Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide - Page 342

Gordon, thanks. I only posted here because it was discussed here in several posts. Also, even if Gennum "fixes" the problem, I didn't know if Anthem would have to do additional tweaks to the firmware. Also, it looks like Anthem doesn't do firmware upgrades very often, and I wonder if that is a good thing or a bad thing (as in not needed vs slow support). Bottom line it is this equipment I am looking at joining the club with, and it is Anthem's implementation of the Gennum chip I care about. But thank you for some ideas about where to look further.

But not everyone here KNOWS JEFF

FYI - HQV makes the Reon chip - which you probably know.

They also make a test disk that you referred to.

It is a well known fact that the test sequences on
the test disk are hand crafted to work on the Reon
chip and FAIL on all other chips. Therefore the fact
that Gennum fails is inconsequential. It is a meaningless
test to only get consumers to THINK they need to
buy a product using the Reon Chip.

Only trust test disks that are made my independent
sources who are in no way connected to a video
processor chip.

Not sure exactly what you are looking for but YES, the D2 can properly de-interlace both film and video sources from 1080i to 1080p. This applies for both 2-3 and 2-2 based sources.

At this point, Anthem probably knows how to tweak the Gennum chip better than Gennum does, and that isn't really a joke.

I have wondered about that conflict of interest between Silicon Optix's test and thier chips. The Reon is their low end chip, and the Realta their high end chip.

I would definitely like to learn more about the "well known fact" regarding the bias built into the HQV test which you refer to. I am also very interested in learning about any the test discs from independent sources.

On the other hand, the HQV tests appear to have become widely accepted by reviewers of all sorts of equipment, something I find puzzling if the tests are widely known to be biased. Another thing that is puzzling is the email posted in this thread from Gennum saying that they acknowledge that the failure of their chip to pass the HQV tests is viewed as a problem which they were working on a firmware fix for.

Respectfully submitted.

I'm wondering what people that have Panasonics PZ700 and Anthems AVM50/D2 are using for video settings on both units?

Great to see you poking around in this thread again Kris.

Thank you. I was referred to the Anthem product line and did a search of this thread for "deinterlacing" and saw several posts where these products failed part or parts the HQV HD test. Somebody posted an email from Gennum saying it was true about the failure and that a firmware fix was forthcoming.

I then searched the thread for "firmware" and found no posts addressing new firmware to resolve this problem. I also looked at the Anthem website to see if there is any mention of firmware dates and what was fixed.

So I asked for clarification that indeed no such firmware update had happened.

So what I'm looking, and hoping, for is that these units have had the firmware upgrade and that they now pass the HQV HD tests. Hoping because I want to buy one.

I think folks are interested in what the "real" issue is, not what the test # is on a competing vendor test suite. If you go to Kris' site you'll see dozens of units which miss one or more reality based tests but still come with high recommendations. If you can explain what the problem actually is (what issue, what resolution input, what type of video, color space, etc.), how it impacts a real world viewing, then people may have a better recollection of either how it is fixed or moot. Continuing to rant about a synthetic test with no specifics is not getting you the specific answer OR how it may or not matter by virtue of other fixes, etc.

You're only hope of finding what fixes were done in various D2 FW releases is to call Nick at Anthem support.

larry

kjgarrison DOES NOT OWN any Anthem Product.

Nick is probably busy supporting Anthem Customers
and the CES show - just a few weeks away.

Hi Everyone,

Just got my setup about 2 weeks now. (D2, A5, Pioneer Kuro 150FD, D* HR21 DVR and OPPO 970 DVD). Everything is great, pictures and sound are just stunning. However, once in a while I have hand shake issues between the Anthem and my components. All my conections are HDMI and somtimes when I swithch from Oppos to the DVR or the DVR to th Oppo the Anthem will cycle a few times and I get a blue screen. Is there a way to re-start the hand shake without turning the equipment on and off which seems to be the only was I can get them to connect again. This happens only occasionally but I don't think turning the equipment on and off is a good thing to do.

Thanks
John

I have experienced similar issues, primarily with a DVR though.....have not had issues with the OPPO. As you may know, troubleshoot the suspected source by trying component video+SPDIF which takes HDMI handshake out of the picture. You may be able to avoid turning the source on/off by switching to an unused input then back again......

Anyone having any handshake issues with DirecTV HR20 DVR and the D2? I was planning on avoiding all those issues by using component (mainly to decrease channel change lag on HDMI due to handshakes occurring each time I change channels). I haven't tested this myself yet due to my theater being torn apart as I speak.

Also, anyone using the D2 via RS-232? Any issues? I haven't had any with the Keyspan USB-Serial dongle for firmware upgrades, but using and upgrading are different beasts.

No problem at all with the D2 and the HR20. Super great pic now that I have my Marantz S3 pic ISF'd. Using the hd Toshbia A35 the flags work on my 3x4 and certain cinemascope dvd's that did not work on my Pioneer dvd player.
Gerry

Just switch the Anthem to a different input (any style -- even nothing connected) and then back to your desired HDMI input. That always forces a new HDMI handshake.
--Bob

I am using an AVM50 connected via HDMI to my Sony VPL-VW60 1080p projector. I have 2.35:1 screen and would like to leave the projector zoomed to this format and then use the AVM50 to process 16:9, 1.78:1, 4:3 ect to make them look acceptable. My preference is to have movies like Lord of the Rings look the best on the system and I'm willing to make some sacrifices for other formats as it really is a pain to zoom and shift my projector image each time I want to watch something different.

I had limited success using the AVM50 scaler to do a "no scaling" mode with 80% vertical image (cutting off 20% from the bottom) on a 1.78:1 image (Heros). Is this the best I'll be able to do? It would be nice to be able to reduce the entire image to fit completely onto the screen but zoom doesn't seem to do this for me but I may not be using it right...

EXACTLY MY POINT

Just tried to make some video adjustments through the AVM50 and the OSD display comes up, but I am unable to change anything. All settings seem to be greyed out and at the bottom of the OSD it says video input required. I am running a single HDMI from the Anthem to the TV. TV is a panny 58pz700. Any ideas?

Which settings are you trying to change?

Some of the settings in the Video Source Adjust menu (under the "7" key) for any given input can only be changed if there is currently a video stream coming in on that input.
--Bob

You can not "squeeze" video input with the Anthem. You can only crop it (extract portions of it and lose the rest) or "stretch the (possibly cropped) video.

I'm not sure if you are using "zoom" to mean the Scale Out = Zoom setting, but if so, please be aware that you should NOT use Zoom for normal viewing. It will result in significantly poorer imaging quality.
--Bob

Bob:

Weird.....I'm not sure what I did or didn't do previously but it seems to be working now.

I just got a new display and I'm trying to adjust some of the video settings within the Anthem.

Bob:

I'm trying to set up the video settings properly and I'm not quite sure where to start. I just purchased this new set and I also have the Avia disk. Do I use the Avia disk and adjust the settings on the TV first and then tweak them using the Anthem?

I may experiment with stretch. Thanks.

You should use the Anthem's own generated color bars to setup your TV. They are digitally generated and will be more accurate than coming from a disc. But you can use the blue filter that came with your avia disc to setup the TV using the anthem's generated Color bars. I use DVE, so not sure about Avia, but I'm sure they explain SMPTE color bars (and the anthem manual does a good job of explaining them).

Once you've got the TV setup with the anthem generated bars, then you can fine tune your DVD player by playing the avia disc and using the brightness/contrast/color control settings in the anthem's video Picture menu.

Thanks, it is the DVE disk I have as well, not the Avia. I don't know how to use the color bars that the Anthem generates. I didn't know I could use the DVE color filter with it. An explanation would be appreciated.

There's a whole forum at AVS dedicated to display calibration. The test patterns on the D2 are very limited. There's also some AVS user compiled test discs you can download for free or at very a reasonable price.

larry

Check out the "Video Calibration for Non-ISF Techs" post linked in the collection of links in the first post of this thread. It will walk you through the steps.

The short answer is that you adjust the settings in the TV first using the video test patterns generated internally in the Anthem. Then you use the Avia disk in your player to fine tune things by adjusting the Anthem's INPUT settings for that input.
--Bob

I never meant anything to come across as a rant. It was, and still is, a simple question. Everything else coming from me has been an attempted explanation of why I asked the question in the first place. The question was: Did the firmware upgrade to fix an apparent problem with HQV testing that was acknowledged to be needed, and was promised by Gennum around June 2007, also get supported by Anthem and come out? Yes or no?

If you need to know why I ask before you can answer, then fine. Here's why. We watch a lot of HD DTV, which, as I am sure many of you know, is pretty noisy and is either 720p or 1080i. I am looking for an AVR that will scale 720p, deinterlace 1080i, and add noise reduction to these HD signals. The "usual" AVR contenders (Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Integra, etc.) do not do that. Most of the VP's in the HDTV's do not do this very well. I was told the higher end Anthem products do it well.

As to "real world" performance, I don't feel confident that I am capable of knowing it when I see it. I don't want to draw conclusions based on subjective opinions. I need something objective; a test. A test that is available, widely used, accepted, and reproducible.

I have already stated that it makes me suspicious that a chip maker produces the test that is supposed to evaluate the quality of competitors' chips. If there is an alternative test, I would love to know about it. So would, I imagine, the HD equipment reviewers at every magazine that I have thus far read, given that they seem to alwasys use the HQV tests to evaluate video and film deinterlacing & processing (among other tests of course, but none other for deinterlacing that I have seen.)

Today I found an Anthem dealer around 100 miles from where I live, and he agreed to a demo which will include "real world" DTV, hi def DVD viewing, and of course he invited me to bring the test discs. I'm hopeful that I will be able to see some "real world" improvement in DTV image quality AND see crystal clear deinterlacing of 1080i by the Anthem.

Thank you.