Official Vizio P50HD Thread ( part 2): NO PRICING: Technical Issues ONLY! - Page 3

LMAO....

not wussing out doc...i called them and theyre going to swap the power supply...

glad to hear you just got your 5th benz....lmao...but where the heck is my beer?

there are no problems whatsoever if you use component cables, which most people on here feel looks just as good as hdmi.

I have Comcast and use the SA3250HD box. It has handshake problems with the DVI-HDMI, but none with component. I saw NO difference in picture quality with either input. The STB is set to passthrough to let the VIZIO do the job, as it does it better. For SD TV I use the S-video out and use the component for HDTV. This prevents the need to stretch the picture to fit the scrteen on SD TV when using component. The audio is split to each input on the VIZIO using a "Y" splitter and also sent to my receiver. The kids watch SD TV channels using the S-video, and you then choose AV1 [or 2] to change the input to component when watching HD. Some threads on the SA8300 SBT claims no handshake problems with the NEWER model, however, the box may have HDMI out [which is a good thing], requiring an HDMI-HDMI cable. You are going to love this TV.

Nope. My 8300 is set to output 720p and 1080i. No problems.

For now. If HDCP is ever enforced, won't you need to go to the HDMI input to get full resolution?

huh? right now there is plenty of bandwidth on component inputs for full 1080i resolution. that is all that is available now and for a long time. HDCP is a digital signal issue only. component is analog.

congratualtions. you got the one 8300HD box that doesnt have HDCP issues. everyone else on this forum that has one does.

what software does your box have, what version, and what cable company in what city are you on?

Maybe someone should make a FAQ and put it in the first post - would help aleviate a lot of the redundancy and make this thread much more managable.

HDCP is already enabled on the HDMI input. However, as far as "enforcing it" I'm not even entirely sure what that means. But if you're suggesting that at some point in the future they will start requiring HDCP for all HD content, I think that's very unlikely in the case of cable/sat STBs - and there's been no indication whatsoever that they're even considering this. There's just too many customers already setup with component and too many HDTVs that don't have HDCP compliant inputs. It's much easier to implement this on a new technology, such as with BR/HD-DVD where they won't actually lose current customers.

OK, sorry to beat a dead horse, but I am having handshake problems as well. I also have the 8300hd. My problem is sometimes my Vizio won't even respond (green power light, but nothing on screen), so I have to unplug it from the wall then it works.


let me see if I have the handshake options right.

1. If I change my output on the 8300hd to only 480p and 1080i, I will no longer have the problem.
- If so, how do I fill the screen to prevent black bars? Is there a way to have the Vizio automatically fill the screen during HD commercials or when watching SDTV? Do I manually use the Vizio Zoom function or some other setting on the Vizio?


2. If i change to Component instead of HDMI I will have no handshake problem.
- Isn't this a downgrade though since HDMI is digital and Component is Analog?
- I know some people have said they can't see a difference, if so what's the point of having a HDMI input?


I just got My Vizio this weekend and I want to get everything dialed in while trying to avoid burn-in. Which is proving to be a rough task as I would like my wife to be able to watch TV while I'm at work with little to no configuration on her part.

I have a Harmony Remote just waiting to be setup once I get everything dialed in with the handshake and filling the screen.

again, HDCP stands for High Definition Digital Copy Protection....key word is DIGITAL..there is NO HDCP with component, nor was there ever intended to be or could there be.

the 8300hd will not output either 480i or 480p ver HDMI to the vizio, only 720p and 1080i. yes most people feel that component looks as good as analog, me included. the HDMI input is just there for someone that wants to use it. it will probably come in handier for a higher quality source such as HD DVD or Blu ray.

Picked up a G02 this past weekend at one of the few shops that carry it. I compared it to a Panny, Pioneer, and a few others. The Panny had a crisper picture (to my eyes), but it wasn't a big enough difference to warrant a $1100 shift.

My old Hitachi 51SWX20B crapped out on me, so I performed a lot of research on here before taking the plunge.

The picture is excellent. Blacks could be blacker IMO. If I mute the TV and stand right next to the system, I can hear the fan buzz, but otherwise it is quiet. I've pushed my brightness and contrast down to mid-30s for break-in. Following the 100 hour recommendations on here, I should have the set broken-in within a week or two.

This is my first plasma, so I hope I can adjust my TV watching habits to avoid burn-in. It would be nice if there was an FAQ for this set which included burn-in procedures, recommended settings, and other custom tweaks that would be useful. As it is now, I continue to flip through the 100's of pages of info that are floating around and hope this TV treats me well.

Any news on getting into the Service mode for this thing? My unit is slightly overstretched vertically, so things appear taller/skinnier than they should. Other than that, it's a perfectly beautiful set - no dead pixels, no fan noise, F50 build... everything would be great if I could only fix the overstretch.

I emailed Vinc tech support and explained the problem and (since I knew they were going to tell me to switch to "WIDE"), explained that the aspect ratio is already set to WIDE, and that the overstretch happens in WIDE mode on 16:9 material and it also happens in NORMAL mode on 4:3 material.

Their response? "try using the ZOOM +/- buttons on the remote"... complete with a nice picture of the remote highlighting where the zoom buttons are...

I'd hate to return this set to C* over this overstretch, given that there are no dead pixels/noise/etc... Can anyone help???

What are you using to feed the signal to the P50 and what aspect setting is it set for? From what you describe, I had a similar issue until I set the correct aspect on my cable box.

hes referring to overscan. the only way to change overscan is in the service menu whcih i cannot believe that someone on here has not found out yet. my vizio actually seems to have more overscan on the sides than it does on the top and bottom, 4% top and bottom and 6% sides.

Overscan crops the picture, I've never heard anyone state that it geometrically distorts it (by definition I know that overscan shouldn't geometrically distort the image).

From at least this source:
http://www.mastersofcinema.org/revie...kingbeyond.htm
"Typical televisions and many monitors lose nearly 20% of the picture by "cropping" the image. It is this lost portion that is commonly referred to as overscan. The information is not actually "lost," but it has been banished to an existence off-screen, in the twilight zone found just beyond the borders of the visible area of your TV screen. Overscan is done intentionally, often to conceal a deficient TV/monitor power supply and/or video processing circuitry. It is intended to ensure, among other things, that screen real-estate remains filled and geometrically accurate at all times despite power fluctuations and dynamic swings in picture brightness. "

My 8300HD outputs 480P, 720P and 1080i over HDMI with no handshake issues. I'm using Time Warner Cable, 6/24/05 build of SARA, and a box with the firewire ports.

My old 8300hd box w/o firewire ports had handshake issues, but this one has not had one.

Yep. The model with Firewire is the one in the thread of these STB that does not seem to have the handshake problems.

I just saw a P50 with a serial number of G03. Any known differences from the G01?

Thanks

That's TWO. Im on Cox in San Diego County. Unknown as to what my firm/software is in this box, but I'm not giving it up easily.

So then this is known to some, but not all. Thank you.

If they finally enforce HDCP, only digital outputs will have 1080p/1080i/720p/480p/480i and the analog component outputs will be reduced to 480p/480i via firmware update.

Happens with all components: the HR10-250 (HD Tivo), with the DVD player and with the Xbox. They are all set up for 16:9 aspect ratio, and didn't have this problem on the 50A10 that I had before this. It really is vertical "overscan", and would be perfect if I could just adjust the vertical size. I'd hate to return this to C* because of this, but Vinc tech support keeps treating me like I don't know what I'm talking about, and they are about to loose a sale because if I return it, I'm gonna get the Phillips or the Maxent instead.

With your recommendation I called Cox and upgraded to their latest STB, Motorola DVR and I will be connecting it to the Vizio with hdmi to hdmi cable. I will report if it continues to have handshake issue. The DVR has it's own fan noise which is more audible than the Vizio, so far my wife has not complained about it. I do like the idea of recording the shows, up to 50 hrs or less fo HD contents.

IF you do not have buzzing lights and the fan noise is fixed you have a good set. Hook up your DVR using components and your handshake issues will resolve. If you have to have hdmi hookup, try setting to 480p, 720p or 1080i a few days and you might find the best setting that will have least problem with handshake issue. Jim Noyd recommended to leave it at 720p and let Vizio do the rest.

That's assuming that the overscan is even on all sides. If there's more on say top and bottom, it's going to look stretched vertically. Just imagine an extreme scenario where say 20% of the picture is cropped from top and bottom, but only 2% on the sides. That would look pretty distorted. A less extreme version of this is probably happening here.

I have a dish network stb and have it hooked up to my tv with hdmi cable. The video and audio are out of sync. You see a person talking and it is not in sync with mouth movements. Any thoughts on why this is happening? Thanks

how long do I need to run the image cleaner? Or is it timed when to stop?

Thanks!

I think I read in here that it runs for an hour and tech support recommends running it weekly.