Technical Issues and Questions

[David M.]

I'm not sure what causes that, but it's never caused playback problems for me.

[domino harvey]

It's the glue between layers

[Cash Flagg]

This is an issue with my television, and not a BD player/disc, but I didn't know where else to put it (if anywhere). About a week ago, I noticed a flickering red dot on the lower left of my Panasonic plasma screen. This dot was a constant presence for several days. I called Panasonic, and since I am no longer under warranty (bought the TV in April 2012 and didn't get extended warranty), they wouldn't pay for repair/replacement, and referred me to a local technician. In the meantime, the pixel, over the last couple of days, was only intermittent, instead of constant. The repair guy came by today, and told me (for a $75 fee) that it was a 'dead pixel'. Apparently there is nothing that can be done about such things, except to replace the frame, which, as I am no longer under warranty, would cost me roughly $1200. With Panasonic discontinuing their plasmas, it would be extremely difficult for me to buy a replacement TV, even if I wanted to spend the money on one. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a possibility that the dead pixel will eventually disappear? As I said, it hasn't been constant the last few days, so I don't know if that is a positive sign, or meaningless. The flashing pixel is really distracting and aggravating, especially as I watch a great deal of black and white films, which makes the intrusion of a red dot all the more noticeable and frustrating. I'm actually quite despondent now, as I love my plasma and there doesn't seem to be any similar, but reasonably priced (under $2000) option that I'm aware of. I do plan on calling Panasonic back tomorrow and pleading my case with a higher-up, but I don't hold much hope there.

[Cash Flagg]

Wow! Repair costs for my TV would be $2600! But what choice do I have? I suppose at that price I might as well just buy a projector. Lesson learned, for sure - always get the extended warranty! Such HORRIBLE timing too - three months ago, I could have bought a newer Panasonic model for $1800 or so.

[Michael Kerpan]

If it were me, I'd put a little dot of tape (or something similar) over the bad pixel -- and live with it for a couple more years. But I'm chintzy that way.

[Cash Flagg]

If it were me, I'd put a little dot of tape (or something similar) over the bad pixel -- and live with it for a couple more years. But I'm chintzy that way.

Yeah, I couldn't do that. I'm obsessive about my TV's perfection - I ran color slides for 150 hours straight when I first bought it, carefully chose correct settings, and dust it (albeit for only a few seconds) several times a week. I can't even watch it now.

[fdm]

At least with certain model(s) of the last year of Panasonic plasmas there's apparently nothing available to repair or replace them with at this point. Seems Panasonic just buys them back. (The ones under warranty...) I suppose some of it has to do with how broke they are, not sure a dead pixel would qualify.

[shaky]

I don't know which thread is the best choice for this discussion, but I am just now(sigh...yup) realizing that my Samsung smart tv(perhaps it's my dvd or blu-ray players though I don't think this is the case) does not allow me to properly present DVDs of films in 1.37:1. Take, for example, MoC's edition of LA SIGNORA DI TUTTI. I am not getting those curly edges I should be getting, leading me to believe that i'm losing 2 to 3% of the image! My only options are 4/3 and "Screen Fit." Is there an easy solution for this? Please say there is.

[RossyG]

Have you turned the overscan off?

[Drucker]

I don't know which thread is the best choice for this discussion, but I am just now(sigh...yup) realizing that my Samsung smart tv(perhaps it's my dvd or blu-ray players though I don't think this is the case) does not allow me to properly present DVDs of films in 1.37:1. Take, for example, MoC's edition of LA SIGNORA DI TUTTI. I am not getting those curly edges I should be getting, leading me to believe that i'm losing 2 to 3% of the image! My only options are 4/3 and "Screen Fit." Is there an easy solution for this? Please say there is.

Just for what it's worth, screen fit seems to be the right pick for blu-rays (only way to get black bar at the top of 1.85 films), and if it's a DVD, you need to switch between screen fit for widescreen and 4x3 for 1.37.

[shaky]

Thanks for the reply, Drucker. Yeah, I've set my television to 4x3 when watching dvds of films in either 1.33:1 or 1.37:1 up to this point. I guess I took for granted my assumption that no cropping was occurring. Anyways, LA SIGNORA DI TUTTI is definitely be cropped when watched on my television in those described settings. Again, no rounded edges...

[EddieLarkin]

If you're sure there is no overscan involved in this issue (i.e., your Blu-rays and anamorphic DVDs show 100% of the image), then this post and the following discussion may be illuminating.

[shaky]

EddieLarkin, I'm certain that the specific dvd in question which has raised this issue for me, the MoC edition of LA SIGNORA DI TUTTI, should be seen on my television with the curly editions, yes. This is clear from the dvdbeaver caps. Is that what you're asking?

As well, thank you for the link. I'll take a look at it now.

[EddieLarkin]

I'm saying that the issue may have something to do with overscan on your TV (thus affecting all of your discs, not just La Signora di Tutti), that may be able to be turned off. I'd confirm this first with a Blu-ray, as the link I've provided really only applies to situations were no overscan is involved.

[shaky]

I cannot for the life of me seem to figure out how to turn off overscanning on my Samsung television if that, in fact, is what it's doing.

Ok yeah, I'm starting to think this truly has nothing to do with my television overscanning the 4/3 dvd image(im checking right now to make sure it's not doing it to blu-rays, though I don't think it is). If that's the case, is there really not a whole lot I can do other than buy a 500 dollar Oppo player, Eddie?

[EddieLarkin]

Looks like it. Though as I say, I'd be certain no overscan is involved in this issue before buying a new player!

[shaky]

And just to make sure, this only happened to you with 4x3 dvds, correct? BDs of academy ratio films worked fine?

[EddieLarkin]

Yes, 4:3 Blu-rays and anamorphic DVDs work fine.

[shaky]

Well, Eddie I believe I fixed the problem through my Sony BDP S5100 region free blu-ray player. I had to go to "screen format" on the blu-ray player menu and switch it from "full" to "normal." Once I did that, the entire image became visible! LA SIGNORA DI TUTTI now has the rounded edges and everything. Haven't seen what this switch to "normal" does to other movies or what it does to blu-rays in general, but this is good news regardless.

[Adam X]

I've never owned a Sony player, but going by the language it's using I'd say 'Full' would be stretching the image to fit the screen, regardless of ratio, while 'Normal' would be used to playback content in the correct ratio. The reason films in 1.33:1/137.1 weren't filling the screen in this case was likely due to you setting the TV to 4:3, thus conforming the picture area to the correct ratio, except of course for the overscan.

If nothing's changed with Samsung TVs since the LCD of their's I owned, all screen settings employ overscan except for, presumably, the 'Screen Fit' setting (it was 'Just Scan' on mine).

If you're using the Blu-Ray player to play all discs (DVD & BD), then in order to avoid overscan I'd leave the TV set to 'Screen Fit' and the Blu-Ray player set to 'Normal'. Blu-Ray players are designed to automatically insert black bars where appropriate, no matter the picture ratio. This'll allow you to watch all discs in the correct ratio without any overscan.
* Just had a quick look at the manual online, no wonder you're confused - it's horribly written.
In 'Screen Seetings', go to 'TV Type' and make sure it's set to 16:9. Then go to 'DVD Aspect Ratio'. I'd say you want this set to 'Letter Box' too.*

When using the DVD player, you'll want the player set for a 16:9 TV and with the TV, you'll have to change the format setting depending on what you're watching.
If you've got it connected via HDMI, you'll be able to select 'Screen Fit' for anamorphic content. If you're not using HDMI, then choose 16:9, though this will introduce overscan.
For non-anamorphic content, set the TV to 4:3, though again you'll get overscan.
The only way, in my experience, to prevent overscan on a Samung TV when using a DVD player for 4:3 content, is if the player has a 'Zoom Out' option (ie it will shrink the picture), thus revealing the overscanned area of the image.

Hope that helps.

[Roger Ryan]

As I noted in another thread, some widescreen televisions will have a problem displaying non-anamorphic 4:3 DVD content in the correct aspect ratio unless the output resolution on the player is reduced to 480p. This is certainly true of the Panasonic Viera. No amount of changing the settings on the TV itself will show 4:3 DVD content properly if the Blu-ray player's output resolution is set to 720p or higher.

[Paul Moran]

As I noted in another thread, some widescreen televisions will have a problem displaying non-anamorphic 4:3 DVD content in the correct aspect ratio unless the output resolution on the player is reduced to 480p. This is certainly true of the Panasonic Viera. No amount of changing the settings on the TV itself will show 4:3 DVD content properly if the Blu-ray player's output resolution is set to 720p or higher.

My living room set is a Panasonic Viera 50 inch 1080p plasma. It has no problem with 4:3 material on DVD or BD with my Oppo 83/93 BDPs set to 1080p output resolution (my default setting). I keep the Oppos' aspect ratios set to "16:9 Wide/Auto" - which shows 16:9 as 16:9 and 4:3 as 4:3 - and the TV's HDMI input set to 16:9.

[David M.]

As I noted in another thread, some widescreen televisions will have a problem displaying non-anamorphic 4:3 DVD content in the correct aspect ratio unless the output resolution on the player is reduced to 480p. This is certainly true of the Panasonic Viera. No amount of changing the settings on the TV itself will show 4:3 DVD content properly if the Blu-ray player's output resolution is set to 720p or higher.

It actually varies from TV to TV, but yes, some will only show HD content at 16:9.

I would consider that a fault of the DVD/BD player. HD resolutions are 16:9 only so should never need any aspect ratio control. If upscaling 4:3 content, it's the player's job to make sure the ratio isn't distorted during the transition to HD.

[Roger Ryan]

I should have avoided using a broad generalization (and placing all the blame on the television!). Just to clarify: I have a Panasonic Viera TV and a Sony Blu-ray player with an HDMI connection. Even with the television set for 4:3 content, a non-anamorphic standard definition 4:3 DVD image will appeared somewhat stretched at 720p player output or higher. Once the resolution output is reduced to 480p on the player, the image is displayed normally. Note that this problem does not occur with anamorphic DVDs nor with Blu-rays. Apparently, the player is designed to treat all content as "anamorphic" when the output resolution is set to 720p or higher regardless of whether the disc is anamorphic or not.

[EddieLarkin]

Are you sure there isn't a setting on the player to correct that? My player has both a "16:9" setting and a "16:9 Full". The latter does as you describe: stretch 4:3 DVDs to fill the screen. The former keeps everything where it should be. From the Sony BD user manual:

Screen Format: Full: Select this when connecting to a TV with a wide mode function. Displays a 4:3 screen picture in 16:9 aspect ratio, even on a wide-screen TV.
Normal: Changes the picture size to fit the screen size with the original picture aspect ratio.

You sure you haven't just got it set to Full?