[javajunky]

I'm getting desperate trying to find solid answers. I'm looking for a DirecTV STB to up-convert and feed just 1080i signals to my Tosh LCOS TV. Scaling everything to 1080i is supposed to produce the best image quality for this set. In my searches, most threads seem to focus mostly on features and bugs with little fanfare given to relative PQ.


When comparing the Samsung TS-160 to Sony HD-200/Zenith 520:


Which box produces the best PQ for 1080i signals?

Which box exhibits the fewest artifacts when displaying 1080i?

Which box does the best job scaling 480i/480p/720p to 1080i?



Any opinions or experiences appreciated

Java Junky

 

[javajunky]

bump

 

[XFactor]

You may have a problem getting this answered as I imagine few people have seen both units on the same display device. The inability to do a side-by-side comparison (unless the person had 2 identical display devices calibrated correctly) would also hinder the availability of such information.


Having said that, the 480i programming from D* looks much improved when upconverted to 1080i on the HD200. I imagine the T160 would do a similar job.

 

[Lapidus]

I have had a TS-160 connected to my Pioneer Elite 710 since October. I have given up on it (for many reasons) and have installed the Sony HD200. I am running it at 1080i. I can not tell any difference in the picture quality -- D* channel 199 looks super with both boxes.


The only feature on the 160 that i miss is the ability to delete channels from the program list. The Samsung lest you add or delete and the Sony (as far as I can tell) only lets you add. IS this correct??

 

[javajunky]

Here are two quotes I pulled from another thread to show how befuddled the situation is:

From Campmaster:

"Hi Java Junky, as far as PQ goes, specifically what is see is a major increase in the color of the images going to the display (much better depth and clarity). I am using Component as my means of connectivity to my MIT WS55411.

I see a much more realistic color tone on all programming channels HD or not from the HD200 (I have DirecTV and OTA HD). I played with the the TS-160 color warmth but it was nowhere near the trueness of what I see now. The depth of the color and trueness of the color is amazing to me and to see that much of a difference is very surprising to me. The TS-160 color seemed to be to washed out in comparison, as if the contrast was set to high or something. There are other things I really like about the HD200 now that I have it (and some I don't, i.e. Amp control from the remote), but PQ was most important. To me, it absolutely justified the increase in cost, absolutely. I hope this gives you some insight on what I have found! "

Tom


Tbhausen:

"I, too, exchanged a SIR-TS160 for an HD200 (I couldn't get HDCP to work with my InFocus projector on the Samsung). However, I felt I saw the opposite noted above with regard to color and picture quality. With both component and especially DVI, I see the Sony as having more muted color with a definite touch of goldish hue (like at sunset) compared to the Samsung. My HD200 is at 1.0 with build date of Feb. '03. I haven't had any problems with lockups or loss of channel lists, so I'm basically quite happy. "


Todd/Indy

 

[krails]

Lapidus,


You can easily hide channels using the HD200. When you go in to the Add/Edit Channel feature under the Setup menu just scroll to a channel you want to hide and click the joystick on the remote. It will change the channel from "Shown" to "Hidden" and grey out the channel number. From that point forward you won't see that channel in the program guide and will skip right past it when using the channel up/down buttons.


The only downside to this is the HD200 will sometimes lose the Custom list when it loses power, or when it reboots. I haven't personally had this problem with mine, other than when the 1.04 update was downloaded and I lost the Custom channels in the subsequent reboot.


You can choose "Hide all" at the top of the screen before you start your customization, and then just go through and unhide the channels you want to see. This works great for all those DirecTV PPV and music channels and such which would take forever to hide one by one. =)


Kevin