Which New Technology Converts Analog The Best? (1 Viewer)

[randySH]

Is it Plasma, LCD, DLP, LCOS ??

Where I live I will continue to have analog signals till the transfer is over on most channels...

I currently have a Pioneer Elite 50 inch in the living room and a Sharp Aquos 32 inch LCD in the bedroom, the Sharp appears to better convert the analog than the Pioneer...

If I was to get one more (prefer panel type as in Plasma or LCD) that is the best for analog, what would you recommend?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I have the 56" 720p JVC HD-ILA (LCoS) and two Westinghouse LCDs (27" and 32") On all three of them I have found that how the analog channels looks depends on the incoming signal and the TV's settings. Analog can look horrible on my JVC, but once I calibrated the set with Digital Video Essentials the analog channels looked fine. Same with the Westinghouse sets. But some of my local channels just don't put out a very good signal, and you can see the difference even on a regular analog set with a signal delivered via cable or satellite. HD sets tend to magnify flaws, so bad signals will look worse.

The signal biggest difference I noticed with an analog signal on an digital display is the "sharpness" or "detail" control. Just turning this down to zero probabaly improved the analog channels by 80%. The extra noise added to the signal by "sharpness" to enhance the contrast between the edges of objects and the background looks even worse on a digital display than on an analog one, and just degrades the analog signal further.

Since sets displayed in stores are almost never even approximately calibrated, and since some stores leave remote controls lying around for customers to fiddle with settings, I find it very hard to judge between two sets or two set types based on the apparent picture quality in a store display. If I tend to see the same superiority in one set over another in many different stores I'll put more faith in it. Ideally you should try to browse a high-end shop even if you can't afford to buy there. You'll at least have a chance of seeing properly calibrated sets side by side.

Regards,

Joe

 

[randySH]

You come to the rescue once again! Thanks !!

BTW, I have a Pioneer Elite 50inch as I mentioned, it has a fantastic Hi Def or Dig pic but as I said the analog sucks, I understand your answer, but would you pay the $300 it will cost me to have the Pioneer Elite Tech, from the store I bought this, as they are qualified by Pioneer, to do the calibration, is it worth it?

I have heard different opinions, when he is done I may still want to pump up the brightness or something so not sure why I would want it done? I am confused.

 

[Robert_J]

At least do an amateur calibration yourself with Avia or VE. That will get you 80%-90% there. Then decide if you want to take it to the next level. And if you do, make sure your calibration tech has references like Gregg and the rest of his Lion AV crew.

-Robert