[Carl Stock]

Hi, everyone.

Does anyone with the Thomson DVT1100 Freeview/DVD player combination notice any difference between the picture’s brightness between Freeview pictures and DVD pictures? It’s just that on mine, the DVD output (the menus and actual films watched) is quite a bit darker (loss of contrast) compared with the Freeview pictures.

Would anyone say this is normal? I’ve had it for about a month, and it’s a great little box if anyone’s interested in buying one. I know some equipment can vary in terms of how loud the audio output is (which can be adjusted on the DVT1100) and how bright the video output is (which cannot be adjusted on the DVT1100, unlike some other DVD players). Would it be worth getting a replacement box in case there is something wrong with the DVD video output?

This even has RF output on DVD and Freeview, which is nice and bright with quite a bit of contrast, although obviously I won’t use that! I use RGB, which is a little dull on the DVD side but nice and bright with plenty of contrast on the Freeview side. That’s the problem – there is quite a bit of difference between the two sources in this box, but it’s maybe not enough to seem like a fault.

On the DVD side, whites tend to be a little grey, as opposed to the quite bright appearance of whites on the Freeview side. It’s as if the DVD side lacks quite a bit of contrast, making the picture look a little ‘dry’ and washed out. Both the DVD side and Freeview are set to RGB, and I have tried this box on two different TVs with RGB (29” and 21”) and a portable (15”) via RF.

If anyone could help me, I’d be very grateful. Many thanks. My apologies for this perhaps rather convoluted message!

Regards,

Carl

[Jim Rae]

I don't know this box, but I do know that DVD pictures should be alive with colour and vibrancy - especially through RGB.

Maybe the video out settings are wrong on the DVD side - very hard to say - but make sure that the black level on the DVD is set up properly before complaining - if you have one, it will be in the picture menu in set up.

At the end of the day if you are not happy with it, take it back.

However this is the downside of a combined unit and why I buy separate boxes...

[Carl Stock]

Hi.

Many thanks for your reply.

I am a separates person myself – all of our hi-fi and AV equipment is of a separates nature – and this box is only used in the dining room. I do have a separate DVD player anyway, but I thought I’d try this box as the reviews were good in terms of excellent picture and sound quality. It is also a nice piece of equipment to use.

There are very few adjustments that can be made to this box picture-wise, apart from some unusual picture sharpness and vertical and horizontal filter settings.

However, the box has gone back for replacement/repair to Thomson, so we shall see what happens. If it is still dim, I will not keep it.

Many thanks,

Carl