Technical Issues and Questions

Discuss North American DVDs and Blu-rays or other DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1626 Post by Adam X » Sat Mar 03, 2018 7:40 pm

I would’ve thought that the video signal would be unaffected by a mod kit, as it’s not in-line with the video out. The kit’s just telling the player what region/zone to be when the disc is inserted.

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1627 Post by Drucker » Sat May 05, 2018 10:49 pm

Just when you think you have your setup in perfect tip-top shape, a new issue of course. Has anyone else ever noticed the black bars on full-frame films fluctuate from pure black?

In the last few weeks, I've begun to notice that certain full-frame blu ray discs I have will occasionally show a sort of density fluctuation WITHIN the black bars. They'll very briefly fluctuate from pure black to a milky black on occasion. I don't know if this has always happened or I've just become more sensitive to it.

My gut tells me I need to replace the HDMI cable I had been moving the same HDMI cable between two players for a while and perhaps could have damaged the cable. I used to have player issues with an older player/TV that were fixed by replacing the HDMI cable. The main issue, however, is that the issues always occur at the same place on a disc. If I'm watching a disc, see the issue, and rewind, it'll occur again. This is leading me to believe the issue is actually present on the disc.

One disc this issue is definitely occuring on is the Twin Peaks Complete Mystery blu-ray FWIW.

A few other notes about this:
-My TV is calibrated and is a Plasma
-The issue does not appear on my cable input, just the BD player
-I have a brand new BD player
-This issues does not occur in black bars in non 1:33 films.
-The issues does not seem to occur at all in 1.78 discs at all, either
-The issue definitely seems to occur during high-density fluctuation moments as well.

Am I noticing something that has always been there? Or does something need replacing?

David M.
Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 1:10 pm

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1628 Post by David M. » Sun May 06, 2018 8:43 am

Samsung F8500 plasma?
They all did that occasionally, if I recall correctly. And I think it may have been specific to the 24hz mode (which is why you won’t see it on your 60hz cable box feed). It may be exacerbated by aging.

It doesn’t have anything to do with HDMI.

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1629 Post by Drucker » Sun May 06, 2018 5:25 pm

Wow that's a relief. Yes the 8500. Thank you so much!

User avatar
FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1630 Post by FrauBlucher » Wed May 09, 2018 6:30 am

I'm in the market for a flatscreen TV, 40" to 45". Any recommendations?

User avatar
soundchaser
Leave Her to Beaver
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2016 12:32 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1631 Post by soundchaser » Wed May 09, 2018 11:24 am

Are you looking for a 4K tv? What's your budget like?

kekid
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:55 pm

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1632 Post by kekid » Mon May 14, 2018 2:24 pm

OPPO is ending making Blu Ray Players. No reason for this decision is given by the company, but it is suspected that the action is the result of diminishing consumer interest in physical media.

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1633 Post by Drucker » Mon May 14, 2018 5:48 pm

Quick question regarding 4k Discs.

It seems there are several instances of imperfect/sub-par BDs that have nice makeovers in 4k. I'm thinking The Dark Knight and Blade Runner for starters.

Since I have a 4k Oppo and Plasma 1080 HDTV, I can buy the new 4k discs and basically enjoy an "upgraded" HD experience, right? There's no downside to watching a 4k Disc on a standard hi-def TV, right?
Last edited by Drucker on Mon May 14, 2018 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1634 Post by MichaelB » Mon May 14, 2018 5:59 pm

kekid wrote:OPPO is ending making Blu Ray Players. No reason for this decision is given by the company, but it is suspected that the action is the result of diminishing consumer interest in physical media.
I understood that it was specifically because other manufacturers are making 4K players that are almost as good for far lower prices thanks to economies of scale that Oppo can't hope to compete with.

kekid
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:55 pm

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1635 Post by kekid » Mon Jul 23, 2018 4:25 pm

I understand that in order to be 4K ready one needs to upgrade both the Blu Ray player and the TV Monitor. If for financial reasons I decided to do this in steps, upgrading to the 4K player first but leaving the TV alone, what are the implications? (1) No perceived change in picture quality, (2) deterioration in picture quality, or (3) improvement in picture quality, though not the same as when the monitor is also upgraded. Since OPPO is no longer making players, I am thinking of buying one before they are gone. Is there any reason, from picture quality standpoint, I should not do this?


User avatar
hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1637 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Jul 23, 2018 6:15 pm

I did this because I couldn't afford to upgrade everything immediately. First, I bought a PS3, then shortly after I bought BD titles, and even though I still had a CRT TV, an upgrade was inevitable and I didn't want to pass up any deals that came my way. (These were titles I would eventually have bought anyway, so might as well get the best deal now even if I can't watch them until later.) It was probably a year before I got an HDTV.

FYI, PS3 was a terrible investment. Versatile home entertainment console, but a ridiculous design flaw involving the heat sink paste made it close to a piece of junk after two years of usage.

User avatar
HypnoHelioStaticStasis
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:21 pm
Location: New York

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1638 Post by HypnoHelioStaticStasis » Wed Jul 25, 2018 12:22 pm

Hi, everyone. I don't know if this has come up in this thread before (a search didn't yield anything), but I have a dilemma that's been bugging me for a few months.

I recently bought a 49-inch Sony 4k TV and a Sony 4K player. I mainly watch blu-rays and the occasional 4K disc on it, and after much fiddling with both the TV (which I understand to be 120hz) and the player, I still can't quite get rid of a blur that occurs whenever there's a quick horizontal movement, either by the camera or within the frame. I've looked online for the ideal settings for my equipment and adjusted accordingly, and it still hasn't really helped.

Does anyone know if I'm missing a step that isn't widely known online? Thanks in advance.

User avatar
Forrest Taft
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:34 pm
Location: Stavanger, Norway

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1639 Post by Forrest Taft » Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:13 pm

I'm thinking of getting a 4k TV...but, I want one that is also 3D-compatible. IT's my understanding that the last 3D models were produced in 2017, so I'm thinking of buying a TV used. I've come across someone selling s Philips 58" 4k 3D TV for an OK price (Philips 58PUS6809).

From what I understand the selection of apps isn't much, and the menu navigation so-so, but that doesn't bother me much, as I'll mostly use it for movies. I've come across a review on amazon suggesting there's "a serious lag when using a gaming console" (I'm not a gamer), and another review stating that "the image processing isn't very good, with a bit of lagging, uneven movements and poor upscaling of low-resolution sources" (translated from Norwegian :D ). Is anyone here familiar with this TV? Would you recommend it? Any help would be much appreciated.

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1640 Post by Drucker » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:06 pm

Looking for some in-home networking advice. For a few months I've kept a little USB with some music plugged in to my home router (DLINK brand).

I figured I'd upgrade, get a huge external HD, and upload a ton of music onto it, having the house networked. However, the WD passport 4 TB I have is not being read by my network. I've tried three separate formats: default (NTFS), Ex-Fat, and FAT32 (I would like to be able to upload music from a mac and a pc onto this drive).

The only reason I have left that explains why it isn't working is a page in the Router Manual that says there's a 1TB limit for external HD devices, but it doesn't seem to be reading my wife's external HD either. Why would a thumb drive work and none of these other devices? Anybody have experience with this?

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1641 Post by domino harvey » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:21 pm

Have you tried NTS with MBR partitioning? You're going to run into partitioning problems with such a huge drive, assuming your device is capable of reading more than a USB flash drive

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1642 Post by Drucker » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:33 pm

I think this has to be a flash drive. I just uncovered the official manual (I was just generally looking at manuals for the brand) and it appears to mention "USB Flash Drive" repeatedly, not just a general hard drive.

Do you have some kind of set-up? Do you have a library you can access through a player?

I would ideally like to set up a network but have never had luck figuring this thing out.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1643 Post by domino harvey » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:37 pm

I only have experience with using USB drives on my Blu-Ray player to watch movie files. I looked into using a (non-flash) hard drive and ran into similar issues the more I read up on it, though some newer models allow specifically partitioned external HDs. If you have your heart set on it, it may be worth looking to see if a different router could do it

Jonathan S
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:31 am
Location: Somerset, England

TV recommendation with odd(?) priorities

#1644 Post by Jonathan S » Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:58 am

After using projectors exclusively for 20 years, I'm giving up on them (due to repeated problems like poor colour uniformity and lamp flicker) and looking to buy a TV again - though it won't be used with any kind of broadcast TV input. As some of my priorities seem strange on technical forums, I wonder if anyone here could make a general or particular recommendation (or warning) please? I hardly ever watch modern films, have no interest in 4K - though I acknowledge TVs now seem to be all 4K or "4K ready" - and probably two-thirds of my viewing is in black & white.

My ideal TV would have: excellent colour uniformity with no light leakage or discolouration on black & white (maybe the last is a given with TVs now?); deep, inky black levels; smooth but film-like motion; the best possible reproduction from DVD sources (still 75%+ of my viewing). Were it not for that last but important requirement, my initial research suggests an OLED TV would be the best but I've read they are very intolerant of DVDs and even imperfect Blu-rays, rendering them blocky and looking worse than on less sophisticated displays. (Maybe that's true with all 4K screens?) But then the LCD/LED system is reportedly prone to motion issues and milky blacks.

A component input would be nice as (contrary to usual reports) I always found DVDs looked better on my last HD projector when sourced from a DVD player, rather than upscaled through the BD/HDMI connection. Probably a plasma TV would have suited me but evidently that ship has sailed...

User avatar
tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1645 Post by tenia » Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:16 am

I would suggest for starters to avoid Edge LED and LCD from your researches. Both these techs are the most prone to light leakage and/or clouding. They're also not the best for black levels. Upscaling might be very variable, but this is something you might want to let your player do instead of your TV, so it shouldn't be a priority here.

I would still suggest OLED because it currently is the best tech around for TV. Yes, this means it will highlight imperfect BDs, but I wouldn't want to pick a lesser TV just because of lesser BDs. It would seem like a double penalty to me. I however don't know how they behave with DVD upscale (which, to me, might be the biggest concern, because you're likely to end up upscaling SD to 4K, which still seems like a stretch to me even if I've been repeatedly told that upscaling algorithms improved with 4K), and that might be related to the higher rez rather than the TV underlying tech.

In any case, I wouldn't rule out OLED since it would tick your cases for clouding, light leakages, black levels and film-like motion.
And of course, maybe that's the time to switch to BD. ;)

David M.
Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 1:10 pm

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1646 Post by David M. » Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:22 am

My ideal TV would have: excellent colour uniformity with no light leakage or discolouration on black & white (maybe the last is a given with TVs now?); deep, inky black levels; smooth but film-like motion; the best possible reproduction from DVD sources (still 75%+ of my viewing).
Especially given the last part, you're describing a CRT. Seriously.

But in terms of what's available now, get the smallest OLED you can find (55") and sit as far back as possible from it when watching DVD.

Jonathan S
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:31 am
Location: Somerset, England

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1647 Post by Jonathan S » Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:30 am

Thanks to both - maybe I need to ask to try out a DVD on an OLED in a showroom then! (Although I've had a BD player for a decade, I could never fully switch from DVD, partly for cost reasons but also much of the obscure material I have on DVD will never make it to Blu-ray - some was only released on VHS!)

Yes, I still have a small CRT (the system I grew up with) and agree. Perhaps I need to source a bigger second-hand CRT and run it in tandem with an OLED.

User avatar
DarkImbecile
Ask me about my visible cat breasts
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:24 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1648 Post by DarkImbecile » Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:42 pm

Strongly agree on the OLED recommendation, especially for color range and true blacks. In my amateur experience, your mileage on DVD upscaling will vary more based on the disc player than the television.

Jonathan S
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:31 am
Location: Somerset, England

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1649 Post by Jonathan S » Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:07 pm

Thanks again. I've read OLEDs are susceptible to screen burn, like plasmas. Channel logos won't be a problem for me (as no broadcast feed) but could many hours of watching only Academy ratio - or indeed Scope - films cause this issue? I did get burn-in of vertical black bar lines on one of my (LCD) projectors though fortunately it was reversible.

User avatar
tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: Technical Issues and Questions

#1650 Post by tenia » Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:11 pm

Because of their technology, OLED screens are indeed subject to possible burn-in just like plasma ones were. However, from what I read so far, it remains reversible and more importantly it takes much more time to generate the burn in in the first place.

Post Reply