Sony Wega Squeeze Trick Question (1 Viewer)

[Dave Schofield]

I visited my local Sears today to check out the Song Wega KV-36FV27. My question pertains to the squeeze trick on the set. I talked one of the salesmen into bringing out a DVD player and hooking it up (he came out with a very cheap one, and hooked it up via S-Video) so I could check out the squeeze trick, which I had never seen before. The movie the guy had available was a copy of Batman and Robin (which I know is anamorphic, after checking amazon.com just now). I set the DVD player to 16:9, then started the movie. The set was on "Auto" for 16:9 Compression. The picture came up as a stretched image, ie "uncompressed anamorphic". Confused, I went into the set's menu and put the compression to "ON", which then properly compressed the image. Then, curious if the Compression setting "stuck" I cycled through and it went back to "Auto" (ie, uncompressed).

So, my questions are:

1. Why didn't the set properly squeeze when set on "Auto"? Does the DVD player have to send out a "packet of info" to inform the set that the image is anamorphic?

2. What do non-anamorphic discs do when the player is set to 16:9?

3. What do 4:3 material discs do when the player is set to 16:9?

4. Is there a way to lock individual inputs into the squeeze mode? Based on the responses to Q2 and Q3, I'd like to just set the component video input to compressed and be done with it...

Aside, I had always wondered the difference between the KV-series and FS-series, it looks to me (based simply on the Pocahontas video they were playing), that the comb filter they use on the KV- is superior, in addition the FS-series lacks the front S-Video input that the KV- has. I had thought that the KV- was a lighter color, but the set was the same color as the FS-. The speaker placement on the KV- is a bit better looking IMHO.

 

[Jack Briggs]

1) Maybe the disc was improperly flagged, and the set could not read it as a 16:9-encoded disc.

2) They play. The proportions of the image remain the same as if the player were set to output 4:3 letterbox.

3) They also spin around and around inside the player, producing a correctly proportioned image.

4) Don't worry about this. Just set the player to 16:9, and you won't have to concern yourself with this again.

Remember now: Nothing is "compressed" into any sort of anamorphic mode. In fact, "anamorphic" is not really an accurate term for discs that have merely been authored to output a 480-line image into a 16:9 window. Discs authored at 4:3 utilize the same number of scanning lines as those authored to output at 16:9.

 

[Dave Schofield]

They spin, do they?
By compressed I meant on the TV side only, as the scanlines are compressed into a smaller box than they are normally. About 4:3 and non-anamorphic material, my intuition would tell me that I'll end up with a image that is "letterboxed" on both the sides and top, if I tell the set that 16:9 compression is always "ON". If you are assuming that the B&R disc was improperly flagged, and "Auto" is usually the correct setting then I understand your point.
If the disc was improperly flagged, could someone else that has this disc try confirm/disprove that it is in fact improperly flagged? Or could the disk/player just be scratched/poor?
Thanks for the info!

 

[Jim-M]

Maybe the auto squeeze only works when you use a component input? You mentioned it was hooked up via S-Video.

 

[Jack Briggs]

That might be true--not sure. In either case, when a "problem" disc is encountered and the auto 16:9 detection fails to respond, one can always select that mode manually.

But no matter what--with a set that good it's always advisable to use component-video connections.

 

[Dave Schofield]

Jim, I thought that might be the case...

Jack, on a unrelated note, my viewing distance in my new appt. will be approximately 8 feet, is that too short for a 36" non-HD set in your opinion? I'm looking at whether to move down to 32" and spend the difference on a subwoofer or equipment rack/speaker stands/etc.

 

[Allan Jayne]

The DVD player 16:9 mode is the native mode where nothing special is done to the video regardless of the disk. You then adjust the TV until it looks good.
In the 4;3 mode the player identifies the disk as anamorphic or not, and for the anamorphic disks digests the video to look right on a 4:3 screen.
I would not be surprised if some DVD players do not pass the anamorphic flag on to the TV (in one of the scan lines 481-525). Then the TV would never automatically go into 16:9 mode.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm