Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide - Page 104

1st off, Merry Christmas!

However, I seem to have the same issue with my new AVM50 v1.11 on 1080i input source material.

From what I understand, this is a new issue with the latest software. Is there an older version of software we can load on the AVM50 so it does work, until the latest fix is available?

I'm glad I saw this thread before I even tried to hook it up, otherwise I would be pulling my hair out trying to figure out what I did wrong....

Update...I downloaded the v1.11 from the Anthem website and tried a reload. Unfortunitly, it is now worse, way worse. I currently can't get any processed signal through, not just 1080i, now on 480i/p, 720p, etc....

I did give your Custom Settings a TRY.

As expected - I got the blue screen and Freq Out Of Range Error.

I also tried the clock rate at 118681200 with the same result.

HOWEVER - The Ruby still displays both frequencies even with the
Blue Screen. I did notice with your settings - the frequency was a
tad bit low of the 24 Hz refresh rate. I expect that is why you still
get occasional jerkiness.

I'm convinced the RUBY will accept almost any input and display
it properly - IF - I can change a memory location to get the
appropriate match.

WHY don't standard 24Hz or 48Hz settings work for YOU?

I got my AVM-50 all set-up yesterday. I haven't delved much into the video calibration, but I'm very impressed so far (upgraded from a B&K Ref 50). I was able to update the firmware from 1.06 to 1.11 (after about 4 tries using a Radio Shack USB->DB9 converter).

I use a DirecTV HR20 for satellite viewing and I have not had any problems yet with 1080i as reported by others (I have the HR20 set to output native). The only problem I ran into while hooking everything up was with my XBox 360. Since my TV accepts 1080p via component (Sammy HL-S6187W), my 360 was set to output 1080p. I wasn't getting a picture when I hooked it up to my AVM-50, so it took me a few minutes to realize that the AVM-50s component inputs must not accept 1080p.

The next thing I need to fix is programming my Harmony 880 to control the AVM-50. The codes that are in Harmony's database don't all work properly (i.e. click volume up and the volume goes up about 5dB; you can't press and hold 7 for scaler menu, etc...)

This brings me to my question. Did any of you Harmony users have difficulties programming it to control your AVM-50/D2? Did you manually learn all of the commands? Were you able to program it so if you clicked it once or press and hold, it would work the same as the remote that came with it?

Thanks!

KC,
The AVM-50 allows Component 1080p, but only as an unprocessed "pass through" signal -- i.e., it will just switch the selected input to the output without touching it in any way: No video adjustments, no changing of frame rate between /60 Hz and /24Hz, no overlay of AVM-50 displays, and no transcoding of that Component input to the HDMI output.

Cable your Component in from that device. Add Component out cables to your TV (from the Anthem's "Main" Component output) in addition to your normal HDMI out. For that input's Setup in the Anthem, send nothing to the scaler and specify the correct Component jacks as input in the Component input line.

To use that input, select it on the Anthem and then also switch your TV to it's Component input instead of HDMI input.

If you want both processed and unprocessed video from that source device, another way to do it is to adjust the Anthem's input Setup to send the Component input to the scaler (which will produce processed output on HDMI for the "Main" path, so long as the input signal is 1080i or lower), and also specify that input on the Component input line. Then set Zone 2 output to be the "unprocessed" version of the Main input. This time run Component out cables to your TV from the Anthem's Zone 2 outputs.

When you select that source device, 1080i or lower signals will be processed and sent to your TV's HDMI input. Meanwhile, unprocessed signals, all the way up to 1080p/60Hz will also be sent out the Zone 2 output's Component cables to your TV's Component input. Select the correct input on the TV and you are set.

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EDITED TO ADD: It occurs to me that Scale Output = BYPASS in the Video Source Adjust menu (under the 7 key) may also give you what you want for Component 1080p pass through. That could make the processed and unprocessed configuration simpler if it works. I haven't actually tried to set this up myself.
--Bob

I believe you have to reduce the number of repetitions the harmony sends each time you press a harmony key. While you are at it, reduce the delay it inserts between codes sent for each key press and between codes going from one device to codes going to another. As I understand it all of these are global settings affecting all devices the harmony is controlling and they are set ridiculously high by default to cover slow-witted devices.
--Bob

Here's a link to a post I made earlier in this thread about why the correct frame rate for film based content destined for NTSC TVs is actually 23.976fps instead of 24fps:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post9211974

In SFIELD's latest suggested settings, the image, 1920 x 1080 "active" pixels, is embedded in a larger frame of 2200 x 1125 imaginary pixels. The difference between 2200 and 1920 is the "horizontal blanking" interval between each line -- basically a time out, 280 imaginary pixels long, for the TV to get ready to process the next line -- and the difference between 1120 and 1080 is the "vertical blanking" interval, 45 imaginary lines long (of 2200 completely imaginary pixels each), during which the TV gets ready to process the first real line of the next frame. Sync processing happens during those blanking intervals, and basically clues in the TV to when the first real pixel display starts on each extended line and when the first real line starts at the top of the extended frame.

Even though there are no real pixels during the blanking intervals, it is convenient to think of a continuous stream of pixels arriving at a constant rate -- some of which are just "blanked out". And that's what the pixel clock rate is: The number of real plus imaginary pixels that arrive during each second of time.

Thus 2200 x 1125 x 23.976 = 59340600 is the number of pixel time steps that happen for SFIELD's frame size at a 23.976fps frame rate.

For a 24.000fps frame rate, just do the math.

[NOTE: The blanking intervals are not completely wasted space these days. Non-imaging data is often hidden in there. That's where "closed captioning" text resides for example. And HDMI audio is also multiplexed in there, which is why the bandwidth of HDMI audio is limited by the currently selected bandwidth of HDMI video as people trying to play SACD audio over HDMI 480i connections have discovered. If your TV has no overscan, i.e., if it shows every last pixel with none concealed behind the edges of the screen, you may see such non imaging data as noise at the very top or bottom of an SDTV broadcast signal. SDTV stations expect people to be using cheap TVs with overscan and thus they steal some of the real "active" image frame to put in extra data -- often control signals between the networks and the local stations.]

As I said in my earlier post referenced above, the TV shouldn't be that sensitive to whether the incoming rate is 23.976fps or 24.000fps since the sync signals should cover that. There's some timing flexibility built in since not all devices will have perfect clocks.

However the blanking intervals and sync locations must be right or lines or frames might be misprocessed.

Anthem has not provided documentation on setting this stuff up, but I suspect we can find reference info in the video processor forum here.

It appears to me that the last settings (field size, field blanking, and offset) most likely have to do with whether the signal is Progressive, Interlaced, or Progressive Segmented Frame.

As I understand it, Progressive is all lines followed by a vertical blanking interval. Interlaced is odd lines (the first "field") followed by a blanking interval and then even lines (the second "field") followed by a blanking interval. The two "fields" each hold half the lines and the field rate is, of course, twice the frame rate. Progressive Segmented Frame is odd lines, followed by even lines, follwed by a blanking interval. The data arrives in the same order as an interlaced signal but there is only one blanking interval.

It is easier for cheap electronics to turn Progressive Segmented Frame into Interlaced than it would be to do the same with straight Progressive, so, for example storage media like DVDs record the data in Progressive Segmented Frame format even if both fields of each frame have actually been recorded at the same point in time (as when digitizing a frame of film) as opposed to separated in time (as when recorded by a TV camera). Blanking intervals are of course not something stored on the storage media. They are generated by the output circuit of whatever is reading that media.

In SFIELD's settings, I believe his "Field Size" of 1080 indicates that this is a Progressive signal -- all 1080 lines before any blanking interval. His 45 Field Black size is the vertical blanking interval again, and the Offset of 0 indicates the Field and Frame are aligned. For an Interlaced signal I believe the Field Size would then be 960. And I suspect the Offset would be used to differentiate Progressive from Progressive Segmented Frame. But these are just guesses.

So the TV is going to need a signal which presents the real "active" pixels embedded in a larger imaginary frame of the right size, with sync occurring at the right points during the horizontal and vertical blanking so that the TV is ready to process sync and still has enough time after sync to get set before the next real pixel arrives, and with the data organized in the format it expects (i.e., progressive, interlaced, or progressive segmented frame).
--Bob

Finally a minute to post, holidays with house full of relatives, sorry for no report everyone.

I no long have the 1080i issue.

First, I have a new D2 with factory installed 1.11. When I first set up my H20, I had the 1080i issues. I setup the H20 and told it my TV only did 480i and 720p. I had to reset my box after the "activation" as all my channels were not coming in. The next day (last saturday) I thought, well lets give it a try: VIOLA 1080i did work. I now have the H20 set to native and output either 480i, 720p, or 1080i. I do notice that the sequencing has something to do with it. If the D2 is off and the h20 is on, once the D2 is started up, I have problems with the H20. If I reverese the sequence, D2, wait, then H20, no problems.

RLOCKSHIN - I have a direct dial to a tech support guy at Anthem. My dealer called Bob McConell this morning not knowing I had fixed the problem, and he told me that BOB wanted to make sure everything was working. PM me if you want the number....

Very interesting!

Given that you have noticed a dependency on the order of power up, this could be just another, more subtle, example of the D2 not quite initializing itself properly at power up.

The most visible example of this is that the Scale Output setting for the last used input prior to power down is changed to a different value (e.g., Anamorphic vs. Letter/Pillar Box) at power up.

I also believe the fact that my Fujitsu plasma no longer recognizes the D2 as a recently seen HDMI device on its DVI input (as evidenced by it not auto-loading the correct Fujitus settings for that device) is another case of this.

The cure for some of these video related power up problems has been to briefly power the D2 off and then back on again. However if your problem requires the H20 to be powered up last then that won't work unless you also power off the H20 first.
--Bob

You and VCS_WHARVEY should contact Anthem tech support directly. It is unlikely you both have failed video boards. It is far more likely that Anthem needs to get you a better version of the software installer.

As I understand it, both of you had your last software install of V1.11 go to completion without error, and now you have no video through the scaler. I suspect that though the software install went cleanly, there is some piece of initialization for the scaler that is not being set properly on power up, and so it is picking up random stuff left in memory and getting confused.

Anthem can likely provide you with the AVM-50 V1.06 installer in the interim, if they don't already have a fix for this. I don't have any of the AVM-50 software.
--Bob

Hello Guys. I need help. First I am new to AVS so bear with me...as I know this thread is advanced beyond my newness in higher-end AV stuff.

Anyhow, I upgraded my HT to separates recently (about 1 week ago)...and I am trying to get the most out of my AVM-50 (I bought an MCA20 and an MCA50 to match the pre/pro). From a sound stanpoint, I couldn't be happier - it absolutely blows away the Integra DTR 6.5 I used to use.

The reason for the posting is that I want to get the most out of the video processing of the unit. Currently my display is a Mitsubishi 73" diamond series DLP - which obviously accepts HDMI and 1080p signals. I have a Motorola digital comcast cable box - I am using HDMI from the cable box to the AVM 50. I am using a 12 meter audioquest HDMI cable which is rated to run 1080p. Anyhow, the only video ouptut (from the AVM-50) setting which seems to work best is the 1280 x 720p.

My questions are:
1) How do I get the most out of the cable box picture
2) Should I upgrade to version 1.11? I currently have v1.10
3) If I just use component cables for video - could this help (due to potential HDMI limitations of the cable box?)

I haven't really "messed" with any other settings. I called the Anthem tech. support guy earlier today and haven't heard back from him yet. I left the color output to "auto." I am new at this and thanks for your help.

[quote=ddimberio]
My questions are:
1) How do I get the most out of the cable box picture
2) Should I upgrade to version 1.11? I currently have v1.10
3) If I just use component cables for video - could this help (due to potential HDMI limitations of the cable box?)
QUOTE]

1. Cable box to AVM-50 should be HDMI if possible (my own opinion). If not, component will work fine as there is no limitation to 480i/p as there is with commercial DVDs. The quality difference should be minimal assuming all cables are decent. Make sure the cable box is sending either 1080i or a native passthrough.

2. Stick with 1.10. Nick at Anthem said 1.11 didn't have anything new, just a new installer program (that did NOT work for me). There is supposed to be an imminent 1.12 that might have improvements.

If your Mitsubishi truly accepts 1080p, that is what you want to send out of the Anthem. That will give you the best picture quality.

ddimberio,
Set up the TV side of things first. The Anthem will generate video signals for you to do this so you don't need any source devices to do this.

First you need to figure out the "native" resolution of your DLP TV. That's the actual, physical pixel matrix in its hardware. Your TV will convert (scale) other sizes of signal to that native resolution, so don't confuse the native resolution with the various different types of signals the TV will accept. What you are looking for is the resolution it converts them to for display. That may very well be 1920 x 1080p/60Hz, but check the manual specs to be sure.

You will want to set the Anthem to your TV's "native" resolution, if it will, indeed also accept that as an input resolution, or to the nearest resolution it will accept otherwise. The Anthem's job is to convert all incoming video to that "best" resolution for your TV so that your TV's electronics have the least amount of work to do.

Before you do that, prepare your TV for best quality imaging. Do this by turning off what are called the "torch mode" settings that likely came as the factory defaults. The torch mode settings produce an overly bright/contrasty, overly red, and overly sharpness enhanced image at too high (too blue) a color temperature. These settings produce an eye catching image in garish store lighting but they are way wrong for best viewing. There are also several image "enhancement" features typically turned on by default that will really just get in the way of good viewing. They are designed to help deal with crappy signals (which you won't have) and the bad level settings most owners use.

Find a "picture mode" in your TV labeled something like "movies". That's the one to use. Avoid anything labeled something like Vivid, Vibrant, Dynamic, Games, Scorch your Eyeballs, or the like. If you have two possible picture modes to choose between, pick the one that produces the darker and softer lookin image.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT just assume you can modify any picture mode into the equivalent of a different picture mode such as "movies" simply by adjusting the TV's level settings. In modern TVs these picture modes often make additional, secret setting changes behind your back that you can not alter with the user controls. Find the "movies" picture mode and start from there.

Having picked the right picture mode, turn off enhancements like "flesh tone correction", automatic brightness adjustment, SVM (velocity modulation -- it's awful, don't ask), noise reduction, or detail enhancement. Turn them all off and leave them off.

Look for a setting for "Color Temperature". You will likely need to set it to produce a more reddish cast to whites than the factory default. This is often confusingly labeled "warmer" (for the reddish tone) even though it really corresponds to a lower (i.e, cooler) Color Temperature. By default this is usually set too blue because that setting trick's the shopper's eyes into thinking the screen is brighter -- and then the factory compensates by pushing red color in other settings. If you have a Color Temperature setting marked 6500K or SMPTE STANDARD that's the one you want.

Finally set Brightness, Contrast, Color, Tint, and Sharpness all to the mid range values. Again, the factory default settings, even in the "movies" mode, are likely to be WRONG.

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Having prepped your TV, now go to the Anthem Setup / Video Output menu.

The first order of business is getting the right resolution output to your TV. Set PREFERRED=HDMI and set the "native" resolution (e.g., 1920x1080p/60Hz if that's what you found in the TV specs). Set Color Space to HDTV and set Color Format to YCbCr 4:4:4 (to start -- you might decide later that 4:2:2 looks better). Set Sync = Normal.

Back out of that menu and Accept those changes. The Anthem Setup screen should now appear centered on your TV as a reddish screen with text on it.

If it doesn't appear, or is shifted horizontally by, say 1/3 of the screen, then go back into the Setup / Video Output menu and change to Sync=Inverted and try again.

If you can't get your TV to display it's "native" resolution from the Anthem then something is wrong. Either your cable is bad or you misread the TV manual as to its actual "native" resolution and which resolution it will accept as input that is closest to that. Again, don't get confused just because your TV will accept another resolution such as 720p. Your TV is designed to do the same sort of scaling the Anthem does, although not as well, so it will accept a variety of different resolutions. But the one YOU want to use from the Anthem is your TV's "native" resolution or as close as you can get to it.

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Once you have the TV displaying its "native" resolution from the Anthem then you are ready for the next step.

Back out of the Setup menu entirely. If you have no video coming in from a source you should now see an all blue screen -- the Anthem's default screen when it has no video input. Now press and hold the "7" key on the Anthem remote until the Video Source Adjust menu comes up.

That menu should be crisp and centered -- black text on a grayish background with some colored labels. If not, then you have a problem. Recheck your Setup / Video Output settings.

If so, now go to the Info panel in that menu. Double check that the output resolution and format it says you are sending to your TV is what you told it to send.

Now go to the Patterns panel on that menu and bring up any of the bar charts. They should fill the screen. Use the Back button to exit the bar pattern.

If all this is right then your video output signal is setup just fine and you can proceed to setting the "levels" on your TV.

Bring up the SMPTE test pattern, called "Color Bars" in that menu.

Remember that you have previously set all the level controls in your TV to their mid-point. You are now going to set them properly.

It is best to do this in a dimly lit room.

The Contrast setting controls white levels. Adjust it either side of mid-point until you find a pleasing light level for whites in the test pattern, without their looking grayish. For your HDMI input, that may very well just be the mid-point position. The correct setting will likely be quite a bit lower than the factory default, since that is set for more garish room lighting.

Next use the Brightness setting to control black levels. The Anthem V1.1x manual tells you how to do that using the near black fields in the lower right of the SMPTE chart.

Brightness and Contrast interact so you may want to iterate a bit on this.

Now go to the gray bars test patten and verify that all the bars are distinguishable -- i.e., you haven't got some bars near black or near white merging together so that you can't tell them apart. If there's a problem, adjust white levels with Contrast and then go back to the SMPTE chart to re-adjust black levels with Brightness.

[NOTE: Using source device test patterns -- as from a calibration DVD disc -- you will be able to later refine your Brightness and Contrast settings, as well as being able to verify that Blacker than Black and Peak White data are being properly handled. But that's for later.]

Now you need to adjust the color settings in your TV. This is best done with the aid of a blue gelatin filter which you will find included with any of the calibration DVD discs you can buy such as Avia, or Digital Video Essentials (DVE). You'll need a calibration disc when setting up your DVD player, so get one if you don't already have one.

[NOTE: If you don't have a blue gelatin filter yet, you can adjust Color and Tint in your TV by eye while watching TV later, but you will be amazed how much better it looks when you eventually do it "right" with the filter. Modern digital TVs are finicky about correct level settings. Or to put it another way, the difference between "right" and "nearly right" is likely to be a LOT greater than what you are used to from older TVs.]

The Color setting controls color saturation (brilliance). The Tint setting controls the bias towards Red or Green. Look through the blue filter at the SMPTE test chart and follow the instructions in the Anthem manual to adjust your Color and Tint properly. Basically what you are looking for is the amount of Blue that's added in as part of making up white. When White and Blue look the same brightness when viewed through the blue gelatin filter then that's set right. Similarly you look at the blue contribution to magenta and cyan, again through the blue filter, and adjust Tint until they match.

Color and Tint also interact, so you will need to take some time to iterate and find the best setting. You will also have red and green gelatin filters in your calibration DVD stuff. Look at the SMPTE pattern through those and notice that for each filter there's a DIFFERENT pair of primary colors that match (and vary as the Color setting changes) and also of secondary colors that match (and are controlled with Tint). The best settings of Color and Tint through each filter may differ a bit. You may prefer the Color and Tint setting which seems the best "compromise" setting -- not perfect for any gelatin filter, but pretty close for all three.

Finally adjust your TV's Sharpness setting. The best way to do this, for now, is to Back out of the SMPTE chart and look at menu text in the Video Source Adjust menu. You want vertical black edges to look crisp but without any hint of a slightly brighter "halo" to either side of them. Run Sharpness up and down to see how the appearance of text changes. The correct setting is likely to be in the lower 1/3 of the available range of settings, and is also likely to be WELL below the factory default value.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The correct, "calibrated" settings for your TV may result in imaging that is darker and softer than you are used to, and possibly with a more reddish cast to it. Take some time to get used to these settings. Properly calibrated settings really are better. You will see more natural imagery and more real detail once you get over the surprise at how different they are. Feel free to adjust things to your taste after you've had some time to view different programs, but always refer back to your "calibrated" settings. Over time, if you are like most people, you will find your taste preferences converging on the "calibrated" settings.

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Once you've got the Anthem sending a good "native" resolution signal to your TV and you've got the levels set on your TV, then the TV side of things is DONE! It is the Anthem's job to convert all input video to your selected output settings in the best possible way -- dealing automatically with all the various technical differences between inputs.

You may find that you need to vary levels for different source devices. If so, do NOT do that using the TV's settings. The TV's settings are now "right" for the video coming from the Anthem. Instead make adjustments in the Anthem's INPUT settings for each source device -- again in the Video Source Adjust menu (under the "7" key).

[NOTE: As you get more used to adjusting settings, and using tools like a calibration DVD, you will discover ways to improve your TV-side settings using such source-side tools. For example, the Anthem test patterns provide no way to verify that you haven't set Contrast (white levels) so high that you are losing "Peak White" details. A calibration DVD such as Digital Video Essentials, provides another way to help set your TV's Contrast level so as to keep it from pushing whites above the limit of what your TV can faithfully reproduce.]

But before you do that, you need to prep each source device to send the best possible signal to the Anthem. The rule of thumb for this is simple. Set each source device to do the LEAST POSSIBLE manipulation of the image. Leave it to the Anthem to do all the work.

So for a standard DVD player, for example, you want it to send 480i video to the Anthem, since that's what comes off the DVD disc, and you want to turn off any image "enhancement" features it may offer. If your DVD player also offers "picture modes", follow the rule of thumb given above and pick the one described as doing the LEAST POSSIBLE to the imaging coming off the DVD disc.

For your Motorola HDTV set top box, you want it to send along exactly the same resolution as happens to be coming at the moment on the channel you are currently watching.

For SDTV channels that will always be 480i. For HDTV that will most often be 1080i, but sometimes (typically live sports shows) it will be 720p.

If your Motorola box works like my Comcast/Motorola box, you will, however, only be able to set two resolutions -- one for SDTV and one for HDTV. In that case set 480i and 1080i. Also, if your box has an HDMI output (instead of DVI) be sure to set the Motorola's output format to YCbCr 4:4:4.

[IMPORTANT NOTE: Some recent Anthem purchasers have run into a new bug in the Anthems that makes it difficult for the Anthem to handle 1080i input via HDMI or Component. A fix is expected shortly. If you have this bug it will be obvious -- either a "scrambled" screen image or no image at 1080i input to the Anthem. Contact Anthem tech support. The workaround is to set 480i and 720p from your box, but again this is not ideal, so do switch back to 480i and 1080i when you get this fixed.]

For standard DVD players, you can adjust the Anthem's input settings with the aid of a calibration DVD. These DVDs come with instructions. The process is not hard, but it does take some time and can be confusing at first until you get a handle on what's going on. It's really very similar to what you already did setting up the TV output side of the Anthem using the TV's own controls. Only minor changes should be needed, if any, for the Anthem input settings. If you find you need to make major adjustments to the Anthem's input levels, you should probably go back and revist the way you set the levels on your TV for the Anthem's output.

For your set top box, look for test pattern programs that are periodically broadcast on INHD and HDNET early in the morning about twice a month. The INHD version is called "Tune Up". Record these if you have a DVR. Another program, "Bars and Tones" can be found on both HDTV and SDTV channels now and again. Using these, you can adjust the Anthem's input levels for your set top box. The changes from the best levels you found for your HDMI DVD player should be very close to those for your HDMI set top box.

The resulting image quality should be very VERY good, approaching spectacular if you've been careful. A professional calibration technician, an "ISF" tech, would bring additional signal generation and light sensing tools to refine things further.
--Bob

Gordon- Thanks for the reply. I am using HDMI from the cable box...when I select 1080p as the video output per the Anthem - I do not get a picture at all??? Why is this? I am sending it at 1920 x 1080p/60.

Wow...thanks Bob...I will try everything and report back....much appreciated!

Separate the two issues: Is the *ANTHEM* unable to generate a 1920x1080p/60Hz signal that your TV will display?

To test this, unplug your cable box from wall power (to eliminate the 1080i input bug I mentioned), turn the Anthem off and then back on again and see if you can bring up the Video Source Adjust menu (under the "7" key) when the Anthem is set to 1920x1080p/60Hz output. Since your cable box is unplugged that menu should be showing against the Anthem's all blue default screeen.

If you are getting the blue screen with the Video Source Adjust menu displayed on your TV at 1920x1080p/60Hz then the *OUTPUT* side of the Anthem is set up just fine. If not, then either you need a better cable to the TV or you have misread the specs for your TV.

Let's assume the Anthem generated stuff is getting to your TV just fine.

Now power up your cable box. And see what happens.

If you have no video from your cable box the most common cause is that you have forgotten to set HDMI Repeater = NO in the Anthem Setup / Source Select menu for that input.

If you have video but only when the cable box is set to a resolution lower than 1080i, then you have the 1080i bug I mentioned in my long, prior post. Contact Anthem tech support.
--Bob

Thanks Bob, I was able to find these settings in the Device Troubleshooting menu. I adjusted the delay settings as well. For the "Press & Hold" functions, I had to create separate codes and learn them as Raw. Unfortunately, the Harmony cannot be both the 7 key and the On Screen key like the original remote. I did get everything working properly now though. I appreciate your iinput.

Bob...you are amazing and read my mind. My TV's native resolution is in fact 1920x1080p but all I get from the Anthem is a strange snowy picture where the snow has colors and is long and thin horizontally.

Also of note...when I change the AVM back to 1280/720p, I have to turn the Anthem off and back on again for the pic to focus..otherwise it produces snow as well. I will try your test later simply by unplugging the HDMI cable from the Cable box to the Anthem and report. Thanks!

Either I misunderstood the directions or this fix does not work.
I usually leave on H20 all the time.
I turnd it off and then turned o the D2,waited 10 seconds and tried 1080i
It still gave a blank screen
What am I doing wrong?
Please send me that tech's number at Anthem
Would love to speak to him
Thanks
Rick

I feel your pain! No offense but I am sure glad I'm not the only one. I was having the typical 1080i problem until I installed v1.11 from the web and then no picture whatsoever. I guess I should send another email to Anthem. Sent one on Friday morning and still haven't received a reply. I asked someone to pm me the 1.06 version of the software on Friday as well but haven't heard anything - will let you know if I do (please return the favor)!

Bob thanks again for your help. I've bookmarked this page for later reference - your description of how to set up the video for ddimberio's system is superb. Unfortunately I can't do anything with it right now!

Wayne

As I've mentioned, I'm upgrading my HT system. I'm keeping my M&K speakers. They're bi-amped so I don't need to worry about new amps. I will be buying the D2, the OPPO 970HD and the HR20 (D* DVR). Those decisions were relatively easy. The more difficult decision is whether to buy the 65" 1080p Panasonic consumer or commercial plasma.

Both have native resolutions of 1920 x 1080p/60Hz . I thought about waitng for a plasma with a 120 Hz refresh rate or a least inputs for 24fps with refresh rates of 48 or 72 and a 30fps input with refesh rates of 60 or better 90Hz, but I think I've waited about as long as I can. I will wait for the CES show to see if any of these PDPs are on the horizon ... in this size.

Both the consumer and commerical versions have 1:1 pixel mapping. It seems clear that if you have a piece of equipment such as the D2 and you have it set to ouput all incoming signals to 1080p/60Hz that 1:1 pixel mapping is a very important feature to have in your display. This is correct?

The OPPO will be set to output 480i over HDMI into the D2. The HR20 will be set to native ... so it will pass the native 480i, 720p or 1080i signal to the D2.

The D2 would then be set to output 1080P/60Hz to the display. Correct?

The commercial model comes with a DVI board which handles 1080p. The boards can be changed out, but I'm not sure the advantage since as I understand it even if Panasonic develops a 1.3 HDMI board, the display won't be able to take advantage of the greater bandwidth (higher bit rate, higher refresh rate, deep color transfer, larger color space)

With the DVI input you have no "Color" control in the user menu. The commerical unit has more flexibility to tweak the picture (more picture controls), but I think the D2 should be able tweak the picture as much as I want or am I wrong?

The consumer model has fixed inputs. It has an HDMI 1.1 input that also accepts 1080P/60Hz. I read somewhere that its best to use an RGB or DVI input with plasmas. But that may be old information.

So given that I will have the D2, does it really make any difference whether I get the commerical or consumer version? Thank you.

Let's see, yes, you want the D2 output to be 1920x1080p/60Hz for such a display.

Yes you want 1:1 pixel addressing. Since the display has a 1920x1080p native pixel matrix, all that means is that there's no artifical overscan introduced by the display's circuitry. All 1920x1080 pixels of the input signal will light up visible pixels on the display.

The DVI input on the commercial unit will limit you to RGB color format from the D2. The D2 does some additional dithering of dark grays near black to make that work. I'd suggest you get a replacement HDMI card to avoid that. By the way this is also why you have no Color control.

The idea that RGB input is better for plasmas is not really true any longer. Although the plasma will convert the HDMI's YCbCr input to RGB as part of its internal processing, modern plasmas do that using extra bit depth in the math, so the conversion is, for all practical purposes, perfect. And the Anthem will take care of any "color space" variations automatically. Just pick an HDMI input card that's known to work well for this unit.

An HDMI to HDMI connection is also more reliable than an HDMI to DVI connection, particularly as the cable gets longer, and particularly given you are pushing the bandwidth. The difference is the newer driver chips used for HDMI.

There are three different points where you want to tweak the image. First the display has to be set to produce the best image from the Anthem's output. This is done using the display's controls. Extra controls may make this easier. The biggest addition beyond the standard "levels" controls is fine adjustments to gray scale and color ramps that are a result of tweaking the color drivers in the display and also the Gamma correction curves. The Anthem's newest stuff will let you do Gamma adjustment, but will not let you get at the primary and secondary color settings in the display. Having access to more of that stuff in the commercial unit is a plus for that unit. However, most owners will not be able to take advantage of that unless they hire a professional ISF tech to come in and do the work.

The second point of adjustment is at the Anthem's input for each source device. The Anthem has you covered there. And the third point of adjustment is in each source device. Some sources let you tweak things, but given the Anthem's controls you primarly want to get AROUND any such stuff in the sources.

The consumer model probably has a higher resale value if that's important to you simply because most potential used equipment buyers don't have a clue what the commercial units are all about. The consumer model likely also has other features that are irrelevant to your use -- such as, quite possibly, a tuner.

The commercial model may put out more heat, and may draw more power. The warranty and ease of getting service may also be different. Check the specs.

For your purpose I'd probably lean towards the commercial unit with an HDMI blade.

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EDITED TO ADD: For this kind of bucks, you should also take a serious gander at a front projection system as an alternative. You might be able to save money and still get a bigger image almost as bright. Plus you'll be able to fiddle with "judder free" settings.

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ANOTHER EDITED TO ADD: One more thing to watch out for with the DVI blade on the commercial unit is whether it is set up for "studio RGB", which is typical for home theater, or "extended RGB", which is typical if the unit is to be used as a computer monitor.

The Anthem's output can handle both, but for home theater use I'd recommend you stay away from a DVI setup that forces you to use "extended RGB". Since there's limited image adjustment processing that will hapen inside the plasma, it's not THAT big a deal, but I'd still say avoid the computer based DVI format. For example, even if you want to for some reason, there's no way to make an extended RGB setup display Blacker than Black data because that data doesn't come across the cable. In extended RGB, "Black" is represented as digital 0 and so there's no room below that for Blacker than Black data. A similar issue arises with respect to Reference White vs. still brighter Peak White data.
--Bob

OK...I guess I'll be contacting Anthem tech. support. I have in fact concluded the issues is the Anthem - after unplugging and seeing if it displays the setup menu (even after repowering the Anthem). Unless it's the cable (a 15 meter audioquest HDMI-A (which is rated to run 1080p), but I couldn't get 1080i to focus either.

Honestly it is a real bummer, spending $4600.00 on a piece that won't display the 1080p promised. So what's next? Tech. Support will fix it? How? Should I get a replacement from the dealer? I've only owned it a few days. Is the glitch software related? If so, why isn't everyone having this problem? Anyhow, thanks for all of the help.

OK now we know to concentrate on Anthem output problems. What you are experiencing is not this new 1080i input bug.

See if you can find a way to temporarily move the Anthem near to your display and then try hooking it up with a shorter HDMI cable (6 foot or shorter). You can likely use most any reasonable HDMI cable for a 1080i trial, but for 1080p you'll need a high bandwidth cable even for the short distance. That will tell you whether it is the Anthem or the cable.

Again, you won't need any source devices for this test -- nor hookups to speaker amps.

15 meters -- 45 feet -- is pretty long for HDMI. It could easily be the cable.

Let's see if you can get a good signal using a shorter cable first. If not, then Anthem and your dealer should certainly take care of you. There are plenty of people using these Anthems with 1080p displays right now. The most common problem is discovering that their cable is not REALLY able to handle 1080p and thus they need to try a different cable. But since you are also having problems with 1080i the cable would have to be more than usually flakey.

And just to be sure, you have tried both settings of HDMI Sync in the Anthem Setup / Video Output menu right? Only one of the two settings is going to work right.

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If you get a good Anthem menu display with the shorter cable, then that points the finger at your longer cable.

If you do NOT get a good Anthem menu display with the shorter cable, then it would be wise to try another HDMI source into your TV directly (such as the cable box, or perhaps a scaling DVD player) to make sure your TV is in fact set up correctly to receive at least a 1080i signal.

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EDITED TO ADD: And also, if you have a second TV with HDMI input, see if the Anthem can drive that TV correctly with a shorter cable. Your dealer may be able to help with this -- hooking up the Anthem to a TV in his store for example.

These few tests will help isolate where the problem really lies. You may have a bad HDMI output on your Anthem. If so, what Anthem has typically done is to send a replacement through the dealer while the dealer takes care of getting the faulty machine back to Anthem.
--Bob

Thanks again Bob. What if I used component video from the Anthem? Also, the HDMI cable is 12m not 15...sorry my mistake.

Component video will limit you to 1080i output for processed output, and you'll need to run component video cables in to the Anthem from your sources since there will no longer be an HDCP-compliant (i.e., copy protected) display on the Anthem's HDMI output.

But this could certainly be a temporary workaround while awaiting your replacement machine if that turns out to be necessary.

In any event the first thing to do is to find out where the problem really resides. See if you can do the few tests I mentioned, perhaps with your dealer's help. I'm sure your dealer wants you to be happy with this product too, so he'll likely oblige with the loan of a cable or the chance to hook up to a TV in his shop for example.

Again these are easy tests because you really don't need anything cabled to the Anthem except for video output and of course the power cord.
--Bob

I'm not familiar with the brand audioquest - But I run a 12 meter
HDMI Cable from the D2 to my Sony Ruby PJ @ 1080p - no HINTS
of any problems.

I use this brand because of the strain relief ---

http://www.bestdealcables.com/LineList.aspx?LineID=57

But any High-Quality Cable should work.

drhankz,
You did notice that this company only guarantees 1080p performance on its HDMI cables up to 10 meters? (grin!)

Of course there's no hard and fast rule as to how long of a cable will still work. About all you can say is that the longer the cable the greater the chance of problems. And 1080p requires more from the cable than lower resolutions.
--Bob

I am going to go with a 9 meter cable that I will research 1st...that will be long enough to make the stretch to the anthem from my in-wall rack on the side.

Also. Just another test I ran this morning. I plugged the 12-meter HDMI cable directly in the cable box and achieved a perfect 1080i signal on the Mits. Why won't my Anthem simply drive a 1080i image as well? I do believe the problem is the software bug. I will borrow a shorter HDMI cable from my dealer (who happens to be my best friend) and see if the Atnhem will drive 1080i on my Bravia 26" LCD that is in my bedroom - but I am now 95% sure I will have the same problem. For whatever reason my Anthem simply will not drive 1080i. Any thoughts?

GOOD TEST.

That is why I mentioned no problem with cable length.

I'm sure it is not a drive issue between the D2 and Cable Length.

But I think it is CLEAR - there is an Issue between the D2 and Your Display.

I found a copy of AVM v1.06 out there on the web thanks to a post from budeone that was posted last month. I'll try to install it after work and see if it clears up any of my video problems. If not, then I'll assume I have a hardware problem until further notice.

Have any of you noticed that the installer size doubled from v1.06 to v1.11? The installer for v1.06 is about 3MB whereas v1.11 is 6MB. Big changes between the two maybe.

-Wayne