The following CNET review indicates flicker when the HDMI is set to 1080i or 720p. When it was set to 480p, the problem went away. CNET went on to say that in general, they don't recommend using HDMI with CRT TVs. Anyone have any experience with this? Should I save some money and get a DVD player without a HDMI output (and use component input instead)
Hello Pepin. I have both the xbr960 and the 975v dvd player connected through a monster hdmi cable. I received the dvd player about 2 weeks ago and I've been going through my collection trying to get some idea about how I like it. I'm still going to write a little review for both the tv and the dvd player, but not in this thread.
First and foremost, I went with the 975 because it did have an hdmi interface. What I've been trying to do with my system is to have both my xbox and my Gamecube connected through components (so I can get at least a 480p picture) so I had to find a way to hook up cable and a dvd player with no components left. I'm using a cablecard from Comcast with my TV and obviously the DVD player is using HDMI.
My thoughts so far on the DVD player. It is good, not the second coming of christ, not even excellent. It is just good. I've so far been using the dvd player in a mix of 720p and 1080i, the default setting on the player is an auto setting which just converts the signal from the player to the highest resolution your tv can accept. Obviously it goes to 1080i for me. The picture is very very good, but there is no illusion that it is a DVD. The picture looks grainy, not in a bad way, but the picture really does look like something that came right off of a movie screen, you can see the little imperfections in the picture. I don't mind that though, I tend to watch action movies with dark plots, so the gritty picture is something that doesn't bother me.
*HERE IS THE MAIN PROBLEM I'VE SEEN SO FAR WITH THE UNIT*
There is a good deal of flickering and pixelization (im sorry, I know i butcherd that word), but it is not as bad as it sounds. When backround walls that are made of a rich wood color are shown, they will pixalize and flicker. This is done in both 1080i and 720p. Some movies where this DOES happen, Suicide Kings, Pulp Fiction, Snatch, and Big Lebowski with Suicide Kings and Big Lebowski being the worst offenders by FAR. But these are not new movies, so it could just be the source. Switching the picture to 480p fixes the flicker problem, but that sort of defeats the purpose of the player.
I've watched Nemo and Shrek 2 on this player and the picture was drop dead amazing. I'm not just saying that, Nemo tended to blur a little bit because there is so much fast motion, but switching to 720p solved that nicely. Shrek 2 had the best picture from a DVD I have ever seen. It was almost hard to watch the movie because it looked SO perfect. In fact, they did have low lighting scenes with wood, maybe the digital way that the movie was captured plays an effect on these players, like if the movie is digital it might upconvert better, that could be an interesting thing to test. I may have to pull out my Indiana Jones and Star Wars DVD's to see how older movies that have been remasterd digitally look.
Overall I'm going to say I'm fairly happy with the unit. I wasn't expecting an HD picutre. I just wanted a player that made lines look clearer on my screen. The upconversion is ok, nothing amazing, but for the most part it does it's job. Like I stated in the beginning, I wanted a DVD player that had HDMI and could upconvert and I got what I paid for (299.99). Yes it could be more, but it could be a lot less too. Take this little review how you will, I'm sure there are some things that I need to change setting wise, as I still havn't picked up one of those calibration DVD's yet, but overall my picture is good, despite it being a tad bit on the red side.
[ This message was edited by: sondogg on 2004-11-20 13:44 ]
sondogg I would be interested in knowing if the flickering and pixelization also occours when you output 480P via HDMI. Does it also happen using component video out. Do you have a component video cable to do a comparison?
Thanks sondogg. Your experience appears to confirm the CNET review - using the HDMI with a tube TV has no advantages. Better to go with a cheaper DVD player and use componet outputs. Thanks again. You've saved me some $$'s
On 2004-11-20 20:59, rb wrote: sondogg I would be interested in knowing if the flickering and pixelization also occours when you output 480P via HDMI. Does it also happen using component video out. Do you have a component video cable to do a comparison?
I have not used components at all with the dvd player yet, I had the hdmi cable before I got the player (since it took FOREVER to be released here). The pixelization does stop when you set the player to 480p, and honestly thats the best setting for older movies (I'd say pre 99ish). But I did have a chance to watch Temple of Doom (Indiana Jones) last night as well as the A New Hope and Return of the Jedi (Star Wars Trilogy) both are the newer versions of old movies that have been digitally remasted. The picture looked EXCELLENT. There was no distortion, no flicker, no ghosting, no nothing. All of it played in 1080i and even the fast paced fights in star wars where the blackness of space is an amazing contrast to the greyish ships. There wasn't even fuzziness around the ships, everything was crystal clear. I must say that I am very amazed with how these two movies looked and it makes me feel much better about my purchase. Like I said, it just seems like it's older movies that have the trouble with flickers, but no movie that has been released since 99 has looked bad at all. I can hook up some components if you'd like and give you a review of that too, just give me the word but like I said, I paid extra for the upconversion and the hdmi, so going with components would essentially make this player a 775 (sorry if thats not the right model number, but I think you all know what I'm saying). I'm sure that the 975 and the 775 through components would yield a very similar picutre, and if your not interested in the digital out on the 975, then go 775 all the way.
Just a quick edit, I have my xbr960 and 975v reviews up, here are the link's if you'd like to check them out.
TV Review : http://www.agoraquest.com/viewtopic.php?topic=17434&forum=35
Dvd Review : http://www.agoraquest.com/viewtopic.php?topic=17439&forum=50
[ This message was edited by: sondogg on 2004-11-21 14:33 ]
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Posted: 2004-11-14 16:33
