Consolidated AE700 thread- Ban is lifted - Page 143

ted

It has been asked in this forum and the tweak forum if the AE700 will accept a HD signal on the 15 pin input from the 15 pin output of the RCA DTC 100 STB and the RCA DTC250 STB.

I have searched both threads and never found a definite answer to the question.

Please share your experience if you have the AE700 working with the above mentioned STB's

Thanks,

Henry

hmcewin
have not tried either stb with ae700 but have no reason to doubt they would work. The RGB (VGA) input on the ae700 should have no problem with the rgbhv outputs, I would think. Don't sue me if there is a problem.

I find it astounding that people here say smooth screen is useless and SD is a non-issue on the Z3.
I can easily see SD on my Z3 from above the recommended viewing distance, defocusing is absolutely necessary. Smooth screen is quite an advantage of the Pana700, although it has its own issues like all affordable PJs.

Yep, that was a major consideration for what I wanted to do with mine - sit close for 2.35 source. I *can* see SDE on the 700 at about 5 ft though. There are other artifacts to deal with when sitting close but those are more readily tolerated (by me) than a fixed unsolid picture structure. One of the joys of film is its amorphous nature - no two frames alike.

Right now I think the real limitation is source - I find WMV sources at 720 an 1080p really allows the resolution to show through. Anyone who thinks DVD is a "sharp" source should consider that is simply tired old NTSC. I look forward to Hi Def DVD.

ted

So SDE is visible on the Pana700 too, interesting. I can also still see it a bit on my defocused Z3, so for people with sharp eyesight (or, in my case, nearly perfectly matched contact lenses), some hints about the picture being a pixel matrix will always be there.
About source material: WMV9 streams aren't really a good source, MPEG2-TS HD broadcasts are usually quite a bit better.
Seeing SDE or not doesn't have to do much with the resolution though.

tvted
I *can* see SDE on the 700 at about 5 ft though.

i have a friend who likes to stand a foot from my screen and point that out. how much of an issue is it in your theater ? 5 ft seems to be getting picky.

I'm aware of what you say - my sense of picture structure comes from years of staring at TV Control room monitor walls. So I should have said that is with a white field with no motion - where it is most apparent, and this was only 5 ft - I've yet to have anyone over who was able to see it greater than 3. This is also projected 50 x 89 which has to be taken into sonsideration as that puts it about .675 screen widths.

*I* might sit that close but then I'm nuts. I really am an LCOS wannabee on a 3d Viewmaster budget.

ted

Wayyyyyyyyy too picky.
I kick people out if they say they can see SDE. So its no "issue" for me at all. Even the kids don't sit that close. "What are the dots for dad?"

My way of illustrating that what I'm looking at is apparent to me and under specific conditions as mentioned to audiophobe.

ted

Well, to be frank vertical banding is more visible to me than the screendoor. I sit 3m watching a 84" picture.

Somewhere in this thread someone asked if the AE700 would work with the DTC210 STB through the VGA input. I have tested this and the AE700 works very well with the DTC210 STB.

just lost my post

I just received my AE700 yesterday. It is replacing my NEC 6PG CRT for now.

After an initial setup I was able to pretty much tweak a few things (mainly lowering lamp brightness and contrast) and get a good picture on my blackout cloth over tileboard 100" screen. It is driven by HTPC running Windows Media Center @ 1280x720 which is auto detected by the projector as 720 on the VGA (PC) port.

I like the picture overall, but on LOTR I started noticing the campfires would move in sudden little vertical line shifts when the camera panned instead of moving fluidly. In The MAtrix it became quite evident when there was action, especially in the background, that I could not really make it out, although the picture was very clean and crisp when the action stopped with a lot of detail. Basically, when there is background detail and movement it becomes less clear- a lot more so than I ever remember seeing on these DVD's. As soon as the picture was, say, stopped on Trinity's face, you could make out really good detail.

So, I am wondering first, what is this called? I have read through the threads and believe it may be "Motion Blurring"?

Next, will the DVI output to an HDMI converter cable help with this? Am I correct in my set-up as far as resolution etc.?

Any other suggestions are much appreciated. I am a newbie to LCD and the AE700 and apologize as I am sure these are already answered. I did search extensively for information about this on the AE700 but am unsure about what it is exactly.

~Thank You!

If it astounds you, you're "projecting" your preferences on others.

People's ability to see SD depends on their visual acuity, the distance they sit from the screen, and possibly on the type of screen they use. My vision is corrected to 20/20. I sit 1.8 screen widths back from my ME screen (DIY). Watching my Z3 in a totally dark room I can see faint pixelation in large white areas, but not under any other conditions. I do not find it the slightest bit distracting, but others might. SDE is another matter. I cannot see SDE unless I move closer to the screen. I could, however, see VB on the demo AE700U I watched at a local HT retailer, and found it distracting enough to eliminate the 700 from my list of possible choices. To ME, smooth screen on the AE700U was useless. To someone else, it may be invaluable, but that doesn't astound me and it doesn't mean they're wrong in their own personal choice. They like what they like, and I like what I like.

The cRT Forum was always ripping fast with advice ~LoL~ So I realize I am a TOTAL NEWBIE when it comes to Digital. I demo'd everything I could locally, but finally bought site unseen based on what I read online. Now, heres the wierd thing I don't understand. After the first night I took the AE700 off the coffee table and put it away. The next day I hooked it back up and powered it on. The HTPC ran the whole time as it is my cable PVR. I watched an Anime title and then for fun put on The MAtrix again. Same blurry action background problem. Then I changed it to 1024 as my old setup used this. Same blurry problem. Then, because of computer updates, I let my computer reboot and the blurry action went away! Later I put the PC resolution back to 1280 and again, as I watched The Matrix scenes- not much blurry backgrounds even in fast action scenes. I then watched the movie Hero and I gotta say, it was beautiful! I really enjoyed it and the colors- even with my quick tweaks only- not a full calibration- was a joy to watch.

I can be critical and see VB on warm-up especially with the stock XP background, but hey- the movie was a wonderful experience and well focused and colored throughout. The only way I could of got really picky was to disregard the film and look for problems. I have no idea why the reboot changed things, but it fixed itself and hopefully will last

Thanks, and if I should be posting in another area or making a new thread just let me know. I am just a newbie digital guy retiring his beloved CRT after a long joyful run with it.

Thanks!

Stay here.
This is the perfect place to post.
Its interesting to hear your impressions coming from a CRT.

What screen size / seating ratio are you at? Are you sitting at a different distance than CRT?

ted

I recently purchased an AE700 from a reputable online dealer. On setup, I noticed a dark vertical line along the right edge of the projected image, about 3 pixels in from the actual edge of the projected image. I sent some screen shots to customer support, and they agreed it would meet DOA stds and we arranged for a replacement. The customer support/tech rep told me it was most likely a panel allignment issue and that all LCD projectors have some imperfections re panel alignment. Anyway, I just got my replacement, which the tech guy supposedly quality checked (and even told me he sent me the best of 3 AE700's which he quality checked in order to give me the 1 with the best panel allignment), but low and behold it still has the same line about 3 pixels from the right edge. I've toyed with different setups/sources/angles ...etc. so I believe it's the projector. Is this line, which really bothers me since I'm "drawn" into looking at it constantly to remind myself how much it bothers me, an issue for all AE700's or all LCD/DLP projectors? I also notice a similar faint line, but only at times, a couple of pixels in from the other edges, but the vertical line along the right side is the most noticeable. Now that I've pointed it out, even my wife notices it! (I probably shouldn't have pointed it out to her, since this only caused her to ask why we just didn't get a plasma...). Thanks for anyone who can shed light on this! I have a limited time to try to get another DOA replacement, assuming the'd even allow that since this new unit was supposedly quality checked. If this is an inherent AE700 problem only, then I may consider trying to swap this for a different projector, even though I love (almost) everything else about the AE700. Thanks again.

I am going to ask an idiotic question here, as I have searched but not found the definative answer.

I purchased a AE700 two days ago and it is great. Looks like 1.05 firmware.

Anyway the question is can the firmware be upgraded at home or does it have to go to a service centre? If at home where do you d/l'ed from and how is it updated.

avkarma -- Two comments: (1) If you're using the maximum zoom (PJ as close to the screen as you can get) then you could be getting defraction off the edge of something in the lens path -- move the PJ further back, if you can. (2) you can always zoom to a slightly larger picture so the edges fall onto the black surround of your screen. Then you won't see the "dark vertical line at the edge" and you won't lose any significant picture detail.

Also, you don't say what your signal source is. You could be getting an artifact from your source (or do you see it with only one of a number of sources -- TV, DVD, and/or PC?).

chrissara -- I believe it's a service center job, but that needs to be answered by an AE700 owner that has done it, see the AE700 Tweek thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=465849

If you really checked with different sources and connections and its still there then i dont know. I dont have such problem with my sanyo z3.

Claus, for now I'm projecting onto a 4X8 sheet of gatorboard until I purchase a pull down screen (I'm still researching that one), so I have no black borders or masking. I guess I understand that once I have screen borders it will be less of a problem since I can zoom away the lines and fuzziness which sometimes appears on the outside of the lines, but I'm bothered that part of the projected image (even if it's only a few pixel rows worth) will be lost. Also, I don't believe that borders/masking will solve the edge issue completely unless I can mask 4:3 and anamorphic images (yes, I still see it when projecting 4:3 or anamorphic images) which I will not be able to do with a budget oriented 16X9 screen I'm looking to purchase (unless I mess with intended aspect ratios which I'm loath to do). For a source I'm mostly using a JVC progressive scan DVD player (I've tried in both interlaced and progressive modes with a variety of DVD's), but I've also tried it with my cable box and the lines are still there, albeit faint. Also, I've tried it at a variety of throw distances and zooming. Last night I noticed the faint black lines actually appear around all four edges of the image, and actually "criss-cross" (!!! - maybe this is the ultimate clue?!!!) at all 4 corners, so maybe what I'm seeing without masking is some sort of underscan/overscan?? (I'm not exactly sure what those terms mean). Using logic, it appears to me that the criss-crossing I see at each of the 4 corners should provide the ultimate clue for a real expert (not me!). Funny aside, I ran this issue by an "A/V specialist" at a local HT store who's knowledge ended at CR's and resolution. Also, could this have something to do with edge enhancement, edge ringing, sharpness, or any of the other myriad things I've read about but don't fully comprehend? What I'm realling looking for is: (1) reassurance that I shouldn't be thinking I need to swap or change PJ's; and (2) assuming I get that reassurance, then proceeding to (a) understand the issue and then (b) trying possible tweaks/solutions. Thanks again.

I just did a search for another post of mine and found this thread again, please pardon the long response time

I was watching on the same crt screen and seating distance. It is a 100" screen and I am sitting about 1.45 seating ratio.

The motion blurring, for some reason, after watching many many dvds, is gone except for my copy of LOTR Two Towers. One of the things I did since the original post was to use the HDMI input which was a great improvement in quality over the VGA input I originally used. Everything was drastically clearer and better defined and I knew I was keeping this projector at the point I switched to HDMI.

I also bought an OPPO upconverting hdmi dvd player since then and the only dvd to have the extreme motion blurring was, again, my copy of LOTR Two Towers. It is the DTS Widescreen Version, Blue Cover. I never noticed any problem with it on my CRT and felt the background pans were beautiful. I have no idea why, but it looks terrible on the Panny. I think I am going to buy a different copy and see how it looks, because all other films I have seen with fast panning look acceptable or better.

I have also done a lot different physical setups and calibrations and am getting to know my way around this machine (and its relationship to my source players) pretty well. The picture quality has definately improved since I first posted and I am happy with it.

My GAF is way up now too. The OPPO and Panny are really loved by her, and I am in the process of building a new HTPC and don't have to worry about whether she can operate it since she prefers the OPPO.

In retrospect, I have to wonder if I now had some of the other PJ's I demo'd (or if I had time to take the ones I in-store demo'd home) and play with them for a few months would I not have had a similar result? There was a big curve learning and tweaking curve for me from out of the box to happiness, and I can honestly say that the only good Picture Quality PJ I demo'd before I bought this was the Marantz I in store demo'd at the local high end stereo store. From what I remember the Panny is close or better. I think I will watch a movie here and then go there and ask to demo the same movie again immediately aftwards one weekend to be sure.

I also wish I could real-time switch between my old CRT and the Panny now. As I recall it, The colors were more traditionally cinematic on the CRT and there was a little more depth on all material, although depth on the Panny can now take the audiences breath away as well it just doen't happen quite as often. The colors on the Panny are brighter and seem to have more clarity. My audiences mention the colors most often. The color on the Marantz and the Panny "popped" out at me too, and at first I did not like this, but now I am enjoying it.

Anyways, at this point I enjoying my AE700u a great deal. I am not technically a "convert" because I still love CRT PJ's too. Thanks to everyone here in the forums for helping me with setups and decisions. This forum is awesome!

STILL HAVING WHITE FLASHES. I have a brand new AE700 made in June05, shipped with R1.07. I am using a Samsung HD-841 with DVI out, a 25 foot cable and Monster DVI-HDMI converter. DVDs play with White Flashes. Lots in the first few minutes from startup, then intermittently avery couple of minutes. I have read all posts on white flashes from both AE700 threads, and they seem to show this was solved with 1.05. So why do I still have it with 1.07? The 25 foot DVI cable worked flawlessly with this player on the AE500 I upgraded from, so I doubt the cable is a contributing factor. HDCP detection issue? Overscan problem? No problems with component connections at all. Any recommendations appreciated. Thanks for any help.

Did you try a different cable?

Has anyone had a 700 fail like this?

Mine died and went black in the middle of a movie to the sound of the PJ fan speeding up for shut down and the iris (I think) mechanics clicking as they do for shut down. Also, the power indicator on top of the PJ would flicker between amber and green before settling on red. Doing nothing else but wait and the projector would start up again flicking between amber and green with a picture comming up occasionally before shutting down once more.

Panasonic are replacing the unit free of charge. I had 1350 hours on the globe and it had the usual low fan mode occassional slow flicker. They tried a new globe and a ballast board in the mean time to no avail. The fault was intermittent at times where no signal was being sent to the PJ. It had run OK in the shop when the "Ballast" board was replaced (no signal connected to the PJ, blue screen), but died almost immediately when I hooked up my Oppo DVD via HDMI at home. And here's the rub;

It died about 3 movies after I hooked my brand new Oppo up to it (beautiful pic with the oppo) and I can't rub out the thought that the failure of the projector has nothing to do with the Oppo.

Should I try a different cable? Should I find the voltage specs on the HDMI and measure that?

I get my new PJ next week, would you guys plug it in with or without fear.

I have a the AE700 and Oppo with no problem. Glad they are replacing your unit.

Birchwood,
I had a simular problem as you only mine happened a lot sooner on my bulb... around 165 hours. I sent it in for them to fix it and update the firmware. They updated it and sent it back saying nothing was wrong. I plugged it in and it worked for an hour long enough for me to get it all lined back up. I called Panasonic back and said hey I just spent $33 to send it to you why didn't you fix it. They tried to say that it was the bulb. And if I sent it back the warranty wouldn't cover the replacement of the bulb. Something like $108 to change out the bulb ( I want that job!). I bought my own new bulb put it in and sure enough didn't work. I then called Panny back and sent it to them for another $33. They ended up changing the power supply. My projector now works fine. You should ask them to look at your power supply.

Hope you get it worked out!

Thanks nate358 and rwestlwy. But I wont ask them to look at the power supply, I'll just accept a replacement! Maybe their tech should have considered the power supply, to me it's very like a dry joint (in the power supply circuits) the way it shuts down and powers up with the power led flickering.

Maybe I should not panic about plugging the Oppo into the new Panny when it arrives - globe hours, back to zero from 1350 or so!!

You lucky Dog you! If only this happend to all of us

Nate358. They will never fix the cropping on the Zenith DVB 318. I still have mine and I should sell it on Ebay. Very bad support from Zenith(LG)