The Official Mid-A A/V Thread
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 53,292
Likes: 789
From: Owings Mills, MD
The Official Mid-A A/V Thread
I started this thread because a lot of us have some experience in A/V world, in some aspect or another and we can help each other out. 
Obviously a great place to do searches and a lot of reading avsforum.com
W1ngman's thread which has a good bit of info
Mmmmm 1080p goodness coming my way...
Cheap Good Quality Cables (and other cable-related items)
bluejeanscable.com
monoprice.com
Please no whoring in this thread. That's why I didn't put it in the HAW sub-forum.
Obviously a great place to do searches and a lot of reading avsforum.com
W1ngman's thread which has a good bit of info
Mmmmm 1080p goodness coming my way...
Cheap Good Quality Cables (and other cable-related items)
bluejeanscable.com
monoprice.com
Please no whoring in this thread. That's why I didn't put it in the HAW sub-forum.
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 53,292
Likes: 789
From: Owings Mills, MD
Got a new Samsung LNS-3251D 32" LCD on Sat. I'm still messing around with it while I'm in my 30 day return period. Nothing is worse than feeling like you blew ~$1500 for a just OK product.
HD =
DVD =
Xbox (standard) = OK
SD =
HD =
DVD =
Xbox (standard) = OK
SD =
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 53,292
Likes: 789
From: Owings Mills, MD
I posted this in the AVSForums
I haven't changed any color settings yet, but here is how I'm hooked up.
Components from the HD DVR to the 3251D.
I am using Xbox (not the 360) as my DVD player/game machine and am hooked up using S-Video cables.
The DVR box is set to:
16:9
1080i (although I am playing with 720p since I feel it might look better)
for 4:3 override, I set it to 480p. With override set to None, the edges of the picture looked bad.
I find the HD channels look outstanding.
I find the SD channels look terrible. I did set the 3251D to use 4:3 on SD channels (which improved it a bit since the image isn't stretched) and it auto switches to 16:9 when it reads that kind of signal (HD/DVD).
DVDs look great on the xbox (xbox is set to 16:9).
720p games (like Doom3) look so-so, which I was surprised by.
I have DNIE turned off on the 3251D; however, my understanding of it from the manual is that it only affects the antenna inputs (OTA and Coax cable).
Questions (there's probably a bunch piled in here):
1) Is there any way to improve SD channels? Don't give me the crap that SD channels will no longer be broadcast, because that isn't the question I asked. Should I be feeding the 3251D a Coax signal for SD channels?? (That doesn't make sense to me either).
I believe the motorola DVR that I have only has a DVI (and not HDMI) output on it, so I would have to get an DVI/HDMI cable if that will improve gaming (although DVDs look good, so it doesn't make sense to me).
2) Any suggestions/comments on how I set my Motorola DVR?
I was warned about how SD content wouldn't be great, but I truthfully thought it would look good at least. HD content (for now) the color looks right on, but when I switch to SD all the colors are muddied and it's awfully blocky (pixelated I guess). Maybe I'm just standing too close to the TV and being judgemental. I dunno...
Components from the HD DVR to the 3251D.
I am using Xbox (not the 360) as my DVD player/game machine and am hooked up using S-Video cables.
The DVR box is set to:
16:9
1080i (although I am playing with 720p since I feel it might look better)
for 4:3 override, I set it to 480p. With override set to None, the edges of the picture looked bad.
I find the HD channels look outstanding.
I find the SD channels look terrible. I did set the 3251D to use 4:3 on SD channels (which improved it a bit since the image isn't stretched) and it auto switches to 16:9 when it reads that kind of signal (HD/DVD).
DVDs look great on the xbox (xbox is set to 16:9).
720p games (like Doom3) look so-so, which I was surprised by.
I have DNIE turned off on the 3251D; however, my understanding of it from the manual is that it only affects the antenna inputs (OTA and Coax cable).
Questions (there's probably a bunch piled in here):
1) Is there any way to improve SD channels? Don't give me the crap that SD channels will no longer be broadcast, because that isn't the question I asked. Should I be feeding the 3251D a Coax signal for SD channels?? (That doesn't make sense to me either).
I believe the motorola DVR that I have only has a DVI (and not HDMI) output on it, so I would have to get an DVI/HDMI cable if that will improve gaming (although DVDs look good, so it doesn't make sense to me).
2) Any suggestions/comments on how I set my Motorola DVR?
I was warned about how SD content wouldn't be great, but I truthfully thought it would look good at least. HD content (for now) the color looks right on, but when I switch to SD all the colors are muddied and it's awfully blocky (pixelated I guess). Maybe I'm just standing too close to the TV and being judgemental. I dunno...
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 53,292
Likes: 789
From: Owings Mills, MD
With the SD set to 4:3 it looks alright. I ordered the DVI/HDMI cable and am going to go at lunch today for the component xbox cables.
My friend suggested splitting the cable at the wall, one feed to the HD DVR box and the other feed to the LCD and see if the SD channels improve.
Once I get this stuff squared away, I can work on fixing the colors, etc with Avia/Digital Video Essentials (Two great DVDs for calibrating color).
My friend suggested splitting the cable at the wall, one feed to the HD DVR box and the other feed to the LCD and see if the SD channels improve.
Once I get this stuff squared away, I can work on fixing the colors, etc with Avia/Digital Video Essentials (Two great DVDs for calibrating color).
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 48,203
Likes: 10
From: Lewisville, TX
Just got a deposit down on a PS3 this morning- thanks to Evan for the alert. It was the last of 16 the store was willing to take a deposit on. Now I'll have both formats: HDDVD and Blu-ray.
It was the last of 16 the store was willing to take a deposit on. Now I'll have both formats: HDDVD and Blu-ray.
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 53,292
Likes: 789
From: Owings Mills, MD
I got a set of component cables from Mad Katz, which is good because it's actually got connections for xbox, ps2 and xbox360. So no need to buy new cables!
I figured the 360 came with component cables, but at least now i don't need to swap out cables if I want to play ps2/xbox/xbox360 (when I get the 360). So for $15 that alone is worth it. The dvi/hdmi cable ($21) should be here by the end of the week. So I should be able to do some thorough testing.
I setup the Xbox for Widescreen already, how do I set it up for 720p? Or is that an option that comes available when using component cables? The cables says it allows for 480p, 720p and 1080i resolutions. Does that mean the s-video cable that i'm using doesn't? Maybe that's why it just didn't look well. I mean, I understand component cables are better than s-video, I didn't realize s-video/rca actually limited resolution, just clarity.
I figured the 360 came with component cables, but at least now i don't need to swap out cables if I want to play ps2/xbox/xbox360 (when I get the 360). So for $15 that alone is worth it. The dvi/hdmi cable ($21) should be here by the end of the week. So I should be able to do some thorough testing.
I setup the Xbox for Widescreen already, how do I set it up for 720p? Or is that an option that comes available when using component cables? The cables says it allows for 480p, 720p and 1080i resolutions. Does that mean the s-video cable that i'm using doesn't? Maybe that's why it just didn't look well. I mean, I understand component cables are better than s-video, I didn't realize s-video/rca actually limited resolution, just clarity.
Trending Topics
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 53,292
Likes: 789
From: Owings Mills, MD
NEC ships dual-format Blu-ray / HD DVD chip
Posted Oct 10th 2006 9:41AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
It's just one small step on the rough road towards a unified player that will bring peace and unity to a consumer electronics world torn by format war -- or something like that -- but NEC just announced that they're now shipping a dual-format chip that can power the playback of Blu-ray as well as HD DVD discs. We've still got to wait for a optical pick-up lens that can handle the dual formats, but supposedly Ricoh has that in the bag, so no worries, right? Well, we suppose there are a million things that could go wrong along the way, but so far most manufacturers are holding to their "early 2007" predictions for the hybrid player, with NEC promising monthly chip shipments of 300,000 by April of '07. The good news is that the chips will be selling for 10,000 yen ($84 US), which is roughly equivalent to the current costs for chips that only read one format. Also, it seems much more likely that the tech industry will be launching a hybrid player in the near future than the relatively far-fetched concept of the major studios getting behind some sort of all-in-one disc format, so it's good to see the likes of NEC and Ricoh really busting this stuff out.
Posted Oct 10th 2006 9:41AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
It's just one small step on the rough road towards a unified player that will bring peace and unity to a consumer electronics world torn by format war -- or something like that -- but NEC just announced that they're now shipping a dual-format chip that can power the playback of Blu-ray as well as HD DVD discs. We've still got to wait for a optical pick-up lens that can handle the dual formats, but supposedly Ricoh has that in the bag, so no worries, right? Well, we suppose there are a million things that could go wrong along the way, but so far most manufacturers are holding to their "early 2007" predictions for the hybrid player, with NEC promising monthly chip shipments of 300,000 by April of '07. The good news is that the chips will be selling for 10,000 yen ($84 US), which is roughly equivalent to the current costs for chips that only read one format. Also, it seems much more likely that the tech industry will be launching a hybrid player in the near future than the relatively far-fetched concept of the major studios getting behind some sort of all-in-one disc format, so it's good to see the likes of NEC and Ricoh really busting this stuff out.
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 11,594
Likes: 7
From: Bumpass, VA
Originally Posted by FF2Skip,Oct 10 2006, 11:07 AM
Just got a deposit down on a PS3 this morning- thanks to Evan for the alert. It was the last of 16 the store was willing to take a deposit on. Now I'll have both formats: HDDVD and Blu-ray.
It was the last of 16 the store was willing to take a deposit on. Now I'll have both formats: HDDVD and Blu-ray. Since "My Guy's" location isn't doing pre-orders, he is going to purchase one of their 16 or so PS3s for me the evening they are received in. Then I'll visit him on the 17th, he'll do a return, then sell back to me! Sweeeet
