Questions about the Panasonic RP91 (1 Viewer)

[Andy D]

I have a new RP91, and while I am generally thrilled by the picture, I have a few questions...
First, when I tried to set it up with my Mits 65907 using Avia, I found that in Auto mode, the picture has black bands on either side. I had always thought Avia was widescreeen format. Switching to "Normal" mode fills the screen, but with a distorted picture. I had gotten used to seeing the screen filled by my old Toshiba 3109. Was I just getting a stretched picture back then, or is there something wrong now? I was planning on using Avia to check the centering and overscan problems which had been posted here, but how can it be used to check overscan if it doesn't fill the screen? I also found that the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" DVD is displayed with the black bars on either side. (BTW, the Mits can only
fill the screen using the expand or zoom modes which chops off the top and bottom of the picture).
My other questions concern the blue progressive scan light, and the optimal settings for the RP91.
The blue light always goes off when the player is in play mode. Is this as it should be, or is it exhibiting a defect? At first, I was worried it was continually jumping out of progressive mode, but my Mits display tells me I'm still getting a progressive signal. I believe I've seen people refer to switching this in a menu, but I've combed the manual looking for a menu item that would control this, but to no avail.
Finally, has anyone posted a full set of recommended video settings for the RP91?
Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can offer.
Andy D

 

[Wayne_T]

Re: AVIA question. Can't help you there - I don't have AVIA.
Re: Blue light. This is controlled by the display menu. See bottom right of page 25 - you probably have it set to "auto".
Recommened video settings
Picture mode: Normal
Transfer mode: Auto 2
4:3 Aspect: Auto
Everything else: leave at default or 0
Leave TV on Full
Some non-anamorphic DVD's may not be flagged correctly and won't zoom on auto. In this case set 4:3 Aspect to zoom.
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[DanG]

Andy, the AVIA disc is actually an NTSC 1.33:1 aspect ratio non-anamorphic DVD. They do have a widescreen enhanced section in it though, but it doesn't contain the OVERSCAN pattern.
You will be able to do your tests. Some DVD's are not flagged properly to correctly tell the RP91's AUTO mode what aspect ratio to use. The Avia does correctly tell the RP91 to go into 4:3 or SHRINK mode. While you have the OVERSCAN pattern on still mode, cycle through the aspect mode at least twice and eventually the screen image size will be correct. Kind of wonky but it works.
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