AE500 Problem?

S

SShaw

Guest
Guys,

My new AE500 arrived yesterday (upgrading from AE200). On the whole I'm quite pleased, but have noticed some 'artefacting' in a number of the films I have watched so far. I think this must be due to the smooth screen technology. Usually happens when the camera pans across a checked pattern or grill (see for example Matchstickmen) or on relatively poor transfers where there is a lot of grain (good example of this is the recent AB US release of A Bullet for the General).

Has this been noticed by others, or do I have a dodgy machine ?

Can the smooth screen be turned off (the AE200 didn't have it).

Scott
 
Smoothscreen can't be turned off :(

As for the artifacting, what source are you using? Apart from some vertical banding I'm not aware of/haven't read of any known issues with the AE500.

:smoke:
 
Yes this is partly the smoothscreen in effect and also the fact that the 500 picks out a lot of detail in the DVD ie grain. Sometimes too much IMO !

How have you connected it to your DVD ?
 
Its not VB.

In Matchstickmen the problem occurs at 5m34s. There is a view through a screen door of Nick Cage walking up the stairs. The camera pans across the screem door which leads to distracting red/green patches and horizontal lines across the screen. This happens to a lesser extent whenever the camera moves across a fine gird (such as a chequed pattern).

The other problem involves grain. The noise in the grain seems to confuse the smooth screen and you see large blocks of the relevant colour in the image. Noise reduction makes not a jot of difference.

Otherwise the picture is great. Its disappointing that smooth screen can't be turned off as this would undoubtably cure the problems on grainy material. The AE200 (which didn't have SS) did suffer a little from the former problem as (to an even lesser degree) does my Sony WS TV.

DVD is connnected using the component cable supplied in the box (for the time being).

Thanks for the replies.

Scott
Scott
 
The cable in the box is a Composite. First things first, you owe it to the AE500 to get a decent connection set up ie S-Video or Component or even DVI. Otherwise TBH you're really wasting your time on this PJ.

In panning shots yes the it seems like the smoothscreen gets "confused" a little sometimes. Dependent on film I would say. Similar to the 50Hz > 100Hz TV phenomenon. I think you either like it or not, but it does give a better picture and it does rid of screendoor.

As for VB or horizontal lines and red/green patches, I'm getting absolutely none of those. I have looked for them on plain white/blue screens etc on a 100" image and I cannot see any. Apparently the "epson" panels used in this PJ do exhibit VB but I think it is also down to how the machine has been calibrated. This may differ machine to machine.

I watched Robbie William What We did Last Summer and Bad Boys 2 last night. Awesome.

Re-watched LXG, there are some seriously testing scenes in this movie. eg when they go to down to M's secret cellar near the beginning and the Nautilus coming into Venice etc etc. These scenes are seriously dark and murky and not many LCD's will pick out the sort of detail in the dark/black scenes the way the AE500 does.

It is a very capable machine.
 
In panning shots yes the it seems like the smoothscreen gets "confused" a little sometimes. Dependent on film I would say. Similar to the 50Hz > 100Hz TV phenomenon. I think you either like it or not, but it does give a better picture and it does rid of screendoor

Smoothscreen is a special lense/prism not a digital process like 50->100hz tv's so it cant get confused. Maybe he's seeing peekaboo scanline artifact which a simple very mild defocus will solve.(though some swear by the flicker tweak)
 
OK maybe poor analogy, wasn't really refering to the technology involved but the effect on the image ie IMO a bit similar to the blurring that occurs at 100Hz on TV's when compared to 50Hz.

Ok I'll shut up now.....:blush:
 
Whoops, your right the cable that came with it (in the box) is composite. However, I have been using a component cable that came with my DVD player.

De-focus helps to some extent with the grain problem, but not the problem with fine grids/checked patterns.

On the whole I am very pleased with the AE500, just a little disappointed that in some respects it is a (small) step backwards from my AE200.

Scott
 

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