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$200 progressive scan DVD player at Circuit City help

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$200 progressive scan DVD player at Circuit City help

Old 08-24-04, 09:23 AM
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$200 progressive scan DVD player at Circuit City help

I received a Circuit City gift card for my birthday and wanted to use it to upgrade to a Progressive Scan player.

I have a 55" Mitsubishi rear projection HD tv and shopped what Circuit City has to offer and narrowed it down to these two players.

I've read that the Harmon Kardon is excellent, but it lacks many of the features of the Onkyo.

There were some complaints with the earlier model (701) of the Onkyo, but many of these have supposedly been fixed.

I've searched the web and haven't found anything beyond ("Great DVD Player....highly recommended), so I'm looking for any info someone out there can give me on how it performs in regards to Video on a rear-projection TV.

thanks in advance.
Old 08-25-04, 08:08 AM
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So I picked up the Onkyo 702 yesterday and hooked it up last night. I did so with comfort because Circuit City told me that I could bring it back for any reason within 30 days and exchange it for another player (good policy).

I grabbed 5 DVD's that I always believed (due to my own opinion and reviews) had superior image quality:

Star Wars Episode 1
Boogie Nights (2 disc platinum)
Fight Club (2 Disc)
Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Revolutions

I found that Fight Club and Boogie Nights were way inferior to the image quality of Matrix and Star Wars. Is this due to the fact that much the Matrix/SW films are digital versus live-action? Or is it simply due to the age of the discs?

Anyway, after tweaking, Star Wars looked incredible (you could pick out individual rocks on Tatooine during the pod race) and the Matrix Films looked incredible regardless of the tweaking (you could pick out single strands of glass when Trinity jumps through the window). Boogie Nights looked incredibly hot and washed out during the pool party at Jack Horner's house, and Fight Club looked a little better.

I'm curious to know if this is due to the DVD or my player....Anyone?

Thanks,
T
Old 08-25-04, 11:49 AM
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It's the DVDs, and it has more to do with the film stock that was used for Boogie Nights than your player. Keep in mind that the look of Boogie Nights is intentionally somewhat grainy and washed out, so that's why it looks like this.

I have a 55" Mitsubishi as well, and a Samsung progressive scan with a DVI input, and some movies are incredibly sharp (Star Wars Episode II is about the best I've seen), while others are not so sharp.
Old 08-25-04, 12:57 PM
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Shannon,

I though I remembered Boogie Nights having a 70'ish look in the theater (I saw it twice), but I think it stood out more-so when viewed immediately after the clarity of SW: I and Matrix (2 & 3). Thanks for clearing that up.

I've also noticed that the studios are putting less on the "movie" disc and placing extras on disc II. It's amanzing how many special features some single discs have on them.

are you happy with the Samsung? Circuit City had a HD upconvert Samsung DVD player, but I got burnt on a Samsung player years ago and swore I would never buy another.

Plus, I do not have a DVI interface on my TV.
Old 08-25-04, 02:49 PM
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Well, to be honest with you, at the time I bought it (about a year ago) it was the only DVI/HDTV upconvert player available that was under $300. The first one I bought broke after watching two movies on it (it just locked up and stopped playing!), but the replacement I got has worked perfectly. I'm not crazy about Samsung either, but I'm very happy with the performance I've gotten from this product - although I know I have a few better options on the market a year later.
Old 09-07-04, 02:49 PM
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Does anyone know if you need a DVI input on your digital/HD TV to get a benefit from an HD upconvert player?

Mine only has component inputs
Old 09-07-04, 03:13 PM
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Almost all of the upconverting DVD players will only do so through the DVI port. There are a few that will work through component or can be hacked but in truth it's really not worth it IMO. Sure you can get in increase in resolution but most of these have pretty poor PQ in other areas like color, sharpness and white or black crush. If you're going to stay with 480p players take a look at the highly regarded Denon players in the $300 price range.
Old 09-08-04, 08:49 AM
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So here's a question (especially for you, chipmac - since you have a 55" Mitsubishi as well), regarding picture quality on rear-projection TV's.

When I am very close to the screen (closer than any seat are in my family room - a few feet away from the screen) I can see digitizing of the picture or some grain - more apparent in white and black than anything else.

Should this be a concern, or is it normal with a big-screen/rear-projection TV.....OR is it the DVD player I'm using.

Thanks!
Old 09-08-04, 12:55 PM
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Well without seeing it myself or without more specifics I can't say if it's normal or not. There are many things in the chain that can cause what you describe. Has the TV been professionally calibrated or at least dialed in with calibration disc for proper contrast, brightness and sharpness? Are you using decent quality component cables from the player directly to the TV? Is it a quality player outputting at 480p? Which disc is it and which scene? There are plenty of subpar discs where compression or mosquito noise is very visible. Or it good even be a very good transfer where the grain your seeing is supposed to be seen because of the film stock used or it was shot in low light situations. Then there are films that are stylized to enhance the graininess of the image intentionally. Finally just how far away were you sitting?

For a matter of reference my 55" hasa not yet been pro calibrated but I have tweaked it to death so it's close. I've taken the screen off and cleaned the optics as well as adjusted the focus both mechanicly and electronicly. I've lined the inside with a material called Duvutyne which obsorbs light to kill internal reflections and provides richer colors and deeper blacks. I've entered the service menu and reduced my overscan to 4.5% all around which tightened the scan lines for a sharper image. I've set the user settings with Avia and adjusted the gamma and sit about 8.5 feet away and I can still see what you describe from time to to based on the disc and the movie. Some movies were shot and transfered to disc so well that I'm shocked it's not HD then others can look close to VHS quality. So it depends on many factors and in some cases it will be normal.
Old 09-08-04, 09:27 PM
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Originally posted by chipmac
I've taken the screen off and cleaned the optics as well as adjusted the focus both mechanicly and electronicly.
The Duvytine is a nice touch., used it on my Sony KP-53HS30...

Just curious...what do you mean by adjusting the focus mechanically? Is this something that you can do on the Mitsubishi?
Old 09-08-04, 10:39 PM
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Mechanical focus is the process of rotating the lens barrel on the lens assembly to achieve the proper focus from the lens to the mirror to the screen. Electronic focus is done by turning the potentiometers to regulate the voltage to focus the electronics in the CRTs themselves. Both of these need to be done to properly focus a CRT RPTV.
Old 09-10-04, 05:52 PM
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Originally posted by chipmac
Mechanical focus is the process of rotating the lens barrel on the lens assembly to achieve the proper focus from the lens to the mirror to the screen. Electronic focus is done by turning the potentiometers to regulate the voltage to focus the electronics in the CRTs themselves. Both of these need to be done to properly focus a CRT RPTV.
Outstanding. Thanks for the homework assignment!
Old 09-11-04, 08:18 PM
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Chipmac, thanks for the (advanced) info!

anyone else out there have any experience with an Onkyo DVD player?

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