Hi,

Having recently bought a 32" Panasonic TX-L32S20B TV to use with my DMR-EX89B HD-DVD recorder I have been a little disappointed with the image quality from the EX89. When viewing a Standard Definition live TV transmission via the EX89 tuner the image is noticeably poorer than the same transmission via the TV tuner, as can be seen here. In particular note that the diagonals of the number 7 in the screenshot are very jagged in the EX89 picture. When I switch to the HDMI input the TV reports "HDMI1 1080p 50Hz Wide" so the signal from the EX89 looks to be maximum resolution. I've looked through all the setup menus on it but can't find anything obvious that might be affecting the image quality.

I rather suspect that this is probably normal for this machine combination but I'd greatly welcome any comments.

Regards,

G.

Hi

Try outputting from the EX89 at 576i or 576p and see if that resolves the problem. Also the HDMI input looks to be having lots of sharpening applied, this might be by the EX89 or the TV. Check the settings on the TV, as each input can have it's own picture settings applied

Regards

Phil

Although the 32s20 is the base 1080 model in the pana range it displays 1080 very well one warned up , you should set the output resolution of your Hdd recorder to 1080i or p to suit your taste it will look very ragged on 576 .

What are your recordings of ?

Ian

Hi


576i will look perfectly fine, it basically means the TV upscales rather than the recorder which may not be doing a good job, or at least helps track down where the problem might be.

Regards

Phil

Just tried it on the demo models in the shop ( most pana in stock ) 576 is watchable but edgy and almost grainy with very poor graphics in the menus .

720 is ok

1080 i or P quite good with excellent menu graphics almost to smooth

So take your pick LOL

Ian

Sorry for the delay in replying. Although my Thread Subscription shows 'Instant email notification' I actually didn't get any.

Anyway, thanks for your replies. I'll try a bit more fiddling and report back.

Ok, I've tried twiddling a few more settings :-
On the TV I've adjusted Sharpness - min to max and experimented with all levels of Resolution Enhancer
On the EX89 I've tried all the HDMI connection settings, 576i & p, 720p and 1080i (left on Automatic it selects 1080p).

Nothing made any discernible difference to the jaggedness of the picture elements although I was able to effect a slight improvement in the fringing by reducing the Resolution Enhancer from Max (default) to Mid (this being actually slightly better than Off).

To be honest since the HDMI connection is fully digital I was expecting the EX89 output to be comparable with the TV tuner but I guess this is just something I'm going to have to live with.

Regards,

G.

Hi


I have the same TV (larger screen in the same model series) and the PVR that connects to it via HDMI is identical to the tuner, you can't tell them apart. So it isn't the TV.

The image you link to appears to be a static graphic picture from the MHEG engine (red button text graphic), and it has just dawned on me what the differences are.

The Panasonic recorder is only standard definition, so the graphics it produces are standard definition, so they are 720x576, and it's fonts seem to have some sharpening or black border applied. You get the roughness simply because it is low resolution graphics, think Ceefax or Oracle Teletext how rough they look with even less pixels to play with.

The TV produces high definition graphics from it's red button engine, so it has 1920x1080 pixels to play with, so the fonts can be rendered very smoothly.

There is absolutely nothing you can do about this. Perhaps you are using these static images in order to make it easier to compare A/B, but it isn't a true comparison.

What does it look like watching from the tuner on the Panasonic recorder? You shouldn't see much if any difference as you are comparing like for like provided you compare to the same standard definition channel on the TV.

You label the pictures TV Tuner and DMR-EX89 Tuner, but those pictures are not from the tuner, they are not broadcast as a TV picture. The message is just data that is sent and your TV and recorder just creates those graphics themselves. Hope that helps explain it.

Regards

Phil

Hi Phil, thanks for that explanation.

You're absolutely right - I was using that static test as an easier way to perform a comparison. To be honest I did wonder if it was something like that because the graphic via the TV tuner is sharper than other broadcast text, e.g. titles. I'll try to compare normal transmissions as you suggest.

Best regards,

G.

I'm still not getting notification of replies. I think I'd better contact the Admin.

Edit: I think I've sorted the notification but now, having been through everything in CP, I can't find how to create a sig! .

Ok, I've compared them on a normal broadcast transmission and there is no discernible difference.

Thanks to everyone who offered their help.

Best regards,

G.