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What is the different between Digital Clean View and MPEG Noise Filter?

61K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  milehighou 
#1 ·
http://skp.samsungcsportal.com/integrated/popup/FaqDetailPopup3.jsp?seq=1050370&cdsite=in&status=A
http://www.samsung.com/in/support/skp/faq/1050405

Both the Digital Clean View and the MPEG Noise Filter claim to reduce excess digital noise, so what is the difference between them?

Yesterday, I was watching a movie on free-to-air TV and I started thinking that the picture quality seems a bit blurrier than normal. After I turned on the Digital Clean View and the MPEG Noise Filter the picture quality became a lot better. But I don't know which one caused the improvement.

Can either the Digital Clean View or the MPEG Noise Filter really improve the quality of free-to-air TV or is it all in my head? Which one of them is more effective? If they do improve picture quality, then why do all the Samsung F8500 recommended settings say they should be turned off?

Can either the Digital Clean View or the MPEG Noise Filter be used to improve the quality of YouTube videos or DVDs or Blu-rays? Or will they be detrimental?

I'm also confused about the HDMI Black Level function. Why is it grayed out when I'm watching free-to-air TV, but not when I'm watching a Blu-ray? Samsung's FAQ page says something about "black level range to 0-255 from a YCrCb color source" but I don't understand what any of that means.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Digital clean view can have weird effects, especially with blu ray movies and HD shows. Although the picture may appear sharper, during some scenes you might start to notice that dark backgrounds start to "float or move" weirdly. It basically DNR's the movie giving it a weird look at times. It's meant for SD broadcasts and not HD broadcasts. MPEG noise filter may improve some HD material, especially compressed material from cable and satellite. May also help OTA compressed material too. I have MPEG noise filter set to Auto for satellite tv. As far as HDMI black level, if you have your blu ray player connected via hdmi to tv, then set the blu ray player to output HDMI at 4:4:4 or 4:2:2 and it will be greyed out to normal. If you have the player set to RGB then it will allow you to select HDMI black level.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Exactly!

I have documented about 12 videos, most on Netflix and Amazon but a couple on BR disks.

With DCV in any of the ON settings I can duplicate the wavy line, "float or move" syndrome in the same spots on the video every time. The problem is with DCV OFF, the wavy line syndrome does away but grain in introduced in some scenes that are not there in the same scenes with DCV on.

Even had a Samsung "Master Technician" come to my home.

The Master Technician stated that (and I voice recored the conversation) this is a compression issue and it is a "limitation of the technology" and can only be resolved thru a firmware update that specifically address DCV.

So I guess enough people are not bitching about this..like I am...to Samsung for them to address this issue. Or most users are not savy enough to explore and see the issue themselvs.
 
#3 ·
So, DCV is for standard definition and MNF is for high definition.

When you say Digital Clean View is meant for SD broadcasts, does that include DVDs and SD YouTube videos?

So, the MPEG Noise Filter is not needed for Blu-rays since they are usually not heavily compressed?

Can you tell me what a 0-255 black level range means?
 
#4 ·
Noise Reduction should have a minimal impact AFAIK. You could use Low for all non-blu-ray sources, or use it for SD only, or not at all, it is a matter of preference. I used Low on my LCD on non-blu-ray sources because it softens up the picture a bit (it also added blur!).
Plasma is ''soft'' and natural by nature so i do not use Noise Reduction options any more.
 
#5 ·
can't help you at all with DCV or MPEG, but the black level works like this...

when sending the tv an RGB signal, you can choose between "Low" (16-235) or "Normal"(0-255). the key is to match the display with your output. typically video uses a 16-235 range, and PC's use 0-255. If you send the tv a non-RGB signal, it automatically reverts to 16-235 and will grey out the setting (note that what it reads does not matter, it just shows the last setting) since all YCC uses 16-235.

basically this all comes down to matching video 'standards'. 8bit allows for 256 'steps', which is 0-255, but for some reason video has set a standard that black will start at 16 and white at 235, giving a little bit of 'headroom' on either side. i am not sure why they do this though. ultimately, either way it gets converted to 0-255 to be displayed on your tv anyway, so it's really just about matching the source. if you run a 16-235 source and have the display expecting 0-255, then it's going to look really washed out since 'black' at 16 from the source will be displayed as grey, and 'white' at 235 will also be grey on the display, not good. in reverse, if you send 0-255 and the display is expecting 16-235 it'll 'clip' everything below 16 and display it as 'black' and everything above 235 and show it as 'white'.
 
#7 ·
Digital Clean View can cause very apparent motion smearing and ghosting/trailing in dark images, especially in SD content. I have an SD DirecTV box connected through S-Video to a GefenTV S-Video to HDMI converter-- I struggled with REALLY crappy looking SD (horrible smearing in motion in darker scenes) and bad ghosting on PS2 480i game content (again, darker scenes) until I realized it was DCV. Its such a bad effect I highly recommend you turn it off.

MPEG Noise Filter cause the ENTIRE screen to blur at totally random times. It is most noticable on SD side scrolling video game content. I happened upon its precise effect playing Zelda II on NES. I noticed the entire screen would suddenly blur, then get clear again at random times. After fiddling with my connections and thinking my NESRGB circuit was failing, I scrolled through the TV menu and found that MPEG Noise Filter had been accidentally turned on. I turned it off and the difference was immediate. It is a terrible effect and it can be replicated everytime with old 2D side scrolling games like Zelda II.

I watch a lot of SD content on both my F4500 and F5300 sets-- I have both of the effects off and find the SD looks better with them off because you dont get the ghosting/trailing with DCV and the full screen blur with MPNF. I highly recommend turning them off.
 
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#12 ·
I'm probably gonna be shamed for this. But i recently got a new 4K TV. And watching Blu Rays on it is a blast. Though i've noticed. Having Digital Clean view set to Auto is probably for the best. I've noticed even on Movies on Blu Ray such as Blade Runner a few scenes with Noise on it without it turned on, If i set it to auto those same scenes turn crystal clear. Letting it stay on Auto lets your TV make the adjustments when it needs to.

I've seen more flickering and whatnot with it turned off.

Mpeg Noise Filter i believe works similar to the previous setting. Again, i've tried playing with various settings on it

So basically i'm left to think that leaving it on Auto for both settings is for the best because you're letting your TV make the adjustments when it needs to be.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Reviving an old thread since there seemed to be some good info in here. A couple of things...

For blu-ray, I agree with most and think Digital Clean View and MPEG Noise Filter should be off.

With cable (even HD) and some streaming, I notice quite a bit of compression artifacts. I tried flipping through the different DCV settings, and to me, it looks like it's blurring the image. Yes, it really cleans up the noise, but it blurs details. This seems most noticeable on closeups of people's faces. On 'auto', almost all of the annoying cable TV artifacts are gone, though, so I don't know; it may be worth the tradeoff.

MPEG Noise Filter, on the other hand, does not seem to be blurring things, even though that's what I've read. I can flip back and forth between 'off' and 'auto', and I don't see any noticeable loss of details or blurring. The image still isn't perfect, but there seems to be improvement.
 
#14 ·
Just an update to my last post:

I was informed that MPEG Noise Filter was designed to work with v2 and lower, which is now obsolete. This would explain why I'm not seeing it do anything to my image. Plus, it's probably why it's no longer an option on the new Samsungs.

DCV, on the other hand, was designed for newer compression methods, and it does affect the picture. Still trying to decided between 'low' or just 'auto', but without it, my TWC channels have tons of artifacts, mostly mosquito noise (especially noticeable on faces) and blocking artifacts. Maybe it's more noticeable since I have a 65" TV, but I can't believe everyone isn't using DCV for TV and maybe it streaming. There's just so much crap in the image without it. It does add a bit of blur, but that's the compromise, I suppose.
 
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