Syntax Olevia 532H BAD PQ on 480i/p sources - Page 6

I cannot figure it out. It is set up to an xbox. When the volume is set to 0 or to mute, the hiss is still persistent. I have gone through all the options I know of to fix the sound, but no luck.

I just bought the Series 2 232V model with the ATI chipset in it.

You can add me to the list that has severe ghosting with 480i/p signals. I have a Scientific Atlanta 480i digital cable box that is setup with S-video and 75 ohm coax running from the STB.

There is clearly a lot of motion artifacts AND ghosting with ANY 480 sources. Since most people watch a lot of 480 signals still this is a huge problem IMO. Of course there is hardly any issue when using the 1:1 pixel mapping, but the picture size is so small it can hide a lot. The point IS that the chipset IS supposed to handle this problem when it scales it to the screen resolution, but it does not. It clearly seems to be a scaling issue with how the ATI chipset scales the video, so I would say the problem is with this ATI chipset since my friend has a LT-26HVX which uses a Pixelworks chipset for scaling using the same cable system signal I have (he lives 3 houses away), and he does not have this problem.

It is very troubling to me that this problem is not going to be fixed via firmware by Syntax-Brillian. I think they will get a lot of bad exposure with this attitude and if we voice the problem loudly on these forums, they will lose a lot of customers/sales until they do something about it. It is sad they have turned a deaf ear to this problem, but it will definately cost them millions with them ignoring the problem.

Sorry but getting a HD cable box AND buying an upscaling DVD player to have the STB/player do the upscaling instead of the ATI chip that was designed to do it is NOT a solution or work around. IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED or else the built in tuners are useless for 80% of the content out there.

I have a perfectly working 32" tube SDTV in my bedroom, but was passing that down to my son's bedroom with this purchase. I did not NEED to replace my bedroom TV, but I am not willing to pay the additional cost necessary to get a plasma which I also strongly favor over current LCD technology in regard to PQ.

I spoke with a tech at Syntax-Brillian and he told me that they are aware of the problems with 480i/p signals with their ATI chipset equipped LCDs. He could not speculate on if/when they might have a resolution/fix for this issue but they are working on it. The company apparently has been monitoring this site and are aware of the problems so there is something being worked on. The problem is that it does not appear that it could happen while I still have my 30 day return window at the store, so I will likely be returning it. This will not make my son happy having to go back to his old 26" Mitsubishi which is getting very tired.

On another note, I talked to him about the remote codes and how none of the codes listed (i.e. RCA, Philips, LG, Yamaha) work like their website states. He told me that the website needs to be updated as they have changed the codes to something completely different because of the cross-code incompatibilities with the prior model years. This really bothers me that only learning universal remotes (face remotes toward each other and learn every button code) can possibly work with this new years models. It definately hurts in the W.A.F. on this since either you must buy a decent (over $50.00+) universal learning remote so you do not need to use multiple remotes. This lind of takes away from some of the great pricing we get with the Olevia HDTVs.

Hope this info helps someone on the fence about buying or returning their Olevia LCDs.

Snowmoon:

Thanks!

The motion artifacts with 480 signals kind of reminds me of what I saw on the BD demo disc on the House of the Flying Daggers part only it is much worse on the LCD. I am not slamming BD here but just trying to describe what I see in a way that others may understand. It is about 10 times worse than the BD demo material I saw.

How do you KNOW they are not working on it?

Is that an engineer at Syntax? I imagine that firmware updates always have to come from at least specs provided by the chipset mfg, but most TV mfg usually create the firmware updates from that spec info/diagrams.

The tech rep I spoke seems pretty sure they were looking into trying to produce a fix. At least he sounded sincere. I can usually tell when someone is blowing smoke you know where, and he did say that most likely it would not come in time for me to get it within the next 25 days.

I may just bite the bullet and get another bulky & heavy CRT based SDTV since none of these HDTVs are up to snuff on providing SD signal PQ comparable to CRTs yet. Even when the deadline comes for analog in 2/2009, we will still have 480i/p on most channels but it will be digital instead of analog. Everything will not be going to HD at that time.

It is hard for me to understand why my 50" DLP can have much better SD PQ than any of these smaller LCD displays can, but oh well.

Ok, I am thinking of getting the 532H next week, but see all the "issues" with the 480p/i signals.

But I am also thinking of getting a Media Center PC, and a WinTV TV Tuner card, and attaching that to the 532H TV/Monitor via the HDMI port (DVI to HDMI).

I presume that since it will be the WinTV TV Tuner card that will be processing the TV signal, and I will be outputting the TV signal, and the DVD "signal/output", to the TV/Monitor at atleast 720 (probably 1080), that I wont see this problem?

Am I right? Any feedback?

So technically speaking, there's no way a computer would cause an image to ghost?
Does anyone know if DVI input through a computer would make the display ghost?
I am thinking of buying this product as computer monitor.

Syntax can count my sale lost. Great prices out there, but not for a defective TV.

Fix the issue Syntax!

one solution would be an upscaling dvdplayer like xbox360

But that will not solve the problem with watching SD TV shows. I have noticed that the S-Video is a little better than the 75 ohm RF connection going through my SD digital cable box. It is still a problem that needs to be fixed and fixed fast.

Snowmoon:

Did you call ATI yet about the issue with their chipset?

no, it wouldn't

Unfortunatly this TV is pretty much wothless for anyone getting a Nintendo Wii as it has no HD output options. What a dissappointment.

Hi Guys,
I just bought the Olivia 232V TV. I have it currently connected to the XBOX 360. I am planning to set it up with the digital connection next month after the move. But I just want to make sure if this TV has the OP's problems. I tested the game NFS in different modes (480p/720p/1080i) and I am not sure I see the problems. The XBox is connected thru the HD component cable that it comes with. Am I not doing the right tests or is this problem not affecting my TV.

What is your firmware version on your TV? I have the same model and would like to compare them.

Thanks in advance!

Hi PFC5,
My Firmware Version says version (A33-5.A19.A10.A01.A19). This is for a Syntax Olevia 232V. It is different from the OP's version.

So is there a way to possibly upscale SD cable channels to 720P for use on the 532H? I've been researching upscalers and its confusing me way more than doing me any good. The ones I found are like 1,500 dollars and for that price I'd just return my 532H and get a different hdtv...

O.K. I know a lot about computer networking but very little about AV gear. I wanted to buy my 82-year old Dad an HDTV so that he could watch the football games off of the HD channels on Satellite. Is the bug you all are talking about a problem for that, or do I need to get some tech info regarding his satellite box for you to answer that?

Any decent scaler will work fine. I would look into a processor that does de-interlacing as well as scaling. You could always go with the older Focus or Key digital scalers or going with the higher end scalers like Lumagen or Pixelmagic. I say, price-match the 532H for the BF if you can, and use the money to get a nice scaler.

Reason being is that a good quality processor will most likely do a better job than using that saved money on a bigger LCD.

Thank you immensely for that reply! My mind is teaming with info on HDTV and whatnot. I'm very tech-savvy and build/modify my own home PC powerhouses but this HDTV business just blows my mind.

Very appreciated info!

The problem is for any 480i/480p source. If your dad watches HD football (HD from satellite/cable/OTA) then the problem according to OP is almost nondetectable. If you watch standard definition (SD) stuff or movies off a non-upconverting DVD player, you/your dad will notice the blurring/ghosting.

You do know that not all satellite channels are HD, right? Also, even those channels that broadcast in HD, only do so for certain shows/events. For example, some football games are in HD, some are not. Granted, in a few years, more than not, a lot more content will be broadcast in HD. Almost all Saturday college football and Sunday NFL on network TV is in HD. I'm pretty sure that not all of ESPN game plan is HD. I'm not sure if DirecTV NFL Sunday is or not - while the local channels are, NFL Sunday brings in feeds from other cities, but the feeds could be SD. Anyone with HD DirecTV and NFL Sunday wish to comment?

All in all, what I'm trying to say is that there is a difference between HD and digital. Satellite is digital, so you get good, clear resolution of SD content, but HD is like satellite or DVD content on steroids. You get enhanced digital content with HD. Hence, 480p < 720p < 1080p with 720p and 1080p being considered HD.

Is this correct? I was going to buy the Syntax Olevia 32" 532H at Microcenter on BF, solely for use with my kids' Nintendo Wii. Does this prior post mean you cannot connect a Wii to the 532H? Can it be connected via another cable that isn't HD?

Thanks,
Mike

I will only use this 532H as a gaming monitor, both PC and Xbox 360.

Does anyone have any pics of this TV running as a monitor? Would this make a good monitor at all?

Sure, you can connect the Wii up to the TV. However, I'm not sure what the PQ will be like on this T.V, if 480i/p signals show significant ghosting/blurring. You could try connecting the WII first to an outboard scaler and then the scaled image from the scaler input into the Oeliva. However, scaling games and scaling movies I believe, are two different animals.

The point is this: If 480i/p are causing blurring issues and Syntax won't issue a fix because of political issues or technical issues, you have the following options:

1. Live with the defects in 480i/p sources and enjoy the HD sources
2. Get an outboard scaler and scale all 480i inputs to 720P or higher
3. Get a new T.V. that does a better job of both SD and HD