I purchased my Pioneer 757Ai about two years ago from AVLand - one of the first batch in the country I think. I seem to remember that at that time there was word of PAL progressive being disabled on the 757Ai (NTSC prog scan only) although a couple of months later the 757Ai was advertised as having this feature - and is currently listed on the Pioneer site as being so.

I know that this sounds confusing but could anyone shed any light on this? Did I dream it or is it true that the first few batches of the 757 did not feature PAL progressive?

This is important to me now as I have ordered a projector and would not like to discover on the day that my player is not capable of PAL progressive scan. Especially as, at the time, the 757 was VERY expensive.

You're correct, the earlier 757s weren't Pal progressive, later ones are, mine is about a year old and is. I'm not sure of the exact changeover point.

I thought so...

Well, as my player was one of the first batch it will almost definitely be PAL progressive DISABLED.

There doesn't seem to be much information about it out on the internet. Surely, this is just a case of a firmware upgrade.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Out of interest, ScottG, do you know what firmware version your 757 is running? I'll check mine tonight and we can compare - if you don't mind.

I'll check what firmware version i'm running tonight! No problem

I've just been rummaging through the Pioneer support site and found this:

The DV-757AI can be upgraded to Pal Progressive.

Please contact our third party DVD support company, Sequoia Technical Services on 0870 7778789 who will make the necessary arrangements to collect, upgrade and return your DVD player at a cost of £88.13 inc VAT.


Is there any other way? I don't fancy handing my player (and nearly £90) over to someone else...

[mutley]

The player needs to be serviced by Pioneer. And you have to pay some fee i believe (at least here is that way).

I did not upgrade mine cause it gets to R2 default, and i need it multiregion. Besides there's not much difference between desinterlacing in the player or in my projector.

[awhb]

Originally Posted by mutley

I did not upgrade mine cause it gets to R2 default, and i need it multiregion.

I had mine upgraded by Sequoia for PAL progressive last year and it was still multi-region when it came back.


Adam.

Hmm...

I may have it done then. My player dates from October 2002!

awhb, what was the service like? How long did it take? And, most importantly...

...were they gentle?

[LV426]

My recommendation would be to wait until you have your PJ all connected up and working, and compare the results using the same NTSC disc in progressive and interlaced to get a feel for how much difference progressive makes. It may not be as much as you expect - it may not be visible, even - in which case, taking the risk of losing your multi-region ability(not to mention the cost) may not be necessary.

FWIW on my (old, now) VW10, there IS a difference - but it's only really noticeable on scrolling titles. The same experience on a friend's AE500. I understand (without personal experience) that a VW12 shows no marked difference.

[awhb]

Hey James,

Originally Posted by jamesgrahamuk

Hmm...
what was the service like? How long did it take? And, most importantly...
...were they gentle?

Very! Turn-around from collection to delivery (inclusive) was just four days. And as I mentioned previously, I hadn't lost the multi-region setting either

As for whether its worth it, that will always depned on you and your display device. I would have to say that it was on my Pioneer 434, although the difference isn't drastically different it is better enough.

In case you're curious, my f/w version: Region:1/Ver:1.226(16)/AV1:2.0/2.7

Adam.

[Barcoing Mad]

Can't AVland do it cheaply? £88 quid for plugging in a lead and double clicking on a desktop icon is a bit thick.

[awhb]

Originally Posted by Barcoing Mad

Can't AVland do it cheaply? £88 quid for plugging in a lead and double clicking on a desktop icon is a bit thick.

A significant part of the cost is the carriage though.

Maybe, if you were able to take it in & collect it, it would be cheaper? Dunno, but worth asking, one would think.

Adam.