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A macrovision problem?

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A macrovision problem?

Old 01-05-01, 10:33 AM
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I recently bought my first DVD player (a Pioneer DV-333) and I have a slight problem with most of the "major label" films I've purchased so far: an alternating dark to light brightness/contrast problem that I believe is connected to macrovision. The problem is more noticeable at the top of the screen and is annoying but doesn't make the film unviewable. My questions are:

1) Is this a macrovision problem?
2) Is the DVD player at fault?
3) Is the TV at fault (note: the TV is about 15 years old!)?
4) Is there a way to correct this problem without buying a new TV or returning the DVD player?

Thank you,

Biff McKeldin
New York City
Old 01-05-01, 10:42 AM
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quote:<HR>Originally posted by mckeldnb:

1) Is this a macrovision problem?
<HR>


Yes. I assume you're running your dvd player through a vcr.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by mckeldnb:

2) Is the DVD player at fault?
<HR>


Sort of. The DVD player is compatible with Macrovision, which is your real problem.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by mckeldnb:

3) Is the TV at fault (note: the TV is about 15 years old!)?
<HR>


No.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by mckeldnb:

4) Is there a way to correct this problem without buying a new TV or returning the DVD player?
<HR>


Do a search on this forum for macrovision. Or macrovision and RF adapter.

Welcome to the forum.
Old 01-05-01, 10:42 AM
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Er I have the pioneer dv333 and I have read numerous times in this forum (but never have found out for myself) that if you plug the DVD player into a VCR, and the VCR to the TV - you will get this "macrovision" problem that alternates contrast to prevent COPYING of DVDs to VHS tapes! That's about it.. (I have 2 DV333 players by the way). My parents one downstairs is on a 10 year old Zenith 25" and the picture looks super.

~ELmO
Old 01-05-01, 11:19 AM
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I appreciate the responses. Unfortunately I did not connect the DVD player through the VCR. I *do* have both the DVD player and VCR hooked up to a "multi-switcher" so I can play both machines through my monitor and stereo system. But when I discovered the macrovision problem, I dismantled my VCR and plugged the DVD player directly into the TV and stereo, but got the same result.

Biff
Old 01-05-01, 11:22 AM
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There's an outside chance that your TV could be susceptible to Macrovision. It's not supposed to happen, and rarely does, but it is one of the many reasons people hate this copy protection scheme. If this is the case, you'll probably have to replace the TV or find some way to strip the Macrovision from the signal. Going through your VCR is a much more common reason, and since you're using an old TV without video inputs (I assume), you can buy an RF modulator to remedy this problem by bypassing the VCR.
Old 01-05-01, 11:48 AM
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What happens exactly? If the picture "bends" at the top of the screen, this is because of macrovision. My parents used to have an old console TV that this happened to when using macrovision VHS tapes. From everything I've seen, this is unavoidable on many older TVs.

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Old 01-05-01, 12:05 PM
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Jason Northrup wrote:

> What happens exactly? If the picture > "bends" at the top of the screen, this is > because of macrovision.

Bending at the top of the picture is what used to happen to many of my purchased VHS tapes and is one of the principal reasons I decided to invest in a DVD player. But my current problem is an alternating dark, high contrast to light, low contrast (subtle, but noticeable and annoying) with no picture bending at all.

Depsite the age of my TV (15 years) it does have video input/output jacks (it was sold as a TV/Monitor -- it's a "Soundesign," for those of you interested in 80's generic brands), so I do have the DVD player hooked up directly to the TV and not through the VCR. It's beginning to sound more and more as though it's time for me to invest in a new TV. Though I hopefully can coax a neighbor or a friend into letting me test the DVD player on a newer model TV to verify that this is the problem.

I appreciate everybody's feedback!

Thanks,

Biff

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