OT: Any Home Theatre Afficianados out there?

I hope someone here can help me on this. I have a 50 inch Pioneer plasma tv(505 High Definition) which recently hooked up to DIRECT TV satelite(RCA DTC 100 HD receiver). I'm both using RGB input(VGA) for High Definition and S-Video for non-HDTV. What I found out though is I cannot format the RGB video on my plasma to an aspect which doesn't looked stretched horizontally so objects look wide and pudgy(plasma automatically switches to "FULL" format when HD input is used and cannot format to other ones like "ZOOM"/4:3/Cinema and Natural wide". On the other hand with the s-video it can format to all but from a resolution standpoint can't compare to the RGB(VGA) input. Can someone here help me or know of someone who can? Do I need a line doubler/scaler to increase picture quality from the S-video as well as formating the HD input(RGB/VGA). Thanks. P.S.-saw "Sopranos" last nite for first time and boy its brutal but good. Mike

Mike, I'm definitely not a Home Theatre Afficianado, but I do know the DTC100 very well, which is the source of your problem at this point. What you need to do is configure the DTC100 screen format. To do this, open the menu {ok button on RCA remote} and select the sub-menu "Preferences". On this menu select the sub-menu "Screen Format". Now you should be able to select the aspect ratio of the screen {for you 16:9 Widescreen} and how you would like 4:3 images to be displayed. This must be set for "Fill" right now, so change it to "Normal". Now it will fill the portion of the screen not used by 4:3 broadcasts with "grey panels". If you want to get rid of those ... From the system menu, select the sub-menu "Assistance" and then the sub-menu "Monitor Setup" and finally the sub-menu "Gray Panels". Then you can turn them on or off there. Also from the Monitor Setup menu you can fix {if necessary} raster/retrace timing. I had to do this since I'm going thru an VGA to comonent converter box, so I can hook it up to my Sony TV. All of the above advice is for DTC100 firmware version A05.10 which DirecTV automatically updated to on 10/01/01. BTW, version info can be found on the "Assistance"->"Upgrades"->"Past Upgrade" menu. I just love HDTV, can't say enough about the picture. FYI, Sopranos last night was espcially bloody, it usually isn't quite so bloody. If you get OTA {UHF} HDTV in your area check out CSI. The fantastic picture keeps me watching that show dispite its pretty week plot. Tonight show is in HDTV too, which is nice. Hope this all helps ... let me know how it goes. -pete

My wife has a lot of trouble making leek and potato soup with her Magimix. Can anyone help? <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" />

Very funny, Paul. But, hey, he did say OT? Anyway, Mike, the RGB input to the high definition TV's are designed to expand the picture to fill the screen when they get a 1080 signal. It assumes that the signal is already configured for the widescreen, as all HD signals that are true HD are widescreen. Pete is right. You have to configure the decoder to your TV. I love HDTV, better if you have home theater audio. Currently, I'm on digital cable, so HD is limited to SHO and HBO. I'm currently checking out satellite options.

You may want to check out the following site for future AV questions. It is a great forum for all things related to HT/HDTV/DSS etc. Karl <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/" target="_blank">AVS Forum</a>

I agree with pete01_996, you need to change the aspect ratio of you TV to 16:9. I have a Panasonic 42 inch Plasma and it made a world of difference.

A Faroudja video processor is the answer to all your problems. It will correct your aspect ratio, deinterlace interlaced video signals and antialias all your video so they don't look pixellated. If you have a plasma or large projection screen, there is a world of difference between having a video processor and not having one. Since you're trying to do video processing on an HD video signal, the lower grade line-doublers and scalers from other companies probably won't cut it. Faroudja is the recognized brand name worldwide in the video processing industry. The unit I recommend is the DVP-5000 and it'll sink your pocketbook by about $15-20k, but you won't regret it. After you see one in action, you won't want to watch another DVD or play video games without a video processor. The DVP-3000 is a little cheaper, but won't do 1080p. For more information, check out: <a href="http://www.faroudja.com" target="_blank">http://www.faroudja.com</a>

Thanks Pete for the info-I'll give it a try and see. Definitely HDTV is simply amazing. What other channels offers HD other then HBO(ch.509) and HDNET(ch 109). I also have to check whether or not the DTC has been updated since my house was going thru a major remodel and was close to a year when purchased the DTC. Thanks. Mike

Mike, If you're talking DirecTV, HBO (509) and HDNET (199) are it. I believe the DISH system may have a couple of others that we would have gotten if the Justice Dept hadn't blocked the Hughes/Dish merger. For additional channels you need an over-the-air antenna (usually a good UHF will do). That will allow you to pick up whatever local broadcasts are in HD in your area. I would assume in SFO that would include ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and FOX. None of these are HD all the time, except for possibly PBS, so you need to check the schedule to see what shows are on. There are several web sites that can supply this info. Hook the antenna up to the DTC and go through the channel set up process again so it can "learn" the new HD channels.

Karl, I thought Direct TV had Discovery Channel and 2 HBO and 2 SHO channels in HDTV? I thought you could also get the local channels that broadcast in HDTV? Those were the main reasons I was thinking of switching from cable to satelite.

[quote]Originally posted by Palting: <strong>... I thought Direct TV had Discovery Channel and 2 HBO and 2 SHO channels in HDTV? I thought you could also get the local channels that broadcast in HDTV? ...</strong><hr></blockquote> Palting, Sorry to say, to date Karl is right on. There has been some talk about Discovery in HD, but nothing yet, so only two channels in HD on DirecTV. The gory details are that there are two satalites. One at 101W orbital, and one at 119W orbital. The one at 101W {the easy one for us in the east to get} has pretty much all of the channels. The one at 119W has the two HD channels and a few other channels that are not HD like Nasa channel and some spanish channels. The 119W was so hard for me to get {low in the sky} and some trouble with trees in my area, that I had to use two dishes instead of the one eliptical. Depending on your city, you can get local channels, but they are NOT in HD. For instance here in boston area, I can get all the majors and a lot of the independants too. But if I want to see any of them in HD, I have to use my UHF antenna. So Palting, you might be better off just getting an OTA HDTV receiver and sticking with your cable for everything else ... unless of course you really want to see the Sopranos in HD. Wonder if any of the Bada Bing crowd will ever drive a Porsche? {a weak atempt at getting back on topic}

Mike, The plasma screen wants to be fed 720p HDTV, not 1080i to perform optimally. This is true of every plasma, DLP, or D-ILA device, and this scan rate conversion performs best upstream of the display inputs--probably because 720p is not actually the native scan rate of plasma screens either, but it is closer. There is literally no way to eliminate all of the scan-conversion artifacts because of this, but they can be minimized. Several DirecTV receivers have this output option, for sure the Panasonic does--but not the DTC100 as I recall which only outputs 1080i HD. Do a sidegrade to a tuner with 720p output and you will see the difference immediately, and this will spare you the expense of an exotic outboard scaler. Resist the temptation of watching 4:3 TV in 4:3 aspect ratio, fill that screen! If you must, never use black bars on the side, use the grey ones. Plasma screens are extremely susceptible to burn-in, a couple of weeks is all it takes. I started getting Discovery HD Theater on a Dish 6000 receiver via a daughter board about a week ago. It is really great, since most of it is from HD cameras as opposed to conversion from film. Everything in HBO-HD and Showtime-HD is film, very nice but also not 1080i. Very highly recommended in my opinion, drop DirecTV a line and request it, it will happen sooner. FWIW the Faroudja Native Rate scalers are better for plasma, more like $4000 if you want to invest heavily in a trivial improvement, which will benefit DVD playback more than HD. The high-end Faroudja scalers are intended for 9" CRT front-projectors, plasma screens do not have the resolution or dynamic range to take full advantage of them.

Not to rant, but if a retailer sold you a very expensive plasma set with an HD receiver that will not output 720p, you need to switch shops and that unit. Maybe the DTC100 changed, but I don't think so, and it is the wrong tuner for that TV. I have seen many merchants and consumers (even computer scientists) run digital displays with 1080i, sad and weird because it is an easy enough thing to get right.

Well Pete- my DTC 100 latest upgrade was A 04.37 so seems like I need top upgrade to A 05.10-what does this firmware do? Also I did format the DTC 100 to 16:9 aspect with normal and now looks fine. Nick- it's simply my fault for not knowing compatibility issues with my plasma and the receiver with reference to scan rate. What side tuner do I need to convert to 720p? Regards. Mike

[quote]Originally posted by kyopo: <strong>A Faroudja video processor is the answer to all your problems. It will correct your aspect ratio, deinterlace interlaced video signals and antialias all your video so they don't look pixellated. If you have a plasma or large projection screen, there is a world of difference between having a video processor and not having one. Since you're trying to do video processing on an HD video signal, the lower grade line-doublers and scalers from other companies probably won't cut it. Faroudja is the recognized brand name worldwide in the video processing industry. The unit I recommend is the DVP-5000 and it'll sink your pocketbook by about $15-20k, but you won't regret it. After you see one in action, you won't want to watch another DVD or play video games without a video processor. The DVP-3000 is a little cheaper, but won't do 1080p. </strong><hr></blockquote> Except that no current plasma will accept 1080P so the Faroudja is completely useless with HD and a plasma.

I have the same system, there are several solutions. The best oof which is to discard the s-video cable. Just use the VGA link. In the Fetch menuy on the RCA you can control the aspect ratio. If you leve the Pioneer in wide modethe Fetch works fine and automatically switches between HDTV and regular NTSC aspect ratios for you. On the Pioneer there is a Size menu too. But the former solution is the best. I discarded the RCA DTC 100 for the new Sony SAT HD-200 which has far superior picture quality in all formats on the the VGA output. And it integrates local broadcast and/or cable or any other transmission mode for all VHF and UHF channels including multiple source configuration for the SAME channel! That way you can interactively select the best quality reception mode at any time. I have Runco project, Farougda scaler, Runco Quadrupler and many other high ens equipment items as well, but the direct RCA/VGA to Pioneer Plasma or Sony/VGA to Pioneer Plasma is an excellent solution. [quote]Originally posted by 996FLT6: <strong>I hope someone here can help me on this. I have a 50 inch Pioneer plasma tv(505 High Definition) which recently hooked up to DIRECT TV satelite(RCA DTC 100 HD receiver). I'm both using RGB input(VGA) for High Definition and S-Video for non-HDTV. What I found out though is I cannot format the RGB video on my plasma to an aspect which doesn't looked stretched horizontally so objects look wide and pudgy(plasma automatically switches to "FULL" format when HD input is used and cannot format to other ones like "ZOOM"/4:3/Cinema and Natural wide". On the other hand with the s-video it can format to all but from a resolution standpoint can't compare to the RGB(VGA) input. Can someone here help me or know of someone who can? Do I need a line doubler/scaler to increase picture quality from the S-video as well as formating the HD input(RGB/VGA). Thanks. P.S.-saw "Sopranos" last nite for first time and boy its brutal but good. Mike</strong><hr></blockquote>

Am I still in the Rennlist forum or did I morph back to the AVS forum!? <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />

Sorry Dave ... but I guess it's a little of both right now ... The 996 clan helping each other out on everything from AV to WRX. Sort of like "Car Talk" I guess. Mike, Not sure what difference is in firmware rev to rev ... I just stated mine in case the menus were different you'd know why. -pete

Mike--Okay the current shipping product you might consider is the Zenith Hd-SAT520 which has multiple output formats including 720p and 480p (480p can be handy sometimes, good feature), appears to be SOA and is $600 or something. The Panasonic and Sony Hd receivers do not appear to be in production now, possibly they are to be updated, there may still be some around. I switched a good friend with essentially your same TV to the Panasonic from the DTC100 not so long ago, worked much better. But no matter, Zenith has always made the best 8VSB tuners for over-the-air reception anyway. My house points right at Sutro Tower so I watch the numerous local digital stations all the time. Remember, only the broadcast networks send "true" HD bandwidth, HBO and such only deliver about 65% of the full bandwidth of 1080i via satellite, so good broadcast performance is an important factor. FWIW, do not spend even one second mulling 1080p compatibility, that is a still-born format. And do not waste money on quadruple scalers for plasma, either. When a plasma set gets a 480i signal, it de-interlaces it to 540p, then upconverts that to either 720p or 1080i, and then scales THAT to 768p or whatever the design of panel dictates, which is jusy what a quadrupler does. This is also why if you sit too close there will always be some artifacts and false contouring with current plasma sets.

Nick- thanks for the info. Where can I get the Zenith from? Am I able just to buy the unit itself and use the access card I have now or I have to go thru Direct TV again? Do you park your car on West Portal-I see a blue 996 there all the time? Regards. Mike

[quote]Originally posted by paul s uk: <strong>My wife has a lot of trouble making leek and potato soup with her Magimix. Can anyone help? <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote> <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" /> <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" /> <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" /> I think I can help you here.. She's probably making a very common mistake after seeing the commercial for the Magimix. As you are aware, the clown on tv throws everything - leeks, potatoes, cream, broth, etc, into the pan and attacks it with the magimix. Big mistake. The secret is to put the leeks and broth in one pan and the potatoes and cream in another. This way neither party knows what's going on. It's fairly well known in Leek and Potato circles that they only get together when there's soup to be made and they put up a hell of a fight to stop the action. By separating them out each vegetable (ok, technically the potato is a starch)each of them cooperates because they think this is some kind of jacuzzi they're in once the magimix starts going. After beating the crap out of both, combine contents of pans and wait for the screaming to die down while the leeks and potatoes figure out what the hell's going on. Good luck!!

Othello I knew I could count on you to talk some sense <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

[quote]Originally posted by Palting: <strong>Karl, I thought Direct TV had Discovery Channel and 2 HBO and 2 SHO channels in HDTV? I thought you could also get the local channels that broadcast in HDTV? Those were the main reasons I was thinking of switching from cable to satelite.</strong><hr></blockquote> I have discovery HD on Dish Network.. It's awesome.

First of all, I cook and I love leek soup. What is magimix? Mike: Crazyeddie.com seems to have it, also according to Zenith's site there are two shops in San Jose. There is a very good shop in Berkeley I use that might, would have to check. You might ping DirecTV via email or phone, but I would think you can self install. Actually, definitely ping DirecTV for the steps involved (on Dish it is a little tricky), but it will still be DIY. I live in the Claremont Pines area in the Oakland hills, and work over here, so that is not mine on West Portal although I grew up within a mile from there.

Mike: BTW you can always tell my car--its the blue one with the numbskull parked 20' away who still clips it with his door.

[quote]Originally posted by NMoore: <strong>First of all, I cook and I love leek soup. What is magimix? .</strong><hr></blockquote> A magimix is a device that allows you to blend a soup, broth, sauce, etc. where you want some components e.g. Leeks to chunky and other components e.g. Potatoes to be creamed into the broth. There are a few different models that increase in price depending on complexity. The M-400 is the middle of the range model and should handle most of the normal stuff. It struggles with gazpacho unless you don't mind it a little runny. It's the 'only' way to make a decent ****-a-leekie soup at home. Have to be a little careful with some soups, I almost broke a blade making a gallon of oxtail soup. Threw in about 8lbs of oxtails and it had a hell of a time with all the bones. Worked out ok in the end. Had a delicate little crunch to the tooth that reminded me of a risotto I had in Milan about 10 years ago. It's also great for people that can't make gravy. Using the magimix you can keep the lumps in as if they were designed to be there.

Othello You are a man after my own heart. A real P-souper! <img src="graemlins/r.gif" border="0" alt="[king]" />

I did make mashed potatoes that leeked on the sides of my plate- too runny? . Thanks to all. Mike