aspect ratio from dvd player to hs1

Hi folks,

I've asked this before but i'm still not sure of the answer. I have a sony ns900 dvd player and a sony hs1. I currently have the dvd player output aspect ratio set to 4:3 letter box. The projector is set to 4:3 mode. The question i have is : Am i missing any of the picture by viewing it this way? Is the picture being cropped at each side for widescreen material. My assumption is because i've set the dvd player to 4:3 letterbox mode all material will be displayed at the right aspect ratio on the projector?

Any advice would be appreciated.....

Thanks,
Mick

 

I have my DVD player (Tosh 210) set to 16:9 output, and the Projector to 16:9 mode as well. I don't really use the Projector to watch any other sources, although if I did it wouldn't be a big issue as the Sky Digibox is also set for 16:9 output.

When I did a quick test, I set the DVD Player to output 4:3 letterboxed image, the image was definately worse than when set to 16:9. Obviously the HS-1 was set to match the DVD Player setting, 4:3 and 16:9 respectively.

IHTH

Gavin

 

How do you mean worse Gavin - worse quality? I've tried the wide mode with 16:9 but there then a sort of double light spill effect. You get black bars the lighter black bars. I don't know if i'm describing that correctly.... as opposed to uniform black bars top and bottom with the 4:3 letter box mode.....

 

Sorry, when I said "worse" I meant the image was not as sharp or clear. It's not a black-bar issue, more like watching a letterbox 4:3 image on a widescreen image and then zooming into the image. The picture to me looked more grainy.

I guess it all comes down to personal choice.

cheers

Gavin

 

Hi Michael

The best picture quality for your setup would be achieved by setting both the DVD and projector to 16:9 widescreen mode.

The difference in the shading of the bars is caused by your projector not been calibrated properly (the brightness is probably set too high). Keep reducing the brightness until the black bars are the same colour or better still use the THX optimiser on some disks (Terminator 2 or Star Wars TPM) to calibrate your picture settings

Good luck

Conor

 

Thanks for that guys - i lowered the brightness and the double black bars went away. I watched spiderman last night with the dvd player an pj set to 16:9 and it seemed fine.

Thanks for your help,
Mick

 

Hi Gavin - just a few questions about your hs1 - are you feeding it a progressive source? If so do you notice much difference than just component from a non progressive source? I've bought the expensive sony cable and i'm feeding the pj component. I'm happy enough with the picture quality. At the moment i'm not setup properly - i'm projecting onto a terracotta wall (serious loss of brightness) but when we eventually get moved into our new home i'll hopefully be projecting onto a white wall or possibly a shade of grey as suggested by other members of the forum. If you don't mind me asking Gavin - what sort of screen do you use?

Thanks,
Mick

 

Mick,

Happy to answer any questions if it helps! OK, yes I do feed the HS-1 a progressive signal, but only for NTSC sources. I have an ISCAN *PLUS*, that only works with NTSC.

As for improvements, there a slight improvement when using a progressive source, nothing out of this world. However, one thing progressive does do is the total illimination of the jerky images when a scene pans from left to right etc. It also massively reduces the jaggie effect. I definately recommend going progressive....you won't look back

The screen I have is a Da-lite 80" 4:3 screen, with an additional 12" blackout along the top, to ease the crook neck syndrom . It does the job well enough for me.

I have now configured my HS-1 to use a Hoya FLD and CC30R Filter, a psuedo SMART setup. From .threads on this forum I did the adjustments by eye, I simply increased the Blue and Green by 30% from their original Low setting and rechecked the grey scale through Video Essentials. I must say I was well amazed at the difference it makes, better blacks, better contrast, more 3d like, just what you need. An added bonus is that it's a relatively cheap enhancement (£20 HLD from the US, and £10 for the CC30R filter), that provides a big improvment.

Sunstealer was doing a similar thing with his HS-1, but he was using proper colour sensing diodes...a bit beyond me!!! I don't know if he is still around here?

cheers

Gavin

 

Hi Gavin - thanks for the reply - i'm going to try and get my hands on a philips 963sa which can apparently do pal and ntsc progressive. I dunno about the filter...seems a little techie for me....how do you change the the blue/green levels~?

Thanks,
Mick

 

The RGB levels are changed through the Factory Menu. As with all Factory settings, write down what your starting point is before you go changing anything!!!!!

To get to the factory menu do the following:-

Enter, Enter, Left, Enter and then the HS-1 will ask you to press "Up" to go into the Factory menu.

Now when you press the Menu button you will see you have some additional menu options! To change the RGB settings you need take the second from last main option (I can't remember what it's title is) you will be presented with a choice of High, Low, Med. You can select either of these, they link to what bulb setting you are using. When you select one of them, you will then be presented with the individual R G B values, you can then tweak to your hearts content It will probably help to have a Video Essentials or Avia disc around to check that the grey levels haven't gone screwy due to your "enhancements"

Remember if you do want to go tweaking, make sure you record what the numbers were before hand!!!!

cheers

Gavin

 

Hi Gavin - thanks for that - how do you set the bulb setting? Can that be done through the normal menu's? Does the bulb setting affect bulb life?

I might leave the factory menu alone - the last time i ventured into the factory level of a tv it was never quite the same afterwards!

Thanks for Your help,
Mick

 

Sorry, I shouldn't have said "bulb setting"! I meant "Colour Temp" setting, it's available within the Picture control menu. You have High, Middle and Low, each gives a slightly different tint to the picture.

cheers

Gavin