Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater DVD Picture Grainy

Here is my dilemma, I just upgraded to a 34 inch Sony 16:9 Hi definition monitor TV from a 36 inch Sony 4:3 Hi Def XBR set and now find certain DVDs which played crystal clean on my old TV are grainy and not the video quality I’d expect from a DVD.

I have a progressive scan Sony DVD player hooked up to the TV by component video monster cable. I have gone through both the TV and DVD manual and played with the settings but haven’t been able to solve the problem.


What could be wrong here?

I’ve heard that of DVD players that up convert traditional DVD’s to 720 P 1080i, do I need an up converting player for my TV due to its 16:9 screen? or should I try to replace the Monster cable and see if that solves the issue.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with the TV as some DVD’s do play crystal clean and Hi-Def cable is also super clean.

Any suggestions/direction to fix this issue would be appreciated.

Highly doubt it's your cables.

First thing to do is to calibrate your screen w/ a DVD like Avia or DVE (Digital Video Essentials, I think). Check Amazon. It's likely that each tv was calibrated differently, so when you introduce the same source material via the same type of input (component), it'd look different.

It's analagous to getting the Axioms. Because they are detailed speakers, you may notice things that you didn't hear before, which can be good AND bad. Good recordings will sound great, but bad recordings will sound worse.

It may be also that your DVD player is so-so, or at the least, the source material (DVD) is so-so.

if your previous TV was already Hi Def, it should not look any different at all. I personally am not sure why you even bothered getting a new TV, the difference between an HD 36" 4:3 TV and an HD 34" 16:9 is maybe half an inch in widescreen picture size. And your 4:3 image is now approximately 6" smaller.

About the grain, it is likely a setting that is not correct, not a fault of your TV or your DVD player. But I have never heard of a setting that adds grain. Are you sure you just did not watch an excessively grainy movie?

Snippy - I loved my 36 inch XBR but it was way too heavy to move and thus I sold the cumbersome set, I got the 34 inch as it weighs 194 lbs as compared the xbr weighing over 300 lbs.

I watched Les Miserables and the picture wasn't so great, I do notice that color to be a bit different in this set as compared to the XBR.

Move your gear further back from the beach..

I'm curious to know which discs you find grainy.

It could be that the film was intended to look grainy. With your old tv everything looked the same...only so-so...now with your new tv they look as they were supposed to. Some are sharp and clean, where as others are grainy.

Just an idea.

Check the default settings for filters.

Some monitors, by default, add so much edge enhancement that it could be characterized as "grainy" by some people. Don't forget that a sharpness control, in general, can only add noise to make things "appear" sharper.... generally, you're best off not having it higher then 1/3 up on a CRT.

Frequently, turning off the enhancements and sharpness cause the picture to appear soft at first, but generally you become accustomed and if you then turn up the sharpness, it appears artificial and less "film-like".

Britrover,

Check in the settings for the new set itself. My 2002 Sony 36" XBR 800 has three preset settings in the setup menu for "Reality" and "Clarity" on an X / Y axis (which can be modified to suit you)...I am not at home right now or I could tell you exactly where...

The settings for the "Reality" and "Clarity" are probably different between the 36" and the 34" sets...

I had my set ISF calibrated and had this disabled in the settings...I know that before I had it calibrated that modifying the "Reality" as opposed to the "Clarity" (or vice versa) could make images look unusual...Check in the manual for more...

The previous advice is very valid...Get AVIA (or other disk) and set up your CRT that way...but before you do that, try setting the "Reality" and "Clarity" to 0,0 and then use the disk...between the Sharpness settings and these settings, you should be able to make a big difference.

WhatFurrer

I have a 36" XBR ,And you're right it is a bugger to move,but it's weight is 240lbs.It has a great picture.

Thanks for all the input thus far , I need a small favor:

I played – ‘ The Matrix ’, the last night after tweaking all settings (Edge enhancement, sharpness etc) and although the picture is much better on this particular DVD the picture remains grainy/not clean.

I watched the first 20 minutes or so of this disc and the picture is not clean, I hope I can explain clearly the beginning of the movie has black as primary color a lot of low light scenes and this is where I see the flaw grainy picture.

Can any fellow member pop in this DVD and run on their set to see what they determine?

My thought is either the DVD quality is bad or my TV has a problem with processing black or low lit scenes.

I really appreciate the help as might need to exchange this set from Circuit City.