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What STB res output do you use for fixed pixel displays (i.e DLP)

319 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by xbrjoe, Sep 14, 2003

mike_pro

Discussion Starter · Sep 13, 2003

I recently got Comcast HD installed, and you can select the box to output 1080i, 720p, 480p, etc. I've got a 61" Samsung DLP which is 1280x720 native.

I'm curious what output format (1080i or 720p) people use from their STB's in this situation. I've set mine to 1080i as that's what most of the HD channels are and let my TV do the scaling, as I figure it will be better than the STB. For 720p channels (like ESPN) I'll switch it to 720. I haven't really noticed much of a difference either way however., although I've only had it for a couple of days.

So, I may just leave it at 720p, but was wondering what other people are doing. (It would be nice if tehre were an option to just "pass native" on these boxes).

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mnilan

· #2 · Sep 13, 2003

Mike:

I just leave my STB outputting 720p. Llike you, I didn't notice a difference between 1080i and 720p but I figured that because the DLP native resolution is 720p, that's where I would leave the STB.

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rogo

· #3 · Sep 13, 2003

Well, mnilan, you can and should leave the box wherever you feel comfortable.

That said, it is a minor error of reasoning to conclude the box should output to the TV's native mode. The 1080i will be scaled either by the box or the TV. Sometimes, boxes are better, other times TVs are better.

Now if the content is 720p, leaving the box at 720p is right on as nothing will need to scale it. The question is, however, do you lose 1080i picture quality? The eyes can answer this and apparently have for the both of you.

I find a minor-yet-clear difference on my setup, so I switch my set-top box back and forth.

Mark

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Supertoyz

· #4 · Sep 13, 2003

Either having a "Native" setting or swapping as needed is the best but since I don't have a native setting and am too lazy to constantly be swtiching back and forth I simply left mine at 720. My reasoning is this:

If I set it to 1080i so that 1080i material passes through and is scaled by the TV then anything not 1080i is scaled up by the STB and then down by the TV. By leaving it at 720 in the STB anything 720P is passed right through and everything else is only scaled once. If the unit did have a native setting then it would essentially be as I have it now only I could control whether the TV or the STB did the scaling.

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mike_pro

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 14, 2003

I wish it had native pass through, but since it doesn't I leave it at 720. Since it's so easy to switch on the moto box, I'll switch it to 1080i when I want to have the best PQ possible, as I just feel that the TV probably does a bit better job scaling 1080i to 720p.

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Magnadan

· #6 · Sep 14, 2003

I leave mine set at 720p as well. Though most channels are 1080i, the STB does a good job of conversion and for ABC & ESPN it didn't seem practical to have the STB convert to 1080i only to have the television bring it back to 720p.

The only time I can see a real difference in the setting is while watching the "Tonight Show". Try this and let me know if it's only me. Set the STB to 1080i and during the opening monologue look at picture of the building on the set behind Jay. It's "windows" seem to be distorted. With the STB at 720p, it's perfect.

Let me know if this is the same with you.

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xbrjoe

· #7 · Sep 14, 2003

you can definitely notice the "flicker" with interlaced mode on 1080i. if you set your stb on the menu where you can choose between 1080i and 720p, look very closely at the text...put your face up to the screen and look at the actual pixels creating the letters...you will notice flickering at 1080i but not at 720p. i set mine at 720p and all text is super crisp...no flickering. i figured this would give me regular pictures without flickering and so far...i'm happy setting it to 720p.

i also set my stb to not do anything with 480i. you can choose to force 480p but doing so, i have to always change the aspect ratio on my hln567 when going between HD channels on "wide" and non-HD channels at 480p to back to "normal". if you set the 480i override to "none" you can keep the tv at "wide" and all HD channels will show wide, whereas 4:3 will be set in 4:3 with black bars...everything comes out really sharp and crisp.

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