Problems with InFocus 4805 and Disney DVD (1 Viewer)

[Jaxon's Dad]

Hey all.

Been enjoying my new Infocus 4805 over the last week, but noticed a strange phenomenon. When playing The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, the top corners of the image display an inward curve. At first I thought this was something I had missed with previous demos, so I popped in The Fellowship of the Ring: EE and the problem was gone. Actually the problem corrected itself upon ejecting the Disney DVDs. My player is a HK DVD-22. I'm by no means dissatisfied with either the player or the projector. And I doubt I'll show off too much animation in the HT, but it is curious. Any thoughts?

Also while I think of it, the animation tended to show minor jaggies while in motion. I'm running both projector and player in 16:9 and the player is in progressive mode. Any idears?

Thanx in advance!

D

 

[Neil Joseph]

Do you have one of the better calibration dvd's? I assume that the screen is perfectly flat across the entire surface. I am curious what you would see if you threw up a grid image that covered the entire screen if you would see the same effect that these 1,66:1 dvd's are displaying.

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Neil,

I calibrated using DVE. The phenomenon rears its head upon first insertion with the copyright warning. So the actual 1.78:1 image is what's affected. And it's not all Disney DVDs. I threw in A Bug's Life and there was no problem at all. However I did discover that this is a problem not exclusive to Disney DVDs. Gladiator did the same thing upon first spin. Now since that film's framing is 2.35:1, this became a non-issue. Again, it could be something with the HK DVD-22, but I just don't know. I'm not done tweaking by any means.

Regards,

D

 

[Lyle_E]

Doug, I will give those two a try when I get home today with my set up. I will let you know what I see..

 

[Parker Clack]

Doug:

Also do as Neil suggests and put in DVE with a full screen grid pattern. If you notice a curvature on the grid pattern in the same location the DMD may be out of alignment and you would need to send it back for a replacement. Also, shoot the image onto a flat wall (with no screen) and see if these discs show you the same problem as the problem could be with your screen instead.

Just a couple of things to try out to help rule out a problem with your screen or projector.

Parker

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Thanx Parker. I'll try both the grid pattern and the blank wall. I really don't think it's either the screen or the wall since it happens with some discs and not others. This is seeming to be more and more of a player-related issue. If nothing else, I'll try replacing the player. It could be a firmware issue or just a defect with this particular player. I'll keep everyone posted.

Regards,

D

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

To summarize the problem, while playing certain DVDs in my HK DVD-22 thrown from my Infocus Screenplay 4805, there is a vertical band at the top of the screen (best estimate >5%) that distorts the image. It's best described as a horizontal shift that is most visible in the vertical plane. The phenomenon disappears with other DVDs. I hope this makes sense.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Do you have a digital camera, if so, take a picture and upload it to the HTF.

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Well I just tried taking some pictures of the phenomenon, but my digital camera doesn't allow me to turn off the flash so the picture just washed out.

However, I think I've discovered the problem. I tried switching to my Pioneer DV-434, setting the scan to progressive so as to replicate the same conditions. Then I spun Finding Nemo and the results were the same. Then after switching back to the HK, it occurred to me that I should try turning off progressive scan and opting instead for an interlaced signal. This solved the problem! In fact I really can't see any difference in Nemo's picture at all.

While I'm relieved to have now identified the issue, I'm perplexed as to why there is an issue at all. Progressive Scan should greatly improve a 16:9 image, no? I don't want to sacrifice the best possible image for a select few DVDs. Could it be that this problem might have something to do with 3:2 pulldown? I checked and neither the DVD player nor the projector have a 3:2 feature. If that's the case, I wonder if upgrading to a player with 3:2 pulldown will put this issue to bed once and for all. Still there is also a possiblitly that this is an issue with the projector itself. I welcome all comments and suggestions.

D

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

After doing some research (Reasearch?? Psha!!:b ), I see that 3:2 pulldown really has nothing to do with Progressive/Interlaced Scan, so anyone have any other idears?

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Sounds like Macrovision! It causes the top of my Mitsubishi picture tube to bend, which is why I had it disabled on my main player (not so easy to do on newer ones). This is why it should stop being used!

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Well, that could be it. Problem is actually disabling Macrovision in my player, if that's even possible. Unless I misunderstood your meaning.

Thanx!

D

 

[Chris Stock]

Doug,

Sounds like the problem stems from your copies of Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Are they copies from another country? If so, the problem is purely software.

Your DVD player is trying to make the most of the source material, but another hump in the equation could be if you are using the SP's HDCP decryption routine via the DVI hook up. If so, then it may very likely mean that your picture will do strange things like ghost, warp, and be unsteady.


Over to you,

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Chris,

The DVDs are Region 1 purchased here in the US.

As to my hookup, I'm using component video from the DVD player's component output directly to the SP4805's component input. It's looking as if the projector doesn't do progressive from a video source very well, so I've set the DVD player to output an interlaced signal and the problem's gone. The image looks pretty stunning that way, too. This may be one of those rare cases when component video is not the best option.

Thanx for the feedback. I'll happily take any other ideas anyone might have.

D

 

[Lyle_E]

well I ran those movies last night and I did not notice anything different.

I am using the DVB318 at 480P then I tried upconverting and still did not notice anything in the corners.

Wish there was more I could do for you...

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Is there some preference in the projector's setup menu that I might have missed? I can't really think of any and I can't check it out myself because my theater room is going through some renovations right now. Maybe by the weekend (Don't know if I can live without it that long... )

 

[Joseph Bolus]

The 4805 contains the very latest Faroudja DCDi de-interlacing circuitry (which, BTW, does include 3:2 pulldown); so you could probably run your DVD player in its interlaced mode and end up with an even better picture anyway!

Since your problem seems to "go away" while running in this mode, I wouldn't worry about it very much.

That being said, and assuming that it is a Macrovision problem (which is likely), you can probably get rid of the anomaly when running in progressive mode from the DVD player by simply activating the Infocus's "overscan" mode from the projector's main menu. (On my Infocus X1 this option is available in the "Advanced" sub-menu of the picture adjustments.)

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Sorry for not replying everyone. For some reason I seem to have been unsubscribed. Weird.

Jim - the image was skewing to the left. Going inside on the right side and going outside on the left side.

Joseph - Thanx for the tips. The DCDi chip makes sense. I really do like the interlaced image but I'll try activating the overscan when I get the room back to compare what looks best.

D

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Well, activating the overscan feature did not solve the issue, however I'm more than satisfied with the Faroudja DCDi chip's performance on this puppy. Thanx to all for the advice, pointers and suggestions. Unless there's an incredible revelation, I'm closing the book on this one.

Regards,

D

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Breaking news!

Last night I was demoing some material and noticed a really bad audio synch problem on The Phantom Menace. The previous night, the HT's circuit breaker got tripped and, though none of the components were powered on at the time, I thought perhaps something messed up the DVD player. So I threw in Attack of the Clones and was dismayed to see the same audio synch problem. I reset the scan on the DVD player from Interlaced to Progressive (the setting that I thought had been responsible for the image banding), and this solved the audio synch problem. But, sure enough, the banding was still there. I activated Overscan in Interlaced, Overscan in Progressive with no change. So I went back to straight Interlaced and - WHOA! - the image banded, albeit not to the degree with Progressive Scan enabled. I checked for the banding with Overscan activated and, yup, it was there. At this point, I was about ready to take the HK back to the retailer (When all else fails with the projector, blame the DVD player!) but I decided to press on and solve the problem. And solve it, I did! And I'm running in progressive mode, to boot!

[Tommy Boy]"Whadjoo dew?"[/Tommy Boy]

I ended up reverting to the Infocus' factory settings and that eliminated the banding. Woo-hoo!

The only rotten thing is that it's probable the calibration I had done has been tossed in favor of the factory presets. Unless the projector automatically saved my settings (doubtful, since I didn't save them myself), it's back to calibration square one. I'll have to take good notes as to what bit of tweaking, if any, messes the picture up, if that in fact was the problem in the first place. So I welcome any calibration tips, advice and general comments.

All is right with my HT world, for the moment at least. This one's not over yet, I can feel it.

Regards,

D