Hi AVS,

I've recently purchased the following components:

(i) Viewsonic N3752Sw 37" LCD TV
(ii) Panasonic S52S DVD Player

I connected the S52S to the LCD, expecting to be blown away by the image quality. Instead, the picture was horrible. My roommate, who doesn't have a fine eye for these things, even commented on the incredibly grainy image. This is not a subtle effect and I find it hard to believe that its the natural grain of the 'film'. The thread at this address: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=111332 contains two photoshopped images that illustrate exactly what I'm talking about.

I've tried the following to troubleshoot the problem, but nothing has worked:

(i) Tried 480i, 480p, and 720p output settings on the DVD player.
(ii) Tried two different HDMI cables.
(iii) Tried component cables.
(iv) Tried adjusting contrast and brightness. and turned down sharpness.
(v) Tried different DVDs.
(vi) Even tried my old DVD player over component.
(vii) Toggle and adjusted every picture setting on both the TV and the DVD player, including those in the E991 service menu on the TV.

I also have an XBOX 360 hooked up via component and a Windows Media Centre PC hooked up via VGA. Both look amazing. In fact, DVDs played in from my PC in Window Media Centre have absolutely NO GRAIN at all. I'm using the NVIDIA PureVideo Decoder on that box.

I'm at the end of my rope here. I don't think its the television, because I CAN get a good quality image out of other sources. I don't think its the DVD player or the cables, as I've tried different ones. The way things are now, the image is completely unacceptable, and I'm no videophile. Does anyone have any suggestions or have they had similar experiences? Any advice would be appreciated.

Simply try that DVD player on another set like yours.
Also try the Svideo connector
Turn down the sharpness and brightness on the Panasonic in the setup and try again.
Both can exaggerate grain and jaggies
Use a Calibration DVD.
How close is your viewing distance, maybe you can sit a few feet further back for SD as opposed to HD :)
good luck :)

I will take the DVD player back to the store and try it out on another set. I've calibrated the TV and reduced sharpness to -7. I've also tried DNR and Depth Enhancement. They all make a difference, but it still looks horrible. I tried playing DVDs in my Xbox 360, and that looks great. Even though the 360 is supposed to be a horrible DVD player. That just tells you how bad the Panasonic is. I've tried the component outputs, but not Svideo. I might give that a try, just as a troubleshooting method, but I would never stick with it. What I'll likely end up doing is returning it and getting the Sony S75H, which is supposed to have a truly breathtaking image.

Does the pattern appear over the player's own on-screen menus?

If so, the problem is likely with the player.

Or, does it only appear over film playback?

The Panasonic S52 is not a bad player. IMHO, it provides a great image that is comparable with the Sony. Take a look at the S52 owners thread where you'll see mostly good comments about this player.
I looked at your photo and I can assure you that the image my S52 looks nothing like the second photo but more like the first. In fact just last night I compared the SD DVD version of The Last Samurai on the S52 with the Blu-ray version on Sony BDP-S1. The BD version was better but the DVD version on the S52 was still very good. The BD version was a bit more detailed and 3-D like but also showed grain in the movie whereas the S52 was a little less detailed but showed no film grain.
Btw, I would not describe the Sony NS75 image as "breathtaking" but it is very good. Personally I think the S52 is a little better than the NS75 (I have the NC85 changer version as well as the S52).

I've read the S52 owners thread and tried many of the tweaks suggested there. It improved the image, but the grain was still there. I know that for majority of buyers, the S52 probably works as expected/advertised. Unfortunately, perhaps because of a faulty unit or because there is some 'incompatibility' between the player and my LCD, my experience has been much worse. It is nowhere comparable to a normal DVD image, let alone a BR/HD-DVD disc.

To answer an earlier question, the grain only appears during playback and not over DVD menus. I've resigned myself to returning the unit, because even if there is a solution to my problem, I don't want to spend anymore time figuring it out. I've already spent hours trying to set up a player that I was accepting to just plug in and go.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Its good to know what everyone else is thinking.

If it were me I would exchange the S52 and also get the Sony NS75 to try and keep the one that looks the best.

That actually sounds like a great way to move forward. I'll exchange the Panasonic to make sure its not defective and also pick up the Sony. And maybe a good Monster cable just to cover all my bases. But if the Sony isn't any better than the Panasonic, both are going back. Thanks for helping me clarify things.

Thought I'd chime in with my first post on avs. Been lurking for awhile and normally do not post but figured my experience may help. I had the exact same problem you are experiencing on the Viewsonic N3752Sw. Like you I expected a really sharp PQ, but upon playing dvds, the picture was horribly grainy. HD gaming on 360 and Ps3 was perfect. But DVDs was unacceptable. I thought it was the dvd player. I tried 3 players. An LG upconverting (cant remember the model), the new samsung upconverting and a cheap Phillips. Via, HDMI or component, the noise in the background was just too obvious. Seeing as though I tried a few players, I figured it must be a problem with the TV.

I went out and bought the Acer 3720" to compare. Set up both tvs one after the other, using the same cables.. the picture was soo much better than the Viewsonics when using the DVD player. No grain at all. So needless to say The Viewsonic is going back to Costco. It could be a defective unit, not sure, as alot of people seem to be happy with theirs. Even the Viewsonic housing looks nicer than the Acer in my opinion but it's all about the picture quality.

Good luck with your problem.

Thank you so much for your input happyninja. I hadn't considered it might be the television. But, from your post it seems like that might be it. I got my Viewsonic from Costco as well and it would not be a problem to exchange it for another panel. I think I'll take my DVD player to Costco and try it out on some different televisions there. That'll tell me where the real problem lies.

An update that some might find useful:

I took my Panasonic to Costco and tried it out on their Viewsonic. It exhibited the same problem. It looked even worse on a comparable Phillips. So I exchanged the player for another Panasonic. The new Panasonic also displayed the grain. So neither the television or the player were defective, in the strict sense of the word. I also bought a Sony S52 and a Toshiba SD4990. The Toshiba exhibited the same graininess. The Sony on the other hand, is almost perfect. The image is beautiful, save for some slight grain in the background of some shots. I have NO IDEA why this is the case, I'm just happy that I found a combination of player and TV that works.