Several Questions on my NEW HT??? (1 Viewer)

[mseanschmidt]

I just bought a LG 60PY3D Plasma (1080p), the new DirecTV HDDVR and will be getting a Panasonic BD30K BluRay player this week. I have the HDDVR hooked up with HDMI cables and will do the same with the BluRay Player. I have several questions on the final set-up:

1. I need some help with the correct settings for the DirecTV Box. On the outside of the box there is a button and light you can put at 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p and 1080i. What is this for and what should I put it at? I just learned 720p is better than 1080i, is that correct?

2. While in the Directv Setings Menu I have several things to choose:
- Native- On or Off?
- Screen Format- Pillar Box, Crop or Stretch?
- Bar Color- Black, Grey or Dark Gray? Assume this is personal preference?
- TV Resolutions- It says to SELECT the resolutions my TV Supports???
I can choose to check any of the following-
480i 480p 720p 1080i

Not sure if I should check ALL four or ONLY the 720p? HELP!!!!

3. Audio- Will I get Dolby Digital by just using the TV alone or do I need to add a audio system? I'm not much of a sound guy, have never really cared about the sound experience, I've always been into picture quality. This may be hard for you audiophiles to answer but if I need a additional audio system, is there a cheap basic system you can suggest?

4. Set-up picture on TV??? The factory set DYNAMIC setting is awful! I switched to the televisions MOVIE Setting which makes a little better of a picture. Should I use a different factory setting for the best picture? I remember years ago there was a DVD that walked you through how to properly adjust ALL your tv's picture settings. Is that still around or should I use another method???

I can't thank you enough for any help you can give! Sorry if these are very basic newbie questions!!!!

 

[Cees Alons]

Hello Sean,

Welcome to the forum.

Some of your questions can only be answered by someone "in the know" of your specific gear and I'm sure people will chime in to give you some advice.

Here are some I can give:

- No, 720p isn't better than 1080i.
Although some people cannot discern the difference between 720 lines and 1080 lines resolution (given the distance they're sitting from their TVs), 1080 is as much more than 720 as is 720 compared to 480! And, unless your TV does a very bad job (which I trust it won't), 1080 = 1080, no matter in which order the pixels exactly came there. So 1080i = 1080p, PQ-wise.

- Personally, I would never choose "stretch" or "crop". One will distort your image, the other may remove parts of it. Please try to find in your manual what "pillar box" does (and under what circumstances), although it doesn't sound too promising.

- The side-bars are indeed mostly personal preference. Note that plasma screens still are prone to burn-in, although they have been greatly improved in this respect.
Therefore, using dark-grey could counter the effects of the moderate burn in (over time) of the more often used image parts. It's difficult to say how serious this is (probably not at all), because it also depends on the use of those areas: if you watch many 16x9 films and broadcasts, you're using those areas almost as often as the more central part.

- I think the text suggests you should select "all" of the resolutions your TV supports, but perhaps the DirectTV box will choose the best anyway (in which case it doesn't really matter whether or not you checked the lower resolutions as well). Just make sure you have checked the best it can do at least (1080i)!

- Does your TV have more than 2 speakers (or outputs for more speakers)? Please consult the manual about this, probably it will have a 5.1 DD option. But you will need to hook on those 5.1 speakers then. Moreover: hardly any chance that the newer audio formats are supported by the TV set (user manual!), on HD films most of those are handled now by the HD players (except DTS HD-MA). Meaning you will need a receiver if you're wanting to have those from another source (perhaps in the future).

- Yes. There is a Digital Video Essentials HD DVD, by Joe Kane. It came out in April this year. You can get it at most of the online retailer's sites (including Amazon, The Laser's Edge and DVD Planet) and of course those B&M shops that carry it. There also seems to be a Blu-ray version now (or about to be released soon), but I doubt if you need two different ones.


Hope this helps for a start. I do hope that a member owning the same (or a similar) plasma TV you do can help you somewhat further on that one.


Cees