dark picture on region 1 disc

jtfab75

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i have a panasonic e55 dvd recorder.i've just bought Frasier season 5 on region 1 from play.com
this is the first time i've bought a region 1 disc for my multi-region e55 and the picture is very dark.i've tried adjusting the picture on my tv but no change.
do i have to make changes to my dvd recorder to watch region 1 ? also what is 'progressive' in the menu ?
thanks
 
I am no expert on the subject, but when it comes to playing DVDs from one region to another, nowadays, all sorts of problems sometimes arise. Whether or not this is part of the protection written into the digital encoding of the disc can be argued. If you were copying the DVD and the picture appeared very dark, I could probably say that it is the Macrovision protection kicking in as this is based on AGC (Auto Gain Control = picture brightness variation control), but if you were merely playing it straight into a TV, it may be something else. Just because you have a multi-region player, does not mean it will successfully play all DVDs from all regions. The whole "region" thing is a load of BS and should be abolished worldwide... Usually, if you know how, running the DVD through a copying programme in your PC and then making a backup can get rid of all sorts of these nagging little problems,, but that is another kettle of fish, and one I would only recommend if you were familiar with these programmes...

Progressive, or Progressive Scanning as it is called, should only be used if you have component connection or better. What is it...???

Normally to produce a single frame on your TV screen, the screen is actually scanned (or swept) twice, the first time it fires on the "even" lines e.g 0,2,4,6,8,10,12 etc right up to the maximum lines your TV system supports.. The second sweep on lines 1,3,5,7,9,11,13 again up to the maximum line number. This dual sweep happens so fast that your eyes cannot see it but each frame is a dual sweep/pass, then it starts all over again for the next frame... That system is called "interlaced"...

Progressive scanning starts at the first line and does the whole frame in a single pass, lines 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13 etc. It may produce a better picture, it may not, depends on your setup and which units you use etc... On one of my DVD recorders, I use progressive, on the other I don't output because quality varies from unit to unit and that's why 'you' get the option to change your setup...

If you decide to use it, make sure you have component connections to the TV, as I have known certain units to lose there picture completely if you don't, like my Philips 625 player did once many moons ago... I had to send it back to Philips to get it going again and they said to NOT use progressive scan with my then setup... Also, if you are using a CRT type TV, I don't think it's worth it either, as most of them don't support it,, BUT,, some do. You'll have to check first. LCD and Plasma can readily support it but that's your call...

If you aren't sure, just forget it. To tell you the truth, 'IF' it makes a difference, it is hardly noticable, although some purists might argue the point... Forgive me for my deduction, but if you are asking, you are no purist - nor am I and I'm not overly fussed about it...
 

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