connecting the sony HXD860 via HDMI to an LCD. no smartlink?

[apuk2004]

I bought my sony HXD860 and a SONY 26" LCD just b4 xmas and connect them via a HDMI cable.

PQ is good (depending which freeview channel i'm watching) and DVD movies look xlnt but I am slightly frustrated that I cant use SMARTLINK via HDMI.

Would it be a good idea to use a good quality SCART cable aswell as the HDMI cable so i can get the best of both worlds?

Also, I have left the HXD860 'video' menu to AUTO so the HDMI is outputting 1080i/50. Is this the best way to get the best PQ or should i change it to a progressive resolution like 576p?

Thanks in advance
Andy

[bigtim]

Originally Posted by apuk2004

I bought my sony HXD860 and a SONY 26" LCD just b4 xmas and connect them via a HDMI cable.

PQ is good (depending which freeview channel i'm watching) and DVD movies look xlnt but I am slightly frustrated that I cant use SMARTLINK via HDMI.

Would it be a good idea to use a good quality SCART cable aswell as the HDMI cable so i can get the best of both worlds?

Also, I have left the HXD860 'video' menu to AUTO so the HDMI is outputting 1080i/50. Is this the best way to get the best PQ or should i change it to a progressive resolution like 576p?

Thanks in advance
Andy

Sure, you can do that but I think smartlink only works with the scart set to composite video (ugh) output on the 860. Manual also says to only connect one video lead but others are using more than one without problem.

That set is 768 lines so, in theory, setting the output to 720p should be better but try the different outputs 576p, 720, 1080i (even RGB scart) and pick which one looks best to you with a test DVD.

[PhilipL]

Hi

Also, I have left the HXD860 'video' menu to AUTO so the HDMI is outputting 1080i/50. Is this the best way to get the best PQ or should i change it to a progressive resolution like 576p?

Your TV, while accepting 1080i, can't display it, so has to throw away a lot of pixels to reduce the picture back down in size.

HDMI and upscaling on standard definition equipment is more marketing gimmick than anything else. When we buy a digital camera, the number of pixels advertised must be real, and not upscaled. For example, a manufacturer would find it very difficult to get away with selling a 8 mega-pixel camera if it was really just 2 mega-pixels upscaled to 8, as it is a cheat, misleading and doesn't give you better photographs, but yet this is essentially what is happening with HDMI on DVD Recorders and players!

When you upscale to 1080i, the DVD Recorder/player has to make up and guess what all the extra pixels should be, then because your TV can't display all those extra pixels in the case of 1080i, it has to get rid of a lot, yet the TV doesn't know what were the guessed pixels or the original pixels with real detail so will end up throwing away some of the original ones leaving you with the made up guessed ones. That can't give you a better picture can it?

I would recommend trying the following and see how it looks:

When playing your own recordings that will be interlaced, output 576i.
When playing commercial film DVDs that will almost always be progressive sources, output 576p.

In other words you are only sending to the TV the original unprocessed picture. Your TV will then upscale (and de-interlace in the case of 576i) and add just the right amount of made-up pixels to fill the panel. This may just give you a better more pleasing picture.

If you really feel you need to make use of the "upscaling" in your DVD Recorder, the next best settings are likely to be 720i for your own recordings and then 720p for commercial films on DVD.

Regards

Phil