn't it?

Yes, I am looking at it at the same point of the movie. And there is a drastic difference in the picture.

In fact, the second time this "greenish" tint came about was with the movie "Black Hawk Down," which doesn't have a greenish tint.

But I will take Guy's advice, to not use the Matrix to judge coloration. (Although, when I noticed this greening problem, it just so happened to be with the Matrix. When it happened with Black Hawk Down, then I knew I definitely had a problem.)

Guy, I will look into the possibility of different component signals from the DVD player. I'll update you later.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[Larry Talbot]

"In fact, the second time this "greenish" tint came about was with the movie "Black Hawk Down," which doesn't have a greenish tint."

It may not have a greenish tint (I can't remember now) but it is definitely NOT a film I would watch to check for proper color/grayscale, since Ridley Scott IS fond of tinting some scenes, and definitely did so with BHD. It is a BIG mistake to use one or two (or even three) discs to judge your display, if the majority of your discs look fine...You'd be surprised how much some filmmakers like to play around with color and tint...I'd throw up a grayscale image, preferably a steps pattern (10 IRE, 20 IRE, etc) and look for unwanted colors there...If you see them, you know for sure you have a problem. But don't use The Matrix and/or Black Hawk Down to diagnose anything like this...

 

[VinnieR]

Agree with Larry. Don't use Black Hawk Down to judge color accuracy. It is definitely tinted and would give you a false impression.

If pulling the DVD out and putting it back in fixes the problem, that's where your search should start.

First get one of the test discs and do your hunt for a solution with it. Using movies will only frustrate you.