just thought I'd post.......:rolleyes:


LG LDA511@CES-CNET (http://www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618341-1.html?tag=txt)

The LDA-511 is targeted to be released in July. The LDX-514 DVD/VCR has just started shipping, however. MSRP on this is $229.95.

Robert

Hey, is this player newer or better than the 418?

It's not even at LG's site; but it's already available at J&R. How come?

Originally posted by Julio Bro!
Hey, is this player newer or better than the 418?

It's not even at LG's site; but it's already available at J&R. How come?


not a surprise:rolleyes: ......

sometimes these manufacturers forget they're actually releasing a new product and don't display it on their site......just kidding:D

honestly, I don't know why there's such a lag in time when new products hit the shelves but not the web site......

some are good about it some not.....

Toshiba doesn't even acknowledge the TDP-MT700 on their site except it's press release....

but the LG should be released sometime this summer even though some sites state they have them...i.e. pre-order

OK, but is this an improvement over the 418?

should be.....

but you never know,

manufacturers rarely go backwards with product designs...

they either start over from scratch (which they can screw up) or improve the build of the original (more likely) YMMV.

So, I suppose there's no review yet.

welt......

it's available now......


Product Features

Plays DVD, DVD-Audio, DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW, VCD, SVCD, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, DivX and MPEG-4 formats


7-in-2 media reader supports Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, xD-Picture Card, CompactFlash and Microdrive


3D virtual surround sound and Dolby Digital 2-channel down-mixing


HDMI output provides an uncompressed all-digital audio/video link for the highest-quality connection and supports copy-protected HD broadcast content


27MHz/10-bit video digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion; 96kHz/24-bit audio digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion


Music Photo Album allows you to view slide-shows of your digital photo discs with MP3/WMA music in the background


Zoom, marker search, closed caption, resume, auto play, search, slow and step skip forward and reverse


Convenient playback features include screen fit, smooth scan, slow motion, random play, A-B repeat play, program play, bookmark search and subtitle still; MP3 ID-3 tag support


Outputs: 1 optical digital audio, 1 coaxial digital audio, 1 composite video, 1 S-video, 1 component video, 1 stereo audio, 1 HDMI


Parental controls keep children from being exposed to undesirable material


Trilingual on-screen display allows you to choose from English, Portuguese and Spanish


Multibrand remote included

Product Details

Warranty Terms - Parts 1 year limited
Warranty Terms - Labour 90 days limited
Product Height 1-1/2"
Product Width 17"
Product Weight 4.4 lbs.
Product Length 9-1/2"
Disc Capacity 1
Playback Formats DVD, DVD-Audio, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, VCD, SVCD, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, DivX, MPEG-4
Flash Media 7-in-2 media reader
Progressive Scan Yes
Simulated Surround Yes
Optical Digital Audio Outputs 1
Coaxial Digital Audio Outputs 1
Composite Video Outputs 1
S-Video Outputs 1
Component Video Outputs 1
HDMI Outputs 1
Stereo Audio Outputs 1
Zoom Feature Yes
Remote Control Type Multibrand

Cool.

Where is it available man, where is the review? Any tests?

DVD-Audio but no analog surround out, looks like it will only output DVD-Audio via HDMI without downconverting?


Product Features

Plays DVD, DVD-Audio, DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW, VCD, SVCD, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, DivX and MPEG-4 formats
Outputs: 1 optical digital audio, 1 coaxial digital audio, 1 composite video, 1 S-video, 1 component video, 1 stereo audio, 1 HDMI

DVD-Audio but no analog surround out, looks like it will only output DVD-Audio via HDMI without downconverting?

DVD-Audio is the format to read, the output will be from the optical and coaxial ports. Your receiver must be able to work with the higher bit rate and bandwidth, it'll be fine.

I would like to correct myself on the DVD-A answer, cause I didn't know the standard makes the player decode the signal and send it through the analog outputs. I honestly believed the work was in the receiver, as most other stuff.

That cleared, I think Starc is right, if the unit doesn't have the 6.1 or 5.1 outputs, then it probably travels through the HDMI...we'll know for sure when the manual is available.

Has anyone heard of a more firm release date than "4th Qtr" or July? I'm itching to try this one out and return my LGDVB418.

There is another

Model : LDA-531

I want to check out the LDA511, but LG still hasn't notified me about the firmware update to fix the audio sync issue on the 418 (LG gave me a case # for this issue). I'm not saying that the LDA511 is going to have an audio sync issue, but it would have put me more at ease to know that LG was able to fix the audio sync issue on the 418 prior to the 511's release.

There is another

Model : LDA-531

I read about this one, but in a very old electronic news, I think it didn't make it and changed to 511.

Alright, this is one place it's in stock:

http://www.onlybestrated.com/lda531-1080i-upconverting-divx-xvid-player-with-hdmi-p-47.html?discount-perfume-fragrance-oil=LG-LDA-531-1080i-upconverting-DivX-XviD-AVI-DVD-Player-with-HDMI&osCsid=00e4e5411296d56dde9a52b84383cc3d


But I don't know, something is not right....maybe it's an old model or a test release. It doesn't have much hits in the search. I noticed that apparently is the Divx/Region Free version of the 418. The description doesn't talk about being able to play double layer DVDs.

It appears at LG Canada site, so maybe it's the Canadian version.

no need for alot of searching for this one.....


LG 511 @ BestBuy (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7048713&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03013&id=1107957009599)

I think it's not available on-line yet, and my parents looked for it in a Best Buy in Orlando and they didn't have it either. I guess we'll have to wait a bit more.

Just a note, the 531 is available, at least in canada, for 200 can $. Adds upconversion to the 511 specs, plus rumors of upconversion over component...sweet...

The 531 is the same as the 511, just the Canada model. The B&H site indicates it will be available on August...I hope so.

The 531 is the same as the 511, just the Canada model. The B&H site indicates it will be available on August...I hope so.

No it's not the same, the 531 has better specs.

No it's not the same, the 531 has better specs.

Which are these better specs?

I bought and brought back my 3rd 418 yesterday.The last one I hoped would have its issues resolved with a "May 2005" build date. It didn't. Of major concern to me was no audio over HDMI cable. And just as important not being able to upconvert copy-protected discs. On LG's website I found the PDF's of both 418 & 511 manuals.
I've attached 2 jpg's of the "notes" section of page 10 of each units manual. Seems the 511 has become HDCP compliant....any thoughts?

Zag

Which are these better specs?

The video DAC for the 511 is 27 MHZ/10 Bit, whereas the 531 is 54 MHZ/12 Bit.

Here (http://ca.lge.com/en/prodmodeldetail.do?actType=search&page=1&modelCategoryId=0301&categoryId=0301&parentId=03&modelCodeDisplay=LDA-531&unit=NOTHING&model=Select+a+model#) is the link to the 531 specs.

The 531 doesn't upconvert disc protected media. Check the PDF. manual> page 10.
See my earlier post of jpg on 418 manual. Same exact text. if the 531 is like the 418, don't even bother.

Zag

The video DAC for the 511 is 27 MHZ/10 Bit, whereas the 531 is 54 MHZ/12 Bit...

Hmmm, that's interesting, but checking some details might answer or add to the mystery. Besides the fact this is a Canada only model, the 531 has been out for a while, I think maybe it was also used as a test bed for some of the new LG tech and concluded some stuff was not really needed. Like, a 10 bit chip is gonna be cheaper than a 12 bit one, and if the results are the same (or near same) then why not get the cheaper one.

Another theory maybe that the converter circuit in the 511 overall does some of the job of the 12 bit DAC and compensates in performance and quality; being a newer model this is probably true.

I know faster is better and probably would bring better quality, but money is a powerful dissuasive. I think it's a good question for LG though.

In the meantime, apparently you can get the new LDA-511 here:

http://www.fotoconnection.com/vi-12980________LG-LDA-511-DVD-LDA511.html

I'm not buying it for over $200, but maybe some of you might like one right now. If you're of the lucky ones, let us know about it's performance and features.

The 531 doesn't upconvert disc protected media. Check the PDF. manual> page 10.
See my earlier post of jpg on 418 manual. Same exact text. if the 531 is like the 418, don't even bother.

Zag

That only applies to the component output, (analog output but it will still upconvert non copyrighted media) the HDMI output (digital and HDCP compliant) will upcovert all media regardless of copyright protection.

None of the LG players I bought would upconvert using HDMI. Hence Non-HDCP compliant. I've only tried the 418.These LG players (418,511/531) are in my price range. If the 418 worked like LG stated I wouldn't have had to return the first one never mind three. I really want the 511 to work like it is advertised. Here is a review I found on CNET of the 418 to prove my point about HDCP compliancy. The reviewer is not me BTW.

Zag
CNET review (http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7596-0.html?forumID=60&threadID=107078&messageID=1272162)

None of the LG players I bought would upconvert using HDMI. Hence Non-HDCP compliant. I've only tried the 418.These LG players (418,511/531) are in my price range. If the 418 worked like LG stated I wouldn't have had to return the first one never mind three. I really want the 511 to work like it is advertised. Here is a review I found on CNET of the 418 to prove my point about HDCP compliancy. The reviewer is not me BTW.

Zag
CNET review (http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7596-0.html?forumID=60&threadID=107078&messageID=1272162)

Just wondering what make was your display?? could it be it's a compatability issue between your display and the player?? Because between my friend and I, we've tried all the LG upconvert player (other than the 511) on both his Pannasonic CRT and my JVC plasma, (DVI and HDMI players) they all worked fine no problems.

None of the LG players I bought would upconvert using HDMI. Hence Non-HDCP compliant. I've only tried the 418.These LG players (418,511/531) are in my price range. If the 418 worked like LG stated I wouldn't have had to return the first one never mind three. I really want the 511 to work like it is advertised. Here is a review I found on CNET of the 418 to prove my point about HDCP compliancy. The reviewer is not me BTW.

Zag


I recently purchased the DVB418 along with the 62SX4D (LG 62" DLP) and I have the dvd player set on 720p output (the TV is 720p) and it works just fine over HDMI. I do get a lipsync problem but so far I have just told my yamaha receiver that the center channel is only 2ft from me (it lets me set all the speaker distances as well as level) and that fixes it most of the time. Sometimes near the end of a DVD, I will notice the lipsync thing again. I will email LG about that right now actually. Aside from this issue, I absolutely love this DVD player. Especially the mostly unknown feature that remembers where you left off on a disk even after turning the unit off and removing the disk. It remembers the last five disks I believe.

I also have recieved a response from LG about the differences between the 418 and 511, I'll paste the reply here:

Thank you for inquiring of LG Electronics.

The DVB-418 and LDA-511 are basically the same model, however, the
DVB-418 is just a higher-end unit. The main difference between these two
units is that the LDA-511 is slimmer and uses a vacuum load feature
instead of a DVD tray like most DVD players.

I am unaware as to why the information for this unit is not on the
website. I will pass this information along to the website administrator
so that this information can hopefully be added to our website.

Please feel free to contact us in the future if you have any additional
questions or concerns. Thank you again for contacting LG Electronics.

Marlon
E-mail Administrator
Customer Interactive Center
LGEAI

Went to BB in So. CA and they had 309 sitting in the warehouse waiting to ship out to stores, perhaps in a week or two. Probably waiting til the 418 sells out (its on clearance). I was hoping that LG - being a PC peripheral mfr - would be good about firmware updates but it doesn't look they are doing much there. I'll probably pick up a 511 to check it out but the 418's PQ didn't justify the price in my opinion. If it doesn't meet expectation I'll get the Oppo unit, they are real good with their firmware updates.

...The DVB-418 and LDA-511 are basically the same model, however, the
DVB-418 is just a higher-end unit. The main difference between these two
units is that the LDA-511 is slimmer and uses a vacuum load feature
instead of a DVD tray like most DVD players...

Hmmm, strange answer coming from LG, but then my experience with first level consumer attendants is that they don't know much more than any of us. Well, maybe release dates and firmware availability...but even so.

See, the 511 is more a universal player than the 418 since it'll be able to play current double layer copy DVDs and, supposedly, it will have better picture with less glitches than the 418.

Now, today I ordered one...yep, finally. It's a special ordered though and it should take a couple of weeks more than expected...but that's alright, I'll be peacefully waiting and then I'll tell you all about it. That's if you people don't get yours first.

You may order one right now at

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/371269-REG/LG_Electronics_LDA511_LDA_511_DVD_PLAYER.html

It's $179.95 + shipping. Cheaper than the other potential sites.

I had the 418 but it wouldn't upconvert with my Westy LCD. Returned that and picked up the 511 at Bestbuy today. I think the list is $179 @ BB.

This player solves the upconvert problem and generally looks very good, although I have not had the chance to wring it out yet.

Add another one who took the plunge on this model.

Stopped by my local BB at lunch and the 418's are marked down to $134.99 all with a May 05 manufacturing date.

I picked up the 511 (fingers crossed) and am looking forward to a weekend of Superbit titles that I purchased for an outstanding price at BB also.

I will post some thoughts tonight or tomorrow after getting home and hooking this unit up.

Mahalo,

DBK

Picked one up at Best Buy tonight for $179. I have been trying out a Sony DVP-NS975V. I got some pretty bad macroblocking with some other players. The Sony is fine, but it doesn't do a very good job in the color department. So far, I really like the picture I'm getting (the skin tones are much more natural). The vacuum drive takes a leap of faith, but works fine. I have already put in about 20 DVDs and so far, the slot load thing works well.

It does not come with an HDMI cable, but I already have a 6' one from Parts Express...no Monster for me. $100...for God's sake!

Changing from 480 to 1080 require using a button on the unit itself. I don't really view this as much of an inconvenience. It will do 720, but my HD CRT does not.

The remote is basic, but I like it that way. I do not have a remote code listed for my Pioneer Elite AVR, but it has a learning remote and I can configure what I need in a couple minutes.

I haven’t seen any lip sync issues, but I will be watching for it over the next couple days.

I can’t get over how good the colors look with this unit. Does anybody know what chipset this unit uses?

More later…

I bought and brought back my 3rd 418 yesterday.The last one I hoped would have its issues resolved with a "May 2005" build date. It didn't. Of major concern to me was no audio over HDMI cable. And just as important not being able to upconvert copy-protected discs. On LG's website I found the PDF's of both 418 & 511 manuals.
I've attached 2 jpg's of the "notes" section of page 10 of each units manual. Seems the 511 has become HDCP compliant....any thoughts?

Zag
Looks like this player can transmit 480i over HDMI but the 1440x480i resolution doesn't sound right to me.

Has anyone tried the 511's 480i output over HDMI and found any problems with it? Does its 480i output use HDCP?

Picked up a LDA-511 today at BB. I currently have the 418 that is about 2 weeks old but have had macroblocking and lip sync issues so I am going to compare the 511 to the 418 and see which one looks better.

Does anybody have any feedback on the 511 yet??

I have mine hooked up to via and HDMI cable to the plasma and optical cable to my home theater. The lip sync issue appears to be resolved with this model which is why I picked this one up.

My friend has the 400 series and we both have plasmas. As far as I can tell pq is the same in both models.

DBK

Picked up a LDA-511 today at BB. I currently have the 418 that is about 2 weeks old but have had macroblocking and lip sync issues so I am going to compare the 511 to the 418 and see which one looks better.

Does anybody have any feedback on the 511 yet??

Hey I tried out my new 511 and i think the picture quality is the same as the 418.

Can anyone tell me why it is I am unable to get a picture when trying to use it at 480i? My Tv, which is a LG 52sx4d, says invalid format but it works when set on 480p, 720p and 1080i.

Any help would be appreciated.

to me all the pictures look the same on my Sony LCDRP 50WE655 via HDMI... The only way I know it's upconverting is via the display on the TV... I don't see any difference in any of the settings... The TV does say 1080i though. Seems like a crock of you know what to me.

Yeah I dont notice any difference either. :rolleyes:
I also noticed that the 511 doesnt have a coax digital audio out whereas the 418 does. Not that it really matter right now.

Found the pq on this DVD player to be subpar at best. Heck, my old JVC XV-S500BK has a much better pq than this LG and doesn't suffer from lip-sync issues like this player does. Has lots of macroblocking which my old JVC has none of (connected both using component for video and digital optical for audio).

Even tested it using component on a non-protected DVD (Matrix Reloaded) at 720p and 1080i and still macroblocking and pq wasn't that impressive.

Other DVD used for testing was Pirates of The Caribbean...pq on this DVD has some macroblocking and video looks muddled or soft/fuzzy during some scenes (good example is on boat at beginning when there is fog in the scene, actor's faces looked fuzzy and muddled). Unlike picture on JVC.

Also, this player wouldn't pass dolby digital to my Kenwood reciever via the optical for some reason(tried on both DVDs and no go), would only pass PCM...JVC will.

I have a Samsung HLR-6168W.

Had high hopes for this player, but it's going back. Sigh, guess I will try a Samsung dvd-hd950 next.

If you are talking about the LG LDA511, there certainly is a coaxial digital out on the back of the unit. I use it and it passes DD and DTS (including 6.1 material) to my AVR. Just in case you haven't, you need to check the settings to make sure you are sending out 'bitstream', not PCM.

I have no lip sync problems with this player into a HD CRT and my friends have been blown away by the picture quality and color reproduction. I also have no macroblocking issues with this unit like others I have returned. I'm not worshipping the LG gods for this product, but on the whole, it's been the best DVD player I can afford for my system.

If you are talking about the LG LDA511, there certainly is a coaxial digital out on the back of the unit. I use it and it passes DD and DTS (including 6.1 material) to my AVR. Just in case you haven't, you need to check the settings to make sure you are sending out 'bitstream', not PCM.

I have no lip sync problems with this player into a HD CRT and my friends have been blown away by the picture quality and color reproduction. I also have no macroblocking issues with this unit like others I have returned. I'm not worshipping the LG gods for this product, but on the whole, it's been the best DVD player I can afford for my system.

Not interested in using the coaxial digital out. The optical one should work. I did set it at 'bitstream' and no signal would pass through to the AVR that was dolby digital. I may screw with it some more tonight, but with the pq so bad (macroblocking) there really isn't a point. That and there is no hack to make this player play 1080i or 720p through the component connection on copy protected DVDs. Combined with the lip-sync issue, which won't be an issue on a CRT based HD because the TV is not bothering to upconvert the signal.

If you are talking about the LG LDA511, there certainly is a coaxial digital out on the back of the unit. I use it and it passes DD and DTS (including 6.1 material) to my AVR. Just in case you haven't, you need to check the settings to make sure you are sending out 'bitstream', not PCM.

I have no lip sync problems with this player into a HD CRT and my friends have been blown away by the picture quality and color reproduction. I also have no macroblocking issues with this unit like others I have returned. I'm not worshipping the LG gods for this product, but on the whole, it's been the best DVD player I can afford for my system.

I had problems with lip synch on my previous LG model and exchanged it for this player, so far no problems with it.
To be fair, a good player with excellent picture, no lip synch or macroblocking.
This one offers cool blue LEDs on the sides of the disc slot when on which could be a distraction for some, but not me. The older LG model had a tray, this one a vacuum slot which so far has not damaged any disc.
This unit does not have a standby light which for me is okay, just surprised by it as all my other players have had one.
The unit could have a time remaining function during DVD play, but does not, a minor irritation.
Hookup and set up were easy and now the resolution button is on the front of the unit instead of the top but more buttons are only available for use on the remote...a good unit.

Anyone tried 480i over HDMI with this player yet?

I couldnt get a picture when trying to use it with 480i over HDMI. Doesnt really matter I am just going to keep it set at 720p since that is the native resolution of my display.

I am however kinda disappointed as I thought I would notice a picture improvement over my 5 year old toshiba sd-2200.

Still debating on whether to take back the 418, the 511 or take back both and get the 850 :confused:

I got my LDA-511 3 days ago and am very happy with it. The most important thing for me is support for different kinds of subtitle files for DivX moves - it suports even .txt files in MicroDVD as well as in TMPlayer format. Also, I'm very happy that it is able to scale widescreen DivX moview which means no more black bars on top and the bottom (well, at least on my 16:9 TV).

However, there is one problem that I noticed which is related to the vacuum slot - it will not load and eject certain types of DVD. Just recently I bought 100pk of Taiyo Yuden's 4x DVD-R discs and they seem to have a problem with this slot in loading. All my other DVD's, inlcuding the ones with the adhesive paper label sticked on top have no problem there. Does anybody notice any problem with this? I'm not familiar with this kind of slot since my previous DVD player (Philips DVP642) had a tray. Please let me knpow so I can figure out if I should exchange my model for other one.

Thanks

this player is a scam to me... On my sony rplcd i don't see any difference from 480i to 1080i...I think people "want" to see a great picture with this thing... I have an old RCA 480i player that looks EXACTLY the same with BETTER sound. This player is 80 dollars too expensive in my opinion...

this player is a scam to me... On my sony rplcd i don't see any difference from 480i to 1080i...I think people "want" to see a great picture with this thing... I have an old RCA 480i player that looks EXACTLY the same with BETTER sound. This player is 80 dollars too expensive in my opinion...

I think 'scam' is a bit strong. On my 34" widescreen HDTV, I'm getting better results than 4 other HDMI DVD players I've tried. Color reproduction is what is really pleasing me. People will have different results with different hardware and personal preferences.

Has anybody figured out what chipset this unit is using? I'll look again on the web, but I have failed to get any detailed information. :confused:

for $180 it's a scam... For $100 it's ok.

...I think Starc is right, if the unit doesn't have the 6.1 or 5.1 outputs, then it probably travels through the HDMI...we'll know for sure when the manual is available.

This is regarding that supposedly DVD-Audio is processed by this player. Now, the manual doesn't tell how and the player doesn't have 5.1 or 6.1 outputs, so then what?

Probably it sends the DVD-Audio signal from all digital outputs, but at no more than 96khz...so I suppose it may downgrade the signal a little for transmission over coax and optical. The only probable output capable of more capacity is the HDMI.

What do you think?

I want to check out the LDA511, but LG still hasn't notified me about the firmware update to fix the audio sync issue on the 418 (LG gave me a case # for this issue). I'm not saying that the LDA511 is going to have an audio sync issue, but it would have put me more at ease to know that LG was able to fix the audio sync issue on the 418 prior to the 511's release.

Have you resolved the audio sync issues yet?

any further opinions on this player?

I downloaded the manual for this player and I see lots of info on playing divx files, but no other kinds of info on mpeg4 files, even though it is advertised as an MPEG4 player, not just a DivX player. (DivX files are mpeg 4 with an avi extensioin and a different codec, I believe)

Using quicktime pro, I can encode movies in mpeg4 with lots of different codecs and give the file an extension of .mov or .mp4

Anyone tried this and have any feedback on if these kinds of files play and which codecs seem to work and don't work?

If I understand it correctly, the blue ray standard (for high def DVDs) is working toward mpeg4 with h.264 as one of the allowable video codecs and AAC audio as an audio codec, so I am speciffically curious if this player has that capability without it being advertised.

If so, I could fit twice as much video on one DVD at the same quality...

If so, I could fit twice as much video on one DVD at the same quality...

Who needs DL blanks now ;)

As for other opinions, I bought the 531, which I understand is the canadian version? of the 511. I had no trouble finding the analog 5.1 audio outs though, so it may be slightly different.

Very happy with it so far. Played everything I threw at it, good picture quality, nice deinterlacing, DVD-Audio. Upconversion brings very little to my fixed pixel display (BenQ PB6200). But 480p performance is very good.

Only slight negative is the drive is a bit noisy. If you are within 3 feet, you will here it in very quiet passages.

...However, there is one problem that I noticed which is related to the vacuum slot - it will not load and eject certain types of DVD. Just recently I bought 100pk of Taiyo Yuden's 4x DVD-R discs and they seem to have a problem with this slot in loading. All my other DVD's, inlcuding the ones with the adhesive paper label sticked on top have no problem there. Does anybody notice any problem with this? I'm not familiar with this kind of slot since my previous DVD player (Philips DVP642) had a tray. Please let me knpow so I can figure out if I should exchange my model for other one.

Thanks

I received my 511 2 weeks ago and I returned it the next day for exchange. The OEM box was kind of banged and problems with the unit were a flashing or flickering display, for which I tried different settings, and the first DVD I inserted was difficult for it to "swallow" and didn't came out. The disc played, but the image kept flickering all the time.

I called LG and they said the player was probably defective and that a possible way to pop out the disc was disconnecting and re-connecting; this worked it was also difficult for the player to expell the DVD.

During that painful test, I managed to set the screen, which is either 4:3 or 16:9, with no additional settings on 16:9. This was new for me, my other players had some "auto" or other settings for the wide format. Also, when switched to 720p, the native of my HDTV, there were no zoom options from the TV. Maybe it's because the image fit was perfect, but I thought it looked like when you use FULL with 4:3 material, image gets kind of squashed. Any comments on this?

Anyway, the new unit is coming, I expect it to be OK as I specifically indicated that the box be brand new and carefully handled.

I just got the 511 a few days ago with my Panny 50/500U and i'm taking the 511 back today. I'm going to go ahead and grab the sammy 850.

I expected to see a little upgrade from my older sony but didnt see any improvement at all. I also think the upconvert stuff is a crock and doesn't really work to do anything. The button is on the front of the dvd player and when you press it the display tells you what the resolution "should" be but a quick info press button on my tv still shows the resolution to be 480p no matter what the dvd player says. I had it hooked up via component cables as the back of the unit says it upconverts via components but I don't know. I tried everything that I could think of to get it to change and while the screen flickers or switches off when you press the resolution button, it really doesn't do a thing.

This unit while decently priced, and has a wide array of formats that it can read including divx for you burning freaks out there, just didn't make the cut for me. I'm going to do the sammy 850 route like I mentioned above, do the remote hack and try the upconvert via components.

I just picked up a 511 at BestBuy and had the same experience as Julio Bro! using it via HDMI connecting to my Toshiba 52HM84. It would flicker every 2-3 seconds, and then every 10 seconds or so the screen would flash black, and then the picture would come back (kind of like it had done a resolution change from 480 to 720, although that wasn't what was happening). When I take it back to BestBuy I plan to ask them to hook it up to a couple of tv's and see if it does the same thing on other TV's.

The player worked fine over component, no flicker, but I wasn't impressed with the picture quality at 480p. I did notice the same thing as zman, that playing over component the player would show that it was changing resolutions to 720p & 1080i, when in fact it wasn't (it would change from 480i to 480p, but not HD resolutions on most DVD's). I know the official line is that it only upconverts non-copyright protected DVD's via component, but you would think you would get some kind of error message or something when you tried to do 720p, but you don't. The player acts like there's no problem and it is doing 720p, when in fact it isn't. As an interesting side note I was able to upconvert LOTR:TTT:EE via component, so I guess it doesn't have the same copyright protection as most DVD's. :confused:

I didn't do extensive testing over component because if I were to keep the player I would want to use it via HDMI. But a couple things I did notice on a quick run through a THX optimizer are it doesn't pass BTB over component, and it appeared to crop some pixels off the left hand side of the image.

I don't think I saw any macroblock enhance bug over component or HDMI, but I want to do a little more testing before I return it to make sure (if I can tolerate the super annoying flickering long enough to test out some different scenes known to exhibit mb).

Does this player use the Faroudja FL 2300 chipset ????

Anyone knows what the 511 does with 4:3 material when set for widescreen?

I received the new unit yesterday and tested without getting it into the furniture. As told here, it does have a bit of trouble with some discs. I have two old and cheap movies, in their original discs, and for some reason the unit can't get them in/out smoothly; even though these don't have a label, they're "printed" on the disc. I guess I'll have to get a closer look between these and the newer discs, maybe there's a difference in size or thickness.

Episode I and II got in/out without problem and loaded fast; also a copy of Clone Wars, done with a consumer blank DVD, worked fine. Changes between menus are also faster than with my old JVC player. The "no options" widescreen is odd for me, the JVC has like 3 options, one of them "auto"...which was the best.

The old JVC takes 4:3 material and zooms a bit, looks proportioned. When using the TV's zoom to fill the 16:9 screen, it doesn't have to stretch that much and the image looks fine.

You know, I'm reading a lot regarding the Panasonic S97/S77 and seem to be very good. Any opinions regarding picture quality between these and the 511?

IIRC I could not get the player to display 4:3 material without stretching it (when set to widescreen). I don't remember if that was the case at 480p & 720p, but I do remember thinking, "well that's stupid, every other player I've used has options to control this, without changing your screen type" at the time. :-) I did not spend too much time fiddling with it, and didn't bother opening the plastic bag the manual was in. So there may be a way, but if there is it definitely isn't very intuitive.

Overall I wasn't impressed with how it handled picture aspect ratio automatically. I don't remember all the different combinations, but I was switching between HDMI and component and different resolutions and I had to constantly change settings either on the player or on the TV to get the aspect right.

Anyone know any way of defeating the HDCP? I want to watch my purchased DVD's upscaled too. :/

Hey Mathrandir, let's talk about that zoom thing here. How does the 511 work with widescreen ratios, does it fits them neatly (proportioned) in the 720p screen?

It would seem to best use 1080i as this provides some zoom options for the 720p TV, right?

Everything here is a big IIRC, as I only had the player for 2 days. :)

The ws aspect ratio was correct at 720p. But since widescreen comes in several different flavors (1.66 X 1, 1.85 X 1, 2.35 X 1, etc.) you may get varying degrees of small black bars on top and bottom just depending on the movie. I recall there was a zoom function on the player, but I think it was geared more towards actually zooming in on a portion of the picture, rather than resizing the picture in some manner to use a full 16X9 screen. I think most people concerned about picture quality tend to just live with the small black bars than trying to zoom in some way as you either lose part of the picture, or you skew it in some way, and that often results in a decrease in PQ, but YMMV depending on the player. At 720p there's no way to zoom with the Toshiba.

You could go to 1080i and do some zooming, but it has been my experience with both the 511 and my S97 that 1080i results in more picture noise and not as sharp and crisp of an image as 720p (which makes sense given that's the 52HM84's native resolution).

I don't think the WS ratio was correct at 480i/p (don't remember if it was just one or the other or both), but I did have to use the TV picture size functions to correct a scrunched WS image at one of those resolutions.

As far as PQ vs. the S97 I would say the S97 was better, but it's hard to say as I wasn't really able to do much in the way of apples to apples comparison. Due to the annoying flickering that was happening over HDMI it was hard to analyze the PQ. I don't think I saw macroblocking, but I wouldn't say that definitively. I was interested in the 511 to see if I could get good PQ, and add the features of divx playback and the memory card. Since I've had my S97 I've tried the Toshiba SD5980, Samsung HD850 & the 511. They all had decent enough PQ, but the reason I returned all of them and have kept my S97 is all the little features. It handles all the different ratios properly (4:3, ws) without having to change anything on the player, or tv. It outputs bitstream over optical and PCM over HDMI (I get 5.1 when I use the receiver, and my wife can get audio through the TV w/o the receiver). I do still get a bit of macroblocking from time to time, but with the latest firmware that has been greatly reduced, so it's not the huge negative that it was when I first bought the player. Overall the S97 seems to be a great bang-for-the-buck player.

Hey Mathrandir:

Last night's testing concluded that my cable is OK and that there's some problem with the LG and the Toshiba TV. The unit worked with my friend's JVC, but some flashing black specs appeared here and there. How you call those? So there's definitely an issue between the LDA-511 and the Toshiba TV, or I got 2 lemmon units, but since this happened with you too...I think there's something wrong with the HDMI connection.

I'm already on the process of exchanging it for a Panny S77S, a bit more expensive, but a sure shot.

Talking about zooming and resolutions. When testing with the Toshiba I noticed there was not much difference in PQ between 480p, 720p, and 1080i. I did noticed that if you zoom at 1080i, quality is reduced and reasonable chunks of the image are lost. Also the Panasonic Auto Fit and Auto Zoom get the image to fill the screen, but you loose larger chunks of image and quality is worst than zooming with the TV. At 480p all the Toshiba's zoom are available, which I consider best, and quality is maintained.

You know, someone should make the units to analyze where the bars are so they can have a fit feature that just fills the screen without loosing image. Like FULL zoom does, but without the bars. Maybe movies shouldn't have the bars at all, just let the machines fill the space with a background color. Maybe TV's should've been made with 2.35:1 ratios (you know this is what the Toshiba would have if theyd took the screen up to where the speakers reach?) Wouldn't that be cool?

Just wishing there. OK, I'm inclined to use the player at 480p in order to use the TVs zoom for large ratios (2.35:1 plus) and then 720p for the small ratios. I hope not to be dissapointed by the Panny S77S.

I got mine on Wed, In Australia the model is called DF9921P.

I am still waiting to get my HDMI cable, no one stocks a 10mtr.

I can confirm they are regioned lock, mine was lock on 4.

I can also confirm the Crack does work, i have successfully unlocked mine. it will play all regions now.

Now when playing movies that have C/P it will automatically switch to 576P. even of set on 10801. But only with component.

I have gone through my whole collection of movies and found about 8 out of 50.

Now it will upscale over HDMI with all movies,

So i now have to wait till my HDMI cable arrives next week.

We hired XXX the next level, and surprise it didn't have C/P, so we had the chance to watch it in 1080I, WOW, WOW, WOW.

Very sharp and very clear, i then watch the same scene at 576P, man talk about a difference. very noticeable, 576p looks washed out and nowhere near as sharp, the color is more vivid, alive. almost 3d.

I have a Sanyo Z3, in case you want to know.

My only comment is, i wish they had different setting for picture. Cinema1, 2 .

But for the price i paid, wow.

I am now looking for a crack to enable components at 1080I, I believe i have found it, but would like to wait to see, what the HDMI cable looks like.
As some players are better with HDMI and some are better with Component.

i will let you all know results soon.

There is no perfect upscaler, they are just a taste of what is coming, real HD.

GezzaZ3

I just picked this player up today. It is like I awe inspiringly blurted out, about the Zenith DVB318, when I first calibrated and played my superbit edition of, The Fifth Element. My responce was..."WOW"! The picture quality is most excellent! It does everything better then all of the other dvd players I had, save for the more accurate zoom out effect on the DVB 318. First of all, I only have component inputs on my Mitsubishi WT-46809 display. I had a hard time finding a upconverting player that made the resolution stand out in comparison to P-scan players. I did find the Zenith and Sammy 941, the best at upconverting, before I bought the LG-511. All of the other upconverting players didn't make much difference in PQ. I recently returned the 941 due to a defective unit. This LG player has a sharper, more defined picture and the resolution is clearer. The colors are more vibrant without looking oversaturated and the black and white levels are better. Overall the player gives well presented 3 dimensional images. The audio is fantastic, giving a very clear, detailed and natural sound. There seems to be more detail, to background sounds. I have the volume set 30% lower on my Yamaha receiver using the LG-511 via optical input, and yet the sounds seem much more audible and detailed. I can enthusiastically recommend this player for component. I haven't had problems upconverting, I heard someone mention that the player will show 1080i displayed on the player's window via component, but resolution does not change? I found this to be false as my T.V. gives a display prompt for resolution and it factually displays 1080i, and if it somehow doesn't, the player still has better P.Q then the players that factually produced a close to 1080i picture. This LG-511 is a keeper!

Regarding the HDCP issue! I searched to no avail, there aren't any hacks or firmware as of yet. it sure would be nice, as I have to calibrate my T.V. with AVIA each time I watch something that is copyright protected, due to the palyer outputing 480p. The only way I can get around this, is to copy the 10 movies I have that have the protection. After I copy and burned Van Helsing, Attack of The Clones, Spiderman 2 and National Treasure, I was able to watch these in 1080i upconverted mode, with much better PQ, to say the least. My dispaly is also a rear projection type, so perhaps that's why I see a much bigger difference in PQ, compared to the other members posts above. The copying works fine but, I would rather save my blank DVDs for something I don't have, therefore a hack to disable HDPC would be nice! This player had no problem throwing everything I had at it, not even a hiccup! Now I only have to wait and see if it lasts.

GezzaZ3: Could you shed any light on that hack to defeat HDCP via component. You sure would save me some DVDs and time. Thanks, Jim.

bad news.! from what i am reading the firmware doesn't work on this model.

It Figures, i not sure if any one is game to try it, as it may fry the dvd player.

I put the link here, i tried the region free hack and it worked first time.

So if anyone wants to try it, be warned it probably fry the player.

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/experttips/michaeltlv/lg_dv7832_firmware.html

i have searched the web for a hack, no luck.

I am still waititng for the HDMI cable to arrive this week.

So until i can see the difference i wont know if HDMI is better or the same.

I tried more of my DVD movies and surprise T3 worked on 1080i, it looked awesome.

Thanks

GezzaZ3.

bad news.! from what i am reading the firmware doesn't work on this model.

It Figures, i not sure if any one is game to try it, as it may fry the dvd player.

I put the link here, i tried the region free hack and it worked first time.

So if anyone wants to try it, be warned it probably fry the player.

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/experttips/michaeltlv/lg_dv7832_firmware.html

i have searched the web for a hack, no luck.

I am still waititng for the HDMI cable to arrive this week.

So until i can see the difference i wont know if HDMI is better or the same.

I tried more of my DVD movies and surprise T3 worked on 1080i, it looked awesome.

Thanks

GezzaZ3. GeezaZ3: Thanks, but I'm not going to risk destroying the player over this. This is the old firmware for the Zenith DVB-318. It may not have anything in common with the newer LG players. I will contact Mike and see if it is possible without damaging the unit. if not, I will just copy and burn my store bought HDCP protected discs. It isn't really a big deal, just a little time consuming.

Picked this unit (LG LDA-511) up yesterday at CircuitCity for $170 and it's going back.

I'm using component cables to feed a (dont laugh) Advent 27" HT2751A. The reason I decided I needed an upscaler DVD player is because this set does something peculiar with proscan input. 480P looks surprisingly good on it with one exception: it displays some nearly transparent vertical lines in certain lighting. It's rarely noticeable with most DVD content but for certain titles, like Band of Brothers: Day of Days, the smoke and night sky display these vertical lines quite noticeably. This is not the DVD players, my SA 8300HD cable box displays same lines when set to 480P or 720P. Not sure whats going on here but, hey, the TV was 280 dollars...

The 480P and 720P output on the 511 are mediocre at best, IMO. I'm no expert, but my $80 proscan Sony looks much brighter and smoother in progressive (and the vert. lines are MUCH less noticeable with it). The 1080i upscale I have only been able to test with a few titles (I didnt know anything about the component 1080i issues until I got home with it and eventually found this website when Band of Brothers wouldnt upscale). The good news (for me) about the 1080i content I have been able to view via the 511 is that it displays NO vertical lines. Hurray!

The bad news is, of course, that it wont upscale CP titles, which I had no idea about until last night. So... I have a DB318 on the way and the firmware downgrade sitting on my desktop poised and ready.

Few major problems beyond the mediocre PQ:
No digital audio out from either the optical or coxial outputs. I'm fairly sure I had all the setup options set correctly for this to work but cannot get audio from either output. Meh, maybe I had something set wrong but it doesnt matter anyways as the PQ isnt good

The Bottom line of my post is this: if you want an HDMI upscaler DVD player (which is all it's really good for) I'm CERTAIN you can do better than this thing.

Picked this unit (LG LDA-511) up yesterday at CircuitCity for $170 and it's going back.

I'm using component cables to feed a (dont laugh) Advent 27" HT2751A. The reason I decided I needed an upscaler DVD player is because this set does something peculiar with proscan input. 480P looks surprisingly good on it with one exception: it displays some nearly transparent vertical lines in certain lighting. It's rarely noticeable with most DVD content but for certain titles, like Band of Brothers: Day of Days, the smoke and night sky display these vertical lines quite noticeably. This is not the DVD players, my SA 8300HD cable box displays same lines when set to 480P or 720P. Not sure whats going on here but, hey, the TV was 280 dollars...

The 480P and 720P output on the 511 are mediocre at best, IMO. I'm no expert, but my $80 proscan Sony looks much brighter and smoother in progressive (and the vert. lines are MUCH less noticeable with it). The 1080i upscale I have only been able to test with a few titles (I didnt know anything about the component 1080i issues until I got home with it and eventually found this website when Band of Brothers wouldnt upscale). The good news (for me) about the 1080i content I have been able to view via the 511 is that it displays NO vertical lines. Hurray!

The bad news is, of course, that it wont upscale CP titles, which I had no idea about until last night. So... I have a DB318 on the way and the firmware downgrade sitting on my desktop poised and ready.

Few major problems beyond the mediocre PQ:
No digital audio out from either the optical or coxial outputs. I'm fairly sure I had all the setup options set correctly for this to work but cannot get audio from either output. Meh, maybe I had something set wrong but it doesnt matter anyways as the PQ isnt good

The Bottom line of my post is this: if you want an HDMI upscaler DVD player (which is all it's really good for) I'm CERTAIN you can do better than this thing. That's a shame, It could be a defective unit? You could try another one out. I have tried many players and I have found the 511 to be among the best in PQ while upconverting to 1080i on my display. I was a little taken back about it only being able to upconvert non- copyright protected material. Of course LG doesn't explain this on the box? You can upconvert playing any movie, but you have to copy and burn it, don't ask me how. I just tried this, inserted the burnt movie and it upscaled to 1080i?

So basically with this player, if you are using HDMI it will upconvert all titles. You only have problems upconverting copy write material if using component? correct?

So basically with this player, if you are using HDMI it will upconvert all titles. You only have problems upconverting copy write material if using component? correct? Yes, this is correct! About 1/4th of my movies are copyright protected (HDCP), in order for me to watch them in near 1080i upconversion, I have to copy and burn them onto a DVD+R disc! Go figure, since the intent of HDCP was to prevent this, but yet we can. It would make more sense to allow upconversion via component, or make and HDMI adapter for component only interfaces! I know I wouldn't be wasting my time and money burning movies that I already have, unless it wasn't child-proof!

OK, well, I just got a DVD burner today and burned BOB: Day of Days and it upscaled to 1080i wonderfully on the 511. It looked really, really, sweet actually... I about flipped. I burned some episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, too, and the 511 will upconvert 3:4 material to 1080i just fine--it just appears to me to be very dependent on the source material. So, now I dont know what I'm going to do...

I still think the 511 looks pretty awful at both 480P and 720P- I'm not just seeing my silly TVs vertical lines I'm also seing a good deal of horizontal defects in progressive (don't know exactly what to call them, but coupled with my TV's vertical junk they make little squares). My Sony Proscan doesn't do that. I've read the 318 doesnt do well upconverting 3:4 discs, so I'll have to see how the modded Zenith unit does in comparison to the 511 at 1080i. It's a major disadvantage to have to burn all these titles to watch them in 1080i. If the Zenith turns out to look worse then this 511 at 1080i I'll be very tempted to just get a 2nd job and buy a nice new widescreen HDTV set... <Pulls hair out> Why are all my hobbies so expensive?

At any rate, I must say I've changed my mind a bit about the 511. If my TV had a HDMI input i'd consider getting a replacement 511 (so my digital sound output would work)--I think it looks fantastic at 1080i on everything I've tried with it so far. I also must admit I'm kinda fond of the vacuum loading mechanism. Looking forward to testing out the 318.

Well I got my 318 today (wholesaleconnection on ebay got it to me in 3 days! wow). I like it and I'm gonna use it instead of the 511. The PQ isnt any better (actually I think the 511 is a tad bit sweeter in 1080i) but having to burn all my CP titles to watch on the 511 is just too much for me.

I got this player today .. plugged via HDMI into my Zenith Z42PX2D plasma.

So far I am very impressed with the PQ and have seen 0 macroblocking.
I've returned the Oppo and the Sammy 850 because of crap PQ and severe macroblocking. I was wondering if it was the HDMI input on my TV until I plugged the LG in.
Thank god .. this is a perfect match for my PDP!
Colors are much more vibrant than the others I've tried .. everything is sharp and clear. I think this is a keeper.

I'm going to play a bit more and will be back if I see any issues.

Actually, after further testing the 318 looks like junk compared to the 511... I can't deal with the 318 knowing this thing can do so much better. It's so much of a difference that I'm willing to backup all my CP stuff. Wonder how much of a hit I'm gonna take for returning this 318...

You were right Whitenoise--this thing IS a keeper. And I fixed the digital audio out, too. Had it set wrong, of course... duh.

Actually, after further testing the 318 looks like junk compared to the 511... I can't deal with the 318 knowing this thing can do so much better. It's so much of a difference that I'm willing to backup all my CP stuff. Wonder how much of a hit I'm gonna take for returning this 318...

You were right Whitenoise--this thing IS a keeper. And I fixed the digital audio out, too. Had it set wrong, of course... duh. I wish I would have known you were going to get the Zenith 318. Actualy it is the 2nd best player I have looked at for upconverting via component, the only downfall with the Zenith is they are infamous for playing anything other than 1080i.

I bought one of these at Best Buy - I am wondering if I wasted my money? I haven't used it yet except to try out a CD which sounded good via digital out.

I'll be using it with an H27 projector which is a 480p native although I've heard from some folks it does decent 720 as well.

From the comments here - it seems the LDA511 doesn't do 480 or 720 too good but really shines at 1080 which my projector apparently don't do so good?

Any and all thoughts welcome.

I'll be trying everything out next week once the Optoma arrives...

Hi Mucho,

There is good news and bad news,

I guess no one wants bad news.

The good news it looks awesome with 1080I, i think 720P looks as good to me, but i think like most people, that more is better, so i think 1080I is better.

The bad news, Sorry, It will only upconvert all resolutions over HDMI, now some movies that do not have Copy Right Protection, will work at 720P or 1080I.

It will automatically switch when using component to 480I/P, regardless of what you select.

So if you HDMI, your in luck, component means finding the right movies, or burning a copy without CP.

For the Price it a Gem of a DVD Player.

GezzaZ3

Hi Mucho,

There is good news and bad news,

I guess no one wants bad news.

The good news it looks awesome with 1080I, i think 720P looks as good to me, but i think like most people, that more is better, so i think 1080I is better.

The bad news, Sorry, It will only upconvert all resolutions over HDMI, now some movies that do not have Copy Right Protection, will work at 720P or 1080I.

It will automatically switch when using component to 480I/P, regardless of what you select.

So if you HDMI, your in luck, component means finding the right movies, or burning a copy without CP.

For the Price it a Gem of a DVD Player.

GezzaZ3

I think you misunderstood what I was asking. I'm using HDMI out port (or I will be) but my projector apparently doens't do 720 or 1080 too well. So - if the LG 511 does 480 good I'll be in great shape - but the commentary here is the 480 isn't too good - or is it? See what I'm saying? :D

Hi Mucho,

See what you mean,

Not sure how to answer, as i bought the dvd players to upscale.

If you can't take advantage of 720P or 1080I, not sure if this is for you.

But i would try it first, i think from memory the H27 scored a 4.5/ 5.

Plus you have dlp, i think you should try it first.

But i was told the best resolution is the native, in your case 480P.

Try it. you might be pleasantly surprised.

GezzaZ3

I would take it back Mucho. You are paying about 100 dollars of the total price to be able to upconvert to 1080i. Plus, IMO this player DOES NOT do progressive modes very well. Its performance at 480P is especially poor. Get a nice Sony DVD changer that outputs at 480P and youll be happy as pie. Just my .02

I would take it back Mucho. You are paying about 100 dollars of the total price to be able to upconvert to 1080i. Plus, IMO this player DOES NOT do progressive modes very well. Its performance at 480P is especially poor. Get a nice Sony DVD changer that outputs at 480P and youll be happy as pie. Just my .02

Thanks for your input. Where have you heard the 480P output is poor on this model? My dillema is this - I need an inexpensive player that does good 480P and has DVI or HDMI out. I was all set to just buy this Sony DVD progressive scan player and then I noticed no HDMI out. In fact - I haven't been able to find one at the local BestBuy or Circuit City. (Call me paranoid but I want to buy at one of those places so I can spend the extra $40 on the 4 year extended warranty)

I suppose I could use the LG 511 at 720. From the H27 threads I've read that 720 and 480 look about the same - but if this player can't do 480 but it does 720 I should be in decent shape.

I wonder if the 511 in the US is the same as the 531 in Canada....

I own the 531, and I think 480p looks great. 1080i is not that impressive, as expected on a fixed pixel display.

Using component, BTW.

I've been using this player for a couple days now. I can't say really how good the picture quality is because I have nothing to compare it to except and old crappy Samsung.

I can say - the remote blows. Its not backlit - and the 3 other remotes I have reflect off my screen to control the units which are shelf mounted behind my head but this LG remote has to be pointed directly at the unit and you can't see the buttons because its dark.

Also - the only way to upconvert is the button on the front which frankly doesn't seem to work very well. [EDIT] Works fine - you have to push it twice to make it work. Click click

Overall - I'm not too impressed so far. I doubt I'll be keeping this. Then again - I will be trying out something else because if the picture quality is good enough I guess its worth the little issues. Right now I just have nothing to compare it too.

I wonder if the 511 in the US is the same as the 531 in Canada....

I own the 531, and I think 480p looks great. 1080i is not that impressive, as expected on a fixed pixel display.

Using component, BTW.

If you look at page1 of this post I answered this already, but I'll post it here again.

It not the same, the 531 has a tray loading same as the DVB 418 and looks exactly like it as well, but has better specs than both.

531 has a 12 Bit/54 MHZ video DAC VS. 418 and 511's 10 Bit/27 MHZ.
531 and the 418 also has a 24 Bit/192 KHZ Audio DAC VS. 511's 24 Bit/96 KHZ.

Also 720p or 1080i is only possible on non-copyrighted DVDs or burned backups via the component connection, it auto down converts any copyrighted discs back to 480P even if you set it to output 720p or 1080i!!! However via the HDMI connection, all DVDs will be upconverted to the resolution selected. So are you sure you are seeing them at 1080i??

Some might consider this a sstupid question but it's kinda important to me. Does the player have a DVD memory. I once used my friends Sony and it has a 10 disc memory so when I play a movie it would keep my last spot even if I switched discs? Thanks

Yes it has a memory. I'm not sure how many disc spots it will hold but it's more than two.

I would like to know if anyone tried to play PAL DVD's on the LDA-511.
My Plasma display supports PAL, NTSC and SECAM and I will use the HDMI input to connect the DVD player.

I am looking for a DVD player that I could make region free (I found the hack for LDA-511, if anyone can confirm it is working it would be great), play my PAL region 2 DVDs and connect it with HDMI to my plasma display.


Can anyone here tell me if this LG player would be compliant with all my needs ?

Well - the LG511 is going back.

It can't read my Lord of the Rings Extended DVD. It is a little thicker than the normal DVD which could be why.

So - I'm looking for something else...

If this player does PAL as well then consider this player bought by myself.

I think it's time for a bump.

Can anyone confirm that the HD850 sold in North America can play PAL dvds ?

Well - the LG511 is going back.

It can't read my Lord of the Rings Extended DVD. It is a little thicker than the normal DVD which could be why.

So - I'm looking for something else...
Strange it plays mine just fine I haven't had any issues even with double sided. They all play fine. :confused:

Strange it plays mine just fine I haven't had any issues even with double sided. They all play fine. :confused:

Wierd - if you read through here most people have had trouble with double sided.

Mine has a manufacturer date of June. Yours?

Hi all,

I don't think it matters what you buy, just read through this forum,

THEY ALL HAVE FAULTS,

So save your money and put up with it, until the REAL HD DVD PLAYERS are here.

So many brands, but they all have faults, yes, even the super expensive brands.

But they are taking a resolution of 480i/p and rescaling it to 720p/1080i, its not going to be perfect.

I have read though so many different models and this LG has probably the least amount of problems.

I not saying it's perfect by any means, but just a band-aid until the next wave arrive in about 6 months.

Why would anyone in there right mind spend $1000.00 on a scaler. when the HD players and recorders will be anywhere from $1000 to $2500, but at least it's not scaled is it.

So purchase wisely and stop complaining there is a light at the end of the tunnel.


GezzaZ3.

Wierd - if you read through here most people have had trouble with double sided.

Mine has a manufacturer date of June. Yours?

I was able to load my double sided Exorcist 25th anniversary .. was a bit hesitant.
It loaded fine .. no problems. Build date June 2005.

Wierd - if you read through here most people have had trouble with double sided.

Mine has a manufacturer date of June. Yours?
My date is August 2005 maybe they fixed it?

I just bought and returned the 511 from Best Buy because I experienced the HDMI interrupts also. I have a Toshiba 57h84 TV and it plays nice with my SA 8300HD cable box so I definitely think there is an inherent HDMI issue with LG.

I do believe the LDA511 is going for $150 at BB after rebate. For those of you who can't get the Zenith 318 locally, it might be worth looking into.

After some initial problems with a LGDVB418 (improper HDCP implementation) connected to my Westinghouse LVM-37W1 37" LCD, I purchased one of the first LDA-511's. I've been using it now for almost 2 months and couldn't be happier. I've played better than 100 (owned and rented) DVDs on it without a single problem and, although I'm not a video fanatic, I haven't seen anything that leads me to believe the video and audio quality are anything less than excellent.

I'm sure that when HD/Bluray players and SED displays are prevelant (and affordable) I'll want to upgrade, but for the next 2-3 years this is an excellent combination.

...msg

WOuld anyone who owns this player be able to see if this player is Region free, it's my determining factor on buying this product. Sorry I mean the 531 edition. Thank you

WOuld anyone who owns this player be able to see if this player is Region free, it's my determining factor on buying this product. Sorry I mean the 531 edition. Thank you

There is some info at vcdhelp.com .. just do a search for that unit

Howdy yall, my first post to these forums.

I recently purchased the LDA-511 and hooked it to my Sony KV-32HS510 with a HDMI to DVI cable. No joy. I can see the LG logo screen for 5 seconds but then the screen starts to cycle between static and blackscreen in 3 second intervals.
The component connection works fine, except for not upscaling commercial DVDs, which they really should warn you about on the box.
The manual says that the HDMI output is not compatible with "some HDCP devices." The sony tv's manual claims that the DVI port is, in fact, HDCP compatible.
Thinking it was a defect I returned the 511 and HDMI-DVI cable and got fresh ones. Again, no joy.
I like the player's ability to play JPEGs, WMV, and DIVX files, as I do download a lot of TV shows.
But if there's another DVD player that can do that, and upscale my DVDs, and work with my tv's DVI port, I will gladly trade it in.

ANy suggestions?

Also, I noticed my 511 will not play Hi Def windows clips. It gives me a disc error. What up with that?

I saw this in the visions flyer for $199. No bad I thought specially since my HDTV only takes component, however, not playing copyright DVD's, and this one went out the window.

I am very happy with this player using hdmi to a PDP (PIo435) but I am stuck with the problem of it forcing display of 4:3/non anamorphic discs in a stretched mode to fill the width of the screen.

I am tired of having to revert to component to be able to access the Pio's asect ratio button (and disable HDMI at the same time) for 4:3 discs most of which are copy protected and thus not upscablable. Has anyone come yup with a fix for the 4:3 display issue on hdmi (I have never had this problem with the Momitsu V880.)

Please?

I recently purchased the LDA-511 and hooked it to my Sony KV-32HS510 with a HDMI to DVI cable. No joy. I can see the LG logo screen for 5 seconds but then the screen starts to cycle between static and blackscreen in 3 second intervals.
The component connection works fine, except for not upscaling commercial DVDs, which they really should warn you about on the box.
The manual says that the HDMI output is not compatible with "some HDCP devices." The Sony TV's manual claims that the DVI port is, in fact, HDCP compatible.
Thinking it was a defect I returned the 511 and HDMI-DVI cable and got fresh ones. Again, no joy. :eek:

Boy, I'm glad I read this post first. I looked at the LG LDA-511 in a Best Buy yesterday and thought, "Hmmn ... this might be worth getting". But like slybri, I have a Sony HDTV set with DVI in (KV-34XBR910), not HDMI. I had assumed that any upscaling DVD player with HDMI out would work with my TV set via an HDMI-to-DVI converter cable - but now I'm afraid that isn't the case.

Anyone else here (other than slybri) with an LG LDA-511 hooked up to their TV via an HDMI-to-DVI converter cable? If so, does it work?

Anyone else here (other than slybri) with an LG LDA-511 hooked up to their TV via an HDMI-to-DVI converter cable? If so, does it work?

Yes - I have the 511 hooked up via a HDMI to DVI cable to my Optoma projector and it works no problems. My 511 has another problem - it doesn't like certain discs. I had another 511 that had a picture quality problem, the entire image vibrated. Could be the build quality is not all that great - or perhaps units are getting damaged during shipping due to poor packaging.

I'm going to either return my 511 for another better functioning unit or if my HTPC works out I'll just return it.

Okay, so I'm guessing it's not the DVD player then. Should I even worry about the HDMI-DVI connection? It looks fine through component. Does the direct digital connection improve things that much more?
Besides, when I upconvert anything it either stretches the 3:4 image to something unwatchable or takes the 16:9 image and letterboxes the letterbox, resulting in a image that is stretched and squashed. I've tried all the display settings on my TV and the 511. No Joy.
What's the point of upconverting if it doesn't fit the screen?

Okay, so I'm guessing it's not the DVD player then. Should I even worry about the HDMI-DVI connection? It looks fine through component. Does the direct digital connection improve things that much more?
Besides, when I upconvert anything it either stretches the 3:4 image to something unwatchable or takes the 16:9 image and letterboxes the letterbox, resulting in a image that is stretched and squashed. I've tried all the display settings on my TV and the 511. No Joy.
What's the point of upconverting if it doesn't fit the screen?

IMO the problem you are having has to do with your display. FYI most displays does not give aspect ratio controls (zoom) when receiving an HD (720p, 1080i) signal.

I have a new lda-511 hooked up to a samsung hlr-6169. I can't seem to adjust brightness with the THX optimized DVD when connected via HDMI or component. Works fine with my 10 year old sony dvd but I cant get blacker then black. Any suggestions?

I've tried the LDA 511 on a Syntax LT37HVS and a high end samsung DLP (not sure what model) and both could not lock in on the HDMI source from the dvd player. The Syntax kept cycling modes (blue, black, then static screen over and over) and the Samsung displayed a blue screen (saying no signal).

LG support was worthless saying that HDMI is a new technology as their excuse for it not working and recomended that I take the unit back.

I would definately NOT buy this unit if you want the HDMI to work. Its like they just advertised the feature prominently but didn't test it.

Just got a LG 511 and have been A/B ing it with my older Sony NS700P.

I am connecting to a 4 y/o Sony KD-34XBR with only component HD in.

I find the LG's PQ a very nice improvement over the Sony. In 1080i the picture is far more natural and dimensional. Makes a movie look like a movie. Makes the Sony look almost garish by comparison --contrasty and grainy.

One problem I did have is with a double-sided disc which went in but would not come out. I had to use a knife to get it back out! No more double-sided discs in the LG.

There is some info at vcdhelp.com .. just do a search for that unit

The region free hack works, I'm able to play both US and Asian DVD movies fine.

I just got this player from BB since my Panny RP-62 conked out. I really liked the smooth image without any graininess that i experienced with the RP-62. Tried many DVDs and the picture was just beautiful and for the first time i actually saw detail in dark scenes cause the RP-62 had a lot of MB. For $150 you really cant go wrong and like someone mentioned, it's a stepping stone for the HD-DVD players.

Has ANYone had any luck with the 511 using HDMI? I'm using component right now, but if I go to an HDMI capable display in the future I want to know I'll be able to continue using this thing.

Has ANYone had any luck with the 511 using HDMI? I'm using component right now, but if I go to an HDMI capable display in the future I want to know I'll be able to continue using this thing.

It works using HDMI.

Anyone know if it has problems playing DVDs other than the LOTR part 1?

It works using HDMI.

As noted throughout this thread YMMV, depending on your display. There are several people that have reported issues with this player over HDMI. I have tried 4 other players over HDMI, and none of them had any problems like what I experienced with the LG. Another user tried 2 or 3 units and all had the exact same issues with his TV. Others have had no problems at all. But I think I would have to agree with those that have said LG's implementation of HDMI in this player may not be the most rock solid.

Has anyone compared the LG 511 with the Sony NS70 as far as PQ is concerned?

As noted throughout this thread YMMV, depending on your display. There are several people that have reported issues with this player over HDMI. I have tried 4 other players over HDMI, and none of them had any problems like what I experienced with the LG. Another user tried 2 or 3 units and all had the exact same issues with his TV. Others have had no problems at all. But I think I would have to agree with those that have said LG's implementation of HDMI in this player may not be the most rock solid.

I agree .. depending on your display YMMV .. but out of the 2 that I've tried (Oppo, Sammy 850), the LG gives me the best PQ with the least artifacts on a Z42PX2D EDTV. It isn't the greatest and doesn't have the best feature set, but for the price and DIVX capability it utilizes my HDMI connection to my satisfaction.

I really like the 511 images although i wish it had a BTB feature.

Anyone know if it has problems playing DVDs other than the LOTR part 1?

IMO there is no problem playing the disc, the problem is the time it takes to load the disc. It took me 1 minute from the time I put the disc in, to when it started playing it. That might be why some would say it does not play the LOTR disc, because they did not wait long enough for it to start.

Thanks for the tip zeta_msz_006. Yes it really works! Maybe it had something to do with the thickness of the DVD, but it plays pretty much any brand of DVD +, - or +DL. I have heard some saying that the double sided (not Dual Layer) DVD can get stuck inside, although i havent tried that yet!

All in all, the PQ is great. The Incredibles look absolutely stunning on this player, even better than what it was on the Panny 62!!

No problem, I am glad I can help out and also correct some of the misconception about the unit.

Also noticed the LG 511 is a has a 10 bit D/A video conversion. I dont know how big a difference that would be when compared to 12 bit in terms of PQ!

I am not sure, since I am in Canada I actually have the 531 which already has the 12Bit DAC.

it would be nice if someone that tried both the Sony NS70 and the LG 511 could tell us about the difference in PQ.

IMO there is no problem playing the disc, the problem is the time it takes to load the disc. It took me 1 minute from the time I put the disc in, to when it started playing it. That might be why some would say it does not play the LOTR disc, because they did not wait long enough for it to start.

In my case this was not true. I don't know why but it would not load the disc, I let it try for about 5 minutes while I watched normal TV.

Every other player I have tried (4) could load the disc no problem. I can't explain it - or fix it - so I just returned it.

I tried three 511s before giving up. Bestbuy doesn't like me very much right now :D

All,

While playing a dvd in DTS over HDMI I have no sound to my t.v. (Vizio PHD50 Plasma) only to the HT. DD plays fine to both sources, any ideas why???

Thanks,

DBK

DaBigKahuna, looking at the 511's manual I don't believe it has a built in DTS decoder, only a DD decoder. That's why your receiver has sound because it can decode signal and since there is no sound from your TV that means it does not have a built in DTS decoder as well.

The reason why I believe there is no DTS decoder in the 511 is because

1: If you look in the 511 manual, the DTS logo is DTS out instead of DTS suround which is what I have on my 531 manual.

2: On page 15 of the manual on audio config, it only mentions DD in the PCM setting and not DTS. On the 531 manual it has both.

3: I am also assuming that in the audio setting your only option for the DTS is bitstream and no PCM? Can you confirm this? If that's the case then there is DTS decoder in the 511.

It looks to me that on DVDs with top/bottom black bars, the bars get thicker if I change from 480p to 1080i (I have the DVD player hooked up to my Panny Plasma).

Does anyone else notice this?

..... Besides, when I upconvert anything it either stretches the 3:4 image to something unwatchable or takes the 16:9 image and letterboxes the letterbox, resulting in a image that is stretched and squashed. I've tried all the display settings on my TV and the 511. No Joy.
What's the point of upconverting if it doesn't fit the screen?

Yes it does this to me too. For instance, takes a 4:3 trailer and stretches it to the point where its really distorted. I don't like this "feature". I could have sworn my old Tosh 3750 didn't do this.

I've been using this player for a couple days now. I can't say really how good the picture quality is because I have nothing to compare it to except and old crappy Samsung.

I can say - the remote blows. Its not backlit - and the 3 other remotes I have reflect off my screen to control the units which are shelf mounted behind my head but this LG remote has to be pointed directly at the unit and you can't see the buttons because its dark.

Also - the only way to upconvert is the button on the front which frankly doesn't seem to work very well. [EDIT] Works fine - you have to push it twice to make it work. Click click

Overall - I'm not too impressed so far. I doubt I'll be keeping this. Then again - I will be trying out something else because if the picture quality is good enough I guess its worth the little issues. Right now I just have nothing to compare it too.


I agree on the remote - doesn't bounce off my DIY screen - at first I thought the batteries were low but no, they're good. This kinda sucks. And yes, you do have to hit the button twice to change upconversion. On my Sanyo Z1 projector, it doesn't do all that much that my old Tosh 3750 can't do as far as PQ goes. Maybe a little better but not eye popping. I did notice the Avia resolution pattern looks better but I just don't notice a dramatic improvement watching movies. I think I need the Z4 pj, higher rez and better contrast. When I look at my stupid 32" tube tv with my crappy cyberhome300 upstairs, it just shows you that the dominant effect is contrast of the display (doesn't look half bad).

I got this player as an open box special at Circuit City for $119. I have it hooked up using HDMI to my Hitachi Projection TV and I could not be happier. Seems to work fine for me so far. I have had it about two weeks now with no problems and the picture is great. I have it upconverting to 1080i just fine.

Ok. After reading through this thread, I am not sure if the problem with double-sided discs is prevelant even with models having later build date.

Can rwferr or anybody else still using this model confirm if this problem still exists?

Thanks.

Sorry I don't know the answer as I only play rented movies in mine.

I have both the 418 and the 511, the pq is about the same on both, the 1080I on the 511 is a little better (I have to use componet cause my hdtv has no hdmi or dvi inputs), btw the 318 firmware will not work in either the 511 or 418, god know I tried and wasted 3 cd-r's. I use them primarily for xvid/divx playback and a lot of avi files look fantastic on 1080I. I have a Sony DVP-N50P that I use for most of my mpeg2 playback plus a Jaton PSD7611 that I use when I have overscanning problems. Kinda like use the right tool for the right application.

Is there any hack available for this player yet? I saw it in best buy today, and I looked at the back and saw "480p, 720p, 1080i" printed onthe back directly below the component output, and I got all excited thinking this player upconverted over component as well as HDMI. Then I get here and read it only does so to non copyrighted material :(.

We know this thing has the ability to do it, how far away could a hack be? If Macrovision can be turned off, would that do the trick?

I am actually looking to get the LHX-557 HTIB setup, but since the DVD player functionality is almost identical to the LDA511 I figure hacks might work for that as well. Too bad one doesnt exist for either yet :(.

Does the LDA-511 have the Faroudja Chipset? Probably not because of the DiVX/XViD support.

How does this player compare with Philips DVP-642, Panasonic S97[faroudja] or Zenith DVB318[faroudja]?

Yes, this is correct! About 1/4th of my movies are copyright protected (HDCP), in order for me to watch them in near 1080i upconversion, I have to copy and burn them onto a DVD+R disc! Go figure, since the intent of HDCP was to prevent this, but yet we can. It would make more sense to allow upconversion via component, or make and HDMI adapter for component only interfaces! I know I wouldn't be wasting my time and money burning movies that I already have, unless it wasn't child-proof!


I am confused by your post. I thought that you could not watch burned DVD's upconverted over the HDMI because they would not have the HDCP on them. I am trying to decide if this player will play my burned DVD's. I mainly have DVD + R's. Will it upconvert them over the HDMI? Or do they have to be upconverted over the component cable?

Thanks,

Does the LDA-511 have the Faroudja Chipset? Probably not because of the DiVX/XViD support.

How does this player compare with Philips DVP-642, Panasonic S97[faroudja] or Zenith DVB318[faroudja]?
I emailed LG about this a few weeks ago. The LDA511 uses a new chipset designed by LG. Their older model upscaling players however did use Faroudja.

The 531 has faroudja, there is no problem upconverting anything over HDMI, its component that gives problems.

I also have dvd-a, IIRC. And a CF/SD/MMC card reader.

I love mine, played divx files right off internet, nice menu to show you what is on the disc. Only thing that worries me is the tray kind of flutters when moving in and out. Hope it won't be a problem, because I love the PQ. On fixed pixel displays, I feel upconverting is more hype than anything. PQ is as good or better in 480p than 720p for me, and 480p is better than 1080i on my BenQ 6200, because the deinterlacer is poor in the projector.

Hi all, I just received a LG LDA-511 for Christmas and watched an episode of "The Wire" in 1080i on my HP MD5880N DLP. I am connected via HDMI. I was excited that the 1080i picture filled the screen (16:9) with the TV in "normal mode," but it appeared as though the picture was stretched a bit. This is my first upconverting DVD player--is this normal?

It looked the same as if I was watching a SD picture in "zoom mode," but with higher clarity. Thanks for any info you can provide!

Hook'em.

I had the 418 but it wouldn't upconvert with my Westy LCD. Returned that and picked up the 511 at Bestbuy today. I think the list is $179 @ BB.

This player solves the upconvert problem and generally looks very good, although I have not had the chance to wring it out yet.


I just picked up the 511 from BB. It does a good job of playing all of my different types of DVD's. Here's something curious when using the HDMI upconversion at 720p to my Westy 32 HD LCD, the picture is just a tad off center to the left. There is about an inch of black on the right side. It doesn't do it when I switch to 1080i. Any ideas? I looked for some sort of adjustment on both the player and the tv, but no luck. Any ideas?

I noticed a 1/2" black bar using either 720p ir 1080i, even the zoom features which are excellent dont cover this, theres a known HDMI ubderscan problem with panny plasma's....50u series.
Ive also noticed a audio delay/skip which if i pause then play it's fine, i might return it as for the price the upconvert isnt worth it on a 480p plasma.

GeezaZ3: Thanks, but I'm not going to risk destroying the player over this. This is the old firmware for the Zenith DVB-318. It may not have anything in common with the newer LG players. I will contact Mike and see if it is possible without damaging the unit. if not, I will just copy and burn my store bought HDCP protected discs. It isn't really a big deal, just a little time consuming.

I just bought the LG LDA-511 and have been impressed with the 1080i upconvert over composite. (I have a first generation Mitsubishi TV with non-standard HDTV format that accepts only 1080i through its 'black box' interface for HD). It looks like no one has found any hacks to remove the HDCP which is preventing me from watching most newer releases in 1080i. In fact, I've currently got both the S-Video and composite connected and am watching the HDCP movies via the S-Video (might get a composite splitter so I can connect one to the TV direct and one to the black box for 1080i, but the only ones I've seen are expensive)

I'm interested in the best way to make copies that I can watch upconverted. Could someone please provide a recommended technique/software utility or point me to a relevent string?

Thanks

Ianman, do you have a dvd-rw in your computer?, if so use dvd-shrink to make a "backup" of your dvd, if you can do dual layer than use dvd decryptor to direct copy it, both have macrovision removal automatically.
Do a google search for both and there freeware.
Ive been looking at a Kingwell player that is HDCP free and will play anything over it's outputs!!
heres a link to the kingwell site.

Kingwell (http://www.kingwelltech.com/)

Is an HDMI cable included with this DVD player?

Is an HDMI cable included with this DVD player?

Unfortunatly.....No.

Just connected mine via component tonight. I was only able to watch for about ½ hour. It's connected to a Sony 36" direct view HDTV, native res 1080i. I used the expanded gray level feature and the PQ was magnificent. No lip sync issues. Date of manufacture of the unit was Sept. '05. I'm awaiting the arrival of HDMI to DVI cable from Parts Express, cost $18.35 plus shipping. HDMI to HDMI is $17.95 for 2 meter cable.

I would suggest if you have HDMI or DVI connects on your display, spend the 20 bucks and avoid the component video hack attempts. You already spent a lot on the display, so what's $20 more?

Well I just returned my 511 to CC last night (bought it 11/27, returned it 12/28 and they actually gave me a refund). When I hooked it up via HDMI to my 4805 projector, the whole image had a magenta hue, no matter what resolution. I hooked up my other DVD player on the same cable and no problems.

Probably now going to go with a Panny S77 or S97.

does this player stretch 4:3 divx/xvid movies into 16:9(full) or does it just letterbox it?

I just returned mine too, thats #2 in a month, it is a great player with the best Zoom in any player ive tried, but it has problem skipping.
it will probably stretch 4:3 into 16:9 no problem if you set it to 16:9 wide mode.

.........edited.

I have about 14 hours of playing time (via component) thus far on the LDA-511. I've had no problems whatsoever with this unit. So far, I've demoed for six people and they are all BLOWN AWAY by the PQ on my Sony 36" HDCRT. All six preferred the IRE 0 black level (as do I). I'm still waiting for my HDMI/DVI cable from Parts Express for further evaluation. I should add that I'm currently using RS Gold Series for my component connections. So far, I couldn't be happier with this unit. :)

FutureShop in Canada seems to have pulled the LDA-531 from the shelves, citing a "manufacturer recall". I am not sure what is up with that, but I did find one location with 6 that were being sold, 2 other locations had removed them already. I have had the player for 2 days now, and couldnt be happier at paying $150 CDN for an upconverting player with DIVX and XVID support and Faroudja DCDi (it does have this, look on the box and in the docs!). The zoom feature is quite well implemented. Has played anything I've thrown at it without sync issues, dropouts, etc.

My 531 does skip. I noticed if i leave a disc inside, it tends to skip if i try and fast forward next time I use it. Maybe the fact it keeps the read point in memory means it never truly shuts off...

Anyway, if i don't leave a disc inside, it seems fine.

Fellow users, is the below consistent with your findings? Maybe I have a bad unit? I see this same behavior no matter if using component or HDMI, no matter what resolution... LG 511

The quality while in play mode is much, much lower than if I pause and slow-mo through the scenes.

To replicate the below...
1 - play a dvd up to a good close up, high detail image
2 - pause. this gives the "play mode" image I see
3 - while paused, press either the ff or rew button to go into 1/16 time and on my unit the detail increases dramatically. Then pressing pause again gets the "pause" image shown below...

Display is a Pioneer Pro-1130HD 50" plasma display. Warping in the image is due to the position of my camera. There is a reflection on the upper left of the pictures due to a light at the rear of the room.

Play (http://www.braham.org/tv/play.jpg)
Pause (http://www.braham.org/tv/pause.jpg)

Image is from Battlestar Galactica Season 2 DVD

I bought one of these at Best Buy, and it was basically DOA. I brought it home, powered it on, and it worked just fine. Then an hour later I went to turn it on, and it wouldn't. I had to unplug the power cord and re-plug it back into the wall 5-10 times before it would power on. and then after powering off, it did the same thing again.

I returned it and got a new one, and it isn't having that problem. I do think the picture is kind of soft, so I'm going to try what the previous poster mentioned, and see what happens. I also havent had a chance to compare it against another player. I have it hooked up through component only, because all of my stuff goes through my receiver, which does not have HDMI ports.

Has anyone found a firmware or RC hack to allow everything to be upconverted over component?

I ordered a DVB418 off e-bay, that player as told by Lg is the same without a vaccuum slotloader and it suspossibly has faroudja chipset, ive read here somewere that Lg responded as saying the 418 was the same as the 511 but better chipset.

I also wanted to point out that I tried severl double sided DVDs (the ones where there is widescreen on one side, and fullscreen on another), and did not have any problem watching them, ejecting them, nor did the player scratch them.

i think i will be returning this player because the picture is way too soft over component at 480p. I'm leaning towards the Zenith 318

I must be one of the lucky ones.

Hooked up the HDMI/DVI cable and watched a few scenes from about 2½ feet from Sony 4:3 direct view HDCRT. Also disabled the BLE (IRE now 7)for HDMI. My particular Sony has 16:9 auto detect feature which can be set to "auto" or "on", BUT no "off" position. After extensive research starting months ago on the direct view forum of AVS, there is no service menu hack to disable this "feature". I have also learned this particular model (KV-36HS510) upconverts to 1080i on the fly dependant on the signal sent to the set.

I will say this much, crap in crap out. Watching from such a short distance really showed artifacts on LOTR ROTK, FS regular edition. However on Matrix Revolutions (16:9) the PQ was quite simply pristine.

What I have learned from using the HD511 with my particular set, is that it sends a 16:9 flag with 720p setting and sends my set into 16:9 mode even though the settings of the player are set to 4:3 and the material being played is 4:3. :mad: Of course 1080i is a native 16:9 format but that was no surprise. So pretty much the upconvert feature of this player with my particular set is useless as the TV handles it by itself.

However, I (and others) have found the PQ scintilating. I did notice an improvement in PQ by going direct digital to the set (same with my SA 3250HD cable box), so it could just be my TV.

I'll keep this unit since it obviously outperforms the Pio prog scan player I used to have and looks so friggin' cool. If it only did not send the 720p 16:9 flag, I'd be elated.

If it only did not send the 720p 16:9 flag, I'd be elated.

Do you know if it is really a flag? For my Sanyo Z1, if you feed it (via component) 720p or 1080i it always projects as 16x9. This is documented in its manual.

I'm not sure if this is your problem, but it might just be the way your display works...

If I send a 720p signal from the cable box, it's not an issue, but who knows....

I bought one of these at Best Buy, and it was basically DOA. I brought it home, powered it on, and it worked just fine. Then an hour later I went to turn it on, and it wouldn't. I had to unplug the power cord and re-plug it back into the wall 5-10 times before it would power on. and then after powering off, it did the same thing again.

I returned it and got a new one, and it isn't having that problem. I do think the picture is kind of soft, so I'm going to try what the previous poster mentioned, and see what happens. I also havent had a chance to compare it against another player. I have it hooked up through component only, because all of my stuff goes through my receiver, which does not have HDMI ports.

Has anyone found a firmware or RC hack to allow everything to be upconverted over component?

Was that in reference to my post? If it was, did you see the same issues?

Was that in reference to my post? If it was, did you see the same issues?

yeah, i tried the pausing thing. the picture is very sharp, but seems to get more detailed when you pause it. this thing really is junk.

thanks for the confirmation so fast ;)

I did some more testing last night and found that although what I showed above is happening at all resolutions on all outputs, it is slightly less the higher the upconversion is set.

I think those pics are at 480i, with my diplay doing its own upconversion (you would think a $6k display has better scalers than a $150 dvd player). Well it turns out the 480i output of the LG is just crap. If I set it to 1080i, its much less, but still there, and still noticeable.

I bet no DLP or CRT user would ever notice because of the way the displays function. Discrete fixed pixel displays may very well be better off with something else. Anyway, I bought this as a holdover until I can save up for the Pioneer Elite 79AVi, and I think I'm satisfied enough that I can still use it until then.

I expected my display to show every flaw with a dvd player at this price, which it did.

MaliciousBraham-

How did you shoot your pics? Tripod, hand held? How far away from the screen and if from afar, did you crop and resize the images for posting. I want to try and replicate the conditions.

I have four DVD players, 2 Pios (one from HTIB 2 yrs.ago, one newer $79, forget model #), a Toshiba 5 disc changer and obviously the LG. This could make for an interesting weekend experiment.

Is the test you performed considered "standard methodology" for evaluating PQ? If so, maybe a new thread would be in order.

I don't want to debate whether this player is any good or not as I think a lot has to do with the display device. So far, I'm very happy with it, though I seem to be in the minority.

FWIW- I traded in a Sammy HD845 which was DOA. Tried to exchange it but BB was out of stock, thus the LG.

I need to try the pause trick on my 531. I believe they have different chipsets and dacs, so maybe it will not show the same behavior.

For the record, I am also quite happy with it, even with the occasional freeze problem.

I hear that 480i over hdmi is the best to send to most tvs. Does this dvd play in this mode for commercial dvds? My sony DVP-NS70H doesnt go into 480i over hdmi. I just bought it tonight and I was going to return it for the LG. any thoughts?

The Canadian counterpart model LDA-531 was recalled , futureshop pulled it from there shelves, i still havent found out why...anyone know?
I wanted to get one,ordered a DVB418 instead.
I just LOVE LG's letterbox zoom on my plasma.
Only if Oppo could use this zoom it would be the best player!

My camera isnt the best (Canon S230 handheld), but pics were taken from tripod with auto-flash set to off, with the 2 second delay so I could get my hands away to ensure I was not shaking the camera any. Tripod is about 2-3ft away from the screen of the plasma, slightly below. Dont pay attention to the slight horizontal banding in the pics... that is due to the filter on the pio plasmas not being camera friendly. In real life it doesnt exist. Camera zoom was set so that I got the most coverage of the screen as possible, without going into the digital zoom, which actually reduces resolution. So I was in optical zoom range.

This all started basically because I had my player set to 480i over HDMI and wasnt satisfied with the PQ. My DVD's all looked like the washed-out pic above. I figured it was the best I could do, and this player was bought as a holdover anyway until I could save up for the Pioneer 79avi. Well, one day I was watching a dvd and wanted to slow-mo through a scene to look at something in the background, and noticed the picture quality increased to what is shown in the second pic above. I was floored, and wanted to find out if I could find a way to at least get closer to that quality during normal playback.

Being a die hard tinkerer, I had to find out why I wasnt getting the same image quality during playback as I was during slow-mo. My results are in the posts above.

For anyone who thinks I should use a better camera... the camera has more pixel resolution than the display has pixels, so using a higher megapixel camera wont do much.

As far as why I'm seeing what I do... well, I dont know. The only things I could think of were maybe my MPEG decoder in the 511 was busted, had some type of feedback, or maybe the bitrate was dropping. That was why I posted here. I wanted to see if others were seeing or could replicate the same thing.

Oh, I did crop the images to get just the display in the pic, but did no resizing at all. The pics are also JPG compressed (setting 8 in Photoshop), just for space. The detail issue that was the whole point of this is still easily noticeable. If you look at the pause "button" it is virtually identical between the two images. So the only difference is really in the decoding of the screen itself by the dvd player, not the overlay for the button or anything like that.

pictures can never be standard methodology because each camera is different, each display is different, etc. My images just give a visual, accurate to my eyes, description of what I'm seeing so that it is obvious what I am trying to describe.

MaliciousBraham-

How did you shoot your pics? Tripod, hand held? How far away from the screen and if from afar, did you crop and resize the images for posting. I want to try and replicate the conditions.

I have four DVD players, 2 Pios (one from HTIB 2 yrs.ago, one newer $79, forget model #), a Toshiba 5 disc changer and obviously the LG. This could make for an interesting weekend experiment.

Is the test you performed considered "standard methodology" for evaluating PQ? If so, maybe a new thread would be in order.

I don't want to debate whether this player is any good or not as I think a lot has to do with the display device. So far, I'm very happy with it, though I seem to be in the minority.

FWIW- I traded in a Sammy HD845 which was DOA. Tried to exchange it but BB was out of stock, thus the LG.

Also possibly of note: I had both the component and HDMI cables connected during my testing. The Pioneer Plasma has an option to turn off HDMI for an input, and in that case component takes priority. So I could compare HDMI vs Component by just flipping an option in my plasma menus, not disconnecting and re-connecting cables.

When I settled on 1080i over HDMI, I disconnected the component cables.

Will the LG 511 be a good player for the sony 55 a20,which way would be the best way to connect it. I have both HDMI & component cables and also have the D*942 set top box. thanks

MaliciousBraham-

I came home today and searched for good detailed scene and found it WOTW when the little girl is cowering in the back of the van while escaping from the first tripod rising up. I just read your post approx. 3 hours after I took some pics (only two).

I could not replicate what you saw while following your procedure. All images looked BASICALLY the same with 480p being cleaner, but nowhere near the anomolies you saw.

• Source- War of the Worlds FS Edition
• Connection- HDMI
• 480i
• 480p
• Camera- Nikon Cool Pix 5200 ($350 new), set to ISO mode 400, hand held, no flash, dark room.
• Shots taken from six feet away, cropped and resized for posting. Unsharp mask applied to both images at 2 pixels, 75% while at 3600px horizontal. I applied this filter as I felt it more accurately represented what my naked eye was viewing, again to BOTH images.
• Color in images is not accurate, looking at detail only.

Because I could not replicate what MaliciousBraham was viewing, I snapped a photo while playing in the 1/16 slo mode.This will be the second image per below.

Paused (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=49399&stc=1)
Playing (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=49400&stc=1)

IMHO- It all depends on the brand/model of the display device.

Good luck with your replacement DVD player MaliciousBraham! ;)

FWIW- I don't have any agenda, I still have a window to return 511. Wouldn't mind auditioning the Sammy 845 which was my original intention.

actually thats great that you didnt see the same thing.

I can hopefully swap out (return and get another) my 511 and see if the same problem persists.

That was my goal in posting what I did. Not to make a judgement against the player, but to find out for sure if what I saw was accurate. Hopefully this problem is isolated and I wont see it in the next one.

But maybe i should clarify my procedure...
If you just play the dvd, then pause, the image on my player is blurred. If I go into 1/16th (i specifically tried reverse 1/16th) then hit pause again, the image is a lot more detailed. I notice one of your pics shows the 1/16th symbol, so I know for sure it wasnt taken in the same mode mine was.

Bud-man,

My understanding is the recall is for a firmware update, to fix some problems with the HDMI connection. Who knows, it might adress some other problems too.

From the futureshop.ca website :

The increase in PQ sharpness in 1080i IMHO is worth the price of this player. In particular, the Star Wars remastered DVDs are phenomenal in this mode. Regarding any issues with this player, I should point out that I recently had a firmware update installed on this player to V1.385252 after contacting LG Support about a couple of issues. These issues were associated with the HDMI interface only, whereby I noticed upon power up the LG sreen display went into a pink hue and was only restored to normal once the HDMI resolution button was selected ; also there was some "macroblocking" on some DVDs. Macroblocking can be present with DVD players that use the chips MedaiTek MT1389FE, Genesis FLI2301 which is DCDi by Faroudja. I have had no issues since the firmware upgrade was applied however I would like to point out that the "macroblocking" that you may see on some DVDs (pixel blocking in common color eg black) was eliminated by turning down the "brightness" level on my Plasma HDMI display interface. Once this was set correctly, the HDMI in 1080i mode was excellent. All said, highly recommend this player until backward compatible HDDVD Players come on the market.

Now to get my hands on this update, without having to return the player...

I returned my 511 and got the Samsung 850. After applying the angle hack to upconvert over component, the picture on the Samsung is quite a bit better. The picture is much more crisp and sharp (the 511 was extremely soft), and the picture quality in general is better. For example, I played Star Wars Episode 2 to test it out. There's a scene near the beginning where Yoda and Mace are talking to Palpatine in his office. On the 511, not only was it way too soft, but on closeups of Yoda's face, there was no detail, and even some pixelatization and blocking. On the Samsung 850, the picture is not soft, there is no pixelization, and no blocking.

I think the 850 is a keeper. My only concern is that I got a floor model because Best Buy was out of stock. I may return it and buy a new one online. I'm also considering auditioning the Panasonic S77 side by side. Even though the doesn't upconvert over component, I've heard that it produces a phenomenal picture at 480p.

But.........koach will the 850 play Xvid or DVD+R DL?, Fry's has a awesome deal on the 755 for under $70!!
Also let me know how the zoom feature is on the 850, it seems to be equal to LG's, has a letterbox filling zoom without any cropping? as the LG had?

But.........koach will the 850 play Xvid or DVD+R DL?, Fry's has a awesome deal on the 755 for under $70!!
Also let me know how the zoom feature is on the 850, it seems to be equal to LG's, has a letterbox filling zoom without any cropping? as the LG had?


i don't believe it will play DivX, but that wasnt something i needed. if i really wanted to watch divx, I'd use my modded xbox.

i didn't realize either of them had a zoom feature. what would be the purpose of that?

On the 511, not only was it way too soft, but on closeups of Yoda's face, there was no detail, and even some pixelatization and blocking.

this is exactly what I was seeing...

Bud-man,

My understanding is the recall is for a firmware update, to fix some problems with the HDMI connection. Who knows, it might adress some other problems too.

From the futureshop.ca website :



Now to get my hands on this update, without having to return the player...

The Canadian lgservice site has the LDA-531 firmware update dated 1/4/2006, that takes the firmware up to v1.437 ... it is also a fix for HDMI issues.

Have a look on videohelp search dvd hacks for hdcp and look at the one on the LG+DV-9800H

dvdhacks.php ? select = LG + DV - 9800H

worked for me!!!

Sorry, can't post the full url, this is my first post and the system will not let me put the url in the posting. :-<

The Canadian lgservice site has the LDA-531 firmware update dated 1/4/2006, that takes the firmware up to v1.437 ... it is also a fix for HDMI issues.

Ok, So guys dont get any idea's about installing 531 firmware in your 511's while the 531 uses Faroudja, while the 511 uses there own chipset.
Pretty much means they screwed the U.S.!!

Location for the new LDA-531 firmware :

http://ca.lgservice.com/index_b2c.jsp

Click on bulletin board at the top to access.

I ca't get mine to upgrade, so if anyone is using Nero 6 and figures it out, please post (I figure I am somehow using the wrong CD format).

Location for the new LDA-531 firmware :

http://ca.lgservice.com/index_b2c.jsp

Click on bulletin board at the top to access.

I ca't get mine to upgrade, so if anyone is using Nero 6 and figures it out, please post (I figure I am somehow using the wrong CD format).

Worked fine for me last night, although I used Easy CD Creator. However, I do recall that you must ensure that the disk is being burned in ISO9660 format (and not in Joliet format) and ensure that you are finalizing the disc when burning (not just finalizing the session).

If you cant get it to work, try burning in Windows XP using XP's built in burning capability .. apparently that will work perfectly for this sort of thing.

Have a look on videohelp search dvd hacks for hdcp and look at the one on the LG+DV-9800H

dvdhacks.php ? select = LG + DV - 9800H

worked for me!!!

Sorry, can't post the full url, this is my first post and the system will not let me put the url in the posting. :-<
----------------------------
You mean compoment can be upscale 1080i ..???
Thank...

make sure that the first folder is "LG_DVD" without quotes. Some extracting programs extract it so the first folder is "FIRMWARE". then burn it as a data disc, and it should be fine. the target should be: LG_DVD\FIRMWARE\UPDATE\LG\whatever the firmware file is (i forget). Also, when its updating the firmware (step 5) it will seem like nothings happening; the firmware update process takes a minute or 2, so just leave it and it will reboot.

i just got my player today, made on Nov. 2005, and there didnt appear to be any syncing issues. i updated the firmware for peace of mind, and i dont have any problems still. ive only tested a few minutes of each DVD. is there any specific movie that there are syncing problems with the LDA-531/DVB418?

Does anyone know the remote code to bypass the copyright protection on dvd's? I bought the LG LDA-511 yesterday because the guy at BEST BUY told me that this was the only one that would upconvert through the component cables, what he didn't tell me is that it won't upconvert copy protected DVD's through component, which sucks since almost every DVD I own won't work and my TV doesn't support HDMI ( 4 yr. old CRT rear projection). I have been reading on this thread about these "hack codes" and tried one that I found through an online search, but unfortunately it's not working. It told me to press; pause, 1,2,3,6,9 and I should see a screen that says "OK H" or "DEFAULT H". I did this and saw the "OK H" screen first , I then put in The Incredibles DVD, which is copy protected, and I still couldn't get the player to upconvert to 1080i. I repeated the whole proccess and saw the "DEFAULT H" screen and tried the same movie with the same result. Am I doing something wrong, or is there something I have to do to engage the code? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know the remote code to bypass the copyright protection on dvd's? I bought the LG LDA-511 yesterday because the guy at BEST BUY told me that this was the only one that would upconvert through the component cables, what he didn't tell me is that it won't upconvert copy protected DVD's through component, which sucks since almost every DVD I own won't work and my TV doesn't support HDMI ( 4 yr. old CRT rear projection). I have been reading on this thread about these "hack codes" and tried one that I found through an online search, but unfortunately it's not working. It told me to press; pause, 1,2,3,6,9 and I should see a screen that says "OK H" or "DEFAULT H". I did this and saw the "OK H" screen first , I then put in The Incredibles DVD, which is copy protected, and I still couldn't get the player to upconvert to 1080i. I repeated the whole proccess and saw the "DEFAULT H" screen and tried the same movie with the same result. Am I doing something wrong, or is there something I have to do to engage the code? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I tried the fix and on the Video/HDMI Info page it showed HDCP being off. This is on a 511. I also turned off macrovision, it shows off also. Started Revenge of the Sith, paused movie. Showed 1080i for the output. switched to 480i YUCK 480p better 720p blacked out my toshiba 57h81 doesn't support that so I know it was changed to that resolution. 1080i Looks really good. This is over component input all my set has. Also takes whatever divx or avi file I have thrown at it so far, also a Pal disk about the hubble telescope. Also looked at a sd picture disk from my camera. I think it is a keeper. To get to the video/HDMI info screen hit pause,2,4,8,6,5. pause,pause to exit. will only work when not playing a disk. If the upconvert reverted would it still show 1080i on the player?
wildfrog

...........
But maybe i should clarify my procedure...
If you just play the dvd, then pause, the image on my player is blurred. If I go into 1/16th (i specifically tried reverse 1/16th) then hit pause again, the image is a lot more detailed. I notice one of your pics shows the 1/16th symbol, so I know for sure it wasnt taken in the same mode mine was.

The image I posted (playing.jpg) was snapped while playing (not paused) in 1/16 mode. As previously stated, I could see almost no difference following the outlined procedure. I didn't go in reverse 1/16 but will try it. What's weird is that I'm noticing people's foreheads seem soft unless I'm playing a disc with exceptional PQ (maybe I'm over analyzing now). I'll try the Yoda test as well over the weekend if I can fit it in.

After 2 bad 511's i bought a 418 new, off e-bay, at first hdmi out would not work, i tried the 531 firmware above and it works!
There is a left shift when using component above 720p.
It loads slower than my 511, ive tried a few homeburned dvd's that the 511 had serious audio stutter problem with, played fine.
I did notice a few video freezes but not as bad as the 511.
I cant use bitstream out on dolby digital, it's the same as a toshiba 4980 has a loud screech sound thru my plasma speakers using hdmi
So that means i have to listen to pcm sound on my receiver...bummer dts is set to bitstream works fine
511 didnt suffer this same fate, but using hdmi the 511 had a 1/2 top shift on 720p/1080i
Reason i like these LG's is there excellent letterbox zoom feature and ability to play xvid, i just returned last week a Oppo which didnt turn me on either.

Heres a list of hacks from videohelp, if they work i dont know, the info page does we know that........
I'm at work so i cant test right now.

HDCP off/on:
PAUSE,1,2,3,6,9
on screen: "OK H" or "Default H" (Status)
(2xPAUSE to leave)

Macrovision off/on:
Pause,7,4,1,5,3,6,9
on screen: "OK M" oder "Default M" (Status)
(2xPAUSE to leave)

EDID off/on: (Extended Display Identification Data)
Pause,1,4,7,8,9
on screen: "OK E" oder "Default E" (Status)
(2xPAUSE to leave)

Region Code:
Pause,3,1,4,1,5,9
0=all

Video/HDMI Info Page:
Pause,2,4,8,6,5

Factory reset + SYSTEM INFORMATION page
go to Setup/video/TV Aspect/16:9
and press 1,3,9,7,1,3,9,ENTER

Just returned my 511 to Best buy- Bought a cheap refurbished Samsung 841 off ebay and it is much better than the 511 i had. I have a DVI to HDMI cable I use and the picture is much more defined in 1080i and 720P

The Canadian counterpart model LDA-531 was recalled , futureshop pulled it from there shelves, i still havent found out why...anyone know?
I wanted to get one,ordered a DVB418 instead.
I just LOVE LG's letterbox zoom on my plasma.
Only if Oppo could use this zoom it would be the best player!

There was an issue with HDMI not behaving properly. This has been corrected with firmware 4.137 available from the LG canadian support site. Note that not all FS locations pulled it, I went to 2 and found it at a 3rd. I have not had any issues (before or after updating it), and I can confirm that the region-free, HDCP Off, Macrovision Off, EDID On remote codes do actually work. I am very very satisfied with this player, I use it everyday on commercial DVDs, and play divx and xvid encoded movies as well. All this plus Faroudja progressive scan for such a low price is an excellent value, IMHO.

There was an issue with HDMI not behaving properly. This has been corrected with firmware 4.137 available from the LG canadian support site. Note that not all FS locations pulled it, I went to 2 and found it at a 3rd. I have not had any issues (before or after updating it), and I can confirm that the region-free, HDCP Off, Macrovision Off, EDID On remote codes do actually work. I am very very satisfied with this player, I use it everyday on commercial DVDs, and play divx and xvid encoded movies as well. All this plus Faroudja progressive scan for such a low price is an excellent value, IMHO.

I jst bought a DVB418, HDMi would not work....at all, first a tried the latest 418 firmware thats been around for almost a yr, no luck, then i tried the newest 531, been working fine since.

Also all the hacks work fine too, and no more skips like 2 511's i had.

531 is identical to the 418 except a higher video dac.

My only complaint is the hdmi audio compared to the 511 if set to dolby digital bitstream my panasonic plasma speakers make a loud screeching sound, have to set to pcm, which in turn turns off surround thru opitcal out to my reciever.

I am using component out to resolve this, same as a Toshiba 4980 i owned.

i thought the LDA-531 is exactly the same as the DVB418? it really has a higher DAC?

anyway, i can get all of those codes to work, except the region code hack with my LDA-531. i havent had any problems with syncing before, or after i updated to the latest LDA-531 firmware (1.437) and im also very happy with this player.

i have a question about EDID. i know what it is (extended display identification data) and that it allows the display to tell the player its settings (like what resolutions are supported etc). by default, my player is set to "OK E" which is off; would it be a good idea to enable it?

I jst bought a DVB418, HDMi would not work....at all, first a tried the latest 418 firmware thats been around for almost a yr, no luck, then i tried the newest 531, been working fine since.

Also all the hacks work fine too, and no more skips like 2 511's i had.

531 is identical to the 418 except a higher video dac.

My only complaint is the hdmi audio compared to the 511 if set to dolby digital bitstream my panasonic plasma speakers make a loud screeching sound, have to set to pcm, which in turn turns off surround thru opitcal out to my reciever.

I am using component out to resolve this, same as a Toshiba 4980 i owned.

you are a brave soul to try 531 firmware on a 418. Glad that it worked for. What video DAC does the 418 have?

i think it has a 10-bit/27mhz vs the LDA-531's 12-bit/54mhz video DAC.

Rahzel,

Thanks for your help with firmware upgrade, it worked:)

I finally burned it using the XP burning utility, I just could not get it to work with NERO.

When you do the upconvert over component hack, is it permanent? Or does it work until you shut-off/change dvds?

i thought the LDA-531 is exactly the same as the DVB418? it really has a higher DAC?

anyway, i can get all of those codes to work, except the region code hack with my LDA-531. i havent had any problems with syncing before, or after i updated to the latest LDA-531 firmware (1.437) and im also very happy with this player.

i have a question about EDID. i know what it is (extended display identification data) and that it allows the display to tell the player its settings (like what resolutions are supported etc). by default, my player is set to "OK E" which is off; would it be a good idea to enable it?

Theres software for the region hack to work, i can verify it works............

Region hack here (http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?dvdplayer=dvb418&hits=50&Search=Search)

Also i'd be more afraid to load 531 firmware in a 511 than the 418!, 531 and 418 use the same faroudja chupset, 511 uses LG's.....

Got the 511 from Best Buy this afternoon. I've owned a 318 for some two years.

The remote hack worked like a charm. I've spent about 45 minutes switching back and forth between both players (318 and 511) playing the introduction and first chapter of Gladiator at 1080i over component. My tv is a CRT RPTV.

(Good to see that LG/Zenith are very consistent at producing very crappy remotes !!! The remote for the 511 is no better than the one for the 318, which isn't saying much)

Some quick observations...

Where the 511 improves upon the 318:
- Colors! The colors were more saturated. The red capes from the centurians on horse looked a deeper burgundy than on the 318. I thought the skin on faces looked a bit better too.
- Text. Noticeably better on the 511. The text at the start of the movie looks much smoother and without any outer edges as it does on the 318. Sub-titles look smoother as well. For me this a big plus as I often turn them on (English is not my native language).

Where the 511 does not improve upon the 318:
- Fine detail. The overall smoothness that helps so much with text seems to come at the price of a very slight loss of detail. If you take a look at the very first close up of Maximus, right after his hands touch the wheat, you can see the lines on his forehead blur and shimmer a little while this does not happen on the 318.

I'll do some research on the 531. The 318 was a back up to a HTPC that has been decomissioned as such since my other pc just died. I want the colors and smooth picture of the 511 and the fine detail of the 318. I'm not asking for much...

Wasn't aware of the similarities between the 531 and 418. The 418 seems a safer, and cheaper, bet then. Thanks.

I got the LG 511 yesterday at BB great picture for the money. I had the panasonic s97 but had MB with my toshiba 57hdx82 crt set.

keep in mind that the LDA-531 is a CDN model only. but if you can find the DVB418 (which is very similar), you can flash it to a LDA-531, like Bud-man has already done. the only difference seems to be that the LDA-531 has a higher video DAC.

There's plenty of 418's on e-bay, i bought mine new, paid alot but it's new.
Problem i'm having that bothers me is there is a shift problem on my panasonic pm50 plasma using any rez 720 and up.
HDMI @1080i has like 8 white dot's on top of screen, Component@720/1080 has 1/2" shift to the left with black side bar.
The 2 511's i had both @720/1080p had a top 1/2" black bar similar to Sony's n70 shift issue.
Well i leave it on 480p now, with a ED plasma there really isnt any improvement in PQ because the panel will down rez back to 480p anyway
Only the LG's ive tried have this shift issue, Oppo and Kingwell players are fine.

rahzel, what display you using?

i have the same exact shift problems and white dotted line on my lg531 on my panasonic plasma, though 720p over hdmi works perfectly, i plan on calling lg and panasonic if anything can be done about it, but they will probably blame each other

hansol89, same here, 720p is fine, also did you try Component?, 720p or 1080 i get a left shift with 1/2" black bar on the right side, the 511 using hdmi gave me a top shift using 720 or 1080.
I got a e-mail back and they said they never heard of it and it's my TV, well Oppo,Kiingwell,Toshiba HD players didnt have any shift problems!!
Heres there response, LG sucks as usual............

Dear Chris,

Thank you for inquiring of LG Electronics.

There has not been a documented issue of blank screens or bars on the sides of the screens for these units. This sounds to be either a problem with this specific DVD player, or perhaps the television. It is recommended to connect the DVD player to another television, using the same jacks and wires. If the problem persists, then the issue lies with the player. Otherwise the problem is in the television.

For further information or troubleshooting, you may contact us at 800-243-0000 for LG Customer Service assistance. An agent will be glad to assist you. Thank you again for contacting LG Electronics.

Neil
E-mail Administrator
Customer Interactive Center
LGEAI

budman yes i also get 1/2" shift left over component
lg-531
Component
480i - works
480p - works
720p -1/2 shift left
1080i -1/2 shift left
HDMI
480p - works
720p - works
1080i - kinda works (Image slightly lowered with white dotted line visible on top)

i have a pansonic plasma th-42pd50u - which sucks because overscan/underscan settings are locked on this model

I got the LG 511 yesterday at BB great picture for the money. I had the panasonic s97 but had MB with my toshiba 57hdx82 crt set.

Best Buy has it for $149 plus I got enuff Reward Zone Certificates to practically get it for free! :)

OK I might get one today, you guys give this the thumbs up?

I have the baby brother PM50u, hansol89.....same as a PD but no tuner.
there is def a underscan issue with these plasma's, rumor was u need a special remote to access, but i heard the remote is only good for color adjustments etc....
Ive had a local panny service tech try to order a remote, but haevent heard a thing.
Maybe it's time to start complaining to Panasonic.
But as you probably realize the PQ doesnt look any better to me than 480i/p anyway.

The Canadian lgservice site has the LDA-531 firmware update dated 1/4/2006, that takes the firmware up to v1.437 ... it is also a fix for HDMI issues.
I just bought a DVB418 on eBay for about $65 including shipping. To my surprise, it shows its firmware as already 1.437. So I guess I don't have to upgrade it.

how do you check what version firmware you have? My DVB-418 is sitting on my front porch right now.......bought it off of woot.com for 65 shipped.

Do you have it hooked up via component? If so, do you notice the 1/2" shift that budman and others have talked about?

Anxious to hear your response.

The firmware version is listed in the results of this:
---
Factory reset + SYSTEM INFORMATION page
go to Setup/video/TV Aspect/16:9
and press 1,3,9,7,1,3,9,ENTER
---

Most of the hacks eventually worked, though I had to try each one typically a couple of times. (Maybe I was hitting the numbers wrong.) The region code hack listed in this forum didn't work, but another poster pointed to a region code menu that you can burn to CD, and that worked.

My HDMI-to-DVI cable hasn't arrived yet, so I am using 1080i over component. I don't know if I would notice a 1/2" shift, because I have a CRT HDTV whose centering I've had to adjust anyway.

My main complaint concerns not the play of DVDs but of other files. It plays DivX .avi files fine, but as for others:

- Modern-size JPGs (2048x1536) display unbearably slowly.

- Although the documentation touts the player's ability to play MPEG4 videos, the player imposes extremely onerous restrictions. The file extension must be one of .avi/.mpg/.mpeg (instead of the obvious .mp4), and the codec must be one of DIVX3/DIVX4/DIVX5/XVID/MP43/3IVX. This rules out the ordinary, standard MPEG4 files accepted by most portable devices, from iPods to cell phones.

In short, I was hoping that I could simply take a memory card out of my digital camera/camcorder or cell phone and play it in the DVD player. Not so. I guess I should have read the manual online before purchasing.

Nevertheless, it's difficult to complain when I only paid $65 including shipping.

I have another question for you. Will you pop in a copyright-protected disc and tell me if it's running 1080i (since you're running over component)? Just curious. Thanks!! :cool:

Yes, the DVB418 runs 1080i just fine over component on commercial (copy-protected) DVDs, but of course only AFTER you turn off HDCP and Macrovision. ;)

Yep, I did.

(edited)

I used the LG LDA-511 between 4 store bought DVDs it would just shut off (right after I stuck the DVD in). This happened maybe 15 times between the 4 original discs. Ironically I never had any problems with DVD shrink ripped DVDs (although I need to test that some more). One time I was watching LOTR for about 15 minutes and then it shutoff!!! :mad:

BTW the manufacturing date is Sept 05
I did the remote control hacks, but how do you know if HDCP/Macrovision is on/off???

I did the remote control hacks, but how do you know if HDCP/Macrovision is on/off???

Video/HDMI Info Page:
Pause,2,4,8,6,5

I was able to get all of the remote hacks to work on my lg-dvb418 except for the region-free hack. Not sure if my fingers weren't moving fast enough, or what........anyway, keep trying. You'll see a green box appear on the upper left hand corner of the screen to indicate that the hack has been applied. To figure out if HDCP/Macrovision is on or off:

Video/HDMI Info Page:
Pause,2,4,8,6,5

This will show you the status of HDCP/Macrovision on your unit.

it appears that the region free code posted earlier doesnt work for 511/531/418, but the file to burn to CD and run does work.


I have not tried EDID stuff yet. Does anyone know if EDID is only possible over HDMI or will it work over component as well?

Does this player support both component and HDMI at the same time?

JC, I seriously doubt that any of these players will output to two sources at the same time - but i have no way to test, as my television doesn't have HDMI connections.

Can anyone tell me what exactly EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) really does? I I did turn it off, but am wondering if I should have/needed to.

JC, I seriously doubt that any of these players will output to two sources at the same time - but i have no way to test, as my television doesn't have HDMI connections.

Can anyone tell me what exactly EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) really does? I I did turn it off, but am wondering if I should have/needed to.

This maybe a definition more for the PC, but is roughly what we are talking about here:

Extended Display Identification Data is a VESA standard data format that contains basic information about a monitor and its capabilities, including vendor information, maximum image size, color characteristics, factory pre-set timings, frequency range limits, and character strings for the monitor name and serial number.


Note: I have an answer to my previous question about EDID and component: EDID is indeed only possible over HDMI and DVI connections. So, anyone using HDMI with EDID parsing enabled on their LG DVD player ... post the results from your info page ...

Does anyone have the hack to dezone this player. It seems to have an double alphabetical code for each region instead of the usual 0 to 6.
The password to access the setting is 0000 but once there you got to set this 2 letters code (26 times 26 possibilities! :( )

make sure that the first folder is "LG_DVD" without quotes. Some extracting programs extract it so the first folder is "FIRMWARE". then burn it as a data disc, and it should be fine. the target should be: LG_DVD\FIRMWARE\UPDATE\LG\whatever the firmware file is (i forget). Also, when its updating the firmware (step 5) it will seem like nothings happening; the firmware update process takes a minute or 2, so just leave it and it will reboot.

i just got my player today, made on Nov. 2005, and there didnt appear to be any syncing issues. i updated the firmware for peace of mind, and i dont have any problems still. ive only tested a few minutes of each DVD. is there any specific movie that there are syncing problems with the LDA-531/DVB418?

rahzel,

A big THANK YOU for this post. Just got a 418 and after burning two coasters (the player reported a "disk error" when trying to read the burned CD) I remembered reading the above a few days ago. After extracting -keeping folder names- the path for the firmware file was \FIRMWARE\UPDATE\LG .... correcting the path prior to burning the cd to \LG_DVD\FIRMWARE\UPDATE\LG fixed the problem.

rahzel, what display you using?
i have a Hitachi 46F510 CRT RPTV.

to kramer, np.

Okay guys. I got the 418 from ebay. Refurb unit, cost was $80 including shipping. Thanks to the info posted by Bud-man and rahzel I was able to flash the firmware to the newest version 1.437.

Like the 511 the remote hacks for HDCP and Macrovision worked fine on the 418. I had to try the Macrovision hack a couple of times but that may have been my not aiming the remote right at the sensor while I was punching the number sequence.

I feel that I should mention that my CRT set was ISF calibrated a couple years ago, then I did my own calibration on the user menu using Digital Video Essentials with the 318. For these comparisons I did no further calibration of the colors with neither the 511 nor 418... I know you're supposed to calibrate with each DVD player to get more accurate colors.

Here are my observations:

-The 511 was still the better player at displaying text and sub-titles. The 418 didn't display edges around text as pronouncedly as the 318 but they were still there.
-Fine detail... oh man. The 511 does smooth out the image at the expense of some fine detail. I don't know if this happens at the MPEG decoding or de-interlacing. People's faces look softer to me on the 511 than the 318 and 418. You can really notice this on medium-sized close ups. The 418 and 318 looked identical rendering fine detail.
-Colors (but see my comment above regarding color calibration). I liked the 511 first, then 418 and the 318 a distant third... despite the fact that the 318 was used to calibrate the tv. More saturated colors on the 511.
-Playability of different types of DVDs. Load time was similar for store bought DVDs on all three. I have a few DVD+Rs, single and double layer, and I'm convinced that the 511 and 418 have the same laser because they couldn't read or got stuck on the same discs and same spots. The 318 was better at reading DVD+Rs, but it still can't read/skips on a few. Very crappy players, all three, in this regard.

My final conclusion:

I like the 511 and 418 over the 318 by a long shot. That said, I'm taking the 511 back. This decision is solely based on price. The 511 cost $150 (new at BB) while the 418 is $80 (refurb). Not an apples to apples comparison but this is all I want to spend at this stage on a DVD player.

My unit (DVB-418) is freezing constantly. I just received it 3 days ago, as I purchased it through woot.com. I have successfully done all of the remote hacks to upconvert via component, and the picture is great. However, the unit freezes every 10 seconds, it seems. Does the new firmware (v.1.437) correct this problem? I know it's supposed to fix the lip synch issues..........has anyone found a solution to this constant freezing?

hello all, newbie here with first post.
looking for a player to match up with my new zenith Z50PX2D plasma.
i like the DVB-318 but would like DIVX playback so the LG LDA-511 seams to be next best option. would someone verify that the hack works on this unit for upconvertion over component to 720/1080 to play CR material? i can only find that the region free hack works but need the convertion hack mostly.. I am using the HDMI port for DVR/cable box and have nice kimber cables for component i don't want to go to waste. please post hack if you know it works :)
any input or advice would be great for this newbie! :D
thanks in advance dmr
forgot to ask if the sam HD950 may be better option??
and BB has added a rebate on the 511!!

Try it and find out, usually it only fixes a HDMI issue,i had 2 511's that skipped badly, my NEW 418 works fine so far, even thou i paid $130, from JustDeals on e-bay

.................-Fine detail... oh man. The 511 does smooth out the image at the expense of some fine detail. I don't know if this happens at the MPEG decoding or de-interlacing. People's faces look softer to me on the 511 than the 318 and 418. You can really notice this on medium-sized close ups...............
Exactly. Thus my previous comments on "soft foreheads". Again, I don't see this on discs that are noted for exceptional PQ. I'm still getting "wow" comments from non-enthusiasts, prolly due to the exceptional color rendering. It does have the sim card feature among others (anyone try that yet)?

THANKS to Bud-Man for the hacks. The MB setting made a huge difference on my display. (HDMI-DVI, 36" DV CRT)

I'm still on the fence about this one though.

well i really did not want to just try it if no one could verify the hack before purchase.... why buy it if it's not going to perform post the hack job??
looked for a 531 and they appear to be "not available" for purchase?
anybody got one for sale??

hello all, newbie here with first post.
looking for a player to match up with my new zenith Z50PX2D plasma.
i like the DVB-318 but would like DIVX playback so the LG LDA-511 seams to be next best option. would someone verify that the hack works on this unit for upconvertion over component to 720/1080 to play CR material? i can only find that the region free hack works but need the convertion hack mostly.. I am using the HDMI port for DVR/cable box and have nice kimber cables for component i don't want to go to waste. please post hack if you know it works :)
any input or advice would be great for this newbie! :D
thanks in advance dmr
forgot to ask if the sam HD950 may be better option??
and BB has added a rebate on the 511!!

The component hack works great just look back a few pages and see my post on the list to turn off HDCP and Macrovision.

Heres a list of hacks from videohelp, if they work i dont know, the info page does we know that........
I'm at work so i cant test right now.

HDCP off/on:
PAUSE,1,2,3,6,9
on screen: "OK H" or "Default H" (Status)
(2xPAUSE to leave)

Macrovision off/on:
Pause,7,4,1,5,3,6,9
on screen: "OK M" oder "Default M" (Status)
(2xPAUSE to leave)

EDID off/on: (Extended Display Identification Data)
Pause,1,4,7,8,9
on screen: "OK E" oder "Default E" (Status)
(2xPAUSE to leave)

Region Code:
Pause,3,1,4,1,5,9
0=all

Video/HDMI Info Page:
Pause,2,4,8,6,5

Factory reset + SYSTEM INFORMATION page
go to Setup/video/TV Aspect/16:9
and press 1,3,9,7,1,3,9,ENTER

I tried the above codes and still getting 480i with HDMI cable. I did the HDCP code but still showing it as AUTH FAIL

PSL . HELP

The hacks are for component output bigticket,
Also looking at my info page i see
HDCP OFF
-HDCP Auth: fail also
So when HDCP is off of course it's going to fail.

shouldn't this player upconvert via hdmi OOTB?

jeff

shouldn't this player upconvert via hdmi OOTB?

jeff
yes it should... i dont know why its not working for bigticket. i havent heard anyone have problems upconverting through HDMI.

Does anyone see a significant improvement in PQ when upconverting with the 511? I don't.

I previously mentioned I couldn't use the 720p and 1080i with the 16:9 auto detect on my display (weird scaling issues). I've since learned a SM tweak to defeat it, so now I can. The set does show a 1080i signal being received, but I'm really starting to wonder if the 511 is just using an enhanced sharpening filter and sending a 1080i flag. My display is native 1080i, so maybe it just does a superior job of upconverting already.

I've have the family in agreement to conduct a blind test in the next couple days. The results should be interesting. I'd like to know other member's impressions of this whole "upconverting, near HD quality" issue. My experience as a graphic designer and bit of a Photoshop whiz says it cannot be done effectively. You can't make a steak out of hamburger.

yes it should... i dont know why its not working for bigticket. i havent heard anyone have problems upconverting through HDMI.

Thank you bud-man and rahzel. Right now I am using component cable and I set HDCP to OFF and everything else ON.

When I switch on the dvd it shows 1080i. But when I play copy-protected DVD its coming back to 480P. Non copy-protected are playing at 1080i.

Pls. help. thanks man.

bigticket,

You have to turn Macrovision off, which is what forces 480p on the component output for copy protected DVDs. HDCP applies to the digital (hdmi) output. Go back in this thread and find the post by Bud-man where he has both HDCP and Macrovision remote control hacks.

KrammerTC,

Thank you very much for you suggestion, it worked. However the widescreen is really wide..not in sync. any solution for that

HI ALL ,I have a sony 55 a20 with the lg 511 dvd player run through hdmi, last night we watched flightplan the PQ was awful, has anyone else had this problem. thanks

Does anyone see a significant improvement in PQ when upconverting with the 511? I don't.

I previously mentioned I couldn't use the 720p and 1080i with the 16:9 auto detect on my display (weird scaling issues). I've since learned a SM tweak to defeat it, so now I can. The set does show a 1080i signal being received, but I'm really starting to wonder if the 511 is just using an enhanced sharpening filter and sending a 1080i flag. My display is native 1080i, so maybe it just does a superior job of upconverting already.

I've have the family in agreement to conduct a blind test in the next couple days. The results should be interesting. I'd like to know other member's impressions of this whole "upconverting, near HD quality" issue. My experience as a graphic designer and bit of a Photoshop whiz says it cannot be done effectively. You can't make a steak out of hamburger.


Sure you can. It is called Chopped Steak. :)

Are you saying you cannot see the difference between different grade de-interlacer (Progressive Scan) and Scalers?

In the end this is what it is all about. Differences are generally subtle for sure.

If you saying that you can just hook any DVD player up to most displays and get a good picture? In general I will agree with that assertion. Only videophile types typically even care enough to try to improve upon what that gives you.

When upconverting players first came on the scene people would post screen shots between good progressive scan players and what the upconverted player gave them. These were pretty conclusive that better de-interlacing and scaling can eek out more detail.