New 530HD...now what? (1 Viewer)

[DarrellC]

I bought a 530HD and it will be delivered next week. I currently have a Yamaha RX-V990 receiver, Sony VHS, Pioneer DVL-700 DVD/LD player and standard cable. HDTV is not available in my area and I may add DirecTV soon.

Which STB should I consider if I want to use DirecTV?

Any special connection secrets I should be aware of? Do I need any additional special cables?

What should I do to get standard cable and non-progressive DVD's looking good (as good as it can) out of the box? Like others in this forum, I am concerned what the wife will think. Of course she thinks it is too much money to spend on a TV so I need to make it look good!

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[DarrellC]

Any suggestions?

 

[Charles Gurganus]

You will want to get a calibration DVD disc like the Avia or the Video Essentials setup disc. You can calibrate right out of the box (mainly to get the contrast turned down some) but you will want to re check the calibration after using the set for a few weeks. Make sure you figure out how to use the convergence of the set. Making sure the convergence is set right and the picture is calibrated (use the S-video out from your DVD player) and you should get a good picture. You will eventually want a progressive scan DVD player but you may find the s-video picture using the sets de-interlacing may provide a great picture as well.

I think Zenith makes a highly rated Direct TV HD receiver. Do a search on this forum and the avsforum.com for more information on this.

 

[greg_t]

The Elite 530 has a great line doubler, probably the best of any RPTV. Has Charles stated, if your dvd player does not have component out, use the S-video. The Elite will then use it's line doubler to upconvert the 480i S-video signal to 480P. The new Elites actually give you the option to convert any incoming 480i signal to 480p or 1080i. Try it both ways and see which setting you like best. For your laserdisc, use the composite out as this will use the high resolution 3D comb filter in the Elite rather than the 3 line filter in the player.

I agree with what Charles said about calibrating with Avia or Video essentials. However, before calibrating for your DVD and LD inputs, set the TV to Reference Theater Mode. This will lower contrast and disable many of the picture enchancments, such as SVM. Reference theater mode will get you real close to where you need to be to get a great, film-like image. You can then use Avia/VE to fine tweak from there. Hope this helps.

 

[DarrellC]

I found my Yamaha AC-3 decoder in the attic. Should I use it too? WHat ever happened to AC-3?

 

[Jerry Dreiss]

They simply call AC-3 Dolby Digital now.