I realise that Helios Labs are now defunct so can't get help there. I have the H4000 and am using a Philips 47PFL7403D/F7 full 1080p capable LCD TV.
The units are connected using HDMI.

I can get a 1080i or 720p wide-screen image fine from the H4000 but when I try to set it to 1080p output the picture goes to the old 4:3 shape.

I wonder if anyone has any hints?

Am seriously looking into getting another brand or even going Blu-Ray, although that would be the last resort as I think it's a total rip-off when one considers the minor image improvement it gives over an upscaled image.

For SD-DVDs, 1080p60 is really not needed. 1080i will look the same unless your display can't deinterlace it properly (and provided the 1080i was constructed properly). I wouldn't would spent any more effort on the issue. Get a BD player. :)

larry

Thank you for the quick response. The results in 720p or 1080i are very good anyway. I was just curious really why it was doing that when I tried upscaling to 1080p.

I would get a Blu-Ray player if I thought it was worth my while, but until they stop making upscaling, region-free, PAL/NTSC players, I don't see the reason for the extra (borrowed:rolleyes:) money. I just bought the TV and a new storage unit for components so am pretty strapped right now.

I thought that maybe the player was malfunctioning, which wouldn't surprise me as it does seem to be a little cranky at times (just lately it has decided to play with sub-titles on by default). Maybe I should have plumped for an Oppo.

Is there a some sort of aspect control on your LCD? Maybe that's all you need to do. e.g. switch to "full mode" or something. I have a Helios 4000 that I was given and haven't used it in a long time. And at the time I didn't have a 1080p display. For a cheap player that does seem to work well with SD, you might want to try the XDE-500. Although some people are seeing "early deaths". Check out the thread for more info.

larry

Yes I can reset the picture width, but I noticed that it's also very washed out compared with 1080i and I had to reset the player's contrast, brightness, colour etc. so I think I'll leave well alone.

Interestingly when I was using the 1080p setting in the DVD player, the TV Info button told me that the screen was set to "960X1080@60hz" rather than it's usual "1080x" type info.

I'll have a look at the XDE-500, thanks.

I previously had the older Helios upscaling model (H2085...I think?) and it suddenly refused to answer to the remote so it definitely suffered an early death. No offence to anyone but I have little faith in just about anything made in China but thought I would give it another whirl with this model and, thus far, it has worked pretty well especially with my PAL DVD's which I buy when I'm over in Europe. That feature was a bigger draw for me than the upscaling.

On the old H4000 page on their site the player had problems with 1080p on certain TV's due to a HDMI Handshake issue which was supposed to be resolved by a firmware update. It never came.

Ah, that would certainly explain it. Thanks. I've now bought a region-free Philips DVP5992/37 on eBay and awaiting its delivery as we speak.
At least I'll be "all Philips" now. (It'll team up with my Philips 47PFL7403D/F7 LCD HDTV).
As long as I can play my PAL DVD's alongside my NTSC ones and have them upscaled, I'll be happy.

The H4000 works OK but it seems to grind a lot when jumping around menus. That doesn't instill too much confidence.

I'll keep it as a backup.

Yes I can reset the picture width, but I noticed that it's also very washed out compared with 1080i and I had to reset the player's contrast, brightness, colour etc. so I think I'll leave well alone.

Interestingly when I was using the 1080p setting in the DVD player, the TV Info button told me that the screen was set to "960X1080@60hz" rather than it's usual "1080x" type info.

I'll have a look at the XDE-500, thanks.

I previously had the older Helios upscaling model (H2085...I think?) and it suddenly refused to answer to the remote so it definitely suffered an early death. No offence to anyone but I have little faith in just about anything made in China but thought I would give it another whirl with this model and, thus far, it has worked pretty well especially with my PAL DVD's which I buy when I'm over in Europe. That feature was a bigger draw for me than the upscaling.

960x1080 certainly isn't 16x9! Your TV was just doing what it was told. :)

larry

I suspect that the HDMI wasn't handshaking correctly in 1080p. I couldn't get the TV to say anything else.

Yes. I meant it was doing it's best to display 960x1080. That's close to 4:3.

larry

I hope my Philips DVD player will behave a bit better.