Ave,

I recently got a 50" Panasonic Plasma TV (TH50PX60U).
I'm having Picture Quality issues - it's just not that great on two sources. Although i'm getting great picture on my HD channels from my cable box, and also from my XBOX360 Console... I'm not getting that 'Awesome' picture quality from my DVD playback, and the SD stations from my cable box are looking pretty crummy.

Here's what I have:

50" Panasonic Plasma TV TH50PX60U
3250HD Satellite Explorer Cable Box (Time Warner Cable)
JVC TH C50 Home Theater System
XBOX / XBOX360

Here's how I have them hooked up:

CABLE -> DVI>HDMI -> TV
DVD -> HDMI -> TV
XBOX360 -> COMPONENT -> TV
XBOX -> COMPONENT -> TV

I'm getting excellent PQ on HD Channels from my cable - but like I said, the SD Channels are pretty crummy! Would it have anything to do with the DVI>HDMI Cable i'm using? Should I use a different connection to get better SD PQ?

I'm using HDMI cable for my DVD to TV hookup. The brighter parts of any scene in a DVD playback look awesome - however, the darker parts look pretty crummy - I see distortion, pixel-blocking, sometimes the characters standing in the background look really crummy & malformed. I have the output set to 1080i. Should I switch to 720p?

Both the Consoles are giving me awesome picture. I have them both set to 1080i and am using Component Cables. Is there any reason I should set them to 720p? Would that give me even better Quality?

Thanks!

what dvd player is it?? Sounds like its an upconvetting one from you setting it to 1080i. If it is a cheap upconverting dvd player your better off setting it at 480p and letting the tv do the scaling. SD channels are crap. Some are better then others, but they will never look as clear as even a dvd even though they are both 480. what is your cable box set for for SD channels? make sure it is set to 480i or 480p. My motorola box does a crappy job of outputing 480p so I set my SD override to 480i and it looks better, but still some channels will look worse then others. I just noticed what dvd player you have. Try setting the output on it to 480p I almost garauntee the scaler and video processor in the tv is better then in the DVD player.

I would try the DVD output to 480i and 480p to see what gives you a better picture. The upconversion on the JVC DVD player in that package stinks.

Also, what software does TWC 3250HD cable box use? Passport Echo, Sara, or Navigator?

If it has Passport Echo, setup the output options with the remote (SETTINGS, MORE SETTINGS). You want to output 480i channels as 480i, 720p channels as 720p, and 1080i channels as 1080i, if that "native" option is available.

Ave,

I don't know what software my 3250HD Explorer Cable box uses, but I have it set to "Pass-through", which is similar to the "native" option you're talking about. It basically outputs according to the source. All SD stations are pretty much being output at 480i. HD Channels ouput at 1080i or 720p depending upon the source.

I can try setting my DVD player to output at 480i or 480p and let the TV upscale. I have it set to 1080i. But shouldn't I rather try 720p?

Also, somewhere in this forum I heard someone say that the DVItoHDMI Cable for SD stations is the worst option - that I should use a direct Coax connection between my Cable Box & TV using a Coax Cable - and view SD Stations on that - and use the DVI2HDMI connection for the HD channels. Does his claim hold water?

Thanks.

no the DVD player should be 480p cause that is the native resolution of the DVD source. Do not let the JVC DVD player mess with the image. Let the tv do all of the scaling because it hasq a better video processor then the dvd player.

no the DVD player should be 480p cause that is the native resolution of the DVD source. Do not let the JVC DVD player mess with the image. Let the tv do all of the scaling because it hasq a better video processor then the dvd player.

That just might make the whole lot of difference that i'm looking for.
Ever since I got that DVD Player (Got it after the Plasma) - I've had it set to either Auto (which upscales), 720p or 1080i. I didn't once set it to 420p. I'm gonna give it a try!

Now pardon my tech-know-how cause i'm no expert in this area, and am just learning to operate these devices - but according to you, when I set the mode to 720p or 1080i in my DVD player, it basically Upscales 420p to 720p/1080i?
But the upscaling in the TV is supposed to be better so if I set DVD player to 420p - the TV will upscale to .. what?

Thanks!

But the upscaling in the TV is supposed to be better so if I set DVD player to 420p - the TV will upscale to .. what?There is no such thing as 420p. You should set the DVD player to 480i or 480p.

Like most 50" plasmas, your Pioneer has a resolution of ~1365x768p, so all content will be scaled to that.

There is no such thing as 420p. You should set the DVD player to 480i or 480p.

Like most 50" plasmas, your Pioneer has a resolution of ~1365x768p, so all content will be scaled to that.

I'm sorry, that's my mistake. I meant to say 480p, not 420p.

Do all DVDs (Standard, not HD or Blu-ray) have a 480p source?

Anyhow, I'll certainly set my DVD Player to 480p and see how it looks.
Still trying to figure out the best possible connection to get the best possible picture on SD Channels though.

Thanks.

I'm sorry, that's my mistake. I meant to say 480p, not 420p.

Do all DVDs (Standard, not HD or Blu-ray) have a 480p source?On DVD movies, the content is 480p24 flagged as 480i60. If your player were to output what was on the DVD, you would get 480i. Just like 1080p24 programs such as CSI on CBS, Heroes on NBC, and The Sopranos on HBO are flagged as 1080i60.

As far as TWC, I take it they are the only cable provider in your market? Is your local phone carrier Verizon, which means you now have (or will have) the option of Verizon FiOS?

yes all dvd's are encoded as far as I know at 480p. Since your tv's native resolution is 1366x768. when the tv recieves any signal it will scale it to the native resolution of your screen. So it will take the dvd and scale it from 480p to the 1366x768. Now if you let a dvd player with a bad scaler scale to say 720p you scale to 720p in the dvd player and then the tv scales it to 1366x768, so you go through 2 scaling processes. The ideal solution is to have the least number of times the signal gets processed before being displayed, especially if the external scaler in the dvd player is not very good. with setting your dvd player to 480p it only gets scaled once inside the tv.

Totally awesome! And I did not know this at all. This is good learning.
For sure i'll be setting my DVD Player to 480p.

I'm not quite sure what bfdtv meant with "On DVD movies, the content is 480p24 flagged as 480i60". What i'm gathering from you is that I should set it to 480p - what I'm gathering from bfdtv is that I should set it to 480i.
Could either of you clear this up?

I never knew the Plasma TV upscaled anything. But now I know.
Do either of you suggest trying out the Coaxial direct connection for the SD stations on my cable box to get a better picture? It's definately not working out using the DVI2HDMI cable I have going. HD stations are great - but SD stations suck!

Thanks!

yes all dvd's are encoded as far as I know at 480p. Since your tv's native resolution is 1366x768. when the tv recieves any signal it will scale it to the native resolution of your screen. So it will take the dvd and scale it from 480p to the 1366x768. Now if you let a dvd player with a bad scaler scale to say 720p you scale to 720p in the dvd player and then the tv scales it to 1366x768, so you go through 2 scaling processes. The ideal solution is to have the least number of times the signal gets processed before being displayed, especially if the external scaler in the dvd player is not very good. with setting your dvd player to 480p it only gets scaled once inside the tv.

you can try the coaxial for sd stations, but then you will have to change inputs when you go from HD to SD. DVD's were flagged for 480i cause old TVs as far as I know could only accept the 480i input. From what I gather a progressive scan dvd player ignores the 480i60 flagging and outputs the original 480p24. the number after the p or i is the number of frames per second. I believe the flagging, I am not 100% sure of how this works, but when the dvd is encoded extra duplicate frames are added to acheive the 60 frames per second. The progressive scan dvd player would ignore these extra duplicate frames, or it puts 2 frames together to get the one progressive scan frame, not 100% sure, but I know you want it set to 480p output.

Not quite sure what bfdtv meant with "On DVD movies, the content is 480p24 flagged as 480i60". What i'm gathering from you is that I should set it to 480p - what I'm gathering from bfdtv is that I should set it to 480i.As I noted above, content is stored on disk as 480i. However, the 480p image is easily reconstructed.

You can try it both ways, but you probably won't see much difference.

Do either of you suggest trying out the Coaxial direct connection for the SD stations on my cable box to get a better picture? It's definately not working out using the DVI2HDMI cable I have going. HD stations are great - but SD stations suck!If the SD stations on your TWC system are digital, there's probably no benefit to that. The primary reason to use coaxial is to take advantage of your display's built-in 3D comb filter. This comb filter is designed to clean up interference in analog SD signals, like ghosting and dot crawl, but it doesn't generally do much for digital SD signals. This comb filter is bypassed when you use DVI/HDMI, component, and s-video.

Have you tried plugging the coax cable from TWC directly into the TV, rather than going through the cable box? I would suggest you do that and see how your SD looks.

I would strongly consider getting the HDTV DVR from your cable company, so you can record all your favorite programs in hgih-definition. Either way, you should request a new box from your cable company with HDMI, to ensure that you are getting the correct colorspace on output. Some boxes let you set the colorspace on DVI output to YCbCr, but others default to RGB.

You guys are on the right track in looking along the signal path for what processing is done by what components. Please correct me if I am wrong, as I don't know everything and can be wrong, but I was under the distinct impression that SD DVDs were recorded as interlaced (480i) and that progressive players performed the de-interlacing to obtain a progressive output. This is specifically why those with external video processors and excellent processors in their displays often prefer, for SD DVDs, to output a 480i signal. They also want to minimize the number of conversions digital->analog->digital and so these people also prefer to send the 480i signal via a digital connection, ususlly HDMI. 480i bandwidth, however, is below the minimum of the HDMI spec and so not all, in fact few, players do this. Those that do duplicate each frame as two to keep the bitrate up within the connections spec. The Oppo 970 is one such popular player for this very reason.

I would recommend trying both 480p and 480i. De-interlacing can be tricky to do well (which is one of many reasons some pay 4-6k for external processors). Chips in many STBs abd DVDs are often cheap and degrade the signal. If your digital connection will not support 480i over a digital connection, please also try it over analog component (YPbPr). Many have fould a component connection to yield excellent results.

Additionally, try a separate set of picture adjustments for the SD signals. These adjustments can and do make a tremendous difference in the PQ achieved in the home.

Cheers, :)

Gary

I don't know itigap. I always was under the impression to have it set to 480p maybe that is cause like you said the digital connection won't allow 480i. I was also under the assumption that de-interlacing for a progressive scan signal from a dvd was trivial. For the record I use a standard non-progressive scan dvd player in my setup connected through component and the picture is outstanding, except for the damn pause it causes during layer switching. This is th only thing which is making me think of buying a different dvd player

SD DVDs are stored as interlaced, 8 bit, YCbCr (digital form of component). To have the DVD player perform the least amount of processing you should look for:

Format = 480i
ColorSpace = YCbCr

On some HDMI players the least altered output you can get is:

Format = 480i
ColorSpace = RGB (color decoding done by the DVD Player)

On most though you only get:
Format = 480p (deinterlacing done by the DVD player)
ColorSpace = RGB (color decoding done by the DVD Player)

It is worth comparing 720P and 480i (or 480P) to see which looks best.

HTH

Neil

SD DVDs are stored as interlaced, 8 bit, YCbCr (digital form of component). To have the DVD player perform the least amount of processing you should look for:

Format = 480i
ColorSpace = YCbCr

On some HDMI players the least altered output you can get is:

Format = 480i
ColorSpace = RGB (color decoding done by the DVD Player)

On most though you only get:
Format = 480p (deinterlacing done by the DVD player)
ColorSpace = RGB (color decoding done by the DVD Player)

It is worth comparing 720P and 480i (or 480P) to see which looks best.

HTH

Neil
Thanks Neil that's what I thought but you had the detail I was missing.

Will most SD DVD players that provide 480i leave the signal as YCbCr or convert to YPbPr?

Cheers, :)

Gary

Well first of all thanks to all the folks who've been contributing to this post.
Coming back to you ceenhad, from what I understand from your post, all SD DVDs are stored as Interlaced, and thus to perform least amount of processing (and thus get better Picture Quality), I should set output from my DVD Player to 480i, Correct?
Also, towards the end you mention trying out 720p to try out which looks best - why?

The other confusion I have is between YCbCr, RGB & YPbPr. I certainly do not understand any of this - and I don't expect to be educated on this all of a sudden either - but pertaining to my situation where I have a JVC DVD Player and i'm using an HDMI Cable to hook it up to my Panasonic Plasma TV - What consequence does this ColorSpace have on the fact that i'm not getting the best PQ from my DVD playback - and how can I improve it?

Coming back to my SD stations PQ problem - I'm going to give a direct Coaxial Cable Connection a shot to see if that helps - although I understand bfdtv's argument that if i'm getting Digital Signal - it won't do any good - but it's worth a shot.

Do you think carrying the signal from my DVD Player & Cable Box to my Plasma TV using Component Cables instead of HDMI would make a difference?

Thanks!

SD DVDs are stored as interlaced, 8 bit, YCbCr (digital form of component). To have the DVD player perform the least amount of processing you should look for:

Format = 480i
ColorSpace = YCbCr

On some HDMI players the least altered output you can get is:

Format = 480i
ColorSpace = RGB (color decoding done by the DVD Player)

On most though you only get:
Format = 480p (deinterlacing done by the DVD player)
ColorSpace = RGB (color decoding done by the DVD Player)

It is worth comparing 720P and 480i (or 480P) to see which looks best.

HTH

Neil

Coming back to my SD stations PQ problem - I'm going to give a direct Coaxial Cable Connection a shot to see if that helps - although I understand bfdtv's argument that if i'm getting Digital Signal - it won't do any good - but it's worth a shot.The Panasonic has a built-in QAM tuner. I would again suggest you try connecting the coax cable straight to the cable input on the Panasonic, bypassing the STB, to see how the picture compares.

The Panasonic has a built-in QAM tuner. I would again suggest you try connecting the coax cable straight to the cable input on the Panasonic, bypassing the STB, to see how the picture compares.

I can definitely try & and see how that looks - but there's a couple of problems with this. Firstly, the HD stations - would they still be processing as HD even though i'm not using the STB and an HD Connection?
Secondly, when I hit the INFO button on the STB's remote - I get program info - program guide etcetera - Since i'll be bypassing the STB, I won't be able to pull all that up?

Thanks!

I can definitely try & and see how that looks - but there's a couple of problems with this. Firstly, the HD stations - would they still be processing as HD even though i'm not using the STB and an HD Connection?
Secondly, when I hit the INFO button on the STB's remote - I get program info - program guide etcetera - Since i'll be bypassing the STB, I won't be able to pull all that up?Locals are typically unencrypted, so you will probably get those. However, they may not be at the channel numbers you are accustomed to -- that will depend on whether your cable company includes PSIP info for channel remapping. For example, channel 200 might appear to be on 86.4, which is how channels are actually numbered on their system before they are remapped by the STB.

You won't get guide information.

It may not be practical for you to use the built-in tuner (given usability issues) on a regular basis, but at least you can confirm the source of the issue with SD signals, if there is one.

It may not be practical for you to use the built-in tuner (given usability issues) on a regular basis, but at least you can confirm the source of the issue with SD signals, if there is one.

I'll do that... thanks!

Make sure your dvd player and cable box are set to 16:9. On your Panny, use the Just aspect ratio for SD and Full for HD/DVD.

Make sure your dvd player and cable box are set to 16:9. On your Panny, use the Just aspect ratio for SD and Full for HD/DVD.

That's exactly how I have everything set!

Thanks!

I had exactly the same issue with my brand new tv. the HD quality was good - but I could still see some blockiness up close. given that I had another 42" plasma that I had purchased earlier - that had very good quality on both HD and SD, I knew that the bad SD quality on the 50" was either a bad set or just the larger size.

I went to a couple of stores to compare and even the 58" were showing good quality (no HD blockiness) even in one store where I could see an SD picture. I returned the tv and exchanged for another piece (being within 30 day period) and the new tv has GREAT SD picture quality. on some good channels e.g. sci-fi or E!, it is difficult to make out HD vs SD.

What Brand/Model did you have?
I hope this is not the case with me. I have it mounted & all - i'd hate to return & get a replacement & start all over again!

I had exactly the same issue with my brand new tv. the HD quality was good - but I could still see some blockiness up close. given that I had another 42" plasma that I had purchased earlier - that had very good quality on both HD and SD, I knew that the bad SD quality on the 50" was either a bad set or just the larger size.

I went to a couple of stores to compare and even the 58" were showing good quality (no HD blockiness) even in one store where I could see an SD picture. I returned the tv and exchanged for another piece (being within 30 day period) and the new tv has GREAT SD picture quality. on some good channels e.g. sci-fi or E!, it is difficult to make out HD vs SD.

If you connected the coax from TWC straight into your Panasonic and didn't see much of an improvement, then you've hit the limits of what that display can do with SD signals. I am assuming you have already calibrated your picture with a DVD such as AVIA.

The Pioneer 50" 5070HD does a bit better with SD, thanks to its improved video processing. I don't know how much you paid for the Panasonic, but it may be within your budget if you look the forum sponsors like Plasma Concepts and Invision Displays. Generally, the Pioneer costs $400-$500 more than the Panasonic.

If Verizon FiOS is available in your area, you can get a better SD picture on that provider. If not, then you're stuck with the SD source you've got, since satellite is not an improvement over TWC's digital cable.

The Progress

Before I even begin I gotta thank each & every single one of you who's been posting in my thread here, helping me out. Believe it or not - part of my entire problem was my own stupidity. I didn't know that you can have Individual Picture Settings for each Input! I thought that whatever Picture Settings you did on one Input would apply on the entire TV!

Having discovered that last evening - things already began to improve. I was watching my DVD's on Vivid with Factory Settings!

But anyhow, having gone past that - I think last evening I finally made the breakthrough that I was looking for - and things are looking Ecstatic at this point.

As suggested by the Good Folks here at this forum, I took a Coaxial Cable & Connected my STB to my TV using the Coaxial Cable! And BANG! I fixed SD PQ! WOW! Everything Changed! SD Stations now look awesome! I use the "TV" Input now for my SD Stations - All blockiness, double-lining, distortion - Everything is gone!! It looks Awesome Now!

I left my STB connected to my TV's HDMI Input and my HD Stations look Out Of This World!

Then I came down to my DVD Player - I switched it from 1080i to 480p & 480i and I couldn't get a good PQ, in fact 1080i had looked better then both. Then I switched it to 720p - and BANG! I got the Awesome PQ that I had been waiting for!! Crystal Clear & Sharp Picture. It looks awesome now! I had to play with Picture Settings a bit but I hit the Nail!

Although I didn't get a chance to play my Consoles - I did change both XBOX & XBOX360 from 1080i to 720p and I'll play them over the weekend to see if that makes it even better!

So at this point i'm Gold! This turned out absolutely awesome!

Here's my hook up in detail:

STB (SD Stations) -> Coaxial -> Plasma
Recall Info- Aspect: JUST, Mode: 480i, Picture: STANDARD

STB (HD Stations) -> DVI>HDMI -> Plasma
Recall Info- Aspect: FULL, Mode: 1080i/720p, Picture: STANDARD

DVD -> HDMI -> Plasma
Recall Info- Aspect: FULL, Mode: 720p, Picture: CINEMA

Consoles -> Component -> Plasma
Recall Info- Aspect: FULL, Mode: 720p, Picture: CINEMA

Two Questions
I was told not to Calibrate before Break-In (100hrs), since I haven't crossed 100hrs yet, I didn't Calibrate. Should I? I have both AVIA & DVE - Which one should I use?
The "Side Bars" option in my TV Settings is greyed out and set to Dark. How can this be un-greyed out so I can change it to light or bright or whatever it should be at?

Thanks!

You might want to try out the Picture setting on NORMAL instead of CINEMA. I tried with both and I preferred the look of NORMAL. But again, everyone's eyes will tell them something different. Just try it though.

Two Questions
I was told not to Calibrate before Break-In (100hrs), since I haven't crossed 100hrs yet, I didn't Calibrate. Should I? I have both AVIA & DVE - Which one should I use?
The "Side Bars" option in my TV Settings is greyed out and set to Dark. How can this be un-greyed out so I can change it to light or bright or whatever it should be at?

Thanks!
Well in response to the second question, you have to be in 4:3 aspect to access and change the side bars option. If you are in any other aspect mode this setting is disabled...at least on my 58PX60U.

Well in response to the second question, you have to be in 4:3 aspect to access and change the side bars option. If you are in any other aspect mode this setting is disabled...at least on my 58PX60U.

Thanks! That must have been the issue. I'll fix it!

glad you got everything worked out mickey. The pannys do put out a fantastic picture once everything is set up properly. I've come to learn myself as you seem to now that with a HDTV its not like the old SD tv and just hook things up. You need to configure things properly for best results

So True!
Back in the old days we would have the Coaxial running from STB to VCR and VCR to TV and that's it! Then Composite came into being and it was as simple as Red, White & Yellow! Believe me - when I started to look into Plasma TV's, my knowledge was no more then the Red, White & Yellow! I had no idea about video scan modes, HDMI, Component and what not... but my Audio/Video Editing & Encoding background helped me catch up in a decent time.

I'm still looking for an answer on the Calibration Question. Can I go ahead before the 100 hour break-in? And DVE or AVIA? Or Something Else!?

glad you got everything worked out mickey. The pannys do put out a fantastic picture once everything is set up properly. I've come to learn myself as you seem to now that with a HDTV its not like the old SD tv and just hook things up. You need to configure things properly for best results

I'd wait until after the break in.

If you want to accellerate the break in you can download and burn a break in DVD to run overnight or anytime you are not watchingand complete your break in in under 5 days. There is a thread with a link to the download here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=583089)

As far as calibration goes, calibrated is calibrated and the end results really shouldn't vary significantly between DVE and AVIA.

I'd say just pick one and go.

If some of the numbers published online are to be believed, the whole PX line comes up with pretty much the same numbers once they are ISF calibrated, and those numbers are...

Picture Mode Standard
Picture +22
Brightness +8
Color -1
Tint -4
Sharpness -14
Color Temperature Warm

I just plugged these in and it looks good FWIW. I do have a calibration DVD that came from Monster and I'm going to give that a shot just for reference but these numbers gave me really good results.

Ave,

I couldn't find a Break In DVD in the link you specified. Are you sure you gave the correct link? It brought up DirecTV Article on Space.Com!

I'm inclined to pick DVE because I had gone through a long discussion thread somewhere in some forum where they were all of the opinion that AVIA had strong Audio calibration content but DVE was geared primarily towards Video.

The settings that I pretty much ended up with last evening are:

Picture Mode Standard
Picture +12
Brightness +6
Color 0
Tint -3
Sharpness -12
Color Temperature Warm

These are very similar to what you wrote... I think i'm going to give your settings a try and see how the Display is working. Your settings might improve the PQ further. I'll give it a whirl!

The DVD you got from Monster.... was that Free or you paid for it?

Thanks!


I'd wait until after the break in.

If you want to accellerate the break in you can download and burn a break in DVD to run overnight or anytime you are not watchingand complete your break in in under 5 days. There is a thread with a link to the download here. (http://www.space.com/spacenews/archive04/directvarch_091304.html)

As far as calibration goes, calibrated is calibrated and the end results really shouldn't vary significantly between DVE and AVIA.

I'd say just pick one and go.

If some of the numbers published online are to be believed, the whole PX line comes up with pretty much the same numbers once they are ISF calibrated, and those numbers are...

Picture Mode Standard
Picture +22
Brightness +8
Color -1
Tint -4
Sharpness -14
Color Temperature Warm

I just plugged these in and it looks good FWIW. I do have a calibration DVD that came from Monster and I'm going to give that a shot just for reference but these numbers gave me really good results.

Ave,

I couldn't find a Break In DVD in the link you specified. Are you sure you gave the correct link? It brought up DirecTV Article on Space.Com!

I'm inclined to pick DVE because I had gone through a long discussion thread somewhere in some forum where they were all of the opinion that AVIA had strong Audio calibration content but DVE was geared primarily towards Video.

The settings that I pretty much ended up with last evening are:

Picture Mode Standard
Picture +12
Brightness +6
Color 0
Tint -3
Sharpness -12
Color Temperature Warm

These are very similar to what you wrote... I think i'm going to give your settings a try and see how the Display is working. Your settings might improve the PQ further. I'll give it a whirl!

The DVD you got from Monster.... was that Free or you paid for it?

Thanks!

Sorry about that, copying and pasting and posting in too many forums at once. ;)

I fixed the link in the above post but here it is again (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=583089).

The DVD I got came in a accessory bundle I purchased when I bought the TV. It included the extended warranty, the Monster Screen Cleaning Kit, The Calibration DVD, an HDMI cable, A Component Cable, A Stereo Audio Cable, and a 10-outlet surge suppressor/9600 Joule AC noise conditioner as a single package. Comparing the bundle price with the prices on the individual items I paid for the warranty, cleaner, DVD and surge suppressor (which were the items I really wanted) and the cables were basically "Free". WHich is good because I can get the same cables from monoprice for far less than the prices the seller was asking.

In addition to those settings I have my black level set to "Dark".

Thanks! I actually have that Break In disc, but when I popped it in and played it for a few minutes, I saw Horizontal lines on the screen. Quite dim & not very prominent - yet, it wasn't an absolutely clear color fill as I anticipated. I for one decided to not use it. I didn't want those Horizontal lines I saw burning into my screen.

I have my black level set to light - I'll go home and experiment with setting it to Dark. I saw some detail lost in darkness when it was set to Dark - let me give it another look. I'm eager to try out your Picture Settings though... just to see how it looks. I'll give you feedback on that.

Thanks!

Sorry about that, copying and pasting and posting in too many forums at once. ;)

I fixed the link in the above post but here it is again (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=583089).

The DVD I got came in a accessory bundle I purchased when I bought the TV. It included the extended warranty, the Monster Screen Cleaning Kit, The Calibration DVD, an HDMI cable, A Component Cable, A Stereo Audio Cable, and a 10-outlet surge suppressor/9600 Joule AC noise conditioner as a single package. Comparing the bundle price with the prices on the individual items I paid for the warranty, cleaner, DVD and surge suppressor (which were the items I really wanted) and the cables were basically "Free". WHich is good because I can get the same cables from monoprice for far less than the prices the seller was asking.

In addition to those settings I have my black level set to "Dark".

Hmm. I haven't noticed any bars running my break in DVD. Maybe something with the download or the burn to the DVD. I don't know.

At any rate, good luck.

Don't mean to hijack a thread...but most of your problems seemed to be solved and i would love to get some help form these people if they are still in a giving kind of mood. Oh, regarding the break-in DVD, go to: www.videoasylum.com/ht/bbs.html
and look for the break-in thread started by Dingo Dave(me). There's a link in there somewhere to a DVD you can download, burn and use.
Now, on to my issue...

Referencing my new Panasonic HT-50XX60U Plasma set...
My picture on HD channels seems to have streched horizontally a bit. Yesterday, when i first set it up, i could see the HDNet and Discovery HD logos in the lower right corner in their proper place and fully visible and all images appeared to be in their proper aspect ratios. The same could be said for earlier today.
Well, all of a sudden tonight while viewing the screen seemed to stretch out a bit. This occurs in all modes, specifically in the FULL Aspect mode, which should be the proper ARatio for channels such as HDNet and DiscHD. The faces appear stretched and the clincher was when i saw the logos appear again in the lower right hand corner. This time 1/2 to 1/3 of the logo is off of the screen. I tried all ARatios and i get the same "stretchy" effect. Is this my cable provider screwing up(Charter) or is it something with the set? I am using component from cable box to plasma. The box is a Scientifc Atlantic 8300HD 1080i.

(on edit)OK, something new...
When i just accessed the cable box menu via remote the aspect ratio in the background on plasma corrects itself. I went into the cable box menu with remote. When the cable box menu is up, whcih covers about 1/3 of screen, the picture on plasma actually goes back to normal aspect ratio. I know becuase i see all of the HDNet logo. And it turns out a am missing about 1/2 the logo when ARatio is off. Then when i exit the cable box menu it stretches back out.
I hope this is can be resolved. I have been so happy with the plasma pic. Unbelievable. I knew i would have issues integrating this set into my finicky system, but i'm glad that my doubting of the picture quality isn't one of them. Was considering DLP RP.


On a much lesser pair of notes...I also had and issue with my Sony DVP-NS900V DVD/SACD player. I was getting horrible hum until i switched in the on-screen menu from 4/3 to 16/9. I was uing the component outs on the DVD palyer for first time, going tinot my new plasma. To be honest i was rather horrified by the picture quality. I guess that's why they felt compeeled to invent BR & HD DVD.
Also, i was getting a hum out of the plasma from my pre-amp(quicksilver), which was taking in an audio feed from my cable box, whcih was also, naturally, feeding my plasma > plugged the QS pre into a different outlet an whoala, no more hum . Weird. That had been an ongoing problem from day one since i got the QSilver. I bought a coax "pad" to knock out the hum but now i won't need it.


I truly appreciate your attention.

The box is a Scientifc Atlantic 8300HD 1080i.It sounds like you hit the zoom button on your 8300HD. The button at the lower-left hand corner of most SA8300 remotes features a button to zoom and stretch content. The zoom and stretch modes work on both SD and HD programming.

It sounds like you hit the zoom button on your 8300HD. The button at the lower-left hand corner of most SA8300 remotes features a button to zoom and stretch content. The zoom and stretch modes work on both SD and HD programming.


Makes sense, cause late last night right after posting i went in and messed with the Video SOurce button and a button that nas no text on it and suddenly the picture corrected itself. I was to sleepy to figure what i did so i need to do that after i wake up here.
BTW, what is the Video Source? Isd that a pass through feature the box has? Is that so if you want to record something off of a tape or DVD you can feed it into teh box and monitor it by using Video SOurce?

Ave,

Is there a recommended viewing distance to watch a 50" Plasma TV? I sit about 7 ft away from my Plasma, and I don't think I can help with my current setup to go any further ... maybe in the future.

Thanks.