Pioneer elite 520 and DVD quality (1 Viewer)

[WilliamC]

I just bought an elite RPTV and am using it with my panny DVD-RV80 (non-progressive scan) player. the problem i am having is that my dvds do not look as sharp as the did on my 32" sony wega. sometimes it looks flat out blurry. Hi-def looks great it's very sharp, even regular SAT looks a little sharper than DVD. however SAT looks like crap due to the size of the TV. To be completely honest even LD looks sharper than DVD.

The DVD is set at 16x9 and the tv is in Full mode while watching DVDs.

 

[Alan Pummill]

William,
I just bought an Elite PRO-620HD (58"wide screen). I had a friend bring up his progressive scan DVD player so we could compare the difference with my non prog. scan player.

There is a big difference. I will be getting a DV-47Ai very soon!!

 

[WilliamC]

so then the problem is that i don't have a progressive player then. once i get one the problem will be fixed. any recommendations

 

[Alan Pummill]

My current non-progressive DVD player is a standard Pioneer DV-505. I am going to buy the DV-47Ai. I think it is one of the best on the market.

DV-47Ai...108MHz/12-bit Video DAC
DV-45A.....54MHz/10-bit Video DAC

Should look fantastic on my new PRO620-HD!!

 

[David Jones]

WilliamC
I have same Elite and use a 4 yr old Pioneer non-progressive LD/DVD player. The picture is astounding, sharp, clear, life-like. Elites internal line-doublers and 2:3 pulldown are considered among best in the industry with non-progressive DVD players. To achieve this picture, I first had to lower contrast, brightness, and color several notches to reduce blooming and color over-saturation, reduced sharpness nearly all the way, and turned off all so-called picture enhancements in the setup menu. Then, with small tweaking to account for individual DVDs, I've have a picture which blows away my digital cable and sat. Doesn't rival HD but is close enough. If you've tried these adjustments and still aren't satisfied, it's time to buy a DVD player which does justice to this TV.

 

[WilliamC]

I have already tweaked the set. I'm gonna try running and RGB cable to set from my PC and see if the DVD in the PC helps any if it doesn't then I'll have to return the set because my budget won't allow for another DVD player. I honestly don't understand why the picture isn't sharp on DVD in fact the picture is extremely soft. HD is a completely different story, it's very sharp and looks great.

For example on the toy story DVD i paused in the opening scene where buzz is about to enter zorgs layer and the detail of the rocks is blurry and not as vibrant (color wise) as on my 32" wega.

 

[Jim FC]

First of all, don't try to judge picture quality of a TV by using a freeze frame... even when using most progressive scan players, a freeze frame is actually an interlaced image and it's gonna look bad. Second, if you're comparing a 53" tv to a 32" one, of course it's going to be sharper on the smaller one! You ever got up real close to a movie theater screen? Blurry as hell. You're trying to compare apples to oranges... but nevertheless, you should be getting a very nice DVD image with that TV, provided it's hooked up and set up correctly.

You don't mention how you have the DVD player hooked up to the TV: at the very least you should be using an S-video cable to connect the DVD to the TV; component video cables would be better (plus they're what you'll need if/when you get a prog. player).

With just about any DVD player the Elite will create a fantastic image, but a new DVD player is certainly the best solution. The DVD45 is out now from Pioneer, and $500, and it's sweet. But you can get a pretty decent progressive DVD player from most major brands - Pioneer, Sony, Panasonic, JVC - for $200 or less. Good luck!

 

[WilliamC]

I'm using component. I am sitting 9-1/2 feet away from the RPTV and 2 feet away from the 32" to compare. I have seen FP and plasmas that are alot sharper than the RPTV looks at the moment and the image is not nearly as soft. of course if i look at it up close it will be blurry. but it shouldn't be blurry at 9-1/2 feet away on a 53inch.

My point is if the RPTV is going to look like this with DVD then it's not for me. I was expecting a sharp image with excellent colors. none of which i am getting using a DVD. HD is another story it looks great but most of what i am currently watching is NTSC and DVD. So if the TV won't look as i expected it to be then i can't warrant the amount of money spent on it.

I saw a toshiba in the store playing the same DVD i tried at home and it was a sharp image. So why wouldn't the pioneer perform as good if not better than the toshiba or even sony for that matter.

BTW. the tv has been tweaked with video essentials

 

[Rob_Z]

When I compared the Elite next to the Sony, both 58 -60'' I could see more detail in the Sony, the Elite did have some blur in the real fine detail. BUT, the colors on the Elite where exceptional, the Elite was definitely more vibrant and smooth like wet paint. The Sony was like an LCD or looked like a film was over the screen, kind of bland.

My brother likes the Sony and I liked the Elite, that's why you need to compare everything and get what you like. Now if I can have the vibrant picture of the Elite with the fine detail of the Sony, I would be all set.

 

[Donnie Seals]

I'm gonna try running and RGB cable to set from my PC and see if the DVD in the PC helps any if it doesn't then I'll have to return the set because my budget won't allow for another DVD player.

There's your problem. You need a progressive scan DVD player. Your current non-PS DVD player won't cut it, and I doubt your PC is going to give you a nice picture on a RPTV anyway. If the picture is still fuzzy after hooking up a progressive scan DVD player, only THEN would I return the TV. But a progressive scan DVD player will make a world of difference, and like it was mentioned before, there are many models on the market that are very inexpensive.

 

[WilliamC]

I am returning the TV beceause I tried it with my PC and it did give a better picture, however the tv recently started resetting the convergence everytime i shut it off and is now at a point where it takes me an hour to set the convergence and even the it still not right.

I could exchange the set instead of returning it but the s-video blocthiness problem that the elites have drive me crazy when i am not watching HD.

Even with my dvd player it should have given me a great picture considering from what people say the elites have one of the best line-doubler.

 

[Jim FC]

With the first problem you described combined with the convergence issue you just mentioned, it's very possible you just got a bad TV. There are lemons in every type of product, and you might have gotten one here. The Elite is pretty darn close to the best TV you can buy, so I'd recommend at least exchanging it for a new one and see if the new one looks any better, before returning it outright.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Well, many good marques exist. There is a number of tests you can run that help measure the worth of an RPTV or a direct-view set.