[alderash]

I have a Panny AE900U on which I mostly watch standard DVDs. Some DVDs look good, some not so good many have a fair amount of noise and pixelation. I have the setting on the PJ at 720. In theory, would the picture look better if I switched the PJ's output to 480 . . . that's equivalent to a standard DVD, right?


I guess I'm kind of disappointed that the picture doesn't look better I figured that by going with a high-def PJ I'd be getting a better picture, but I suppose that doesn't apply to a standard DVD. For the record, I'm using an Oppo to upscale the video to 720 . . . yet I'm still not that impressed overall. Would a native 480 PJ have given me a better picture?


What can I do to get the best possible picture with the components I currently have? Is there a setting on each unit that will produce the best quality?


Thank you for your help.

 

[doodlehawk]

I was kind of wondering the same thing...upscaling SD DVD's gives me a smoother picture, but not necessarily sharper (I don't know if that makes sense). I just got a higher resolution projector (Sharp Z-3000), and there is a definite difference from dvd to dvd.


As far as noise, I wonder if it's the projectors ability to let us see more... not just more of the good, more of the bad and ugly as well. Kind of like how High Definition has NOT been kind to the appearance of certain actors/actresses.

 

[fillydee]

What you are seeing is just the resolution of the source material. Some DVD's are well mastered and other ones are done poorly.


You would think that a high def projector would display a better picture, but that isn't always the case. You are still limited to the native resolution of the DVD. I have seen some HD displays, CRT tubes mostly, that produce a pretty crappy rendition of standard definition TV. The extra resolution of the display makes all the garbage in the image stand out (macroblocking, misquito noise, etc). In some instances the standard definition TV looks better since all the picture flaws are "hidden".


About all you can do w/ the Oppo is make sure you are using the best type video cable. HDMI would be the best, then component, S-video, lastly composite. You can also play around with the resolutions that DVD player is sending the projector 720P, 1080i, 480p, 480i. It would be a small incremental step in quality and purly subjective. Some people have set ups where the 480i shows the best picture due to the quality of the DVD players scaler. However with the Oppo 720p or 1080i should be best.

 

[alderash]

I'm using an HDMI cable. I thought if I remove the upscaling, the picture might improve. I'm not sure if I can set both DVD player and PJ to 480.


Thanks

 

[Lightivity]

Thats not possible. Your projector is 720p native and cannot display anything beneath that. If it's given a lesser resolution from the video source the projector will use its internal chip to scale up to its own resolution.

 

[alderash]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightivity /forum/post/0


Thats not possible. Your projector is 720p native and cannot display anything beneath that. If it's given a lesser resolution from the video source the projector will use its internal chip to scale up to its own resolution.

Yes, that makes sense now. I almost think I should've gotten a 480 native projector for now. Until HD-DVD and Blu-Ray titles become more available and prices on the HD players drop considerably, I'm not sure I'll be really happy with my current setup since I don't think the upscaling concept is all that great.

 

[darkhorror]

You know you could still get 480p native out of your 720p projector. What you would need to do is only use 480p of your 720p projector so you woudl have black bars on all sides. But if you were to set it up so you were only to use 480p from your projector you could do it that way.


Though it does seem like a waste to only watch SD DVD's on your HD projector. Do you watch much tv or the shows that are in HD?

 

[alderash]



Quote:
Originally Posted by darkhorror /forum/post/0


You know you could still get 480p native out of your 720p projector. What you would need to do is only use 480p of your 720p projector so you woudl have black bars on all sides. But if you were to set it up so you were only to use 480p from your projector you could do it that way.


Though it does seem like a waste to only watch SD DVD's on your HD projector. Do you watch much tv or the shows that are in HD?

I'm confused . . . Lightivity says that I can't go lower than 720 on my projector, but you're saying I can?


As far as TV goes, we just finished up a basement home theater, so I haven't run a cable signal to the PJ yet. I'm afraid that if SD DVDs don't impress me, the TV signal's going to *really* bug me!

 

[gwlaw99]

There is no reason not to upscale. The picture will look the same except you have less screen door. Some projectors can display an image in the middle of the screen using fewer pixels for the image, the other pixels will still be used, they just appear black. There is no point to doing that though.


Maybe what you need is a HD-DVD player or HD Cable.

 

[alderash]



Quote:
Originally Posted by gwlaw99 /forum/post/0


Maybe what you need is a HD-DVD player or HD Cable.

I have an HDMI cable . . . isn't that HD?

 

[gwlaw99]

HDMI means Digital not HD. You can have a SD digital signal.

 

[tvted]

If you sit at 1.5 screen width or less be prepared to move back to at least 2x.


"Sharpness" is too often confused with "Resolution". They are not one and the same. Sharpness can be influenced by the high frequency transitions that panel structure can impart to an image.


Scaling is your friend whether you care to believe it or not. From the archives:
Why the Ideal Projector Resolution for DVD/HD is Greater than DVD/HD Resolution
http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/s...hreadid=198850


ted

 

[Jawhn]



Quote:
Originally Posted by alderash /forum/post/0


I have an HDMI cable . . . isn't that HD?

If you arn't using Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, an HD Cable or Sat box (w\\HD program package) or an HD set top box with an antenna to receive over the air HD, your NOT viewing REAL HD, just upconverted SD.

 

[corey006]



Quote:
Originally Posted by alderash /forum/post/0



As far as TV goes, we just finished up a basement home theater, so I haven't run a cable signal to the PJ yet. I'm afraid that if SD DVDs don't impress me, the TV signal's going to *really* bug me!

Not sure how much HDTV(720 or better) is available in U.S.A but we only have maybe 20 channels on Bell Expressvu in Canada.


SD-DVD work very well with my Sanyo Z5 and I am using a "cheapo" DVD player(with progressive scan) but the projector automatically upconverts the SDTV signal to 720(its native resolution)...I was told that unless your DVD player has a better converter not to bother.


As far as "picture quality" with satellite it is not as good as DVD and I usually try to watch it in 4:3 unless I know its 16:9 ASPECT RATIO. I have also found that trying to project a 106 inch picture with SDTV signals is not possible for my satellite. I am looking into upgrading to HDTV receiver(with HDMI) so I can at least watch some good shows on T.V in Hi Def.