*** The LG BH100 HD Super Multi Blue Player *** official owner's thread - Page 2

No 1080p/24? I read on another forum here that a couple of ISF calibrators (different posts) had hooked it up to a scaler. The scaler indicated that it was RECEIVEING a 1080p/24 signal direct from the player.

1080p/24 or not? Which is it?

I am the ISF reporting my observations with the LG BH100 outputting 1080/24p with a Lumagen external scaler. I confirmed the output ability with a LG engineer. This player does not support 1080/60p output. AFAIK this is the only player currently able to output an HD DVD as its native 1080/24p.

Thanks Barry! Did you ask him (or do you know) why they didn't include it in the specs? As an ISF calibrator, how's the PQ? I have a Pioneer PRO-FHD1 and have been tempted to pick this up due to its dual output capability. I could probably wait on a gen2 but I am VERY interested to see the difference 1080p/24 makes on my panel. I have also considered trading in my HD-A2 for the XA2 for the same reason. The loss of iHD is just a marginal loss for me whereas the ability to see BR is a larger gain.

Is there a tangible difference?

I am happy with any player that can output the native resolution on the disc. Since I am an external scaler guy that is my primary concern. One of the HD DVD movies I watched was Polar Express since this movie was always such a great audio experience but the DVD picture quality was not good in the MPEG2 480i format. What a treat to have both the audio and video in full quality.

Like you I expect LG to come out with a GEN 2 version down the road fully loaded with all features of both formats. If you can live with the current audio outputs in this player the picture quality is stunning for both HD DVD and BD.

Are you familiar with the PRO-FHD1? I don't have an external scaler but my TV accepts a 1080p/24 signal and upconverts to 72hz. WIll I see the benefits of the 1080p/24? Am I likely to see a BIG difference (READ: worth the extra $$) in 1080p/24 with my panel without a scaler?

I understand this is an opinion-dependent question.

It only does 1080p/24 and does not do 1080p/60.

When the second gen comes out I'll think about getting one of these. Just think about it guys, 5 years from now there is no format war, just the best of both worlds!

Barry, I jusr reread one of your posts: why are you watching the HD-DVD of Polar Express in 480i? Heck, that HD-DVD can be seen in 1080p. Did I misunderstand?

Picture of what makes it work:

I was making a comparison between the 480i on my SD copy of PE and the 1080p on the HDDVD copy. Just for the record the BH100 does not support 480i over hdmi.

These CNET videos show the LG BH 100 CES display

http://www.cnettv.com/9710-1_53-25796.html

http://www.cnettv.com/9710-1_53-25822.html

I looked at the FHD1 on the pioneer website. It looks like a perfect match to have a plasma that natively displays 72hz with a 24p source like the BH100. No scaler should be required with a 1080/24p source since no scaling or deinterlacing is required. The prefered aspect mode on the Pioneer would be "Dot by Dot" to bypass any internal scaling. My only concern is the text next to Dot by Dot that says "for PC only". Does this mean the bypass mode is not supported for hdmi @24p? Something you should confirm with Pioneer before dropping $1200. With the LG you not only need a display that supports 1080/24p on input but also has the correct EDID file so the BH100 enables 1080p.

Thanks!

Barry, what about us users with 2.35:1 setups? Would a scaler still be needed to do the vertical stretch or will the BH100 allow this with one the setup options under "TV Aspect" or "Display mode"?

One more question: I've read the posts on p1 of this thread, if I am using this unit to output sound over HDMI or toslink/optical what is the difference between bitstream & 2ch PCF? Are the audio outputs listed on the Audio Conversion Chart on p1 of this thread subpar?

I've seen many complaints listed for the LG's audio capabilities.....I just don't understand the terms, I guess!

Was looking for a BR player but am thinking of the LG instead. Sad it doesn't do TrueHD 5.1 via analogs, guess I'll keep my A1 for that for now. Is this the only BR player that decodes DTS-HD-MA via analogs? Hows the PQ compared to the Pioneer or Panny?

I am currently in the research stage for a conversion to a native 2:35 screen. The more I read about the lack of anamorphic BD and HD DVD discs the less I am leaning towards the scaler squeeze/external lens stretch option. Besides gaining more light output from filling the 16:9 chip I can see no other benefits to justify the cost of the scaler and second lens for a BD / HD DVD 2:35 source. I know what your asking, can the aspect be set in the player for pre-squeeze. I will look in the menus. Can you use the zoom method to crop the black bars?

Perhaps. I would have to move the UH380 out of the way to try it, but that is not to difficult.

I checked the aspect settings and you are only allowed to select 4:3 aspect when the resolution is set to 480.

Can anybody verify that the text from the owner's manual is correct.

"If the disc is copy protected, the resolution will be changed to 480i automatically."

This has to be a typo. Why would the player not output SD DVDs 480p like every other player with component analog outputs?

EDIT: emphasized "SD DVDs"

Do you have a better picture? I can't quite make out the numbers on the Broadcom chips. It looks like a BCM7038 (or BCM7438 ?), and two BCM7412's.

Ron

I'm not sure how many discs are "copy protected" but I tried "Troy" on HD DVD and componet output is 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i.

It looks like 7438, but there's no such P/N in Broadcom's catalog. Their BD/HD-DVD SoC is called BCM7440...perhaps the 7438 was a prototype that became the 7440? The other two are 7412's (decoders).

Jeff,

This only applies to SD DVDs. I just tried my copy of the Troy DVD on the HD-A1 and it reverts to 480p, so Troy is copy protected.

The 1080p option is greyed out on my display in the BH100 menu. Is this because my Samsung HL-S6187W does not support 1080/24p?

That is the most likely scenario but it is possible that the display supports the resolution and the EDID file is wrong. We need someone with an HLS series display and a external scaler to test for 24p support to be sure. Can anyone help with that test?

Could the EDID file be changed with a firmware update?

Yes, I have seen companys update firmware in the field to fix EDID files but it normally required a service call by a technician. It couldn't hurt to contact Samsung and ask them about 24p support.

I tried two other SD DVDs and I was able to switch between 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i via component (Red/Green/Blue). I did have to press STOP twice to stop the movie then push the RESOLUTION button then press PLAY to start the movie again. But the resolution was changing.

The two SD DVDs were Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith and Brokeback Mountain (the DVD side of the HD DVD combo disc).

I'm interested in this player. I would like to run it by just HDMI to my receiver. Does the audio go over the HDMI cable? I thought I read somewhere that it doesn't send audio over HDMI.

Please let me know as I"m about ready to pull the trigger.

Thanks.