Received sony upconverting dvd player today - Page 4  

Ok, I've read all the posts...I was wondering if anyone has specifically tried the player with a GWIII, and what are the results. Thanks...

Thank you!

csimington:

The manual actually states that with the player set to AUTO for the video signal, it outputs the highest resolution that your TV will accept. I assume this means that it will output 1080i to any set which accepts it - probably all HDTVs.

Pip

I'm using the dvd player with a GWIII and the picture looks terrific (I used the Monster adapter HDMI-DVI and works fine).

At first, I was not that impressed. I was expecting a big difference from my existing Sony progressive scan player. However, I took a step back and carefully compared the two players (Shrek & Monster Inc) and the picture quality was much better on the new Sony player. The picture was sharper with vibrant colors. My wife even noticed it and she does not care about these things.

The menu has a lot of options. My favorite is the various color (ie. black levels) and audio settings. I would recommend that you set this up using both optical and 5.1 channel audio. Both setting sounds great but at least you can compare and use the one you like at any time. If your receiver does not support 5.1 channel input the SA-CD on the player is useless.

The only thing I don't like is that certain movies do not fully fit the screen (black bars on top and bottom). Also, it takes awhile before the players recognizes the DVD/CD before playing.

Koy: How did you setup the sound settings using both Optical and Analogue cables?

Koy-

How adjustable are the blacks? Can you differentiate objects in a black or near-black field? I have a second-hand Sammy HD931 that I just hate over DVI because all black detail is lost. I'd use component, but the HD STB and Xbox occupy those inputs, and I use them more than the DVD. Seems like this player or the Panny S97 may be my best bets.

Thanks!
Will

Audio:

The dvd player has both Optical and 5.1 Analog out. I used both outputs and connected them to my receiver. If your receiver does not have 5.1 Analog then your stuck with Optical or Coaxial. In addition, you will not be able to enjoy SA-CD. I then went to the DVD player menu and selected DIGITAL & 5.1 CH Output. This will allow you to use both outputs and you would use your receiver to select which output you want to use.


Black Level:

The DVD player has a black level feature which lowers the standard black level. You should use this when the picture becomes too white. In addition, you can choose other picture modes (Standard, DYNAMIC1, DYNAMIC2, CINEMA1, CINEMA2 & memory) that effects the black level and the overall picture. There's also a sharpened option that enhances the outlines of images to produce a sharper picture.

This player has a lot of features and in my opinion a great DVD player. I picked this player up for $259 with shipping from www.datavis.com.

That is exactly what I did and yet I get no sound when the player outputs through the analogue cables :( What sort of cables to you use for the analogue connection? Three sets of RCA stereo cables?

tilt3daxis - I'm using 3 set RCA stereo analog cable and it works fine. Are you sure that you set up the audio menu correctly on the DVD player? Did the DVD audio menu prompt you to chose the speaker size? You will be prompted for the speaker size if you selected to use the 5.1 analog. If you were not prompted for this then something was missed during the audio menu set up.

Hope this helps..let me know how things turn out.

I was indeed prompted (I think...can't recall; I might have to go through the setup again :)). Should I be setting the speakers to Large?

tilt3daxis - set the speakers based on the size of your speakers. You need to make this selection for the front, rear & base. You can also set the sitting distance for each speaker. Since you do not re-call doing this you may have missed something during the set-up.

Hope this helps.

One thing I noticed with my Sony...

I plugged in component cables while playing thru the HDMI interface. Yet I could not get a signal through the component output. That is until I turned the player off and back on. This makes me wonder if it has a setup/configuration (that includes checking for connections) during it's long startup cycle.

Try turning off and back on.

gp

"If your receiver does not have 5.1 Analog then your stuck with Optical or Coaxial. In addition, you will not be able to enjoy SA-CD."

Hi Koy, could you just please clarify that, as the SACD capability is important to me. I assume you mean you can't get multichannel SACD--you can still get stereo SACD through the regular line out jacks, yes? That's what I would gather from the manual, and that's how my earlier-model Sony DVD/SACD player works. (I am looking to get this model as a replacement for the one I have now, for the upconversion capability together with SACD.)

Please excuse the primitive quotation technique but this is my first post. I have lurked occasionally. What an intelligent forum and a great source of information! Thanks to you all.

Gah! Apparently my receiver only accepts the multichannel analogue input through one AV input. So I have it sorted now :) Thanks for the help guys! This player works great! :D

MDeB

According to the manual Super Audio CD audio signals are not output from the Digital Out (optical or Coaxial)/HDMI Jack. If you want to enjoy SACD you must use the Multi Channel only. If the SACD capable is important to you will not be able to enjoy this feature if your receiver does not support Multi Channel.

If the SACD has both multi and 2 channel you may be able to use the stereo through the regular line out jacks (DVD player gives you this option depending on the SACD) but it will not be SACD quality see page 29 & 39 of the DVD manual for details.

Hope this helps.

Are you saying that some movies that filled the screen using your old DVD player now have black bars with your new Sony upconverting DVD player? If so, please explain and list the movies.

eweiss - What I meant to say that I was expecting the new DVD player to have a feature that would fill the entire screen. The black bars are consistent with my old DVD player.

Hope this helps.

Can the Sony play DVD-VR? I currently have a Sony gx300 and burned some -RW DVDs in VR modes to allow editing. Currently of the dvd players I own, I can only play DVD-VR in the GX300. Does the this new player support DVD-VR? Thanks.

Just recieved the unit yesterday. I have a panny 500AE and I have been using a dvi cable to connect to my old dvd player. I bought a dvi hdmi converter and I cannot get any picture from the player. I went to the svideo input on my proj and changed things in the dvd menu to hdmi auto, then 1080i then 720p. The projector and the dvd never agree on anything. On the proj if i change it to edid2 a picture displays through the dvi but at VGA480. What am I doing wrong to not get the 1080i or the 720p?

arrowshine - It sounds like your TV may not be HDCP compliant in which case your cable will not work.

Has anyone seen a difference when enabling/disabling the black level setting when using this player via HDMI in 720p mode to an HLP DLP TV? I don't see any difference whatsoever.

I've been toggling this setting and checking via DVE and I see no change. Am I misunderstanding something?

Chris523: Out of curiosity, are you seeing the CUE (chroma) aberration on your tv that Paul mentioned in another thread?

According to page 80 in the user manual, the black level control is only for composite, Svideo, and component 480i.

The Panny500AE has Dvi w/HDCP. Any other guesses why it wont display 7209 or 1080i. I will be working with Onecall tonight to see if we can get it working or if it is a defective player.

Thanks chiifac. I misread that. I left out the "other than"... Here's the text from page 80:

Black Level - Selects the black level (setup level) for the video signals output from the jacks other than COMPONENT VIDEO OUT/HDMI OUT.

Thanks for the reply, but I just don't see where you're getting that from. SACD can have a 2-channel playback area as well as a multi-channel playback area. Isn't the 2-channel area output from the regular line out jacks, and isn't it "SACD quality"? (Hybrid discs have a "CD layer," but that is not the same as the 2-channel HD area.) I looked on the pages you cite, but I don't see where it says that SACD requires multi channel or that what is output from the regular stereo jacks isn't "SACD quality." So I'm still confused ...

All SACD disks, including SACD hybrids, have an SACD stereo track, in addition to the SACD multichannel track (plus a redbook layer on SACD hybrids). Sony would not be that stupid to not allow you to play that track.

MDeB & BillP - I did not mean to imply that you can't play a SACD stereo track. I was merely pointing out that the Sony manual states that "SUPER AUDIO CD AUDIO SIGNALS ARE NOT OUTPUT FROM THE DIGITAL OUT (COAXIAL OR OPTICAL)/HDMI OUT JACK" this is on page 29 under notes for D-2 connection (Optical/Coaxial/HDMI).

My apologies for any confusion but I thought it was important to point this out.

FYI--Amazon has this product description regarding SACD.

Depending on the disc, SACD music releases provide super high-fidelity multichannel and/or stereo sound. As an anti-piracy measure, the DVP-NS975V performs its own decoding of SACD signals, passing high-resolution analog, not digital, audio to your integrated amplifier or surround receiver. This means you'll need an audio/video receiver with multichannel analog-audio inputs to appreciate multichannel SACD releases. Built-in SACD bass management helps you tailor the output level of the ".1" LFE (low-frequency effects) channel to your system, as an appropriate level may differ from the output level appropriate for Dolby Digital and DTS surround mixes.

The vast majority of players only output true SACD over analog (due to copyright issues with Sony).