[kashuba]

Well, I don't exactly know how, but somehow you guys managed to get me off the fence and in front of a 60" GWII. I'm still tweaking, but most (like non-TiVo) things look great. I've had the set for a few days, now, and I have a few questions.


1) I know that the various picture modes keep their settings (picture, color, hue), but can I tie a picture mode to an input source? For instance, I use Pro for DVDs and Mild for TiVo. If I switch from my TiVo input to my DVD input, do I have to manually switch the picture mode to Pro, or can I tell the TV that I always want to use Pro when I'm using the DVD input?


2) How do I know what type of picture I'm watching? Is there some sort of indication of whether I'm watching 480i or 480p? That's just an example, of course -- it's not too hard to see the difference. But what if I was receiving a 720p signal instead of a 1080i. How would I know?


3) Has anyone gotten TiVo to look good? I have my TiVo set to 'best' quality, but a lot of the recorded shows don't look too great. I'm using cable as the input and the image is often very grainy and/or 'pixellated'. I have tried setting the TV set to Mild mode, DRC set to minimum reality and maximum clarity, and the sharpness turned way down, but then it ends up looking very soft and very odd. Has anyone gotten good results with TiVo on this set?


Thanks for any help, and I'm sorry if these questions have already been answered in other threads.


Ed Kashuba

 

[dmk]

Ed, just got my GWII 50 on Saturday.....I have the same concerns with tivo...but I love the set! Will watch this thread...

thanks

dmk

 

[umr]

Quote:

Originally posted by kashuba 1) I know that the various picture modes keep their settings (picture, color, hue), but can I tie a picture mode to an input source? For instance, I use Pro for DVDs and Mild for TiVo. If I switch from my TiVo input to my DVD input, do I have to manually switch the picture mode to Pro, or can I tell the TV that I always want to use Pro when I'm using the DVD input? Ed Kashuba

You cannot tie a picture mode to an input source automatically, but you can change the settings for any mode based on various source parameters. This is done in the service menu. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!


The menu is arranged as follows:


Category.....................Item No. ..............Data................Mode

Item........................................................ .............Input Signal


I believe I have changed this by going to category 2170P-2 and changing items UPOG (picture), UBOG (brightness), UCOF (color), UHOF (hue), SHOF (sharpness). These appear to be biases used for the various settings and each input type and mode. The settings for this are a matrix with columns for each mode with input signals RF, Video, Component (480i), Component (480p), Component (720p), Component (1080i), Twin, DVI and VGA. If you change picture modes without saving these settings will be lost. I have used this method to enable me to use PRO mode for all of my inputs.


When you change these settings initially the picture looks wrong until you save the settings and change modes back to the one you were adjusting.


It is also possible to make all of the modes behave like your favorite (PRO) if you want more options available. Doing this requires setting many parameters the same as the mode you like. To do this for Vivid and Standard I went into the following areas to match PRO mode.



PIC-BOOST2

..CRNG - 5

..VGAM - 28

..NLMP - 10

..PKNG - 25


PIC-BOOST3

..DGR - 0


2170P-2

..UPCG - 31

..UBRG - 31

..UCOL - 31

..USHP - 31

..UTMP - 1


2170P-3

..VMLM - 0

..CTLV - 0

..LTLV - 0

..LTMD - 0

..VM - 0

..VMH - 13

..VMM - 8

..VML - 4

..MIDE - (Varies with input type)


2170P-4

..GAMM - (Varies with input type, but I like 4)

..BLK - (Varies with input type, but I like 0)



Unfortunately, the service manual only lists most of these codes and does not describe what they do.

Originally posted by kashuba
2) How do I know what type of picture I'm watching? Is there some sort of indication of whether I'm watching 480i or 480p? That's just an example, of course -- it's not too hard to see the difference. But what if I was receiving a 720p signal instead of a 1080i. How would I know? /QUOTE]


When you go in the service menu the input signal type is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen.

 

[kashuba]

umr,


I applied your settings for satellite signals to my TiVo input and it helped greatly. Thanks for taking the time to post those settings -- I'm sure that I'm not the only one who will see a dramatically improved image by applying them. I wish I understood what the changes actually DO but I figure one thing at a time.


dmk, maybe you could try the satellite input settings umr posted in his "umr does GWII" thread at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=196558 . They really, and I mean really, cleaned up the TiVo picture on my system. It's still not perfect, but it's closer to perfect than I thought I'd ever see.


Ed

 

[motjes2]

These settings are really great. I can watch the local news again!!!

 

[Kirk_Gunn]

umr - thanks again for sharing your research. One question - does the SM mention any indications that tweaking the RF inputs would demand other settings ? I've got cable run directly (via 75 ohm) into the GWII.


As others indicated, some are watchable and others are pretty bad. Hopefully get my Comcast HD box soon !


Thanks again

 

[umr]

Kirk_Gunn,


I am not using that input, but the manual does show the 6,0 gamma table. I would try changing PRO mode on this input to the following. This assumes you plan on using PRO mode for everything like I referenced in my other thread.



2170P-2

..UPOG - 20 (Starting point)

..UBOG - 8 (Starting point)



2170P-4

..GAMM - 4