Pioneer Elite 59avi Owners Thread - Page 9

I have a quick question:
Are you able to have both the component and hdmi connection hooked up at the same time and switch between the two with the 59avi?.
A friend of mine says if the component out is connected then hdmi will not function unless he disconnects the component. Is there a way to leave both hooked up and switch between the two? Thanks!

I have component hooked up through the rcvr to access its OSD, and HDMI direct to display. HDMI works fine, although I have not tried to watch DVDs through component yet. Selection is made at the display.

Steviec,
Both can be connected at the same time but the Component outputs will not be live if there is an active HDMI connection. Depending upon what your TV does when you switch it from HDMI to Component input, the HDMI input into the TV may still look live as far as the 59avi is concerned, and thus the Component outputs won't be live. [This disabling of the Component outputs is part of the HDCP copy protection stuff.]

There is no button on the 59avi or it's remote to turn off HDMI if the 59avi sees a live HDMI or DVI input on the other end of the cable. So if that's how your TV works the only way to make the Component outputs live is to unplug the HDMI cable. If you turn off the HDMI at the TV end, it will take a few seconds for the 59avi to shut down the connection and turn on its Component outputs. Since the video settings in the 59avi for HDMI and Component outputs are independent, you do NOT have to worry about changing resolutions or whatever when switching between them.

As soon as the 59avi detects a live connection again on the HDMI cable it will automatically switch back to HDMI output and turn off the Component outputs.
--Bob

Okay, I popped in a disc and the Panasonic plasma can indeed switch on-the-fly between HDMI and component. I may try to do some comparisons later.

Thanks guys!

Well, due in large part to the many intelligent posts on this board, I joined the 59 club yesterday. We still have SDTV, so I got it mostly to improve RB/SACD sound, and to a much smaller degree to add DVDA capability, but I am thinking to the future when we'll upgrade to HD and will appreciate better PQ.

I just set it up this afternoon, but haven't had a chance to play yet because the family has commandeered the room to watch the Omen marathon on AMC.

Question about RB: I'm assuming setting the audio Hi-Bit "on" will improve performance. I know this is a very subjective option, and I'll play with it myself, but I was wondering what you gurus' thoughts and experience were?

Regards,
Doug

PS I think the only thing I'll miss on the old Sony 755 is the disc memory option, in which the player remembers the last viewed location of a DVD (not audio discs, and not from a menu, of course) after it's removed then replaced in the player.

Welcome Doug! We need more SDTV/59avi owners to flesh out the reports in this thread.

When you get a chance, post some details about your setup. How are you cabled? What are you using as aids to calibrating your TV? What are the firmware numbers from your 59avi? Any problems? In particular, are you seeing any of the problems that "doctorG4" reported as regards his European version player?

As far as "high bit", my understanding is that this feature, available on various RedBook (Newbie Translation: Conventional CD music disc) players including the 59avi, is that it is a "good thing", but that there are some who feel it hurts certain CDs and thus the option is in there to turn it off.
--Bob

I think the consensus is that Hi Bit is OK. It won't degrade the signal, and you might get some benefit out of it. But a lot of people do not like Legato Pro.

I have my HDMI hooked up directly from the 59 to my PJ and the component is hooked up to my receiver (and then from the receiver to the PJ). By using the imput select button on my PJ remote, I can switch back and forth between the two sources on the fly.



Stew

When making video adjustments the 59 avi's menu takes up almost the entire
screen.Is there a way to make the size of the menu display smaller so you
could see more of what you're displaying and trying to adjust?

Yes. I never tried it yet but Bob P posted it in this very thread somewhere.

Thanks, Bob. I'll report back in a few weeks after I've had a chance to play w/ the unit.

Doug

Edit: I just read doctorG4's post and I won't be able to test the RGB glitch. My Toshiba 32" is about 10 years old and doesn't have component inputs, so I'm forced to use S-Video. I'll check out Casablanca anyway and report back to confirm that I don't see the problem.

RONM,
It's in the manual but easy to miss. When looking at the full page of Video Adjust settings, simply scroll to the item you want to adjust and then hit Display on the remote. That will switch you to a one line display of just that item so that you can get immediate feedback of what changing it is doing to the image.

Up and down arrow in the one line display will switch which item is in the one line display just as if you were scrolling in the big list, and hitting Display on the remote will get you back to the big list. Changing the item will result in an immediate change to the movie image you are seeing in the background. Hitting Enter will make the current setting permanent and will exit Video Adjust.

Remember to hit Enter when you want to leave the Video Adjust display so as to make the changes permanent. If you exit in other fashions, theres a chance the prior setting(s) will get restored over your temporary changes. Frankly I haven't quite figured out Pioneer's logic behind that, so after making changes and exiting, I go back into Video Adjust to double check the changes really "stuck".

The Pioneer manual, in the trouble-shooting section, says that some changes made in Video Adjust will only take effect after the next time you Stop the current disc or open the disc tray, but so far I haven't spotted any such cases. If anyone finds such a case (changing a setting doesn't seem to change anything while the movie is playing but DOES change something if you then Stop the movie and then hit Play again) I'd be interested in hearing about it.

It also says you can lose changes you make if the power fails before the change actually takes effect. Just tossing this in for completeness, as its never been an issue for me.
--Bob

Doug,
In addition to S-video, your TV undoubtedly has a normal "composite" video input -- a single RCA jack, usually yellow in color. You can use either of the "Video" out jacks of the 59avi to hook up to that if you feel like trying to test for the doctorG4 problem. He reported that it happened on composite video as well -- although apparently on fewer discs. But as you noted, for some unexplained reason his problem doesn't show up on S-video.

For normal viewing, S-video is a much much better connection than Composite. So be sure to switch back to S-video when you are done playing with Composite.
--Bob

Has anyone run across the blue bar/film camera icon located near the top of the screen? I picked up "Grave of the Fireflies" and that blue bar/icon does not go away.

Doug,

thanks for trying but I suspect you will get all OK on S-Video so it will be a negative proof. What I want to do when I get the "thing" back is to test Component out.

Bob
Someone just posted on European thread with an 868 and RGB (with SCART and Panasonic TV) and he cannot see any banding with Casablanca....(he has FW 506)

I asked my repair shop to chek mine and also it says : Region 2: 1.506(16) AV1: 2.0/2.8. I'm puzzled. It is then not the FW.

What I would love is to put the 868 in pause then attach an instrument of some kind to the output and somehow be able to measure/acquire the signal to check that for red title on black the voltage after the red part has ended does not go back to black voltage but to soemthing else....this would prove that in the default config the 868 is generating something funny at transition color-black. But to be honest I do not have the necessary equipment/expertise to do this...pity I'm really curious.

Also observing better the smearing it appears (but I could be wrong) it does not start exactly at the top of the lettering but a bit below, as if (when electron beam scans the screen top to bottom , left to right) the black needed a "bit" of lines to saturate and become bright (and for the banding to appear) like:

but maybe it's just an impression al this...

doctorG4,
Actually that post indicating no problem is good news. I doubt it is a firmware issue. Most likely that person just figured out how to adjust the player and TV so that the signal levels are compatible.

This means the damage being done to the image is NOT intractable. There's some set of settings that should make it work. The correct settings may vary between different TVs. Despite that, you need to get that person to post a detailed list of the settings he is using in the player and TV to achieve this clean image, so you can see what might be worth trying first.

Of course it is possible that his TV is just more flexible than yours in the range of signal levels it will accept.
--bob

Bluesea,
Use the following menu item to get rid of this:

Initial Settings / Display / Angle Indicator / Off.

What you are seeing is the indicator that multiple camera angles (alternate video streams) are available for you to switch between "on the fly" using the Angle button on the remote. This is a seldom used feature appearing on only a small portion of all DVD discs.
--Bob

I still cant get a dvd-audio menu to show up via hdmi to dvi..makes it impossible to choose the two channel or multi channel track ...The funny thing is I was messing around with the remote buttons and I saw the dvd-audio's menu on screen for a split second ? ..so I know its there somewhere, but how to get it to stay on screen long enough to choose a track I havent a clue ( I dont know what combination of buttons or button I hit to get the dvd-audio menu to appear on screen for that split second)

psujohny,
I seem to recall someone saying that the Pioneer 59avi won't show the on-screen DVD-Audio disc's menu from its HDMI output for copy protected DVD-Audio discs. The HDMI video and audio are disabled when a copy protected DVD-Audio disc is playing. I have not confirmed this.

If true, you'll need to run a Component or S-video connection to your TV to see those menus.
--Bob

Yea Ive heard this too ..But the funny thing is that I did see it on screen for a split second or so

Thanks, it worked. I haven't been into such features but should probably check it out.

Which Lumagen model do you have?

He seems to be having the problem w/ component, not composite, so I doubt that it'll be worth climbing behind the armoir and getting my elbows and knuckles scraped up to try w/ composite.

And, docg, I see your point that the "negative proof" using S-video wouldn't help you. Good luck.

Doug

Doug,

thanks anyway :-)

Friday I'll get it back and I will report. In meanwhile my AVIA + DVE PAL should arrive.

So far Im really happy with the 59avi other then the few quirks Ive mentioned earlier.
Its funny, even know I calibrated all of my other dvd players using avia and dve ..the 59avi just appears to have a brighter picture then the others (especially the denon 3910 which seemed kinda darkish) ..anyway, whatever the reason my preference is for the 59avi's picture. The colors are spot on and overall picture has a punchiness to it that I find appealing. Also it has handled every dvd Ive thrown at it so far ..even bad transfers seem tolerable.
Side note, has anybody else noticed that when setting with Avia's brightness bars and then comparing it to the dve brightness setting...that at least on my setup (and for all the dvd players Ive had)..the avia settings for brightness are always 4 clicks lower then DVE ? ..I split the difference between the two and lower brightness by 2 clicks on dve and 2 clicks higher on avia ..I wonder though, which is the most correct..avia or dve ?

Vision HDP

Wow, what a great resource this site is! I'm new here, but I think I'm hooked.

I'm trying to decide whether it's worth trying a HDMI-DVI connection to my ISF-Calibrated Toshiba 50HDX82. It's not the cost of the cable that's holding me back, so much as my reluctance to move my set (necessary to install the cable) and thereby ruin much of my painstaking geometry/convergence work!

I do realize that CRT RPTVs are less likely to benefit from HDMI. But as the Toshibas upconvert all signals to 540p, I'm wondering whether I wouldn't be better off allowing my 59AVi to do the upconverting (to 720p or 1080i) and bypassing the upconversion circuitry on my TV. (Certainly the 81 series did a pretty poor job of the upconversion. The 82 is better, but maybe the 59AVi is better still?)

I'm currently running component, and the picture is very nice. But of course I'm wondering whether it could be improved further. Has anyone tried/compared HDMI-DVI vs component on this series of Toshiba TV?

Mike

Mike,
I had a 55 inch, 2002 model, Cinema series Toshiba CRT-based RPTV last summer and had a chance to experiment with running it Component vs. DVI from a Denon 5900 and HDMI from the Pioneer 59avi. Based on that experience, I would STRONGLY recommend you give HDMI/DVI at 1080i a try. I think you'll be amazed.

By the way, I sympathize with not wanting to screw up the convergence. That's why I replaced it with a plasma.
--Bob