Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Official Blue ray options - Denon, Arcam, Pioneer, etc.

Faster player. Less HDMI headaches.

Cheers,

Mark

Mark H:

Understood...seems like two important considerations...so to summarize the tradeoff is Sony is faster to load and is less sussceptible to HDMI handshaking problems whereas the Panasonic has pur PQ based on test patterns but, as it realtes to real world experience, may or may not be noticeable...do I have this right...

Thanks so much.

That's my conclusion, yes, within my setup of course: HD621->Radiance->Projector

Mark

OK, some more observations on the Panny.

The green screen issue is caused by the HD621. I don't get it when the HD621 isn't in the chain... Hopefully Meridian are working on the HDMI handshake issues and this problem will go away.

Another interesting wrinkle is that the Panny has two HDMI modes - standard and enhanced. Standard is the default but only enhanced passes the full 0-255 IRE information range. I wonder how many people haven't changed this setting...

The Sony's OSD has a bitrate count which isn't present on the BD60. I believe the Panny BD80 has a full bitrate counter.

Cheers,

Mark

Does the issue occur when the BD-60 is connected directly to the Radiance (or is this what you mean when the HD621 is not in the chain). And, to the extent that it does not then there is one less consideration / issue between the BD-60 and the S-550.





I am confused here as my understanding is that 15-235 IRE is video levels and 0-255 IRE is pc levels which means:

a) if the ENHANCED setting passes below black and passes whiter than white (i.e. does not transform 16 to 0 and 235 to 255) then I would agree that ENHACED is the proper setting; BUT

b) if the ENHANCED setting transform 16 to 0 and 235 to 255 then I would disagree that ENHACED is the proper setting and the setting at STANDARD.

That said, do you know whether ENHANCED is doing a) or b)?




May not be a fair comparison as the BD-60 s/b compared to the S-350 and not the S-550 that you have...

It works correctly when connected directly to the Radiance.


ENHANCED does a)

STANDARD mode seems to be doing the transform you describe as b)



The S350, which I also owns, gives bitrates on it's OSD.

Cheers,

Mark

Mark H:

Appreciate the clarifications...

Slightly off topic and of interest to UK dwellers only but I'm seriously considering the new Panasonic DMR BS850 as a second BR player. I need a Freesat PVR and one with a BR burner it it does have its attactions. One thing I wasn't aware of until recently is that the BBC is apparently going to allow a single BR copy to be made of its broadcast HD material.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/04/welcome_to_some_new_initials_d.html

Cliff

That looks a nice unit - hope the price starts coming down in a few months. However, not sure if I can get freesat. Is there a house/post code checker or some other means that I might be able to determine availability - compass and inclinometer?

My (hopefully) new house has a hill due south and a bit worried that it will be too tall/tree laden to get line of site to the relevant satellites. I approached Sky and they said that I needed to order and have unit installed before they would say whether reception was OK - thats kind of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. I really would like a free survey from an installer before moving in.

http://www.dishpointer.com/

Cliff

Thanks that's useful if a little depressing. Probably do need a survey from an expert in these things.

Sorry, been busy at work.

Joel, I consider the Oppo the best all-around Blu-ray player. For 1080p24 ONLY, I consider the Panasonic a slight improvement. One thing I had not thought about was the display. As it stands today, a single chip 1920x1080p DLP produces the highest spatial resolution possible. A 3-chip DLP has lower spatial, due to panel alignment, but higher temporal resolution. LCOS has lower spatial and temporal resolution.

A 3-chip is great because you don't have to deal with color wheel issues. Its bad becuase panel misalignment is really poor on all of the consumer level 3-chip displays. (LCOS and DLP) A 3-chip DCinema DLP can be aligned, not perfect, but MUCH better than a a consumer display.

The lens is another factor. Does it have uniform foucs? How bad is the chromatic abberation?

Is your display 1920x1080 native?

All of these will play a role in what you can resolve.

The video processor also plays a role. Mark, have you tried bypassing the Radiance, just to ensure it is not doing any damage? I have not used one, so I don't know what it may or may not do.

Speed is all relative. The Panasonic is PS3 fast compared to the Pioneer 09. The PS3 is still the all-around fastest player. The Oppo and LGs load movies faster, but seek track to track (chapter) slower. Menu navigation is also slower on them relative to the PS3.

Figure out what bothers you the least and go for it.

I am speaking with Panasonic on forcing the output color space. I have asked them to at least default to 4:4:4 instead of 4:2:2, but would prefer the user choice.