[Dizzy49]

I finally got my HTPX together, and I went to celebrate by watching Matrix. I was a bit annoyed that the picture had black bars at the top and bottom. When displaying on my 16:9 TV, they are there, but not nearly as bad. I have a GeForce4 MX400, and I'm using Powerstrip to set it to 1920x540p. I was watching it very closely, and the picture seemed a bit grainy. I thought it may have been the movie, so I popped in AI. That one didn't have the black bars, instead if cut off several inches from the top and bottom. AI also had a grainy look to it. Any ideas on how to improve picture quality and also how to adjust the resolution/timing so that it's not cutting things off? I tried messing with the vertical front/back porch but I couldn't get it to do a damn thing. Any and all help is appreciated.


Dizzy

 

[Jim Ferguson]

The Matrix is a 2.35:1 aspect ratio movie. It is supposed to have black bars on a 16:9 TV. AI is a 1.85:1 movie. On most 16:9 displays you would not see the very small black bars.

 

[Burned&Warped]

As for the grainy looks, could it be caused by(in ascending order of likelihood):


-. the software player

-. the material, i.e. garbage in garbage out

-. the graphics card. Try Radeon, maybe?

 

[Wireless]

Also AI was shot with an intentional grainy look.

 

[Dizzy49]

Why the hell would someone shoot a picture with a grainy look on purpose? I've seen lots of screenshots of Shrek and Gladiator. I'll pop both of those in and take a look and compare.

 

[MassaCure]

the matrix dvd is kinda grainy in picture as well, i would try out a few more dvds to see what the outcome is going to be

 

[Dizzy49]

Shrek looks incredible! Gladiator looked pretty damn good too. I think it was the cds. Now I just need to fix the overscan problem and I should be set

 

[Wireless]

A director will sometimes use color or film grain to acheive a certain effect. The Matrix's green tint or the tint in Three Kings are examples of using a color to set a mood or convey a difference. There was a thread in the DVD Softhware forum about AI use of intentional grain.