Upgraded HT for first time in 10 years - need some help

[Darel]

About ten years ago I put together my home theater, the video portions of which consisted of a 32" Sharp CRT and panasonic A300 DVD player. I have been thrilled with the performance of both over the years, but recently Sharpie decided DVDs looked better in black and white so I figured it was time for an upgrade. I went to the Circuit City going-out-of-business sale and picked up a Samsung A630 LCD TV for about $800.

Looking through the features and trying to do initial setup with my Video Essentials disc, I soon learned it was time to upgrade my home theater knowledge as well. I found the sticky on this site about setting up the added picture options once the HDMI is running. That answered a lot of my questions.

First off, I have DirectTV satellite and the same Panasonic A300 DVD. Unfortunately since this player only has S-vid output and no component or certainly no HDMI, I'll probably move up to Blu-Ray sometime in the next couple of months.

I have no real issues with the DVD viewing. Vid Ess helped and while I still have some minor fine tuning to do it's livable until I can use the HDMI input. Is there an updated Video Essentials disc that can help me set up the added black level and PxYYcF3X$$ settings once I get my Blu-Ray?

With my satellite box, that's a different story. The picture quality is horrinble (much worse than with the old Sharpie) - I hoped video settings would be preset to input but when I switch from DVD to sat the settings remain where they were for video - and I'm not going to bother adjusting them for TV viewing. Hopefully I'll find some setpoint in the manual I can change to make picture levels set for each individual input. Another issue is I only have one S-vid input on the A630, which is currently taken by the DVD, so when I go blu-ray I can use the S-vid for the sat and ditch the coax entirely. Sat box does not have component or HDMI. Colors are horrendous, thick greens and reds, terrible motion blur, but I don't watch sports so it'll have to do. I'm praying a lot of this changes when I can use the S-vid for satellite.

A real issue for me is the lack of 16:9 on the sat. The TV has the option of 4:3, 16:9, Zoom1 and Zoom2. The satellite box has the option of 4:3 and 16:9 but switching between the two on the satellie box, there is no difference in the picture. It doesn't change. So, I've been watching this horriffic-looking picture through this beautiful 40" TV in 4:3, wasting about 30% of my viewing area. The DirectTV website and literature hasn't been very informative - is this setup only capable of receiving a 4:3 signal? Will I need to upgrade to an HD receiver to take advantage of my new viewing area?

I don't really want to spring for the HD receiver and surgharge and all just so my kids can watch HD Spongebob - I don't care about TV viewing, but this is horrible PQ, and with the added screen "shrinkage" my viewing area is now actually smaller than it was with the 32" Sharp CRT.

Sat users, is there something I can do about my screen size without upgrading to HD?

Will my PQ improve significantly going from coax input to S-vid?

Thansk!
Darel

 

[Darel]

Oh yeah, one more question - is the "blue-only" option worth using during setup or should I continue to have my wife make fun of me while I stare at test patterns through a blue-colored film negative?

 

[Darel]

OK, new problem:

Last night after first hooking the set up I watched "The Fifth Element". I had to leave the TV in 4:3 leaving several inches of black all the way around the picture - that WAS with the widescreen version of the film. I chalked it up to it being a first-gen DVD I'd bought ten years ago and forgot about it.

This morning I put in Transformers - same thing - should be a newer version DVD, it just came out last year. I have to leave the tv in 4:3 or else the picture is stretched. This leaves a good 4" of wasted viewing area all the way around the set and now the picture is MUCH smaller than the old 32" CRT. What gives? Do I absolutely have to have HDMI input so that I can use "just Scan" to fill the screen or am I stuck with tiny pictures forever? I don't get it - why can't a 16:9 DVD set to 16:9 play on a 16:9 monitor set to 16:9 in 16:9 format without stretching the picture?

This is a major problem for me - starting to regret retiring my Sharp CRT...

 

[just-some-guy]

i can't help you with your tech problems. but i can say. turn off everything and go buy a Blu-Ray player. i don't watch anything but.

 

[bandphan]

If no one addesses the issue i will when im of the bb and harp. Just a note on the dvd player, you can pick up units all day long for under a Bill.

 

[AVRat]

For starters, both those movies are in 2.35 AR (aspect ratio) so you should see bars at the top and bottom.

I can’t find the A300 manual on-line. Is there a setting in the DVD player that tells it you’re using a 16:9 display? Even though you may have a setting for it, I believe since you’re still sending an SD (standard definition) signal you still need to use one of the stretch modes on the Samsung.

I believe the only true 16:9 signal you get is with HD signals. All else in SD is still using the 4:3 AR so again using one of the stretch modes to make full use of the screen. Unfortunately, this is a common misunderstanding when people upgrade their TVs’.

 

[Darel]

Thanks AVRat. I suppose then I'll need to go Blu-Ray and HD satellite to get a full screen. That sucks.

Is there an upgraded Video Essentials to help me set up my RGB and black level and all?

Another Q along those lines - one thing I noticed when setting up this TV is the sharpness test - the line never actually bends. Should I turn the sharpness all the way up, then, or all the way down?

Thanks!
Darel

 

[Judicious]

I'm pretty sure you want sharpness left to default or the most intermediary setting. As in, one that won't actually add sharpness to the scene or blur it at all.

 

[AVRat]

Finally downloaded the Sammie manual and the picture sizing info doesn't help much.

When watching either of those movies in 16:9 mode on the Sammie you should see ~2" black bars at the top/bottom due to the AR difference between 2.35/1.78(16:9). Those bars are encoded in the material. Is this what you're seeing?

For general TV viewing the 16:9 mode can be used if you don't mind the slight distortion. Some find that objectionable and only the 4:3 mode should be used. Those are the only modes to use until you get HD signal info.

Yes there is a DVE for Blu-Ray.

I believe the only true TV 16:9 signal you get is with HD signals. All else in SD is still using the 4:3 AR so again using one of the stretch modes to make full use of the screen. Unfortunately, this is a common misunderstanding when people upgrade their TVs’.

This last statement of mine is a little confusing and somewhat incorrect as I was talking about TV signals. If your DVD player is set to put out the image to a 16:9 display and you play a 16:9 AR movie it will/should fill the screen properly with the TV set to 16:9 mode distortion free.

Now with no setting changes, ARs less than 1.78 will give you black columns on the sides and ARs over 1.78 will give you black bars at the top/bottom.

If your DVD player only puts out a 4:3 picture, which I doubt, then that's an issue.

SD TV signals still come through as 4:3(1.33) AR.

Sharpness adjustments can vary by manufacturer. The setting is usually from low to mid level.

 

[Darel]

Guys -
You were right, I found the hidden menu in my DVD player that I hadn't accessed in ten years ("stop"-"action") and changed that to 16:9 and it works. The 1:2.85 thing really threw me. First movie I put in was Journey to the Center of the Earth and I was happy with the size, but when I put in the greatest movie of all time, "Transformers", I still have letterbox bars. Oh, well. At least I got that problem fixed. Now I feel like a real idiot, just because I didn't feel like pulling the manual down from my attic...

Do Blu-Ray discs have the same format or are all Blu-Ray's 16:9?

Very disappointed to hear about the satellite. Oh, well.

Thanks!

 

[AVRat]

“And then there was Light!” LOL

Yes, BluRay movies come in their original aspect ratios.