Question About Dvd Source Content And Upscaling

[SpeakToMeNow]

I just bought a pioneer 696 AV and I'm upscaling it via HDMI to my panny 42". When I have it set to upscale to 1080i (my basic default) sometimes I put in a DVD and it downsizes the resolution to 720p or even 580i.

Example: when putting in Monsters inc it downsizes to 580i. If I manually reset the resolution then it gives me black bars at the top and bottom, effectively letterboxing the DVD, but when watching newer DVD's it upscales to 1080i without a problem. The latest season of the Sopranos looks awesome at 1080i, filling the screen perfectly.

I'm just wondering how this all works - is the actual source DVD a lower quality? Why do some DVD's want to play at a lower resolution? Can anyone who understands these mysteries give me a simple explanation as to what's going on?

Thanks.

[aztec]

Correct me if I'm wrong (I often offend people so please excuse me) but it sounds like you are getting confused with aspect ratio, that is, a 16:9 DVD versus a 2.35:1 DVD. With the latter you will get black bars top and bottom.

[dvduser]

It's actually not changing the resolution but the viewable area based upon Aspect Ratio - you'll get a full screen 16:9 image if it was filmed in true 1.78 - when filmed at greater Aspect Ratios than 1.78 the size of bars at the top and bottom will vary depending on what it was filmed in. Do not confuse Resolution with Aspect Ratio.

[SpeakToMeNow]

It's actually not changing the resolution but the viewable area based upon Aspect Ratio - you'll get a full screen 16:9 image if it was filmed in true 1.78 - when filmed at greater Aspect Ratios than 1.78 the size of bars at the top and bottom will vary depending on what it was filmed in. Do not confuse Resolution with Aspect Ratio.

I'm not confused, perhaps just not explaining myself correctly. It is resolution, not aspect ratio. The monsters Inc dvd presents perfectly at 16:9 at a lower resolution. (576i) but if I increase the resolution to 1080i or 720p it presents with bars at the top and bottom.

So using the same source DVD: lower resolution = 16:9 filling the screen, higher resolution = bars at top and bottom.

This is the case with various older DVD's, not just Monsters Inc. My question is: Is that to do with the quality of the source DVD? Why is it some DVD's have no problem upscaling to 1080i via HDMI and some can't seem to upscale to fill the screen unless a lower resolution is selected.

The unit seems to detect the quality of the source dvd and downsize the resolution accordingly. When the DVD loads if it doesn't like 1080i it automatically reduces the resolution - not the aspect ratio. The aspect ratio is set at 16:9 and doesn't change.

So is this something to do with HDMI upscaling and the quality of the source DVD?

Clear enough?

[MELso]

It's a glitch in the Pioneer 696 - for some reason, the upscaling will turn itself off on some PAL discs, so you will need to re-enable it from time to time...

Monsters INC is 1.85:1, so you should see small black bars on the top and bottom of a 16:9 (1.77:1) screen...

[dixitr]

Apsrt from glitch in pioneer, DVDs also come in all sort of flavours.

DVD contains mpeg2 stream, which can be coded at different bit rates. So that is the first point where quality can suffer. A lowe bitrate will result in poorer PQ. Some of the DVD players can show the current video bit rate.

Then there is resolution, as to what resolution the DVD has been encoded.

But the biggest stumbling block usually is poor cine-to-digital transfer, especially in older movies. I have seen DVD's where the studio mastered the DVD from their master VHS !!!

So, while I am not answering the issue with your player - your observation regarding dvd quality variation is on the spot.

[aztec]

So, while I am not answering the issue with your player - your observation regarding dvd quality variation is on the spot.

So... Monsters Inc is a bad quality DVD?

[SpeakToMeNow]

So... Monsters Inc is a bad quality DVD?

All I can tell you is that this will play full screen with no bars at a lower resolution, but when bumping it up to upscale at 1080i it brings in black bars and I don't know why. Same with Grosse Pointe too. (The TV series, not Grosse Pointe Blank the movie). Lower rez means screen is filled, higher rez = black bars and the DVD player seems to know this, it selects the optimum rez on the fly...

The latest season of the Sopranos on the other hand looks and runs just fine no matter what the resolution and with the HDMI upscaling you can almost smell the sweat on Tony Soprano as he lies in his hospital bed.

It seems like this player can detect lower bitrate maybe. It did the same thing with Girl With a Pearl Earring on the weekend - automatically switched the resolution down.

[aztec]

All I can tell you is that this will play full screen with no bars at a lower resolution, but when bumping it up to upscale at 1080i it brings in black bars and I don't know why. Same with Grosse Pointe too. (The TV series, not Grosse Pointe Blank the movie). Lower rez means screen is filled, higher rez = black bars and the DVD player seems to know this, it selects the optimum rez on the fly...

The latest season of the Sopranos on the other hand looks and runs just fine no matter what the resolution and with the HDMI upscaling you can almost smell the sweat on Tony Soprano as he lies in his hospital bed.

It seems like this player can detect lower bitrate maybe. It did the same thing with Girl With a Pearl Earring on the weekend - automatically switched the resolution down.

Does the image appear to be vertically stretched when 16:9? Or is it zoomed in so that the sides have been cropped?