Onkyo DR-C500 DVD Receiver pixelation problem
09-23-03 | 06:00 PM
#1
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Onkyo DR-C500 DVD Receiver pixelation problem
Hi,
I just recently purchase an Onkyo DR-C500 DVD Receiver and noticed some pixelation problem when I play DVD. The pixelation problem occur at exactly the same place on screen for all the DVD movies. Has anyone noticed this on their Onkyo DVD Receiver? I played the same DVD on my older Apex and Toshiba DVD players, and neither exhibit this problem. The following are screen shots taken with my camera of the pixelation problem:
Minority Report @ 1 minute, 57 second
Star Wars II @ 2 minute, 38 second
Notice the yellowish colored dots distributed on screen. Those dots always appear at same location in every movies with this pixelation problem. The dots appear and disappear from time to time. They can appear from a few seconds to several minutes. Has anyone else notice this problem on their Onkyo? And how do you go about fixing it?
I just recently purchase an Onkyo DR-C500 DVD Receiver and noticed some pixelation problem when I play DVD. The pixelation problem occur at exactly the same place on screen for all the DVD movies. Has anyone noticed this on their Onkyo DVD Receiver? I played the same DVD on my older Apex and Toshiba DVD players, and neither exhibit this problem. The following are screen shots taken with my camera of the pixelation problem:
Minority Report @ 1 minute, 57 second
Star Wars II @ 2 minute, 38 second
Notice the yellowish colored dots distributed on screen. Those dots always appear at same location in every movies with this pixelation problem. The dots appear and disappear from time to time. They can appear from a few seconds to several minutes. Has anyone else notice this problem on their Onkyo? And how do you go about fixing it?
10-26-03 | 08:30 AM
#2
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Just to update the status of my receiver problem in case some people are interested. I took my Onkyo DVD Receiver to the Onkyo local repair shop. The guy said the problem was due to mpeg chip. He got a replacement from Onkyo and swap in the good chip. Now everything works fine. No more yellowish pixelation problem anymore.
The repair guy said another person also brought in a Onkyo with same pixelation problem. So it looks like this is something to watch out for in many Onkyo DVD receiver.
The repair guy said another person also brought in a Onkyo with same pixelation problem. So it looks like this is something to watch out for in many Onkyo DVD receiver.
10-26-03 | 08:46 AM
#3
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
My initial reaction was to quote you the following:
Q. Have you been seeing spots when you go to the movies? It may not be your eyes! More than 20 years ago Kodak devised a system called "Cap Code" designed to uniquely mark film prints so that pirated copies could be traced to the source. Cap Code uses very tiny dots that flash occasionally but are so small that the average viewer almost never notices them.
Well, something new and horrible has been introduced on some studios' prints. Sort of a giant picture-marring version of Cap Code dots: Very large reddish brown spots that flash in the middle of the picture, usually placed in a light area. They flash in various patterns throughout a given reel while other reels of the same film may have none at all.
A Kodak spokesman who helped devise the original Cap Code says this is not the work of his company but theorizes that it may be intended to be more visible on the murky compressed copies that get posted to the Internet where the original, very subtle Cap Code may be difficult to discern.
On one movie technical forum they are referring to this new system as "Crap Code" or "Cap Code on Steroids." There are reports coming in of viewers complaining of the spots on the pictures. While theaters strive to keep prints free of dirt and scratches, Hollywood starts sending out prints with built-in marring. Among the films known to be afflicted are "Ali," "Behind Enemy Lines," "28 Days Later" "Freddy vs. Jason" and "Underworld," probably many others as well.
Steve Kraus, Chicago
A. You're the expert projectionist at our Chicago critics' screening room, with a fierce love of high-quality film, so I can imagine how upset you are. What's amusing about Crap Code and the other efforts to catch pirates is that most of the thieves are apparently industry insiders. A recent news story says studios may even be discouraged from distributing advance DVDs of their Oscar contenders to academy members, because some of these movies quickly find their way to the Web.
Roger Ebert
Well, something new and horrible has been introduced on some studios' prints. Sort of a giant picture-marring version of Cap Code dots: Very large reddish brown spots that flash in the middle of the picture, usually placed in a light area. They flash in various patterns throughout a given reel while other reels of the same film may have none at all.
A Kodak spokesman who helped devise the original Cap Code says this is not the work of his company but theorizes that it may be intended to be more visible on the murky compressed copies that get posted to the Internet where the original, very subtle Cap Code may be difficult to discern.
On one movie technical forum they are referring to this new system as "Crap Code" or "Cap Code on Steroids." There are reports coming in of viewers complaining of the spots on the pictures. While theaters strive to keep prints free of dirt and scratches, Hollywood starts sending out prints with built-in marring. Among the films known to be afflicted are "Ali," "Behind Enemy Lines," "28 Days Later" "Freddy vs. Jason" and "Underworld," probably many others as well.
Steve Kraus, Chicago
A. You're the expert projectionist at our Chicago critics' screening room, with a fierce love of high-quality film, so I can imagine how upset you are. What's amusing about Crap Code and the other efforts to catch pirates is that most of the thieves are apparently industry insiders. A recent news story says studios may even be discouraged from distributing advance DVDs of their Oscar contenders to academy members, because some of these movies quickly find their way to the Web.
Roger Ebert
10-28-03 | 06:01 PM
#4
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
I didn't realize there is this 'cap code' in films. That's interesting to know. Well, I know my problem is not due to this 'cap code' because after I got the replacement mpeg decoder into my Onkyo DVD receiver, those yellowish pixelations disappeared.
10-29-03 | 06:26 PM
#5
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
I just noticed another problem with this Onkyo unit. When playing mp3 CD's, the player would end playing the last mp3 song on the CD about 5 seconds too early. A bit annoying, but considering that a mp3 CD can contain hours of songs, it's not a big problem to loose 5 seconds at the end.
