Yep, mine's OnlineOrder_005001xx and I just got shipping notification as well :)

Not sure how the numbers work though - I ordered mine about 20 mins after the international upgrade program was available. Orders for the UK come via Owl, not direct. So, we should get them some time next week with a bit of luck.
:D

I picked up my VP50 yesterday from the Campbell office. I didn't have much time to check it out but did try it with my Toshiba HD-A1. I still cannot pass 5.1 channel PCM through the VP50 to my Yamaha receiver over HDMI. Same problem as the VP30, there is a continuous loud high pitched tone overlaid on the audio which is much louder than the soundtrack. I had some hope, but didn't really expect it would be different. If DVDO knew how to fix the problem they probably would have fixed it on the VP30 by now. Just thought I would report it to keep it on the radar.

I also didn't have a USB to serial adapter in the box which the web page and manual indicates should be included. I sent an Email asking for one.

Otherwise the VP50 seems fine so far. Easy swap with the VP30 since the case and connections are identical. I watched a movie from my standard DVD player and didn't have any audio problems yet, but I don't get them every time.
Try setting the HD-A1 to output bitstream-it works for me

What does everyone think about starting a new thread that would just deal with issues with setting up the VP50? It would be nice if we could have all technical question in one thread and everything else in another. Just a thought.
Yes. Personally the idea of one thread per technical query always appealed to me rather than a single product thread that's 6000 posts long within which noone can find anything.


Also got shipping confirmation this evening :D

Yes. Personally the idea of one thread per technical query always appealed to me rather than a single product thread that's 6000 posts long within which no one can find anything.
That works if there is a single-product sub-forum. There needs to be some way to keep all the information together, though. The perception of impartiality in judging which products deserve their own forum presents problems, which is probably why it isn't done, but it product forums were allowed, all the iScans would surely deserve their own.

That works if there is a single-product sub-forum. There needs to be some way to keep all the information together, though. The perception of impartiality in judging which products deserve their own forum presents problems, which is probably why it isn't done, but it product forums were allowed, all the iScans would surely deserve their own.

I agree. I think that keeping all information in a single thread makes life easier (not just for you guys, but also for me). Rather than searching the entire forum for a post, you can search the thread for a post.

Collin - that's one scary image you have attached. I have gotten the same thing out of my Sony (crap) laptop on two occasions - both times when the ATI video chip became unsoldered from the mobo. I would freak out if it came out of my Runco - I can afford a new laptop - would hate to have to find a new projector. :(

I picked up my VP50 yesterday from the Campbell office. I didn't have much time to check it out but did try it with my Toshiba HD-A1. I still cannot pass 5.1 channel PCM through the VP50 to my Yamaha receiver over HDMI. Same problem as the VP30, there is a continuous loud high pitched tone overlaid on the audio which is much louder than the soundtrack. I had some hope, but didn't really expect it would be different. If DVDO knew how to fix the problem they probably would have fixed it on the VP30 by now. Just thought I would report it to keep it on the radar.

I also didn't have a USB to serial adapter in the box which the web page and manual indicates should be included. I sent an Email asking for one.

Otherwise the VP50 seems fine so far. Easy swap with the VP30 since the case and connections are identical. I watched a movie from my standard DVD player and didn't have any audio problems yet, but I don't get them every time.

John:

Not sure the signal path you are taking...but since we have a similar set up, I thought I would share my signal route. I send the Toshiba HDMI out to the Yammy 5990 HDMI input, then out from the Yammy to the Iscan HDMI input. So the Yammy sets between the Toshiba and the Iscan. Are you running the Toshiba>Iscan>Yammy then out to the projector?

I haven't encounter any problems syncing up with the projector nor audio issues. I have the Toshiba set to Auto for HDMI audio. The PMC lights up on the Yammy...but I have noticed it doesn't show a Dolby Digital or DTS designation whichever soundtrack I choose.

Ron

Collin - that's one scary image you have attached. I have gotten the same thing out of my Sony (crap) laptop on two occasions - both times when the ATI video chip became unsoldered from the mobo. I would freak out if it came out of my Runco - I can afford a new laptop - would hate to have to find a new projector. :(

It's actually even worse when you see it in person as that pattern is swimming around in bizarre patterns and there's this half audio signal, half static pouring out of the speakers. I did think for a moment that something had fried my new VP50 particularly after removing power from the VP50 didn't solve it. Anyway if it happens to any of you don't worry; a hard reset seems to clear things up.

- Collin

Here are some photos of the VP50 vs. the VP30.

The first shot is of the VP30's and the VP50's front panels. The VP30 is on the top the VP50 on the bottom.

The next is a shot of the VP30 and VP50 with their lids off. The VP30 is the green board machine on the top and the VP50 is the blue board machine on the bottom.

The final shot is of the VP50 after the SDI card has been installed.

- Collin

Here are some close ups of the VP50

The first is the left hand portion of the VP50 board.

The second is the right hand portion of the VP50 board.

The third is a close up of the right hand portion of the VP50 board with the SDI cable installed. Note how the SDI cable needs to bend around the fan/heat sink.

- Collin

John:

Not sure the signal path you are taking...but since we have a similar set up, I thought I would share my signal route. I send the Toshiba HDMI out to the Yammy 5990 HDMI input, then out from the Yammy to the Iscan HDMI input. So the Yammy sets between the Toshiba and the Iscan. Are you running the Toshiba>Iscan>Yammy then out to the projector?

I haven't encounter any problems syncing up with the projector nor audio issues. I have the Toshiba set to Auto for HDMI audio. The PMC lights up on the Yammy...but I have noticed it doesn't show a Dolby Digital or DTS designation whichever soundtrack I choose.

Ron

I'm doing the same thing with the VP30 and it also works well. My AVR is a Pio 74Txvi.

Same here with my Denon 3806.

I picked up my VP50 yesterday from the Campbell office. I didn't have much time to check it out but did try it with my Toshiba HD-A1. I still cannot pass 5.1 channel PCM through the VP50 to my Yamaha receiver over HDMI. Same problem as the VP30, there is a continuous loud high pitched tone overlaid on the audio which is much louder than the soundtrack. I had some hope, but didn't really expect it would be different. If DVDO knew how to fix the problem they probably would have fixed it on the VP30 by now. Just thought I would report it to keep it on the radar.

Mine is a similar setup A1 -> VP50 -> VSX82 -> H79. The PCM gets to the VSX82 but is only 2 channel not 5.1, it sounds OK no noise or other problems just missing the other channels. The VSX82 knows it's getting multi channel PCM. BTW, if I hook the A1 directly to the VSX82 I get all the PCM 5.1 channels.

Just curious, is anybody experiencing any audio dropout problems using optical/coaxcial inputs similar to VP30.

Just curious, is anybody experiencing any audio dropout problems using optical/coaxcial inputs similar to VP30.

See my post from yesterday. In short, I got one within the first few hours of watching. Very disappointing. Enough is enough. This needs to get fixed. I will reiterate that I am willing to gather debugging info. I live nearby. DVDO can even come to my house if they want. I actually started asking around about a SPDIF analyzer at work, but I haven't found anybody with one yet.

- Collin

I had to set the Toshiba HD-A1 hdmi out to bitstream in order to get 5.1 out of the Toshiba and into the VP50. Auto did not work. Well it did not send out a 5.1 signal at least.

I am not sure if it is just me, but everything out of the VP50 appears sharper than it did from the VP30. With the Vp30 I often had sharpness set to 1 or 2, now with the VP50 it is at 0.

My VP50 is also having more audio dropouts than VP30 to the point where it is getting annoying. HD-DVD looks great though with true 1080i deinterlacing.

I had to set the Toshiba HD-A1 hdmi out to bitstream in order to get 5.1 out of the Toshiba and into the VP50. Auto did not work. Well it did not send out a 5.1 signal at least.

I am not sure if it is just me, but everything out of the VP50 appears sharper than it did from the VP30. With the Vp30 I often had sharpness set to 1 or 2, now with the VP50 it is at 0.
I'm finding the same sharpness adjustment is needed with my set up, I've even used -1 for a couple things I was watched last night, where before with the VP30 I usually kept it at 2 for everything.

So can anyone else confirm if the 1080p 48hz output is having issues?

It says right on their site to use your order # as the RMA number.makes sense.


I can't find this quote anywhere on DVDO's website, anyone have an URL?

Here (http://www.dvdo.com/AVS/) at the bottom of the page.

I can't find this quote anywhere on DVDO's website, anyone have an URL?
http://www.dvdo.com/AVS/

U.S. Customers: Trade-in products must be postmarked within 60 days of upgrade purchase shipment date to qualify for credit. Units arriving after that time will be returned, and no credit will be issued. Return the old iScan unit using your invoice number as the RMA to receive instant credit against your credit card as soon as we receive your old unit. When returning your old unit, please make a note as to whether it is functioning properly; not functioning; or you "do not know". (This helps us in our pre-sorting for test and future warranty repair parts.)

http://www.dvdo.com/AVS/

U.S. Customers: Trade-in products must be postmarked within 60 days of upgrade purchase shipment date to qualify for credit. Units arriving after that time will be returned, and no credit will be issued. Return the old iScan unit using your invoice number as the RMA to receive instant credit against your credit card as soon as we receive your old unit. When returning your old unit, please make a note as to whether it is functioning properly; not functioning; or you "do not know". (This helps us in our pre-sorting for test and future warranty repair parts.)



Thanks,

I wasn't looking on the AVS page.

come on guys, where are the comments ? :)

the 1080i deinterlacing is so good it is scary, I just watched the 16 blocks HD-DVD on my 2.40:1 rig and like I said before, I wouldn't have a system without the VP50, it is truely the master key

-Gary

I can tell you that the deinterlacing(480i to 720p) and overall picture looks better than my VP30 and also not one audio dropout sofar!.
The picture with 480i in appears to have better depth, be just a bit sharper and more defined.
This is doing a side by side comparison with both units setup the same way.
Sorry no pics i just do not have the time.
The real important thing for me is it works perfectly!
everything else is plus!
I can only imagine 1080i from a hd-xa1! must be a big step up!

come on guys, where are the comments ? :)

the 1080i deinterlacing is so good it is scary, I just watched the 16 blocks HD-DVD on my 2.40:1 rig and like I said before, I wouldn't have a system without the VP50, it is truely the master key

-Gary
Preliminary tests of the VP50 look great.

Using SDI 480i upscaled to either/both 1080P/60 and/or 1080P/48 to my Ruby projector look great.

Blu-Ray and HD DVD 1080i into the VP50 and 1080P out into the Ruby looks sharper than the Ruby's internal deinterlacing. It also handles 1080P/48Hz locked frame rate very well for a judder free picture, but I haven't had a chance to watch a complete movie in that mode yet.

Very very positive results so far.

Paul

come on guys, where are the comments ? :)


-Gary


Could it be that we are all having such fun with our new toys that we are speechless?

My 1080i de-interlacing looks fabulous!! :eek:

come on guys, where are the comments ? :)


Comments.....
Just start a rumour about a VP70 being in the works, if ya want to see a lot of comments...;)

The VP70 is actually just a software upgrade to the VP50, plus an HD-SDI add-on card. There, that ought to do it.

I can tell you that the deinterlacing(480i to 720p) and overall picture looks better than my VP30 and also not one audio dropout sofar!.
The picture with 480i in appears to have better depth, be just a bit sharper and more defined.
This is doing a side by side comparison with both units setup the same way.
Sorry no pics i just do not have the time.
The real important thing for me is it works perfectly!
everything else is plus!
I can only imagine 1080i from a hd-xa1! must be a big step up!

I had two audio dropouts during a movie I watched last night. I'll do some more testing with the VP50. Picture is great. SJ

U.S. Customers: Trade-in products must be postmarked within 60 days of upgrade purchase shipment date to qualify for credit. Units arriving after that time will be returned, and no credit will be issued. Return the old iScan unit using your invoice number as the RMA to receive instant credit against your credit card as soon as we receive your old unit. When returning your old unit, please make a note as to whether it is functioning properly; not functioning; or you "do not know". (This helps us in our pre-sorting for test and future warranty repair parts.)

That's strange, I just called them and asked if I just use the invoice number as the RMA number . They told me no that I needed an RMA number and gave me one.

Can someone from DVDO straigthen out this confusion?

For those still having audio dropouts, would you please list your source and surround processor that you are having the problem with. I am considering a VP50 but would like to know whether I am likely to have the same problems or not.

My two High Def sources are Toshiba HD-XA1 and Directv HR10-250. If you are having problems with either of these please respond.

Do these drop outs only occur when using audio via HDMI or via toslink/coax too?

Try setting the HD-A1 to output bitstream-it works for me
Yes it works but then you aren't getting the full advantage of Dolby Digital Plus and True HD. The audio will be re-encoded to standard DTS, then decoded again by the receiver. It works but not the most desirable path.

There are other workarounds that were discussed in the VP30 thread.

You can connect the A1 directly to the receiver, then to the VPx0, then to the display. But my receiver only has two HDMI inputs and I have 3 HDMI sources, so I can't connect all the sources this way. If if your receiver has enough inputs, you also lose the advantage of individual input settings on the VPx0 since everything is funneled into a single HDMI input.

Another option is connecting the analog outs from the A1 directly to the receiver. This avoids re-encoding the audio to DTS, but might have lip sync issues.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, but none of these is how it should work. The VP50 should be able to pass 5.1 channel PCM from my sources to my receiver. I bought a HDMI receiver so I could get 5.1 channel PCM from the A1. The number of people with HDMI sources and receivers support 5.1 channel PCM is growing. This needs to be fixed.

Mine is a similar setup A1 -> VP50 -> VSX82 -> H79. The PCM gets to the VSX82 but is only 2 channel not 5.1, it sounds OK no noise or other problems just missing the other channels. The VSX82 knows it's getting multi channel PCM. BTW, if I hook the A1 directly to the VSX82 I get all the PCM 5.1 channels.
Interesting. My Yamaha indicates it is receiving all 5.1 channels of PCM, but I haven't actually checked to see if sound is coming out of all 5 speakers. I will check it out.

Got mine today. And like others here, there is no THX logo on it and no USB adapter.
Oh well, now it's time for the hookup and also the return of the VP30.

Got mine today. And like others here, there is no THX logo on it and no USB adapter.
Oh well, now it's time for the hookup and also the return of the VP30.

How about the rack mount kit? That was missing from my package as well.

- Collin

it doesn't come with rackmount:

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_acc_bkt.php

nor serial adapter unless I missed something big:

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_acc_usbadt.php

-Gary

it doesn't come with rackmount:

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_acc_bkt.php

nor serial adapter unless I missed something big:

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_acc_usbadt.php




Yep, you missed something. On both counts.

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_isvp50_spec.php



"Software Upgradeable via Serial Port (USB-to-Serial Adapter included)"


"Physical Dimensions

* 10.4”x17”x2.2” (26.3cmx43.4cmx5.5cm) with feet
* 10.4”x17”x1.8” (26.3cmx43.4cmx4.6cm) without feet
* Standard 19” 1U 1.75” Rackmount included"

Yep, you missed something.

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_isvp50_spec.php



"Software Upgradeable via Serial Port (USB-to-Serial Adapter included)"

The PDF data sheet says the same thing.

And on the same page "Standard 19” 1U 1.75” Rackmount included". Not to mention the rackmount kit is listed in the packing list that came with my VP50. The USB adapter is not listed in the packing list.

- Collin

guys, invoice issues are exciting (well, ok, no - they're not). Lets try to focus on the product.

So, what do you think? There's a lot of people with VP50s now, how does it stand up in real world conditions?

I'm very happy with what the unit does on SD, I think it is even slightly better than the VP30 in that respect (although, I didn't really do an A-B test, so it could be my memory playing tricks on me) and it does very very well on HD. I'd say this is one killer product.

That's not to say I think DVDO are done - there's a lot of stuff that can be improved (& I've written to them about it)- calibration, PC Programmable gamma tables (LUT), adjustable corner overscans, better scaling, mosquito/BAR noise elimination, etc.

What do you guys think?

that is surprising, I have never got either of those items with previous DVDO scalers and didn't expect them ;)

-Gary

guys, invoice issues are exciting (well, ok, no - they're not). Lets try to focus on the product.

So, what do you think? There's a lot of people with VP50s now, how does it stand up in real world conditions?

I'm very happy with what the unit does on SD, I think it is even slightly better than the VP30 in that respect (although, I didn't really do an A-B test, so it could be my memory playing tricks on me) and it does very very well on HD. I'd say this is one killer product.

That's not to say I think DVDO are done - there's a lot of stuff that can be improved (& I've written to them about it)- calibration, PC Programmable gamma tables (LUT), adjustable corner overscans, better scaling, mosquito/BAR noise elimination, etc.

What do you guys think?

I love it. It's very much like the VP30 + ABT102, but with 1080i deinterlacing that is jaw dropping. Very detailed. I didn't think I had that much more detail to eek out of my 720p set, but the VP50 has proven me wrong. It's making me think very seriously about upgrading to a 1080p set. SD deinterlacing is very close to the VP30 with seemingly better tolerance for difficult source material.

The minuses are that the audio dropout problem is still present and that the discrete codes from the VP30 no longer work (though I'm sure that is just a documentation issue that will be remedied soon).

- Collin

I agree. 1080i deinterlacing even on 720p display is good. I myself am not in a hurry to get a 1080p display.

Quote:Another option is connecting the analog outs from the A1 directly to the receiver. This avoids re-encoding the audio to DTS, but might have lip sync issues.

Just want to say that if you use a oppo 970 it has lip sync control so you can bypass the vp50 if you are having audio dropouts.
This is of course if you want to just run 480i in thru hdmi.

you guys are correct, the VP50 does include the serial adapter and rackmount, my bad ;)

luckily my pre-amp has a lip sync delay for my Toshiba/BR analog outputs, so I am in heaven

grill the maker of your amp to add delay for the analog ins, it is a must nowdays with the new formats and all the scaling processing that is out there

I knew the VP50 would be a great help in better pix to those with 720p displays, I told many people that and that is great news indeed

-Gary

How can a devil be in heaven? :)

Does anyone have the discrete codes for the VP50 that will work with the Home Theater Master MX700? I have downloaded the .ccf file for the VP30, but that does not work with the MX700, or at least I do not know how to change that file into something that can be imported into the MX700.
Thanks,
Steve

I have downloaded the .ccf file for the VP30, but that does not work with the MX700, or at least I do not know how to change that file into something that can be imported into the MX700.
Thanks,



In the MX700 Editor program, start up the "Universal Browser" menu/program. It is the icon just to the left of the live update satellite icon. Running the universal browser will let you convert some other file types to work with the MX700.




Also, if you have not run the live update for awhile. URC now has added a not so pleasant surprise for you when you do. Because they disabled the live update function now, thinking that it will stop unauthorized sales of their remotes. It may do a live update the first time you try it, but all that will do is D/L the version with it disabled, and when you try again you will get a warning message telling you it's been disabled. Which is really kind of dumb on the older remotes like the MX700, seeing as how not many places are even selling them new anymore.

Does anyone have the discrete codes for the VP50 that will work with the Home Theater Master MX700? I have downloaded the .ccf file for the VP30, but that does not work with the MX700, or at least I do not know how to change that file into something that can be imported into the MX700.
Thanks,
Steve

Actually the discrete codes for the VP30 do not work on the VP50. Presumably we will be getting some new codes soon. Josh?

- Collin

Mark since when did I become a Devil? ;) :D

-Gary

Just want to say that if you use a oppo 970 it has lip sync control so you can bypass the vp50 if you are having audio dropouts.
This is of course if you want to just run 480i in thru hdmi.

Another Oregonian with a VP50/Oppo970 combo! :cool:

Running mine into a 720p DLP.
DL for SD is even better than the VP30/ABT102 box IMO.
DL for Comcast HDTV never looked better.
Have watched for a few hours, but it seems as though video noise is less...
But I need to spend more time with it.

Great Job DVDO!! :)

Great to read Oink! Looks like this unit is a winner! ;)

@Josh, is there a technical explanation why reports seem to indicate improved PQ compared to VP30 with SD? How much progress has been made in the algorithms compared to VP30? Did Dale just make some bugfixes or are there improvements other than bugfixes? Thanks!

Actually the discrete codes for the VP30 do not work on the VP50. Presumably we will be getting some new codes soon. Josh?

- Collin

Well, there's hope then. I could never get discretes to work well on the VP30 and just figured they didn't work on the VP50.

Anyone got there's hooked up to a XBOX360? I'm running 720p out of the 360, but wonder if I should use 1080i and one of the game modes? I have a 720p display. SJ

Well, there's hope then. I could never get discretes to work well on the VP30 and just figured they didn't work on the VP50.

Anyone got there's hooked up to a XBOX360? I'm running 720p out of the 360, but wonder if I should use 1080i and one of the game modes? I have a 720p display. SJ

discreete codes worked for me on the first day on the VP30.... then didn't work at all ....... it was great to change display profiles and AR ..... let's hope they work on the VP50!!

Does anyone have the discrete codes for the VP50 that will work with the Home Theater Master MX700? I have downloaded the .ccf file for the VP30, but that does not work with the MX700, or at least I do not know how to change that file into something that can be imported into the MX700.
Thanks,
Steve

haven't got my vp50 in the mail yet but i'd love to set up my prontoprong remote.
can you point me to the location you downloaded the CCF file?
thanks

@Josh, is there a technical explanation why reports seem to indicate improved PQ compared to VP30 with SD?

I had read several times that the SD quality was supposed to be slightly improved over the VP-30 + ABT102 Combo...

This was an important factor in me ordering the VP-50... Most of my viewing is SD over a SA8300HD here in NY's Cablevision Land.

I had talked to DVDO about it, and they say that further improvements in SD are in the works via firmware upgrades! Needless to say... I'm anxiously awaiting the my units arrival!

And what's more... All this talk of the great 1080i de-interlacing has got me so jazzed I think I'm going to pick up the new HD-A2 when it gets released next Week... I just hope HD-DVD wins :D

Royd

Another Oregonian with a VP50/Oppo970 combo! :cool:

Running mine into a 720p DLP.
DL for SD is even better than the VP30/ABT102 box IMO.
DL for Comcast HDTV never looked better.
Have watched for a few hours, but it seems as though video noise is less...
But I need to spend more time with it.

Great Job DVDO!! :)
I agree 100% Oink! running my 970/VP50 into a Optoma HD72 DLP.
Love your taste in equipment!

Anyone got there's hooked up to a XBOX360? I'm running 720p out of the 360, but wonder if I should use 1080i and one of the game modes? I have a 720p display. SJ
No, for almost every game, you should leave the XBox at 720p. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8481052&&#post8481052

Hope someone who has the new unit can help please.I have one of the new Pioneer 1920x1080p plasma monitors and the picture qaulity in sd and hd is very good indeed,but if the vp50 would improve even this espesialy in SD I would happly buy one.Hope you can help
Many thanks

Hi,

Could someone remind me the best way to remove the SDI BNC connector from the back of my VP30 so I can put it in my newly-arrived VP50?

Thought I had the instructions from last time but I can't find them. Got the SDI card and cable off the board, that's easy. It's the BNV connector on the back of the unit that has me flummoxed.

Thanks!

- Gerry

the connector has a nut around back that unscrews, the connector stays in place because it is shaped to fit the opening so it doesn't move, just unscrew the nut ;)

-Gary

The easiest way to remove the BNC bulkhead connector is by removing the nut with a deep socket, IIRC it is a 16mm

Gary and Josh!

Thanks! That did it.

All the best. Now it's play time . . . :)

- Gerry

The easiest way to remove the BNC bulkhead connector is by removing the nut with a deep socket, IIRC it is a 16mm
Yes, 16mm is the right one. Problem is putting it into the VP50, the fan assembly is in the way depending on how deep a socket is used, but a ratchet makes it too long. I used the socket itself and tightened it by hand and got it plenty secure. A very thin ratchet or breaker bar might work as well.

Yes, 16mm is the right one. Problem is putting it into the VP50, the fan assembly is in the way depending on how deep a socket is used, but a ratchet makes it too long. I used the socket itself and tightened it by hand and got it plenty secure. A very thin ratchet or breaker bar might work as well.
I had no problem removing the nut from the bulkhead connector using a standard pair of pliers locked into the wide open position. Moving SDI from the VP30 to the VP50 was very easy. The fan assembly did not get in the way for me.

I had no problem removing the nut from the bulkhead connector using a standard pair of pliers locked into the wide open position. Moving SDI from the VP30 to the VP50 was very easy. The fan assembly did not get in the way for me.
It's not that big of a deal. I don't like to use the pliers method as the potential for the pliers to slip off the nut and bang into something concerned me. That's why I went with the socket method instead.

With a 16mm socket, you can get more than enough torque by hand to tighten the nut securely.

Gary,

I've been checking around, and I see that the Toshiba HD-A2 is coming out next Week(Oct), and it's going to have the same features as the A1 but in a slimmer, lighter case...

While the HD-XA2 is coming out in December, and is going to output 1080p!!!

http://www.dvdtown.com/announcement/toshibaannounces2ndgenerationh/3991

SO.... Being that the only change for the none X model is a cheaper case, it seems like buying the old model at a really cheap price is the way to go...

I quote you in saying that since we have the VP-50, giving it 1080i, and letting it de-Interlace, and up convert will give you the best 1080p Available.

So do you think I should just go ahead a get a A1 for a good deal?

Thanks

Royd

Royd get the A1/D1 no question, my D1 unit after I loaded the 2.0FW and turned off the remuxed DTS output coaxial/optical, has played 15+ HD-DVD's since, without one hiccup

1080i is all you need from the Toshiba's and the A1/D1 has full high quality 6ch analog output

the new Toshibas will not be doing true 1080p from the disc, they will be doing 1080i internally deinterlaced to 1080p, take a guess which would be better?, the Toshiba 1080p or VP50 1080p, I am sure you will only need one guess ;)

the only thing improved on the new ones will be load time, which is a moot point to me

-Gary

Royd get the A1/D1 no question, my D1 unit after I loaded the 2.0FW and turned off the remuxed DTS output coaxial/optical, has played 15+ HD-DVD's since, without one hiccup

1080i is all you need from the Toshiba's and the A1/D1 has full high quality 6ch analog output

the new Toshibas will not be doing true 1080p from the disc, they will be doing 1080i internally deinterlaced to 1080p, take a guess which would be better?, the Toshiba 1080p or VP50 1080p, I am sure you will only need one guess ;)

the only thing improved on the new ones will be load time, which is a moot point to me

-Gary

Gary,

Thanks... You mean HD-A1, Right?

Anyway... I'm going to the store right now to get one for a great deal!!!

Thanks,

Royd

Gary,

I've been checking around, and I see that the Toshiba HD-A2 is coming out next Week(Oct), and it's going to have the same features as the A1 but in a slimmer, lighter case...

While the HD-XA2 is coming out in December, and is going to output 1080p!!!

http://www.dvdtown.com/announcement/toshibaannounces2ndgenerationh/3991

SO.... Being that the only change for the none X model is a cheaper case, it seems like buying the old model at a really cheap price is the way to go...

I quote you in saying that since we have the VP-50, giving it 1080i, and letting it de-Interlace, and up convert will give you the best 1080p Available.

So do you think I should just go ahead a get a A1 for a good deal?

Thanks

Royd

Relative to the A1, the A2 has a different case, faster disc read times, and removes that analog 5.1 outputs.

- Collin

Yes A1 or D1, the D1 is the all black version from Wal-Mart which I love very much ;)

-Gary

Figures.. when I ordered the VP30 I was on teh list for some time. So the 50 comes right out because I didn't order. :)

Darian. You can borrow mine. It will be here on Tuesday but because I am awaiting a few modified boards for my CRT FP and because of travel plans for the 13th through the 16th, I won't need it for awhile. Give me a call. 240 876 2536. You can use it at Willy's meet if you like.

glad to see that someone knows a point is moot and not MUTE!

Well I've had my VP50 for a few days and have had some time to compare it to an Algolith Dragonfly (Realta HQV) and Iscan HD+. Here are some comments:


Amazingly bug free operation. Even more amazing considering it's the first production FW. Nice feature set and everything seems to work great out of the box. I like the fact that the remote and most of the UI is similar to previous DVDO products so it makes setup and operation a breeze. It took all of about 15 seconds to get an image on my HD2K.

Stretch, Overscan, Borders, Anamorphic, user settings, etc. everything works great. I've yet to find a setting or option that doesn't work properly.

Despite what others have said, the fan on my unit isn't silent. It is very quiet, but it is noticeable - but not at my seating position which is all I care about. It's a non-issue.

I love the fact that it transcodes HDMI to SPDIF. All I have to to is run HDMI from my sources to the VP50 and then SPDIF to my pre/pro.

SD and HD DI seems to be very close to the HQV (and much better than the Iscan HD+). With one exception - I watched a lot of 480i video today (college football) and I saw a surprising amount of jaggies, not constant but a bit here and a bit there, it is seemed to be more prevelant when overlays were present (scores, stats, etc). I changed the DI setting from auto to video and the DI seemed flawless after that.

I played the HD-Net Resolution test pattern on my SA8300HD and it resolves it just as well as the DF - with one problem noted below.

The image was gloriously dark and punchy. I've been using the Dragonfly for awhile and it has a bug that creates elevated blacks and a slightly washed out appearance. I don't know if it's a threshold problem or a gamma issue. But whatever it is, watching darks scenes on the DVDO looked great and it still had good shadow detail.

Gotta love the fact that it has a video/PC level setting on both the input AND output.


I did notice two occasional glitches though:


While watching the HD-Net resolution test pattern the image had a weird vertical bounce that caused the whole frame to bounce up and down. I saw this with video but it was much easier to see with a test pattern. After awhile the problem went away. Very strange. I'd like to hear if others have seen this too.

Audio dropouts. As others have mentioned, it does occasionally suffer from audio dropouts. The first time was while watching an HD-DVD and the other time while watching my cable DVR. I played it back and it wasn't in the source. The net effect is a complete audio mute of a little less than a second. It doesn't happen often enough to really bug me yet though.


All in all, this product is a keeper. Great job DVDO!

all good points Mark, the DI modes for us 100% picky types are best set to what you are watching, I watch 99% film in my setup so my modes are set and forget to Film mode, perfection is one word ;) I have never used Auto modes on anything, all IMHO of course

with my NEC 1352, I have the gamma output set to 1.10 for R/G/B and I have perfect blacks and shadow detail, the VPXX are a smidge darker than other stuff, not that there is anything wrong with that, all equipment is different

could the test pattern thing be what 1080i deinterlacing mode you had it set to ?

Ed my brother taught me that one, I was of the "mute" camp before :D

-Gary

could the test pattern thing be what 1080i deinterlacing mode you had it set to ?
-Gary

Hi Gary,

It wasn't a jaggie problem, the whole picture jumped up and down intermittantly by about 20+ pixels or so. It really made the resolution lines on the test pattern go nuts - basically looking somewhat like line twitter with the exception that with a static test pattern the whole image was moving. I'm guessing it was a weird internal clocking problem. Maybe temperature dependent? My HD2K only accepts 50 and 60hz so I checked the output and it was locked at 60hz so I don't think it was a timing issue between the HD2K and VP50. This is definitely an issue I'll keep an eye out for though.

Mark,

Interesting on the 1080i thing. I've watched a couple hours of 1080i material and have not noticed anything like you describe but I have no test patterns to check. I'll keep an eye out.

I just just about to think about upgrading from my iScan HD, is the $400 AVS group purchase discount on the VP50 still available? If so I can probably swing buying one w/ the $750 upgrade from the HD. The VP50 looks super impressive on paper!

Hey, Ryan this is Derek, small world :)

I just got my VP50 in if you would like to see it.

alwynwilliams,

I tested it on a PDP5000EX (essentially a European Pioneer FHD1), looked awsome - much better than the built-in processor.

Mark,

Very odd, I haven't seen anything like what you're describing. Sounds like a definite bug, could be output rate, input rate, or parameter related (i.e., a set of parameters that causes this).

alwynwilliams,

I tested it on a PDP5000EX (essentially a European Pioneer FHD1), looked awsome - much better than the built-in processor.

Mark,

Very odd, I haven't seen anything like what you're describing. Sounds like a definite bug, could be output rate, input rate, or parameter related (i.e., a set of parameters that causes this).
When you say the 5000ex "looked awsome-much better than built in one" were you refering to sd as well as hd ?
Thank you for your reply
alwyn

alwyn - I'm not going to say I told you so but ... ;)

speters - is your problem correctable using underscan on the source? Or does that then underscan the top? Does the in-built vp geometry test pattern look ok on the framegrid thing?

Hi Gary,

It wasn't a jaggie problem, the whole picture jumped up and down intermittantly by about 20+ pixels or so. It really made the resolution lines on the test pattern go nuts - basically looking somewhat like line twitter with the exception that with a static test pattern the whole image was moving. I'm guessing it was a weird internal clocking problem. Maybe temperature dependent? My HD2K only accepts 50 and 60hz so I checked the output and it was locked at 60hz so I don't think it was a timing issue between the HD2K and VP50. This is definitely an issue I'll keep an eye out for though.

Hi Mark,

Don't forget that in the iScan world locked means locked to the input signal, any variation in the input freq will be mirrored on the output. Set to 59.995 (or what ever that magic real 60hz number is ;) ) to actual lock the ouput to constant.

alwyn - I'm not going to say I told you so but ... ;)

speters - is your problem correctable using underscan on the source? Or does that then underscan the top? Does the in-built vp geometry test pattern look ok on the framegrid thing?
Your remark "im not going to say I told you so" What are you refering to i have no idea !
alwyn

Just pulling your leg...

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3518739&postcount=23

or maybe that's not you? :unsure:

We were watching "Die Another Day" last night. Had a couple of audio dropouts. Anyway, when James Bond goes to Cuba the words "Havana" show up on the bottom of the screen. The word was VERY jaggie. Not sure if this is the VP50 or not. I'm using the AUTO setting on deinterlacing. SJ

Of course its the VP50. You are seeing the VP50 deinterlace film and a video overlay, the word Havana. What, I think you are seeeing, is the VP50 deinterlacing in film mode instead of video the word Havana. Put it in film mode and I believe you will see the same thing. Put it in video mode and the word Havana will be fine but the rest, ech. Try it and please report back.

I've never seen anything like that with overlays in film movies :confused: my unit it set to film mode as I mentioned before

-Gary

haven't got my vp50 in the mail yet but i'd love to set up my prontoprong remote.
can you point me to the location you downloaded the CCF file?
thanks


I am still using the same CCF discretes on the VP50 as I did on the VP30, and they seem to work fine. I use them on two different Pronto remotes, as well as, my Stargate home controller. I haven't noted any differences between the two units.

Tim are you using the "real" discretes like direct aspect ratio selection etc., all the ones Josh posted or those that come from Barry's great program

they are working ok ?

just wondering ?

-Gary

Quote;I love the fact that it transcodes HDMI to SPDIF. All I have to to is run HDMI from my sources to the VP50 and then SPDIF to my pre/pro.

Mark:are you saying that the vp50 will transcode the audio signal from hdmi in from a Toshiba HD-a1 and put the audio out over toslink or coax?
Dolby tru also?

Quote:When I put the ABT evaluation dvd and pull up the geometry test pattern, the very bottom of the image is cropped and I can not see the point of the bottom arrow. It looks like the image is cropped right after the double lines, inside the two boxes, of the bottom of the image

Speters:
I had the same problem at first on my optoma dlp until i pushed Native on the projector.The projector was still trying to scale the image until i did this.
Make sure your mits is not trying to rescale the image already scaled by the VP50.

Quote;I love the fact that it transcodes HDMI to SPDIF. All I have to to is run HDMI from my sources to the VP50 and then SPDIF to my pre/pro.

Mark:are you saying that the vp50 will transcode the audio signal from hdmi in from a Toshiba HD-a1 and put the audio out over toslink or coax?
as long as it's PCM stereo, dolby digital or DTS, i.e. stuff that is compatible with TOSlink/coax.

I am still using the same CCF discretes on the VP50 as I did on the VP30, and they seem to work fine. I use them on two different Pronto remotes, as well as, my Stargate home controller. I haven't noted any differences between the two units.

tim,

is there a location to download the CCF file, or do i have to 'learn' them from the remote and create my own?

Tim are you using the "real" discretes like direct aspect ratio selection etc., all the ones Josh posted or those that come from Barry's great program

they are working ok ?

just wondering ?

-Gary

gary,
can you point me to 'Josh's posting' or 'Barry's great program'?
i'm starting from scratch with my vp50, not upgrading from a vp30.
thanks

http://www.the-gordons.net/homepage/DownLoad.html for Barry's utility

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/files/rcfiles.cgi?area=pronto&db=devices&br=dvdo&dv=videoprocessor&md=iscanvp30&kw=DVDO&st=&ar=on&dt=&so=&pg=1&file=ccf_templates/scaler/dvdo-scale-iscanvp30.zip

for a CCF

Has anyone tried a multi-channel HDMI output from the Oppo 970 with the VP50 in the chain somewhere? Here's the setup we tried:

Oppo -> Lexicon MC-12HD -> VP50 -> Panny 42PWD8UK

When playing back SACD or DVD-A, if either the VP50 or Panny were powered on, then the Oppo would only play back 2 channels over HDMI. As soon as we placed the VP50 into standby, the Oppo would switch to multichannel (which was very impressive to watch as all we really had to do was put the VP50 into standby, and the Oppo would switch automatically midstream). As there are so many different components involved here, I wasn't quite sure where to post this.

And yes, the VP50 is downstream of the MC-12. We also subbed a VP20, and had the same behavior. We also physically disconnected the TV, and had the same behavior. We also routed directly from the MC-12 to the TV, and had the same behavior. To disable the TV's influence though, we actually had to turn it off instead of putting in standby.

--Andre

edit: all connections were done with HDMI, except for the TV where we tried both DVI and HDMI blades with the same results.

I just just about to think about upgrading from my iScan HD, is the $400 AVS group purchase discount on the VP50 still available?

The discount for pre-ordering expired 9-18-06. :(

Details here (http://www.dvdo.com/AVS).

Mike

Guys. Thanks for all my questions previously answered....

.....one more..

How do I determine how to run the optimum vert. refresh rate on my Dila? I unlocked the frame rate and did the "75.1" but all I got was a blue line in the center of the screen. Seems the image "works" at anywhere between 58.xx to 61.xx So, how do I determine whats the best integer rate for optimum refresh??

Tim are you using the "real" discretes like direct aspect ratio selection etc., all the ones Josh posted or those that come from Barry's great program

they are working ok ?

just wondering ?

-Gary

I take it that discretes mean different things to different folks. I have not implemented the aspect ratio, nor numerical setting codes in my home controller code yet. (Please keep in mind that I have over 5000 lines of home control code to maintain.) I have been trying, unsuccessful at this writing, to shift over to RS232 control instead, so I haven't gone nuts, using them via home control. I do however use the ON, OFF, input selection, etc. via. Stargate (home control) and I use the majority of the others on Pronto and have not noted any failings. I haven't gotten around to the VP30IRgen stuff yet, but I do utilize the codes in the CCF on the DVDO support page.

Cryptic, but I hope that answers your questions.



tim,

is there a location to download the CCF file, or do i have to 'learn' them from the remote and create my own?

Right Here:
http://www.dvdo.com/faq/faq_setup.php

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/files/rcfiles.cgi?area=pronto&db=devices&br=dvdo&dv=videoprocessor&md=iscanvp30&kw=DVDO&st=&ar=on&dt=&so=&pg=1&file=ccf_templates/scaler/dvdo-scale-iscanvp30.zip

for a CCF


thanks choddo!

Right Here:
http://www.dvdo.com/faq/faq_setup.php

thanks tim

Has anyone answered the question definitively whether or not the RMA# is the new invoice number? This is from the DVDO site:

DVDO AVSForum Trade-in Program
Attn: RMA#______ (use invoice number)
300 Orchard City Drive #131
Campbell, CA 95008

Quote;I love the fact that it transcodes HDMI to SPDIF. All I have to to is run HDMI from my sources to the VP50 and then SPDIF to my pre/pro.

Mark:are you saying that the vp50 will transcode the audio signal from hdmi in from a Toshiba HD-a1 and put the audio out over toslink or coax?
Dolby tru also?

Yup, choddo2006 hit it on the head. As long as the audio is compatible with Toslink/SPDIF the VP50 will extract it from HDMI and then route it to SPDIF. Very nice!

Has anyone answered the question definitively whether or not the RMA# is the new invoice number? This is from the DVDO site:

DVDO AVSForum Trade-in Program
Attn: RMA#______ (use invoice number)
300 Orchard City Drive #131
Campbell, CA 95008

I started out thinking this was the case, but Aaron at DVDO sent me another number.

Has anyone answered the question definitively whether or not the RMA# is the new invoice number? This is from the DVDO site:

DVDO AVSForum Trade-in Program
Attn: RMA#______ (use invoice number)
300 Orchard City Drive #131
Campbell, CA 95008

That's what I used when I sent my VP30 back..... SJ

I ran into a new audio bug last night. This time the audio dropped out and was replaced by a low level popping sound. I tried turning the VP50 on/off but the problem was still there! I had to physically unplug the unit and plug it back in to restore normal audio. Weird. Note this is while using the HDMI in to SPDIF out configuration for audio so that may be why it hasn't been reported yet.

Hi Mark,

Don't forget that in the iScan world locked means locked to the input signal, any variation in the input freq will be mirrored on the output. Set to 59.995 (or what ever that magic real 60hz number is ;) ) to actual lock the ouput to constant.

Hi Ailean,

Thanks for reminding me. It's been awhile since I've used a DVDO. I'll fix the output to ~60. It does seem as though the HD2K seems to accept a little variance so keeping it input locked hasn't caused a problem -YET. You know how that goes though if I leave it in the input locked setting - after a few weeks it will surely create a problem and by then I'll have forgotten that I had it set it this way and it will take hours of debugging to get it right again lol.

Mark the majority of audio issues you will find are HDMI to spdif related

I do not hold DVDO 100% to blame for this, HDMI is flaky as **** and with all the gear involved in this process it is no wonder stuff happens when switching between sources :mad:

I think everything would be problem free if DVDO could keep all the HDMI ports active and talking to the gear, that way switching won't require a handshake everytime, which is very very annoying

HDMI=bollocks
the only good part is the image quality ;)

-Gary

Noticed an very obvious indication of excellent DL of HD: NFL football!

Today's NFL football via Comcast 1080i scaled to 720p does NOT show the grass of the field fidgeting around, instead it looks rock solid on my display. :cool:

VERY nice DVDO!

After spending more time with the VP50 I am now certain that the image out of the box of the VP50 is superior to the VP30/ABT102. :)

Mark the majority of audio issues you will find are HDMI to spdif related -Gary
Gary,

I used the VP30 with an Oppo 970 for weeks with HDMI and for other weeks with Component+SPDIF. I unplugged all other sources. Same audio dropouts. I don't see HDMI coming in in this case.

Mark the majority of audio issues you will find are HDMI to spdif related


Doh! :eek: I just rewired my rack and removed all the source SPDIF cables :eek: :eek: I'll run it in this configuration awhile longer but if it proves to be a problem I guess I'll have to dig up my cables again.

Fwiw though I've been pretty impressed with the HDMI operation of the VP50. When using a competitors scaler I had to use the component interface with some sources because of severe HDMI problems but the VP50 seems to work well with pretty much everything I plug into it.

HDMI video only from my Oppo to the VP50 = zero video problems.

Toslink/optical out from my Oppo directly to a receiver = zero audio problems.

No dropouts, No lip-sync.

I ran into a new audio bug last night. This time the audio dropped out and was replaced by a low level popping sound. I tried turning the VP50 on/off but the problem was still there! I had to physically unplug the unit and plug it back in to restore normal audio. Weird. Note this is while using the HDMI in to SPDIF out configuration for audio so that may be why it hasn't been reported yet.

I also experienced the exact same problem today. On/Off switch on the VP50 did not correct the problem however unplugging the power and rebooting restored the audio. This total audio lockout was with HDMI audio only. While trying to figure out the problem I connected SPDIF output from the source device and restored missing audio. So the VP50 was still able to process digital optical audio while totally shutting down on HDMI.

BTW, That new VP50 power adapter seems extremely hot !

Gary

I also experienced the exact same problem today. On/Off switch on the VP50 did not correct the problem however unplugging the power and rebooting restored the audio. This total audio lockout was with HDMI audio only. While trying to figure out the problem I connected SPDIF output from the source device and restored missing audio. So the VP50 was still able to process digital optical audio while totally shutting down on HDMI.

BTW, That new VP50 power adapter seems extremely hot !

Gary

Gary, thanks for confirming this problem and determing that the other audio interfaces work even while the HDMI audio is locked. I also tried resetting my sources and my pre/pro but the only thing that did the trick was unplugging the VP50. In my mind this is far worse than a rare audio dropout.

I sent DVDO a seperate email for the RMA and it wasn't even close to my order number. At least thats how it is for the "international folks".

Gary,

I used the VP30 with an Oppo 970 for weeks with HDMI and for other weeks with Component+SPDIF. I unplugged all other sources. Same audio dropouts. I don't see HDMI coming in in this case.

I agree. I don't use HDMI audio at all. Everything is SPDIF with continuing audio drop-outs... SJ

I also experienced the exact same problem today. On/Off switch on the VP50 did not correct the problem however unplugging the power and rebooting restored the audio. This total audio lockout was with HDMI audio only. While trying to figure out the problem I connected SPDIF output from the source device and restored missing audio. So the VP50 was still able to process digital optical audio while totally shutting down on HDMI.

BTW, That new VP50 power adapter seems extremely hot !

Gary

I've had to unplug my unit 3 times already because of this problem. All 3 events occurred while I was navigating around on my HD-Tivo (which is connected via HDMI). The interesting part is that the sound worked fine for the Tivo menus but whenever I tried to watch Live TV all I heard was the abnormal sound. I also had this problem with the VP30.

I've had to unplug my unit 3 times already because of this problem. All 3 events occurred while I was navigating around on my HD-Tivo (which is connected via HDMI). The interesting part is that the sound worked fine for the Tivo menus but whenever I tried to watch Live TV all I heard was the abnormal sound. I also had this problem with the VP30.

This is why I've previously requested a front panel button sequence to force a reboot. Reality is that occasionally you need to force a reboot and snaking your hand deep into an A/V cabinet to pull power is a pain in the butt.

On the other hand I've never had issues of this nature with my VP30 or VP50 connected to my HD DirectTivo via HDMI.

- Collin

I am giving serious consideration to purchasing the new Sharp 52D62U 1080P LCD HDTV (which accepts 1080P in). The one problem I see with that unit is its video processor, which in past models has been of relatively low quality and from what I have read the new models will not be much different.

As a result, I have been seriously considering purchasing the new DVDO VP50 at the same time. Fortunately, the dealer I usually use in this area sells both Sharp and DVDO so I should be able to make a comparison with and without the DVDO.

The question I have when I make the comparison in at the dealers what exactly should I be looking for? Will the differences be very obvious or subtle. I have no problem spending the addition money ... but I want REAL noticeable results for that extra $3000!!!

The input devices I will be using ...

1. Bell ExpressVu Ecostar 9200 Receiver/PVR with component out only (no DVI out) used for viewing and recording HDTV ONLY (I have no interest in viewing SDTV broadcast now or in the future).
2. Star Choice Motorola DVR930 Receiver/PVR with DVI out used for viewing and recording HDTV ONLY.
3. Shaw Cable Motorola DCT6208 Receiver/PVR with DVI out used for viewing and recording HDTV ONLY.
4. Naim DVD5 DVD Player with DVI out.

A recent review of the VP30 by Audio Video Revolution said that the one draw back of that unit was that it used "field scaling" to handle 1080i signals instead of 2:3 reverse pulldown, but that the new VP50 would and that the difference would be noticeable on 1080P displays. True???

Also, the article mentioned that the VP50 will have gray scale controls lacking on the VP30 which could improve the overall color accuracy. True???

Thanks!

A recent review of the VP30 by Audio Video Revolution said that the one draw back of that unit was that it used "field scaling" to handle 1080i signals instead of 2:3 reverse pulldown, but that the new VP50 would and that the difference would be noticeable on 1080P displays. True???

Yes, that's they main reason vp30 owners in here are upgrading. The difference will be noticeable on all HD displays though (as some in here have already confirmed)

The vp50 has separate gamma controls for red, green and blue. I don't think it can do a curve adjustment like I believe the Lumagens can, but it's a linear scale for each one and a step up from the vp30 which only had a single gamma control.

As for what difference you should expect to see, look out for jaggies on diagonals, combing, sharpness of the image, clarity and smoothness of any scrolling titles or tickers. Look at fast moving sports stuff to see if there's any double images of the ball etc. I find there's also a decent difference in the contrast on my screen, the colours look more vibrant and the blacks deeper with the vp30. I'm sure people will have other things to watch for. Since there's no noise reduction (and none confirmed as a future... yet?) you shouldn't expect to see any major reduction in macroblocking if there's any in the source, but you might find less colour banding depending on the width of the Sharp's processing pipeline.

The Sharp will need to be in 1:1 mode for you to get a proper scaling job done by the vp50. Check the test patterns to make sure the horizontal & vertical line patterns don't have any banding or moire and the frame geometry to ensure the screen is aligned right - if it's off by a few pixels, you can shift it around in the vp50 menus to line it up, it's the 1:1 pixel ratio that's most important, as you don't want the Sharp to think it needs to do any processing.

snip........it's the 1:1 pixel ratio that's most important, as you don't want the Sharp to think it needs to do any processing.
Totally agree - if it can't do 1:1 pixel mapping, you may well be wasting your money on the VP50 (if picture enhancement is all that you intend using it for, rather than as a complete A/V switching hub as well). Not many consumer displays offer 1:1 pixel mapping these days, so many of us will be very interested to see if you can make it do that. I don't have my VP50 yet, but you should be able to set the VP50 output resolution to 1920 x 1080 which should force your display to go to native resolution mode (i.e give you 1:1 pixel mapping without doing any scaling or processing itself).

P.S. Just looking at the VP50 manual on-line, I don't see a 1920 x 1080 option. Perhaps the 1080i/p/50/60 Hz options automatically select the horizontal resolution to 1920. Perhaps current VP50 owners can help clarify this.

P.P.S. Yes, the manual states that 1080p does give 1920 x 1080 pixel mapping.

P.P.P.S Having scan read the whole VP50 manual now, I'd say it's a pretty good impovement again IMO on the VP30 manual, which itself was an improvement on the HD+ manual. :). Have a look at it here (http://www.dvdo.com/documents/DVDO_iScanVP50_PG_ABT_081706.pdf).

Well, I would certainly be very interested in DVDO making the SDI port accept both sync polarities. It seems strange though, that the MPEG decoder on the X-Card puts out a different sync polarity than the MPEG decoders on standalone DVD players. Not sure that I'm totally convinced of their explanation.

Josh;
I am also looking for a way to hook up my HTPC to a VP50 in order to achieve best PQ possible. Is SDI the way to go or is DVI sufficient enough? If so what res/timing would you recommend feeding from the HTPC?
I would also appreciate your comments on the sync polarities. Thanks!
________
Axel

Hi Ailean,

Thanks for reminding me. It's been awhile since I've used a DVDO. I'll fix the output to ~60. It does seem as though the HD2K seems to accept a little variance so keeping it input locked hasn't caused a problem -YET. You know how that goes though if I leave it in the input locked setting - after a few weeks it will surely create a problem and by then I'll have forgotten that I had it set it this way and it will take hours of debugging to get it right again lol.

It is best to use the lock option thou as it will avoid droped frames but if your display is funny about slight drifts from the standand then use the fixed option.

Meant to add this originally but the gf was wanting birthday attention so I finished that reply early. :D

Getting the VP50 up and running has been an adventure. Had no problem in pulling the SDI out of the VP30 and putting it in the VP50.

Connected a Denon DVD player (model 2910) to the VP50 via SDI and Toslink. Looked at a movie for about 30 minutes and there were no problems.

Connected a Mitsubishi VCR (model HS-U80) to the VP50 via S-Video and audio cable. Watched a tape for about 30 minutes and there were no problems.

The adventure began Saturday when I connected a Dish STB (model ViP211) via HDMI (for video) and Toslink (for audio) to the VP50 which is the same connections I used for the VP30. Watched TV for about 30 minutes and had several audio dropouts. I did not have audio dropouts when the STB was connected to the VP30. I pulled the Toslink cable, and got no audio via HDMI. Checked the “audio input” screen on the VP50 and found HDMI grayed out. Turned out the solution to that problem was turning the components on in the proper sequence namely (1) STB, (2) TV, (3) VP50 and (4) audio receiver. Before starting the sequence the VP50 must be set for the appropriate HDMI input.

Watched several hours of TV Sunday and twice lost all audio via HDMI. Checked the “audio input” screen on the VP50 and it was not grayed out. I had to do a reset each time to regain audio. Both times I lost all audio, I was channel surfing. Today I pulled the HDMI cable between the STB and the VP50, and in lieu thereof ran the HDMI cable from the STB to a Yamaha receiver (model RX-V2600) and another HDMI cable from the receiver to the VP50. Set the audio input on the VP50 to off. So far I have not lost audio and the sequence in which the various components are turned on does not cause HDMI audio gray out.

This is why I've previously requested a front panel button sequence to force a reboot. Reality is that occasionally you need to force a reboot and snaking your hand deep into an A/V cabinet to pull power is a pain in the butt.

On the other hand I've never had issues of this nature with my VP30 or VP50 connected to my HD DirectTivo via HDMI.

- Collin

Great idea. The only time I recall having this audio problem is with my HD Tivo. Perhaps this suggests that the problem may be the AVR.

I've been reading about the VP50 and following this thread since its start and can't seem to come to a consensus on something.

Is the VP50 basically only a good choice if you have a display which accepts a progressive signal and displays that signal unprocessed? i.e. a 1080p display that accepts 1080p, 768p plasma that accepts 768p, etc.

I ask because there a plenty of other display types that accept HD inputs, but don't fit the above categories. A 1080i CRT and a 1080p display that only accepts 720p/1080i come to mind. In these two examples, would a VP50 really be much benefit?

My particular situation is a Sony SXRD XBR1. I currently use a VP30 and am trying to guage whether is VP50 is worth it. I could always buy a VP50, try it out for 30 days, and then send it back if I don't see much picture improvement, but I'd like some feedback if anyone else has gone down this road already.

I finally got around to installing my VP50 with SDI card from my 3 month old VP30/ABT102 (hardly knew ye!! :D ) and overall I'm extremely pleased with the performance.

I watched Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy in HD since I had recently watched it through my VP30. This time around there was definitely more detail and a more three dimensional aspect to the picture. Absolutely gorgeous!

One thing I have noticed is that I've seen several jaggies when watching an upconverted 1080i HD channel....specifically when watching sports (football).

Bob, I am using the VP50 with the MITS 65813, which is a crt rptv with a 1080i native res. I had the VP30 prior to this and in my case everything looks better. Sharper, better depth, etc.

Talman. I assume you watched 1080i upconverted to 1080p and had the VP50 set to video?

Despite there being pins for the 656 video bus available on the X-Card, the X-Card was never intended to be used with the SDI mod that Pixel Magic built. I've spoken with some people at Sigma, and they have removed the resistor packs and pins from the currently available cards - to attempt to prevent this mod from being done.

The reason the clock is inverted at your iScan is that the MPEG decoder's output is set up to correctly support the 656 Video Encoder that is built into the X-Card. Thus you'll need to invert the polarity of the clock line for the SDI mod card to support the X-Card correctly (and for the SDI signal it outputs to be industry standard). This can be done with a high-speed XOR IC on the Clock line and using the other input of the XOR (there are two) to the XOR as a clock inversion control (high or low - positive or negative). This may skew the data lines compared to the clocks though - so I'd recommend matching it with a transparent latch IC to add some logic delay (about 5-15nS - use an o-scope for this tuning - or you'll get no picture).

-LD

I have heard that HDMI video cards (which will also support PC audio) are supposed to be out next year (after or at CES?). These should support 1920x1080p/60 with HDCP for HD-DVD players (assuming Microsoft figures out when/how to launch Vista). Some insiders have privately commented on the availablility of 480i HDMI output for SD content played on the computer (PCs and CE devices are converging - get used to it) but this will be up to the specific vendor. My advice: speak now or forever hold your peace.

-LD :cool:

I also experienced the exact same problem today. On/Off switch on the VP50 did not correct the problem however unplugging the power and rebooting restored the audio. This total audio lockout was with HDMI audio only. While trying to figure out the problem I connected SPDIF output from the source device and restored missing audio. So the VP50 was still able to process digital optical audio while totally shutting down on HDMI.
I had the same problem with the VP30 and it occurred again over the weekend with the VP50. I was watching a movie from D-VHS over HDMI including audio. I rewound to watch something again and the audio went out completely. Switched the audio input for that HDMI input to SPDIF and the audio was there. The same issue occurred several times with both my D-VHS deck and DVD player using the VP30. I've never had the audio drop out while watching, it always happens after some operation such as chapter skip or reverse or fast forward. When the operation completes the audio is gone and the only way to get it back on HDMI is unplug/plug.

I have seen several posts from people (including me) who did not get the serial to USB adapter with their VP50, but no comments about how to get one. Is there anyone in particular we should contact, or just call the product support phone number?

And now for a positive comment. Has anyone noticed that on the VP50 the Blue LED on the front turns off when there is has been no activity for short time? Nice enhancement. I think someone asked for this early in the VP30 thread. Nice to see DVDO is listening.

Talman. I assume you watched 1080i upconverted to 1080p and had the VP50 set to video?

Mark:

I was watching a 1080i source and was scaling it to 1360x768 (NR on my LCD). I'm not sure I'm completely describing the issue correctly--forgive my newbness. On native HD programming it looks spectacular but on HD channels where it's really just upconverted SD I've seen jaggies where before there were none. It happens rarely and I've only seen it during football games/highlights.

I have the VP50 set to Auto.

And now for a positive comment. Has anyone noticed that on the VP50 the Blue LED on the front turns off when there is has been no activity for short time? Nice enhancement. I think someone asked for this early in the VP30 thread. Nice to see DVDO is listening.
Yes, but that was fixed on the VP30 awhile back as well.

Doh! :eek: I just rewired my rack and removed all the source SPDIF cables :eek: :eek: I'll run it in this configuration awhile longer but if it proves to be a problem I guess I'll have to dig up my cables again.

Fwiw though I've been pretty impressed with the HDMI operation of the VP50. When using a competitors scaler I had to use the component interface with some sources because of severe HDMI problems but the VP50 seems to work well with pretty much everything I plug into it.

This is good to hear. If it solves my problems I will have to put that competitors scaler out to pasture. My unit should be here tommorow so I will have some comments then.

Bob, I am using the VP50 with the MITS 65813, which is a crt rptv with a 1080i native res. I had the VP30 prior to this and in my case everything looks better. Sharper, better depth, etc.

Excellent, thanks for the feedback.

It is best to use the lock option thou as it will avoid droped frames but if your display is funny about slight drifts from the standand then use the fixed option.

Meant to add this originally but the gf was wanting birthday attention so I finished that reply early. :D

I haven't seen the projector lose sync on the lock setting so I'll probably keep it there. Thanks for the info :)

This is good to hear. If it solves my problems I will have to put that competitors scaler out to pasture. My unit should be here tommorow so I will have some comments then.

Hi Mauricef,

There is a new beta release that recently came out for said competitors scaler. I'm going to try it tonight and see how well it works. Fwiw, said competitor is trying and I think they'll eventually get things sorted out and fairly stable. Until then I'm going to use the VP50 for my primary viewing scaler and then reevaluate down the road to see which chip offers the best DI and scaling while still giving me the features that I have to have.

Talman. for your 1080i source, it deinterlaces to 1080p and then scales down to 768p. For your ED stuff, the TV station is deinterlacing for you and the jaggies have been probably introduced by them. your VP50 is scaling the ED p signal. That won't introduce any jaggies not already there.

When watching live TV (video) try setting the VP50 on video rather than auto. For films, even if on TV, set it for film. Normally the auto will work fine but best results are had by making the correct actual selection.

I would note I am speaking about processors in general, my VP fifties do not arrive until tomorrow.

Recv'd my VP50 today, hooked it up and all is well (for this brief test period). Initial impressions are good and source switching seems to work with slightly less mayhem than before on my VP30.

For those asking about the RMA# - I was told early on by e-mail from DVDO to wait until receiving the unit, then request a new RMA (nothing about using the old unit's number). I sent my e-mail RMA request today after making sure the unit worked and received an RMA # (not anything like my VP30 #) about an hour later by return e-mail. So, that appears to be the preferred method. They only add that you can keep the VP50 for up to 30 days to be sure you want it - bcz the minute you return the VP30, you have permanently decided to keep the VP50 for sure. I already knew I was keeping the VP50 (barring it being defective), so I got my RMA # and boxed the old one up the same day I got the new one.

By the way - I am running all sources HDMI direct to VP50, one audio out (coax) to my Denon AVR 4806 for audio (simply set the output as DVD and let the VP50 do the switching and audio matching) and the HDMI out of the VP30 direct to my C3X projector. Keeps the connections simple and seems to work well so far. No component, no lip synch issues, no added connections/jumps and fewer wires. This setup allows me to change all sources/audio with a simple change of specific HDMI input from the VP50, which then sends all the correct info and lip synch to the AVR and projector. Hope this info helps somewhat.

All of a sudden I am getting no audio from my Moto 6412 and my Toshiba HD-A1, both are connected via hdmi. They where working fine up until today. I am getting sound from the spdif out from both of those. I am also getting sound from my JVC 5U via hdmi.

I wish that dvdo would comment on the audio issues people are facing with their vp50's.

All of a sudden I am getting no audio from my Moto 6412 and my Toshiba HD-A1, both are connected via hdmi. They where working fine up until today. I am getting sound from the spdif out from both of those. I am also getting sound from my JVC 5U via hdmi.

The VP50 still occasionally experiences catastrophic audio dropouts via HDMI. The only fix is to unplug the scaler and plug it back in. I reported this in my beta testing and DVDO is working on it.

HDMI audio on VP50 locked up again today.

Perhaps this is helpfull:

Today's HDMI audio lockup occurred while switching between 1080i and 720 on a DirectTV HD250.

Sunday's lockup occurred while switching between HD and SD channels.

I got my VP50 today, and I found one major disappointment. The product comparison page here (http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_cf.php) says that a new feature is, "HDMI/DVI (all other resolutions) : Passed Through." My computer's 1920x1200@60Hz output just results in a blue screen, though. That's a commonly supported, single-link DVI resolution, even though it's higher resolution than 1080p60. Can a VP50 pass this through, or am I doing something wrong? This is a big deal to me.

WooHoo! I finally got my VP50! Two hours so far and no audio dropouts. I didn't have any with the VP30 either so I don't expect any with the VP50. I'll watch TV for about 2.5 more hours tonight and see if I notice anything.

I have had mine two days - love the new features and my 480i DVD's convert even better now (or seem to), to near HD quality. However, I have already hit the complete audio dropout bug and had to plug/unplug once. This is really a shame. I can live with it for now, but I sure hope DVDO is working on this. I'm fully HDMI so that may be partly the problem. Still....

HDMI audio on VP50 locked up again today.

Perhaps this is helpfull:

Today's HDMI audio lockup occurred while switching between 1080i and 720 on a DirectTV HD250.

Sunday's lockup occurred while switching between HD and SD channels.

All of my lockups (3 total) have occurred while navigating between live TV and the Tivo Menu on my HR10-250.

I had this same problem with my VP30. I just disabled sound effects on the Tivo to see if it is playing a role. I'm connected to my AVR via HDMI.

Those of you having audio issues, have you actually contacted DVDO or have you just posted here?

Ok. 5 hours of viewing tonight from two HDTiVos. I spent 3.5 hours using 5.1 audio through the HDMI then I switched to the 5.1 from the optical in(I don't normally use the optical out of the HDTiVo)I had no audio dropouts over HDMi and I did have one audio dropout using the optical input. I didn't have any problems with the menu sounds from the HDTiVos. I'll see if anything happens later this week as I put more hours on the VP50. But so far the only thing I really noticed was the sharpness setting. It goes from -1 to 7(I think 7 is the max) It seems like -1 is the same as 0 was for the VP30. Is that correct? For now I just put the sharpness on -1 to try and match my calibration settings from the vP30.
I also need to spend some time with the SD TiVos and the HD DVD player going through the VP50. I only got a chance to spend about 10 minutes with each tonight.

That's a lot of viewing aaron! Keep up the good work! And keep us up to date... :)

Got my VP50 today also. So far I am immensely pleased. The VP50 is a great improvement over my C3X when deinterlacing and scaling HD-DVD's. Now my image is nice and crisp, at least equal to my HDTV image. The VP50 has also improved my HDTV image, which I thought was very good before.

No audio dropouts yet. :D

Maybe you guys that already have your units could tell me something. I've never had a DVDO product or a processor period, and I'll be getting my VP-50 tomorrow when I get home from work...

It should be waiting for me, and The first thing I have to do is set it up to work with my SA8300 HD Cable box... It will be going to a Pio PDP-5070HD 1365X768 Display.

Should I setup the Box to output 480i on SD channels, and 1080i on HD Channels? And what do I do for settings on the VP-50?

Then I have to move into setup for my OPPO with SDI.

Thanks in Advance... I really love this forum.

Royd

Royd, I say set your cable box to output at the channels native resolution, so if its 480i on SD, do that, and 1080i on HD do that. Then setup the VP50 to output at your displays native resolution, that way you get 1:1 pixels. The VP50 will automatically detect input resolution, and scale/deinterlace to your native resolution.

ok so I have had my VP50 for a few days now, everything was working great up until today...I got the HDMI audio problem. I hadn't read this thread in a while so was unaware of the issue and sat there trying to figure out what was wrong for a while thinking it was my settings. Well I finally unplugged the VP50 and plugged it back in and my audio came back. Other than this issue everything looks great, my 1080i stuff is much better!

One question for all you...what do you set your DVD player to as far as TV type? I set it to 480i output through HDMI, but what's the best setting for maintaining the most information in that 480i frame to pass to the VP50 for processing? choices:

- 4:3 P&S - which crops the image so not this one
- 4:3 Letterbox - I'm guessing not a good choice again since image data is lost by scaling down so black borders are added
- 16:9 Wide - this mode will stretch 4:3 content...disadvantage is with a 4:3 DVD the image is stretched so I cant use Panoramic mode on the VP50
- 16:9 Wide/Squeeze - adds black borders to 4:3 material.

or do you all change this based on the DVD you're watching?

- 4:3 P&S - which crops the image so not this one


Yeah not this one. You want the full image.


- 4:3 Letterbox - I'm guessing not a good choice again since image data is lost by scaling down so black borders are added


Yeah not this one. You're losing data.


- 16:9 Wide - this mode will stretch 4:3 content...disadvantage is with a 4:3 DVD the image is stretched so I cant use Panoramic mode on the VP50


This is what you should use. 4:3 is not actually "stretched" until it is presented. It's more that anamorphic DVDs are stretched vertically when they're mastered to increase vertical resolution and this setting actually keeps the DVD player from squishing anamorphic DVDs and throwing away resolution. You can think of this mode as really more of a pass through for the pixels that are on the disc.

Oh and panorama works just fine in this mode. Select the 4:3 Stretch preset and see. Or select the 4:3 preset and then toggle panorama.


- 16:9 Wide/Squeeze - adds black borders to 4:3 material.


You don't want this one any more than you want 4:3 letterboxed. While you won't be losing resolution for anamorphic DVDs, you will however be squishing 4:3 material horizontally and loosing horizontal resolution.


or do you all change this based on the DVD you're watching?

Nope. I leave it on "16:9 Wide"

- Collin

While watching the HD-Net resolution test pattern the image had a weird vertical bounce that caused the whole frame to bounce up and down. I saw this with video but it was much easier to see with a test pattern. After awhile the problem went away. Very strange. I'd like to hear if others have seen this too.


How frequent was this bounce?

That's a lot of viewing aaron! Keep up the good work! And keep us up to date... :)
I'm behind watching my TV shows. I didn't watch anything on Sunday and Monday and I was behind four shows before those days. Every year I say I'm not going to watch as many shows but I end up adding a couple. This year I added Heroes and Jericho to my viewing list. And once January starts I will really be swamped with 24, medium, and both Stargate shows starting. Without the TiVo it would be difficult to keep track of everything. I remember in the 80's and 90's always having stacks of video tapes piled up. Having a TiVo/DVR is much, much easier!

I love my TIVOs. I can't imagine viewing television without them now. We have 5 in our house. Three of them are HD (two HR10-250 and one HR20-700). I wonder how many VP50s DVDO has shipped so far?

Royd, I say set your cable box to output at the channels native resolution, so if its 480i on SD, do that, and 1080i on HD do that. Then setup the VP50 to output at your displays native resolution, that way you get 1:1 pixels. The VP50 will automatically detect input resolution, and scale/deinterlace to your native resolution.

Thanks Gino,

So you just set the VP:50 to Native?

Don't you want to make it upscale the 480i on the SD channels to 1080i or 1080p? I thought that was the whole purpose...

Thanks, Royd

Set your cable box to Native Resolution if it's available. My HDTiVos don't have that option so I have to switch them manually. The VP50 output resolution will be fixed. It's the output from your cable box that needs to change between 480i, 720P and 1080i. If it has a "Native Resolution" option, it will switch automatically.

Thanks Gino,

So you just set the VP:50 to Native?

Don't you want to make it upscale the 480i on the SD channels to 1080i or 1080p? I thought that was the whole purpose...

Thanks, Royd
Native for the screen, not for the source

Use the test patterns the vp50 can generate (especially Frame Geometry, horizontal and vertical lines) to make sure it's outputting the correct res image which the TV isn't messing with. You can keep those test patterns on screen while you tweak settings, works very well.

Did anyone get rack mount ears? I did not see any in my box. First impressions are that this unit is a keeper. I have not noticed any glaring UI bugs and the deinterlacing seems on par with competing products. I really like the custiom settings for each input resolution.

Did anyone get rack mount ears? I did not see any in my box. First impressions are that this unit is a keeper. I have not noticed any glaring UI bugs and the deinterlacing seems on par with competing products. I really like the custiom settings for each input resolution.

I believe no one got the rack mount ears.

I used mine from my VP30.

This is what you should use. 4:3 is not actually "stretched" until it is presented. It's more that anamorphic DVDs are stretched vertically when they're mastered to increase vertical resolution and this setting actually keeps the DVD player from squishing anamorphic DVDs and throwing away resolution. You can think of this mode as really more of a pass through for the pixels that are on the disc.

Oh and panorama works just fine in this mode. Select the 4:3 Stretch preset and see. Or select the 4:3 preset and then toggle panorama.
- Collin

ok this was my first thought also, not sure why I wasn't getting the Panorama option before but I must have done something wrong...i'll give it a try again tonight.

now if only the darn HD tivo had a native output mode.

thanks!
-george

Yeah, unfortuneately only their newer HR20-700 has the native option. I guess it only takes an extra tap or two on the remote to change its output though...

You don't want this one any more than you want 4:3 letterboxed. While you won't be losing resolution for anamorphic DVDs, you will however be squishing 4:3 material horizontally and loosing horizontal resolution


Are you sure about this?

Judging by the OP, he has an Oppo 970hd (as do I).

Are you sure about this?

Judging by the OP, he has an Oppo 970hd (as do I).

Yup pretty certain. I don't own the Oppo, but it shouldn't matter provided the OP explained the modes correctly and I think he did.

A 480i signal is always 720x480 pixels regardless of program aspect ratio or DVD player setting. If the player is adding black bars to the side of your 4:3 programs then less than 720 pixels across will actually be used for program material as some of those pixels now need to be dedicated to black bars. This is similar to the 4:3 letterboxed setting where the DVD player is adding horizontal black bars and throwing away the extra vertical resolution of anamorphic widescreen.

- Collin

Yeah, unfortuneately only their newer HR20-700 has the native option. I guess it only takes an extra tap or two on the remote to change its output though...

Notice any audio dropouts with your VP50 HR20-700 combination?

Thanks, Gary

DVDO VP50
OPPO SDI modified
PANASONIC RP82 SDI modified
(2) HR10-250
SONY VPL-HS60
SONY VPL-HS51

Are you sure about this?

Judging by the OP, he has an Oppo 970hd (as do I).

The 970HD throws out horizontal resolution to pillarbox 4:3 material. You're better off outputting the full 720x480 DVD signal ("16:9 Wide" mode) and letting the VP50 adjust the aspect ratio.

Have any VP50s reached European resellers yet? Anyone who traded in their VPx0 for a VP50 got theirs in Europe yet?

The 970HD throws out horizontal resolution to pillarbox 4:3 material. You're better off outputting the full 720x480 DVD signal ("16:9 Wide" mode) and letting the VP50 adjust the aspect ratio.

yes i do have the 970HD, and the 16:9 Wide mode makes the most sense to me, i just wanted to confirm what i was thinking...I didn't think the actual resolution on a 480i signal ever changed from 720x480, and so that mode makes the most sense to keep the most information without doing any processing in the DVD player.

Yeah, unfortuneately only their newer HR20-700 has the native option. I guess it only takes an extra tap or two on the remote to change its output though...

well it's not just a tap or two though, you have to know what a particular channel is outputting, if it's a 720p channel i want the output to be 720p, 1080i I want 1080i out. And until the HR20-700 gets some more features like remote scheduling etc I am not really interested in it.

-george

Yeah, unfortuneately only their newer HR20-700 has the native option. I guess it only takes an extra tap or two on the remote to change its output though...

But with the HR20-700 they dropped Tivo. :( I have a hard time imagining life without the Tivo interface. Eventually, I'll probably switch back to cable and the Series 3 HD Tivo which does have a native resolution output mode.

With the VP30 + ABT102 I found myself switching resolutions a lot because native 480i mode looked so much better than SD output in 720p or 1080i mode. But now with the VP50's excellent HD deinterlacer I seem to be leaving the HD DirectTivo set to 1080i. The difference between native 480i deinterlaced by the VP50 and 480i scaled by the Tivo to 1080i and then deinterlaced by the VP50 isn't that large. Similarly 720p interlaced by the Tivo and then deinterlaced by the VP50 is pretty close to native 720p as well. What you absolutely do not want to do is let the Tivo do the deinterlacing. It's downright awful. I still toggle resolutions when I remember to but I generally put it back to 1080i when I'm done. Remembering what stations output what resolution and toggling resolutions is a pain in the neck for me and something that the wife is flat out not going to do.

- Collin

Eventually, I'll probably switch back to cable and the Series 3 HD Tivo which does have a native resolution output mode.


It works really, really, nice too. Easily one of my most favorite things about the Series 3.

The only downside of native mode is the delay syncing to the new resolution. The Series 3 UI is native 720p. If you are watching a 1080i show and go to the menu, you loose sync for a bit. Not that big a deal, just something that stands out.

The only downside of native mode is the delay syncing to the new resolution. The Series 3 UI is native 720p. If you are watching a 1080i show and go to the menu, you loose sync for a bit. Not that big a deal, just something that stands out.
Yes, that is a drawback, but it takes at most a second or two and doesn't bother me at all, and the VP30/50 has never failed to handle the resolution change in over 3 weeks of heavy use with the S3.

Yeah, unfortuneately only their newer HR20-700 has the native option. I guess it only takes an extra tap or two on the remote to change its output though...

When you cycle through resolutions, it also goes through pillarbox, stretch, and crop modes for each resolution, so it takes quite a few taps. Kind of annoying.

I have also noticed that even if it is set to a particular output - say 1080i, it also seems to take two seconds to switch channels when the native rate of the channel is different. When actually on native mode, it takes about 5-6 seconds on my display.

Have any VP50s reached European resellers yet? Anyone who traded in their VPx0 for a VP50 got theirs in Europe yet?

I don't know if they've arrived yet, but I got an email this evening from the UK disti asking me to confirm my shipping address - it was one of the quickest email replies I've made in a long time! So, I think the UK ones are pretty close at least.

I think the UK ones are pretty close at least.

The email said Delivery in 5 - 7 working days.

Native for the screen, not for the source

Use the test patterns the vp50 can generate (especially Frame Geometry, horizontal and vertical lines) to make sure it's outputting the correct res image which the TV isn't messing with. You can keep those test patterns on screen while you tweak settings, works very well.

Ok thanks... Now I think I understand...

So for my Pioneer 5070 Plasma... I should output 768p 1365X768 ???

Not 1080i?

Thanks,

Roydr

Question for those of you connecting a HR20-700 to your VP50......

I prefer to connect my video projectors using RGB.

I discovered a long time ago that disabling HDCP on a HD+, VP30 and now the VP50 caused a DirecTv HR10-250 to TURN OFF HDCP thus allowing:

HDMI out from HR10-250 and outputing Analog thru any of the above 3 scalers. This would normally be a violation and analog output would not be permitted.

Does the new HR20-700 also turn off HDCP when setting the input HDMI config to off?

Thanks,
Gary

The only downside of native mode is the delay syncing to the new resolution. The Series 3 UI is native 720p. If you are watching a 1080i show and go to the menu, you loose sync for a bit. Not that big a deal, just something that stands out.

Not to be nitpicky, but the S3 menus are *not* native 720p. They are 480i. Decently rendered for SD but they are not HD. If you select native mode and switch back to the menus, you will lose sync for a split second from 720p or 1080i...

Ok thanks... Now I think I understand...

So for my Pioneer 5070 Plasma... I should output 768p 1365X768 ???

Not 1080i?

Thanks,

Roydr
Correct.

1366x768 isn't it?

-edit- no it's not, you're spot on :)

I'm not sure which inputs it will accept that over though. You might want to check with Pioneer. At 60Hz, you're probably ok over HDMI.

getting back to the main problem a lot of people are seeing with HDMI audio, is this being looked at by the folks at dvdo? I didn't inform them since i assume they must know about it by now...Josh care to comment?

for now i guess i could just run a couple of toslink cables to the dvdo as well..

getting back to the main problem a lot of people are seeing with HDMI audio, is this being looked at by the folks at dvdo? I didn't inform them since i assume they must know about it by now...Josh care to comment?

for now i guess i could just run a couple of toslink cables to the dvdo as well..

I was told that the audio issue is DVDO's top priority

Correct.

1366x768 isn't it?

-edit- no it's not, you're spot on :)

I'm not sure which inputs it will accept that over though. You might want to check with Pioneer. At 60Hz, you're probably ok over HDMI.

Thanks... I apprieciate it.

Well everything's all hooked up, and I'm about to power it up... Here goes my first encounter into the world of DVDO...

Royd

Has anyone got their 50 from AVS yet? I ordered shortly after the special was announced and haven't heard anything about a ship date.

Have any VP50s reached European resellers yet? Anyone who traded in their VPx0 for a VP50 got theirs in Europe yet?

I'm in Italy and got none other than the online receipt. Anyway I've done the order late (29 Sept) :)

Bye,
Z.

Did anyone get rack mount ears? I did not see any in my box. First impressions are that this unit is a keeper. I have not noticed any glaring UI bugs and the deinterlacing seems on par with competing products. I really like the custiom settings for each input resolution.
When I emailed DVDO about an RMA # for my VP30, I got an email in reply saying that they were mailing both the USB to serial adapter and the rack mount out the following day (which means they should have been mailed to me today).

When I emailed DVDO about an RMA # for my VP30, I got an email in reply saying that they were mailing both the USB to serial adapter and the rack mount out the following day (which means they should have been mailed to me today).

When I got my unit I emailed DVDO asking if a USB adapter and rackmount kit were supposed to have been included as the website indicates. I got not response and figured that was that unless I pressed the issue. But today, out of the blue, a package arrived from DVDO containing a USB adapter and a rackmount kit. The invoice indicates I was charged zero dollars for said items. Cool. Thanks DVDO.

- Collin

hmm... is this going ouot to all early buyers or by request only? Josh?

Correct.

1366x768 isn't it?

-edit- no it's not, you're spot on :)

I'm not sure which inputs it will accept that over though. You might want to check with Pioneer. At 60Hz, you're probably ok over HDMI.

I don't think the 5070 accepts native... but it should accept 1080p ... so the best thing to do is send 1080p 60 locked if it accepts it... otherwise 720p should be better then 1080i ....

its better to scale/deinterlace the signal only once... however if that can't be done the next best step is to only deinterlace once and upscale once... 1080p ...

720p you are deinterlacing once, and upscaling twice.... can bring some moire errors...

1080i you are deinterlacing twice (480i to 1080p, interlacing to 1080i then the plasma is deinterlacing 1080i to 768p) and scaling up once and scaling down once...

Has anyone got their 50 from AVS yet? I ordered shortly after the special was announced and haven't heard anything about a ship date.

Nope! Still waiting for mine, even though AVS missed the promised delivery date already twice thus far……:( Still hoping to get it this weekend, though.

However, the bright side, if you will, is that AVS already charged my CC and sent me a sales receipt - so at least it seems that my order is being processed.

I was also one of the very first ones to order.
_____
Axel

Is there a way to have the display stay on and have it show the input and output resolution?

I don't think the 5070 accepts native... but it should accept 1080p ... so the best thing to do is send 1080p 60 locked if it accepts it... otherwise 720p should be better then 1080i ....

its better to scale/deinterlace the signal only once... however if that can't be done the next best step is to only deinterlace once and upscale once... 1080p ...

720p you are deinterlacing once, and upscaling twice.... can bring some moire errors...

1080i you are deinterlacing twice (480i to 1080p, interlacing to 1080i then the plasma is deinterlacing 1080i to 768p) and scaling up once and scaling down once...

Big...

I Don't know what to do... I'm not getting good results at all.

You're right 720p is better than 1080i But The 1080i But It's not near as good as the 1080i from my Cable Box!

The SD channels look a little better And so does the OPPO 971 outputting through SDI, but the HD channels definately look better without the VP-50!!

I'm hoping You can help me... The Display won't accept 1365X768 at any framerate... And I don't know what else to do...

Thanks,

Royd

I watched X-Men 3 this evening from a Sony 975 DVD player with the 6.1 DTS over the HDMI. No audio dropouts.(I use the optical out of the VP50 to my Denon 3806) I also watched Eureka from an SD TiVo using the analog audio input and no dropouts either. I watched Jericho on one HDTiVo and Lost on another HDTiVo, both using HDMI for DD transport and no audio dropouts. So far the VP50 has been basically flawless.

The 970HD throws out horizontal resolution to pillarbox 4:3 material.



I didn't know that.
Dang, wish I had this known before...

Anyway, this makes me wonder if I should be changing input AR on dvds in the VP50 (2:40--- 1:85)???

Thanx Collin and Josh for the info.

Anyone know if there is any way to quickly jump to one of the Input Aspect Ratio presets? I know you can keep pushing the IAR button on the remote, but I want to setup a button on my Harmony remote to jump to a specific preset and I'm not sure how to do it. The Presets don't show up in the database commands for the device (well for the VP30 anyway, the VP50 wasn't in the database yet). Anyone had any luck doing this before?

Anyone know if there is any way to quickly jump to one of the Input Aspect Ratio presets? I know you can keep pushing the IAR button on the remote, but I want to setup a button on my Harmony remote to jump to a specific preset and I'm not sure how to do it. The Presets don't show up in the database commands for the device (well for the VP30 anyway, the VP50 wasn't in the database yet). Anyone had any luck doing this before?

Hopefully DVDO will reveal such information soon. There are two sets of IR commands on the VP30 and presumably the VP50. The commands on the remote are the same between both the VP30 and VP50. The "discrete" commands not on the remote are apparently different.

- Collin

Big...

I Don't know what to do... I'm not getting good results at all.

You're right 720p is better than 1080i But The 1080i But It's not near as good as the 1080i from my Cable Box!

The SD channels look a little better And so does the OPPO 971 outputting through SDI, but the HD channels definately look better without the VP-50!!

I'm hoping You can help me... The Display won't accept 1365X768 at any framerate... And I don't know what else to do...

Thanks,

Royd

Royd, have you tried sending 1080p? does the 507 accepts it? on the brochure it says it does ..... let's see if you can get it to work in practice..

1080i straight through, would mean that the pioneer 1080i deinterlacing process is quite good ... but if you have 1080i into the vp50 and 1080i output the signal is not been processed .. so in theory it should be the same....

your cable box .... can it pass its native signal? ie: sd @ 480i, HD at either 720p/ 1080i whatever is being sent by the channel? its best not have the cable box doing any deinterlacing and/or scaling before the signal hits the VP.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Marcelo

How about VGA output?
Lookes very good on my Panny plasma in native 852x480.

Have any VP50s reached European resellers yet? Anyone who traded in their VPx0 for a VP50 got theirs in Europe yet?
i'm in the netherlands and have got no confirmation yet from the local reseller.

Royd, have you tried sending 1080p? does the 507 accepts it? on the brochure it says it does ..... let's see if you can get it to work in practice..

1080i straight through, would mean that the pioneer 1080i deinterlacing process is quite good ... but if you have 1080i into the vp50 and 1080i output the signal is not been processed .. so in theory it should be the same....

your cable box .... can it pass its native signal? ie: sd @ 480i, HD at either 720p/ 1080i whatever is being sent by the channel? its best not have the cable box doing any deinterlacing and/or scaling before the signal hits the VP.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Marcelo

Marcelo,

Thanks... No 1080p @ 60 framrate does not work into the 5070... Although it was said it does... The cable box (SA8300HD), does output Native. And is doing 480i for all SD channels which looks good. So from the VP-50, I can only output 720p or 1080i. And the 1080i straight out of the cable box on HD signals beats going through the VP-50 hands down...

I guess If the VP-50 would output 768p then that would be the way to go... But unless they offer that through a firmware upgrade, I've got an expensive paperweight... I guess I could just use it for SD DVD with the OPPO SDI... But I would have to use splitters & a switch.

ARRRRGH.

Royd

Just got my tracking # from AVS. The VP50 was finally shipped last night and should arrive tomorrow/Fri. Guess, what I will be doing this weekend :D.
_____
Axel

i'm in the netherlands and have got no confirmation yet from the local reseller.

I'm in Sweden and got mine yesterday from the local distributor. It was a straight purchase, not an upgrade. Got the preorder deduction but had to pay VAT. Didn't argue with this since I bought through my company and can deduct the VAT so it doesn't really matter to me.

Hello Josh and everyone. First of all I found this forum very beneficial and coming close to pulling the trigger on the VP50 but having a hard time justifying the cost because the unit will cost more than my plasma and Onkyo combined. Will there be that big of an improvement on picture quality given my following set up all connected via HDMI and component:

42" TH-42PHD7UY (1024x768)
Onkyo TX-SR803
Denon DVD 756S
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR

I've had contact with Aaron from DVDO who ensures me there will be a huge difference especially with 1080i programming but I need some objective opinions.

Thanks

... but had to pay VAT. Didn't argue with this since I bought through my company and can deduct the VAT so it doesn't really matter to me.
I would argue with this as the order included an additional $250,- for tax and customs duties :confused:

I would argue with this as the order included an additional $250,- for tax and customs duties :confused:

Thats for the upgrade not a new unit..

Daniel.

Decided to pull the trigger on purchasing a VP50 and Oppo 970. Im expecting to be blown away, but wont know until tonight. The only thing I am concerned about is my RPTV. It is a new Mits 65732 DLP, but it certainly isnt the most "calibration friendly" RPTV in the world. I assume the objectigve would be to use the internal VP50 test patterns to calibrate the DLP, and then go back and calibrate each input (Oppo and Dish 622).

If anyone has any additional suggestions, please let me know.

Decided to pull the trigger on purchasing a VP50 and Oppo 970. Im expecting to be blown away, but wont know until tonight. The only thing I am concerned about is my RPTV. It is a new Mits 65732 DLP, but it certainly isnt the most "calibration friendly" RPTV in the world. I assume the objectigve would be to use the internal VP50 test patterns to calibrate the DLP, and then go back and calibrate each input (Oppo and Dish 622).

If anyone has any additional suggestions, please let me know.

Don't be expecting you will be blown away, changes are it will take a few days to get the best results. First try to get it pixel perfect using the line and cross test signals. Use the 30 days return policy as a testing time ask questions and fiddle alot. scalers/deinterlacers are wonderful but their smartness comes in time when you find out how much more you can do with the incoming and outgoing signals.

Daniel.

I hooked a VP50 last night, replacing a VP30 with the exact same equipment. It wouldn't sync to a HTPC at all and caused the Sharp 720P projector to really go crazy trying to lock in on something.

The VP30 never even had a glitch locking in. So, after playing around awhile I saw that it would work if I ran the framerate unlocked, but refused too when locked. I cannot use it unlocked because of stutter.

I decided to try another PC and it worked fine. The hookup is DVI out from the computers. I had already assumed it could be some weird thing with the video card. I also installed powerstrip, but while I could get it work by changing some setting, it wouldn't hold.

So I tried downloading the lastest drivers, something I had resisted doing, because once I get Theatertek and ffdshow working right, I really don't like changing anything. That did work though, the new drivers, but now it has caused some problems with TT and ffdshow but nothing I cannot get back right I'm sure, or hope anyway.

I know how strange it can be dealing with computers with all this stuff, so its not exactly surprising, but kind of strange how the vp30 worked fine.

1080i now looks much better, before I didn't use it, just input everything in at 720P. So, it appears to work good, and sometime later I'll be able to use it with a 1080P PJ.

SD appears to be about the same as the vp30 with the new board.

The VP50 still has the same bug the VP30 does about saving the shift in a profile. It won't save it.

Its been so long now regarding that bug, discussed in the other thread that I'm not even going to ask if they will ever make it work again, not that I ever got a answer anyway.

Hello Josh and everyone. First of all I found this forum very beneficial and coming close to pulling the trigger on the VP50 but having a hard time justifying the cost because the unit will cost more than my plasma and Onkyo combined. Will there be that big of an improvement on picture quality given my following set up all connected via HDMI and component:

42" TH-42PHD7UY (1024x768)
Onkyo TX-SR803
Denon DVD 756S
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR

I've had contact with Aaron from DVDO who ensures me there will be a huge difference especially with 1080i programming but I need some objective opinions.

Thanks

Of course there gonna say it's a huge improvement, the want to sell you a 3K box. I don't think your gonna see a huge difference, minimal yes.

Of course there gonna say it's a huge improvement, the want to sell you a 3K box. I don't think your gonna see a huge difference, minimal yes.

I agree with anam8tr 100%.

Your display is not even 720p capable. I think you are better
off spending the money on a new display.

Thats for the upgrade not a new unit.
Mine is an upgrade and I didn't realise this deal was for the upgrade only, thanks for clarifying :)

I hooked a VP50 last night, replacing a VP30 with the exact same equipment. It wouldn't sync to a HTPC at all and caused the Sharp 720P projector to really go crazy trying to lock in on something.

The VP30 never even had a glitch locking in. So, after playing around awhile I saw that it would work if I ran the framerate unlocked, but refused too when locked. I cannot use it unlocked because of stutter.

I decided to try another PC and it worked fine. The hookup is DVI out from the computers. I had already assumed it could be some weird thing with the video card. I also installed powerstrip, but while I could get it work by changing some setting, it wouldn't hold.

So I tried downloading the lastest drivers, something I had resisted doing, because once I get Theatertek and ffdshow working right, I really don't like changing anything. That did work though, the new drivers, but now it has caused some problems with TT and ffdshow but nothing I cannot get back right I'm sure, or hope anyway.

I know how strange it can be dealing with computers with all this stuff, so its not exactly surprising, but kind of strange how the vp30 worked fine.

1080i now looks much better, before I didn't use it, just input everything in at 720P. So, it appears to work good, and sometime later I'll be able to use it with a 1080P PJ.

SD appears to be about the same as the vp30 with the new board.

The VP50 still has the same bug the VP30 does about saving the shift in a profile. It won't save it.

Its been so long now regarding that bug, discussed in the other thread that I'm not even going to ask if they will ever make it work again, not that I ever got a answer anyway.

Yeah! Another fellow HTPC/VPxx user! We seem to be a rather rare breed.

Not to bring this thread too much off topic I started a new thread here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=730929) about what signal to feed best from an HTPC to VP50. BTW there is also a related thread in the TT forum.
I would appreciate if you could post your experience thus far (e.g. what are you feeding and why, etc.). I am still very new to this VP world… (I should get mine tomorrow).


Thanks!
______
Axel

Hey all - just hooked up the VP50. haven't spent much time calibrating as of yet. Here's my question - is there an easy way to do "A-B" comparisons? A quick way to engage/disengage the 50's processing.

The answer may be to plug/unplug HDMI cables, but I hope not. :)

I guess If the VP-50 would output 768p then that would be the way to go... But unless they offer that through a firmware upgrade, I've got an expensive paperweight...

Royd, I'm pretty sure the VP50 is capable of outputting 768p already... You can customise for instance the 720p setting, and change the horizontal and vertical sizes to match what you need.

I am considering a VP50, however I plan on using the HD DVD analogue audio out (dolby HD), and was wondering if anyone has tried this and what lip sync errors you have noticed.
I'm interested in feeding 48 Hz DVI to a Ruby.
Thanks
Paul

Royd, I'm pretty sure the VP50 is capable of outputting 768p already... You can customise for instance the 720p setting, and change the horizontal and vertical sizes to match what you need.

Gino,

Hi, and thanks... The 50 can output 1365X768 @ 60 which is exactly what the display(Pio PDP-5070HD), is... But for some reason the display won't except that.

The nice guys at DVDO have told me, that they think the Plasma won't accept that res Via HDMI, but would Via DVI... And maybe it will also except 1080p which it also won't via HDMI... That would be nice

Now that I'm home, It's time to play more... I"m just dumbfounded why the 1080i from the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD is so much better straight to the display, and doesn't look near as good through the VP-50?! :eek:

Gotta get to the bottom of this...

Thanks,

Royd

Royd, I'm pretty sure the VP50 is capable of outputting 768p already... You can customise for instance the 720p setting, and change the horizontal and vertical sizes to match what you need.

Gino, Thanks...

The VP-50 can output 1365X768 @60 which is exactly what my display is(Pio PDP-5070HD)... BUT for some reason the display won't except it via HDMI, Nor will it except 1080p which is says it does in the literature...

The good folks at DVDO have told me that they think that the Plasma might except these resolutions Via DVI... Well since I just got home from work, and I happen to have a Monster Ultra 1000 HDMI to DVI cable, it's time to play!

I'm just dumbfounded as to why the 1080i Straight out of the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD looks so superior to running it through the VP-50?! :eek:

I'm pretty happy with the result using the OPPO with SDI, And the SD Channels for that matter... It's just the HD Channels out of the Cable box blow the 50 away.

I've got to get to the bottom of this...

Thanks, Royd

You are not getting 1080i pass through on the VP50 like you did on the VP30. This is one reason 1080i to 1080i out does not look as good.

You are not getting 1080i pass through on the VP50 like you did on the VP30. This is one reason 1080i to 1080i out does not look as good.

That's why I'm really confused... I've never had a VP-30, or anything else for that matter... It just kills me... cause it's not even close.

Thank,

Royd

You are not getting 1080i pass through on the VP50 like you did on the VP30. This is one reason 1080i to 1080i out does not look as good.

That sucks. So if unless you have a 1080P display, you are better off going directly to the display for sources that output 1080i.

That sucks. So if unless you have a 1080P display, you are better off going directly to the display for sources that output 1080i.

Other progressive displays benefit from the VP50 (720p, 768p, etc). A big portion of what these boxes do is deinterlace things really well, so no an interlaced display isn't going to benefit that much from a video processor.

- Collin

Other progressive displays benefit from the VP50 (720p, 768p, etc). A big portion of what these boxes do is deinterlace things really well, so no an interlaced display isn't going to benefit that much from a video processor.

- Collin

Collin,

The VP-50 does not output 768p... The VP-30 did from what I understand... That's a problem for me, cause my display is 768p.

My display won't accept the 1365X768 output from the 50, but DVDO said that it would if I hooked up via the DVI output...

But now upon getting home I see that the PDP-5070 doesn't have a DVI Output!!! :( :confused:

Royd

Collin,

The VP-50 does not output 768p... The VP-30 did from what I understand... That's a problem for me, cause my display is 768p.

My display won't accept the 1365X768 output from the 50, but DVDO said that it would if I hooked up via the DVI output...

But now upon getting home I see that the PDP-5070 doesn't have a DVI Output!!! :( :confused:

Royd

Sure it does. It's identical to the VP30 in this respect. It can output any resolution you want. 768p is ill defined since its not a real format, but I would define it as 1366x768p which the VP50 has a preset for. If that's not what you want. Flip on Advanced mode and tune the output resolution to whatever you want. 1302x457p or something. Works great.

I don't know what your display will and won't accept, since I don't own one of those, but the VP50 can output any resolution you want up to 1920x1080.

- Collin

Collin,

The VP-50 does not output 768p... The VP-30 did from what I understand... That's a problem for me, cause my display is 768p.

My display won't accept the 1365X768 output from the 50, but DVDO said that it would if I hooked up via the DVI output...

But now upon getting home I see that the PDP-5070 doesn't have a DVI Output!!! :( :confused:

Royd


It outputs a 1280x768 with no problems, the same as the VP30 did. The only problem the VP 50 has (like the VP30) was/is that it does not "pass" a 1280x768 resolution, just a "blue" screen. I hope firmware fixes it soon.....

Decided to pull the trigger on purchasing a VP50 and Oppo 970. Im expecting to be blown away, but wont know until tonight. The only thing I am concerned about is my RPTV. It is a new Mits 65732 DLP, but it certainly isnt the most "calibration friendly" RPTV in the world. I assume the objectigve would be to use the internal VP50 test patterns to calibrate the DLP, and then go back and calibrate each input (Oppo and Dish 622).

If anyone has any additional suggestions, please let me know.
I'm using the VP50 with the 65732, 1080p 48hz into the Mitsu , and the two work beautifully together. I have not yet even tried to fine tune setup using test patterns as my TV is less than two weeks old and I'm having too much fun with it right now to take the time to do any fine tuning, and the image is excellant without it. The 65732 is among the easiest sets to calibrate that I've seen. I'm using it with the Oppo 971, an SDI modded Panasonic RP-91, and a Panasonic LX-900 laserdisc player that is converted from composite to component using a Panasonic HS2 DVD recorder.

You are not getting 1080i pass through on the VP50 like you did on the VP30. This is one reason 1080i to 1080i out does not look as good.
Okay, so one shouldn't be feeding the VP50 1080i sources if they're using a 1080i display..??

Sure it does. It's identical to the VP30 in this respect. It can output any resolution you want. 768p is ill defined since its not a real format, but I would define it as 1366x768p which the VP50 has a preset for. If that's not what you want. Flip on Advanced mode and tune the output resolution to whatever you want. 1302x457p or something. Works great.

I don't know what your display will and won't accept, since I don't own one of those, but the VP50 can output any resolution you want up to 1920x1080.

- Collin

Collin,

You're absolutely right! The 50 does have 1366X768, 1365X768, 1360X768, all at any framerate you want... Trouble is the Pioneer 5070 won't accept any of them... At least via HDMI... ABT told me try the DVI input... But there is none!

Thanks!

Royd

Ok thanks... Now I think I understand...

So for my Pioneer 5070 Plasma... I should output 768p 1365X768 ???

Not 1080i?

Thanks,

Roydr

Looking at the specs for the PDP5070HD, it would almost sound like it will only accept a 1080p/24hz signal via HDMI

Looking at the specs for the PDP5070HD, it would almost sound like it will only accept a 1080p/24hz signal via HDMI

Yes... But it doesn't.

You know what's weird? I just outputted 1060i @ 60 unlocked 59.94

And it looks Better!!!

Royd

Looking at the specs for the PDP5070HD, it would almost sound like it will only accept a 1080p/24hz signal via HDMI
It needs to be stressed time and time again, that unless your display can accept its native resolution as a valid input signal, and very, very few consumer displays can via HDMI, you could well be wasting your time with a video processor. You generally need to go to a commercial panel/display, in order to have the ability to address it at its native resolution.
If the display has a DVI connection, there is a greater chance that it will, but, beware, a lot of DVI inputs are NOT HDCP complient. Some offer native res mode on their component input only, and of course, HDCP sources fed through a VP, will NOT (in general) be able to be put out over the component outputs of the VP, unless the resolution is set to 480/576i.

You are not getting 1080i pass through on the VP50 like you did on the VP30. This is one reason 1080i to 1080i out does not look as good.
The picture from 1080i sources seem the same to me. I have a 1080P DLP display that only accepts 1080i max on the HDMI inputs. The VP50 does look better with 720P in and 1080i out compared with the VP30, but 1080i in and 1080i out look the same. I guess becasue I'm using it the same way. I use the underscan feature and also have the brightness, contrast and saturation adjusted for my HDTiVos. Although I am using the same values Eliab set when he calibrated my display with the VP30.

Yes... But it doesn't.

You know what's weird? I just outputted 1060i @ 60 unlocked 59.94

And it looks Better!!!

Royd


According to the product info on the Pioneer website, and in the online manual for it, and also as you have found out. The 5070 has no DVI inputs. And the online manual also shows that the 15 pin analog RGB PC input, is the only input that will accept 1024x768 or 1360x768. But the online manual also shows, that it should accept either 1920x1080i@59.94/60Hz or 1920x1080p@24Hz via HDMI as 1080 input options.

According to the product info on the Pioneer website, and in the online manual for it, and also as you have found out. The 5070 has no DVI inputs. And the online manual also shows that the 15 pin analog RGB PC input, is the only input that will accept 1024x768 or 1360x768. But the online manual also shows, that it should accept either 1920x1080i@59.94/60Hz or 1920x1080p@24Hz via HDMI as 1080 input options.RoydRage, bear in mind though, that your display WILL be scaling on 1080i inputs, so you may NOT see any improvement in PQ at all. The only resolution where you MIGHT be able to have it do no scaling will be 1365 x 768 on its analog inputs. Maybe give it a try and connect the VP50 to the ANALOG inputs (VGA or Component) of the Pio and see if you get a markedly improved PQ. You won't be able to use any HD input sources that have HDCP on them though, for the reason I mentioned before.

Hey all - just hooked up the VP50. haven't spent much time calibrating as of yet. Here's my question - is there an easy way to do "A-B" comparisons? A quick way to engage/disengage the 50's processing.

The answer may be to plug/unplug HDMI cables, but I hope not. :)
Yes. If you are using HDMI from the source, get two HDMI switchers. You can get a 2-way mechanical switcher for under $30. You'll need 3 additional HDMI cables. Around $7 if you know where to look. Have one switcher before the VP50, the other after. The one before will be turned around, so it's really a switched splitter. The one after will function in the ordinary way, as a source selector. One path out from the splitter goes through the VP50, the other goes straight to the selector. Now you can switch A-B by pressing two buttons.

If you are using component from the source, then it's even easier; just switch inputs on the monitor.

Yes... But it doesn't.

You know what's weird? I just outputted 1060i @ 60 unlocked 59.94

And it looks Better!!!

Royd
Royd,

I have an NEC XR5 which is a similar panel to the pioneer, with different electronics - it does accept native rate 1365 x 768 over HDMI.

I can tell you that 720p looks very good from the VP30, 1080i looks good, but native rate 768p looks dramatically superior ...

I hope you manage to achieve 768p 1:1 from your panel ....

i'm in the netherlands and have got no confirmation yet from the local reseller.

They shiped 2 days ago to *.nl will not be long now..

Daniel.

Although I am using the same values Eliab set when he calibrated my display with the VP30.

aaronwt, it may ease your mind to know that you can bet your Eliab tunings are still valid with the VP50. I own a ColorFacts Spectroradiometer setup and have measured the color bars and grayscale out of the HD+, VP30, & VP50 each time I upgraded. Each model reads exactly the same on my setup. There were reports that the VP50 was "darker" than the VP30. My eyes and measurements refute this. My setup is a 720p Samsung very similar to your 1080p set. The VP50 is connected via HDMI. My measurements of component are less diligently recorded, but what data I have indicates that there has not been a major change in the levels for analog out either.

I have measured an Accupel signal generator on my setup and it reads identically to the iScan test patterns. In terms of output levels these boxes are reference. That's one of the reasons I love these DVDO processors so much. You never see a reference grade singal out of a consumer device.

- Collin

Anyone with a Samsung HL-S series care to comment on getting the VP50. The xx87/xx88 models accept 1080p 1920x1080. I'm not sure if this signal forces the unit into native mode producing 1:1 pixel mapping even though overscan is on. Unfortunately the overscan "off" in the SM does not stick during power cycles on the xx87.

Right now I use a SA 8300HD with output forced to 1080i and the set deinterlaces to 1080p. If I set the 8300HD to "pass-through", the VP50's scaling/deinterlacing and outputting 1080p should be better than whatever the STB and display is doing. Like I said, I'm not sure if the HL-S further processes a 1080p input due to overscan.

I think this is whats going on but feel free to set me straight. :)

Thanks

Oh boy oh boy...I am in Spain, and signed up for the new purchase pre-order.
Just got of the phone with the spanish distributor, he tells me

- He knows nothing of a special offer, and in any case that would only be for the USA
- The VP50 will be available here next month, price as yet unknown.


Well, can't say I am too surpised, I wish I could order direct form a more civilized country...

Oh boy oh boy...I am in Spain, and signed up for the new purchase pre-order......Well, can't say I am too surpised, I wish I could order direct form a more civilized country...I ordered mine (trade-in to VP50)direct from the USA. That's not a possibility in Spain?