[Alan G.]

Yesterday I found a Panasonic RP56 demo model at Best Buy for $79! Took it home to replace a (2nd generation) non-progressive Panasonic A120, which has been wonderful. This attached, via component cables, to a Toshiba 42H81, which I have heard hadn't the best deinterlacer. As the RP56 has the famous Faroudja chip, I thought I'd see an obvious difference in picture quality. Nothing! And, I've tried several different DVDs and looked hard.


I'm beginning to think people see what they WANT to see, talking themselves into justifying their purchase!


Is it a myth?

 

[Sango]

I wouldn't say is nothing because there is a difference because most likely you may have missed something during your tests and observations(I assume you have progressive mode enable on your 56).


At home, I have the Panasonic DVD-A470EN, 56 and 82 and can see the difference easily on all three. I tested them by watching DVD anime(you can tell instantly with this) or movies. They were all hooked up to my Hitachi TWX 57" widescreen.


I have also tested the same 3 units on a Panasonic direct tube TV(has no component or progressive) and I can also see the difference using composite video input.

--


I'll just add this comparison for Panasonic units here as a reference.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...deInt=0&mpeg=0

 

[Vlad_Dracule]

The difference is very subtle and is one of those things that once you notice it you see it all the time. It also depends on the quality of your source material. Your faroudja player will likely show better PQ improvements in video than film.

 

[foowigs]

I hooked up my new Mits 55413 to an older Hitachi non-progressive DVD. The picture was very good, so I was very excited when I bought a progressive player. I hooked it up and the picture wasn't as good. The reason? Evidently my TV does a better job of doing 480p than the non-foroudja chip player. I haven't gotten one yet to test it, but the non-fchip wasn't really all that good.

 

[BGLeduc]

You need to play something that is poorly authored for the difference to jump out at you. With properly authored stuff, the differences in players can be very subtle.


If you have kids, play 101 Dalmatians II (this is animated) on a player with poor deinterlacing, then on a good player.


My Pio 45a is a flag reader, and this title is improperly flagged. On the Pio, the combing I get on this title is unreal.


Play the same title on my Denon 1600, and its clear, solid, and not a combing artifact to be seen.


I am sure others can suggest some additional poster children for poor authoring.


BGL

 

[Sango]

I definately say anime(even the ones made in CG) is a very good test as well since you can see it more dimentional and solid and other aspects when using a Faroudja based player when comparing to a player which have it. I have lots of anime dvd since I'm a collector (yes they are legit R1, not those bootlegs!!) and they do show their true colors on these dvd players can really do.

 

[Spiky]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that TV one that converts to 540p? So the TV is re-converting the signal to 540p no matter whether you use 480i or 480p from the DVDp. So, for this TV....yes, progressive is all hype. Since you don't actually get to see what the player can do.

 

[gtaylor74]

Yes, the 81 series Toshibas upconvert 480p to 540p and these models were known to add artificats as a result of the upconversion and the additional analog to digital conversion. The newer toshibas supposedly do a better job of this. I agree with Spiky, you aren't seeing the native 480p from the faroudja chip. Even so, the differences can be subtle and usually are not a night and day difference like most people expect.

 

[tomdkat]

I own a Toshiba 57HX81 and have 3 progressive scan DVD players (only two at a time are connected to it) and I can definitely see a difference between interlaced and progressive video feeding my TV.


The one point that no one seems to have addressed is expectations. What might seem like a "drastic" difference in picture might seem like a subtle difference to someone else. I'm not sure what people expect when they read messages about the "marvels" of progressive scan video so I have to wonder if sometimes people develop higher expectations than they really should.


I wasn't sure what to expect when I watched my first DVD played back on a progressive scan DVD player but I was sure impressed with the results. If people are thinking they will automagically see a "night and day" difference in video quality just because they have a progressive scan DVD player connected, perhaps their expectations aren't what they really should be.


I don't know what other's tastes are in video quality but I can say for my own personal experience, I've noticed a definite difference between interlaced and progressive scan video on my TV. My mom, who doesn't know anything about HT gear at all, even noticed a difference when I did a quick interlaced vs progressive scan comparison with her as the judge. She preferred the progressive scan picture but not necessarily for the same reasons people tend to mention most on sites like this.


Peace...

 

[Kris Deering]

The players de-interlacing still is a major part of the overall image quality even if your TV is scaling to 540P, as many RPTVs do. The TV isn't doing ANY de-interlacing if you feed it a 480P signal, it is just scaling. If you sent it a 480i signal, then it would be de-interlacing as well.


De-interlacing is one of those things that some people are more sensitive to then others. At Secrets, we came up with the best tests we could and gave lengthy explanations on what was happening with each error.


There is a huge difference between some players when it comes to de-interlacing, but you need the right material to really show the benefits.


If I was reviewing display devices that de-interlace the image I would run the exact same tests on it as we do with DVD players. But I don't really review display devices. I know when I bought my NEC plasma I ran the de-interlacing tests and it did brilliantly. Passed everything the high end de-interlacers pass. The Faroudja still does better with video sources though with its DCDi processing.

 

[galileo2000]

Kris,


My Sony 61HS10 will upconvert 480i to 960i using Sony's infamous DRC system.


Am I better off with 480p signal from Sony DVP-CX777ES ( which passed Faroudja tests according to Secrets) ?


It is a $64,000.00 question for me (well, maybe just $640 )


Thanks a lot.

 

[Kris Deering]

It passed the Faroudja tests for motion adaptive, but nothing passes the Faroudja flag test except the Faroudja solutions.


I don't understand the whole 960i, since that is the same as 480P in terms of vertical resolution on the screen at any one time. Plus what are they using for horizantal resolution?


In real world applications the perfect resolution for upscaling DVD would be 960P, but only some 9" CRT front projection systems can actually achieve this and for a hefty price.


I would recommend a good progressive DVD player for any monitor. The 777 did a fine job in the shootout and is a step up for Sony.

 

[Sam S]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kris Deering It passed the Faroudja tests for motion adaptive, but nothing passes the Faroudja flag test except the Faroudja solutions.

Kris, not even the Sil503/504?

 

[galileo2000]

Thank you Kris.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

It's real, but yeah, only specific content highlights it. I have a Pioneer 47ai, which is known to have a poor deinterlacer, and I've only really noticed it on the 2nd Zeppelin Live DVD. But it was easy to see in that case.

 

[Kris Deering]

Not even the Sil.

 

[WanMan]

Quote:

Originally posted by Alan G. Yesterday I found a Panasonic RP56 demo model at Best Buy for $79! Took it home to replace a (2nd generation) non-progressive Panasonic A120, which has been wonderful. This attached, via component cables, to a Toshiba 42H81, which I have heard hadn't the best deinterlacer. As the RP56 has the famous Faroudja chip, I thought I'd see an obvious difference in picture quality. Nothing! And, I've tried several different DVDs and looked hard. I'm beginning to think people see what they WANT to see, talking themselves into justifying their purchase! Is it a myth?

Maybe its your display device. I also have an RP56 (which I also bought from BB) and it was much better at deinterlacing that the $5500 RPTV's deinterlacer.