[LotusGuy]

I have a 503CMX, and have been seeing some picture problems. I tried doing a lookup, but could not find anything directly related. I wondered if it was the DVD or disc itself, but now I've seen the problem with a copy of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Superbit DVD.


The 'smearing' usually happens at the top of the picture, whether in Wide, Full, Zoom, or 4:3. It's a distortion of a stripe of video at the very top, 2 or three inches high. It looks like the video is 'smeared' to the right. I saw it during much of the fight seen in the bamboo trees.


I see the horizontal shadows on most of the FBI/Interpol warnings at the start of DVDs, including Crouching Tiger and Panic Room (also Superbit), each line of the text warning has a darker shadow that goes the width of the screen. It also happens on occasion if there is a horizontal line in the background that goes behind a face - the horizontal line will continue through the face as a shadow. On the Pulp Fiction LaserDisc, the opening scene with Amanda Plummer standing up in the booth, the venetian blinds behind her distort her face fairly badly.


I have a Sony DVP-C660 (non-progressive scan) DVD player, using SVideo thru my Harman Kardon AVR-300. I went directly from the DVP-C660 to the 503CMX, and the problem remained. My LaserDisc is a Pioneer CLD-D604, and I also use SVideo to connect that thru the HK. I am using generic Radio Shack SVideo cables.


Can anybody tell me what is causing these video problems? (The LaserDisc is not a huge concern, but I do not see these video problems with my analog cable nor my PC signals.)


Thanks for your help.

 

[mattg3]

Sounds like a progressive scan DVD player connected through component input should be your next purchase.I have the 433 and have never seen this problem with DVDs played on my progressive scan xp-50 connected directly into input 2 on plasma.

 

[LotusGuy]

Actually, just switching to component cables did the trick! I spent most of the day yesterday researching progressive scan DVD players, and my wife (bless her) took the logical step of going and buying Monster component cables. After a quick trip to Radio Shack for RCA-to-BNC connectors, we went home and tested the scenes we had seen the problems on before. Voila! No smearing at the top of any of the scenes, and no shadows around text or horizontal lines - NOW we know what it's supposed to look like. It's great, and we love it. I'm sure we'll be that much happier when I get the prog scan DVD later this year, but I'm glad I didn't have to run out and buy it today.


Thanks.