[dsiegel]

I have a pro 710 with a Tosh 5109. Since I have the lock in full with a progressive signal I bought a RP-91 because it has aspect control. Here is what I discovered. I used numerous DVD's some had a choice at the beginning menu for standard or widescreen. If you select widescreen the RP-91 aspect control does not work at all. I expected the RP-91 in zoom mode to expand so the black bars disappear and the screen would be filled. If you choose standard on the DVD menu then the aspect control works. If you take the same disc with the Tosh 5109 and a progressive signal and choose standard on the DVD menu the screen fills completely and shows the same picture as the RP-91 did when aspect control worked. The result is the same . But what I really wanted was to be able to manipulate aspect while in widescreen so as not to loose content on each side. Most of the disks which had no choice on the menu as to standard or wide filled the screen anyway with the Tosh 5109 in progressive so no aspect control was needed. I see no advantage to the aspect control feature of the RP-91

I believe that a pro720 would have aspect control where hte RP-91 did not and that natural wide or cinema wide would have filled the screen and elimnated the black bars top and bottem even if the disk was anamorphic.

 

[bitkahuna]

First off, I should say I don't have my RP91 yet (it's on its way), but I've got the manual and from what I've read, I think you might have misunderstood some things about DVDs and what the RP91 is doing, or perhaps your RP91 setup isn't quite right for you. I also have a Pioneer Elite (the baby brother of your 710, the 510).

Quote:

...If you take the same disc with the Tosh 5109 and a progressive signal...

First off, I don't think the 5109 is progressive.


Second, are you familiar with the 3 basic formats of video on DVDs?


1) There's 4:3 ratio video formatted just like regular TV. With your 5109 when you displayed this on the 710 it would look stretched out if displayed with the 710's 'full' display mode, it would look sort of OK with the 'natural wide', and cinema wide and zoom make it closer to 4:3 in aspect ratio while filling the screen but then quite a bit of material is being lost off the top and bottom of the screen. There's also 4:3 mode on the TV, which shows the video with gray pillars on either side.


2) Then there's widescreen video formatted to be displayed on a 4:3 regular TV. This is also called letterbox 4:3 content. Playing this type of content on your 5109 and 710 is a pain because none of the TVs display modes make it look 'right'.


3) Finally, there's what's called 'anamorphic' widescreen video which the DVD player adapts the output of depending on whether you tell it you have a 4:3 (regular shape) TV connected or a 16:9 (widescreen) one. This is the good format for movies.


Types 2 and 3 are not guaranteed to fill the screen on a widescreen TV because many movies are actually 'wider' than a widescreen TV, so you still see black bars top and bottom.


With that background... the RP91 can be told what to do with the different formats (when using progressive output). Which is great, because as I think you know, the 710 can only show 'full' mode with progressive signal. The RP91 can take the non-anamorphic type 2 widescreen video above, which is really designed to be displayed on a regular TV and not a widescreen TV, and stretch it to look right on your widescreen TV. You may well still have black bars top and bottom, this is NORMAL.


From the manual file I'm looking at, this is covered on page 26.


And on 4:3 shape ('standard') video, the RP91 can display this with black pillars either side so the shape is correct.


Anyway, I hope this helps!

 

[dsiegel]

I guess what I really was looking for was to scale anamorphic DVD so as to eliminte the black bars. When I view anamorphic material as interalced I can manipulate the aspect with the 710 to get rid of the black bars. Iwas hoping I could do this in progressive mode with the rp-91 but it is not capable. I find the bars distracting and over time may cause tube burn

 

[Bachelor]

you want to zoom the 2:35:1 material. give me a break, and lose picture material on the sides? lose the directors artistic abilities? come on! Have some respect

 

[Matt_Stevens]

You want a MALATA N996, the only player with true scaling abilities. It's the player I own and I love it.


However, I do not have any desire to zoom in my 2.35:1 material to 1.78:1, cutting off the sides. I have experimented with that for people, just to show them how a film like PHANTOM MENACE or STAR TREK TMP is ruined by the cropping, without panning & scanning. The results are not subtle. It is in your face cropping of image that can be so distracting, it ruins the film.

 

[ogomez]

Matt,

I don't think it is a good idea to keep promoting the Malata player. I'm sure there are others like you who have fully functional and problem free Malatas, but it is a crap shoot. Many, many others (myself included) have had a myriad of defects in the unit.


In fact AVDeals, where most of us bought the unit, has been deluged with returns and refund requests. when I called them this week to inquire about the status of my return they said they are only now starting to go through the vast "piles" of returned machines. AVDeals has also canceled all orders and refuses to sell the unit anymore. The webpage alerting customers of this has the URL:

http://www.avdeals.com/damnmalatas.htm


notice the "damn malatas" at the end. The fact that the biggest promoter of the Malata DVD-N996 on the web has completely disassociated themselves from the product speaks for itself.


It is a great player if it works, but WAY to many people have seen the shoddy implementation and quality control first hand.


-Oliver
3rAd|k83r

 

[JackD]

The primary function of RP91's aspect ratio control is auto scaling 4:3 materials including non-anamorphic movies to fill 16:9 screen. For that intent and purpose, it does its job brilliantly. That's exactly what I was looking for after getting tired of watching non-anamorphic movies with scan lines and distortion for years.


For me, RP-91 is a real delight. I guess it all depends on each individual's own expectations. It would not hurt to check out its technical specs before plucking down your money...


JackD

 

[bitkahuna]

Quote:

Originally posted by dsiegel I guess what I really was looking for was to scale anamorphic DVD so as to eliminte the black bars.

If the movie is anything but 1.78:1 or 1.85:1 (e.g., 2.35:1) you'll be cutting off material on the sides if you zoom in to eliminate the black bars.


But if that's what you really want, the Toshiba 4700 has a very good symmetrical variable zoom mode that works in progressive mode and would do what you want. In fact, I just tested this with movies like The Matrix and Fifth Element and the result is excellent. I didn't find myself missing content lost off the left and right. I think the 4700 zooms better in progressive than the TV does in interlace.

Quote:

I find the bars distracting and over time may cause tube burn

Well, I've heard burn is more likely with side pillars if you watch TONS of TV in that mode than horizontal black bars for movies. I wouldn't sweat it.


Anyway, sounds like the 4700 might be good for you. Mind you, it does have the chroma bug.

 

[Dimick1]

I currently have a 5109(which is progressive by the way) and am thinking of buying a 91. Besides the mixed review of the aspect control, how does it compare to the 5109 in terms of picture quality? Was there a noticable difference in sharpness,colors or should I wait for the next generation of players? Just wondering whether any of the new players are worth upgrading to.

 

[RonF]

I just upgraded to the RP-56 from the 5109 and it improves quite a bit on the Tosh's progressive performance, I feel.....color, sharpness, less artifacts (G1000 projector, straight into component). But now I'm reading how the 91's overall PQ (leaving slightly better deinterlace from 56 out of the equation) is even better than the 56, "reference quality" plus better audio and the non anamorphic scaling function, so I want to pick one up while the 56 can still be returned, and do the comparison.

 

[lcubed]

Quote:

Matt, I don't think it is a good idea to keep promoting the Malata player. I'm sure there are others like you who have fully functional and problem free Malatas, but it is a crap shoot. Many, many others (myself included) have had a myriad of defects in the unit. In fact AVDeals, where most of us bought the unit, has been deluged with returns and refund requests. when I called them this week to inquire about the status of my return they said they are only now starting to go through the vast "piles" of returned machines. AVDeals has also canceled all orders and refuses to sell the unit anymore.

more than a few of those returns were due to avdeals not double boxing the machines. (my original arrived mostly DOA due to this issue).


my second machine was double boxed by avdeals and works just fine.


avdeals appears to be dropping the malatas because of the lack of

effort by the main malata engineering to address some firmware

problems.


from some of the threads in the dvd&ld hardware forum,

at least, malata is more likely to address firmware issues than say,

skyworth.


(for example, one of the firmware updates they were

provided fixed quite a few of the outstanding issues, unfortunately

all the menus were in chinese)


all said, i'm relatively happy with mine. the scaling capability is

awesome. the panning capability is nice especially with subtitled

non-anamorphic 1.66 flick where the subtitled are both on and off

the picture area.


the interlacer could be better and the rp91 definitely has a sharper

progressive picture. (it also cost twice at the time i was shopping)


i'm sure that by this time next year something better will be

on the shelves. 'how bout a 720p player with full scaling/panning

capability with the deinterlacers from the faroudja NRS 720??

 

[Matt_Stevens]

I love my Malata and the last poster was correct that most of the returns were from AVdeals not double boxing the player for shipment. I was shocked when mine arrived in-tact, since it was only in the very small Malata box, with little protection.


Also, the problems with the player are: Subtitles for Phantom Menace do not work and that film crashes when it starts (pressing play starts it right back up and is fine from there).


Some STARGATE TV series DVD's do not work.


DTS dropouts with certain receivers.


All but the last will be fixed with the firmware upgrade.


I do not regret buying this player one bit. Anyone that watches R2 PAL DVD's in the U.S. can go to town with this puppy.


It's a shame Malata China is run by a bunch of penny short, pound foolish people, because had they been proactive in supporting the player, they would sold thousands for the Christmas rush. Fools.

 

[ogomez]

Matt and Icubed

I don't know where you guys got your information so I can't comment on the Malata double boxing thing. AVDeals says this is not the case. Poor quality control and crappy transports seem to be the problem. The "Major disk error" and "Minor disk error" problems are rampant with this unit.


Like I said before, I loved mine while it worked, just didn't work for very long. AVDeals have "many, many" returns. My Malata box had absolutely nothing wrong with it, and the player worked flawlessly for about a month. Then slowly it just dropped functions one by one until it wouldn't even register that a disk was inserted.


As far as Malata screwing themselves for Christmas. I really doubt the few hundred units they might have sold will really affect a corporation that moves millions and millions of dollars a year. I mean really, what percentage of the American public want consumer video products where the LCD displays Chinese characters ?


-Oliver

 

[lcubed]

Quote:

don't know where you guys got your information so I can't comment on the Malata double boxing thing. AVDeals says this is not the case. Poor quality control and crappy transports seem to be the problem. The "Major disk error" and "Minor disk error" problems are rampant with this unit.

oliver,


my first unit showed up after playing tag for two days with the fed ex lady. it had loose jiggly bits in it and would display major and minor

disk errors at random. it never played through a whole movie.


i opened it up and some plastic bits had been sheared due to the

rough shipping by tnt and fed ex. the stock box just doesn't

provide enough protection for domestic shipping.


(i ship electronics via fedex and ups for a part of my job

and include shock sensors in some of the boxes.

you wouldn't believe the shock loads that

these packages endure. putting fragile labels don't seem to change

the handling)


i wouldn't be at all surprised if the drives got misaligned. the stock

box is fine for truck shipping where everything's been palletized,

but i wouldn't send that particular box by itself through shred ex.


the replacement which was double boxed has performed stellarly.

no, major or minor disk errors. and the phantom menace isn't

a big deal for me since i have the LD.


here's an extreme example of shipping abuse:


http://homepage.mac.com/simonster/PhotoAlbum3.html