Component vs HDMI/DVI question

[rw2516]

Picked up a Sony 5-disc dvd player with HDMI connection. Hope to get it hoooked up over the long weekend but have a couple questions.

1. Since the connection is 1080i do you have the progressive scan turned on on the dvd player? Doesn't matter?

2. On my Sony tv you cannot view 4x3 dvds(in 4x3 mode unstretched) with the progressive scan on. The picture is scrambled. Since the color and black levels are different through component with the progressive scan on(on my system anyway) I use two different picture modes of the tv, standard and movie. I have standard tweaked for watching cable and 4x3 dvds, and movie tweaked for watching widescreen with the progressive scan on. What effect does viewing through the HDMI connection have on color and black levels, if any?

[Spiky]

1. It will be turned on with any upconversion. You don't have a choice. For 1080i, it coverts back to interlaced at the end.
2. Component is the only connection that can use both NTSC modes for black level. HDMI must use the darker/blacker/0 IRE setting. Sounds like your Movie mode is set for that. Not sure what the scrambling is about, though. Progressive output shouldn't throw off a non-anamorphic disc.

[rw2516]

1. It will be turned on with any upconversion. You don't have a choice. For 1080i, it coverts back to interlaced at the end.
2. Component is the only connection that can use both NTSC modes for black level. HDMI must use the darker/blacker/0 IRE setting. Sounds like your Movie mode is set for that. Not sure what the scrambling is about, though. Progressive output shouldn't throw off a non-anamorphic disc.

It's the way Sony designed the tv. The 4x3 mode(bars on side) is not available through component input with the progressive scan turned on on the player. Available through composite though. If you are in 4x3 mode and play an anamorphic disc the tv detects the disc is anamorphic and switches to full mode. If a disc is letterbox the tv will detect that and automatically switch to zoom mode so it looks anamorphic. Discovered this watching a letterbox dvd that did not have 5.1 as the default. When I went back to the menu to change audio the menu was zoomed. May have something to do with both player and tv being Sony. They communicate with each other. It will be interesting to see if 4x3 works through HDMI with progressive on.

[rw2516]

Well, got it hooked up. First, seems progressive is always on with this player. When the press the button it just toggles between AUTO and VIDEO. So that was a moot issue. 4X3 mode is not available through the DVI with this tv. In fact the ability to change modes(NORMAL, FULL, ZOOM, WIDE ZOOM) is disabled, only FULL, which displays 16x9 normally(stretches 4x3 horizontaly) is available. Button on remote won't work. Looked in book and it's suppose to do this. Can't figure why Sony would design it this way. This set is almost 4 years old, wonder if their newer sets are like this, especially with 4x3 hi-def DVDs.

[Spiky]

Older equipment had far more restrictions with HD signals. It is changing, but yeah, 4 years old would likely mean that was normal then. My HD Tivo cannot output 480i over HDMI, for instance. And my first HDTV had fewer zoom options than my current one over component. And HDMI, actually.