Q&A # 120 - June 15, 1999

Staff

Q I am in the process of buying a projection TV, and I'm looking for reviews on any of these products. My top pick was the Sony KP-61V75 because it has a Twin View which a marriage saver. I heard that Hitachi make a better TV, but the only one I can find that has this feature is the Hitachi 60SDX88B although it is $1200 more. I can also get the the Hitachi 60SBX78B for almost what I am paying for the Sony.

A I have not seen the Hitachi, but I have seen the Sony. The Twin View does not appear to run at full speed like your normal TV. It seems to skip frames. This feature is even nicer in their upcoming 16x9 sets because they are not squeezing the picture. Sony sets have been easier to calibrate (ISF calibration) and offer the ability to correct the color decoder. They also offer component video inputs for DVD.

Q I'm thinking of replacing my old Runco line doubler with a line multiplier. That is, one that can double, triple, and quadruple the scan lines of my Runco 900 projector. At first I was attracted by Dwin's Transcanner, but after Stacey Spears reviewed it, I've decided not to consider it. Now I'm left with Runco's VFC-4400/Multifilm Video Format Controller. Has anybody reviewed it yet? If not, please review it soon. Do you know of any other line multiplier?

A The Dwin TranScanner is a very fine video processor. There are only two concerns I really have with it: First, the component inputs have a clamping problem. This is being fixed with a new IC. Secondly, DSS has some pretty ugly artifacts. I have since learned that DSS is a really poor source that looks bad with all video processors. I think you should give the Dwin a chance and at least find a dealer where you can get a demo. As far as the Runco goes, I know they licensed Faroudja's doubler for one of their processors, and would do Faroudja doubling and Runco quadrupling. They were able to use the Faroudja Picture Plus on both ends, and the quality is pretty good.

Q It is my understanding that there will be D/A converters for non-Digital TVs as Digital TV broadcasts become more common. These should improve the picture quality by displaying ~450 lines of resolution on your analog TV. But, It is my understanding that newer analog TVs today can display 800 lines or more of resolution. Using DVD or S-Video inputs, will there be D/A converters capable of converting HDTV signals (=>720 lines) to 800 lines on analog TVs? I have not heard anybody address this issue so far and it has been a question bothering me. Can you help?

A TVs can claim they display 800 lines of resolution, but most really can't do it. My Toshiba TW40F80 makes such a claim, but when I display a sweep test pattern, it goes blank at around 5.5 MHz (450 lines) I cannot get the full detail from DVD. Current HDTV decoders like the one from Panasonic will down convert the 1080i and 720p signals to 480i (our current standard), and it does look better than regular TV broadcasts. There are no ghosts or video noise. There is also the issues of horizontal and vertical resolution, and this is a confusing topic. 720p is actually harder to display than 1080i. With 1080i, there are anywhere from 540 - 1080 horizontal scanning lines displayed, depending on motion. The average is something like 700. With 720p there are 720 scanning lines at all times. 1080i scans at 33 kHz, while 720p requires a higher scanning frequency in the 40 kHz range. So the 720p and 1080i will be downconverted to 480i for today's NTSC.

Q Assume a 20 foot run length. What do you recommend as the best coax cable for the following:

Composite video?
Component video?
HDTV video?

A Monster's M1000V and Video 3 can easily do that length. Canare also makes video cables for the pro industry, and that is what I use from the Dwin TranScanner to the HDP-500 projector.

Q I just purchased a Marantz DR700 CD recorder and have a question that perhaps you can help me with. I was told and have read that with CD-R, although you cannot erase, you can mark a mistake track with an "auto skip" code that will make the playback machine ignore it. Problem is, my owner's manual makes no reference as to how this is done on my recorder. Can you tell me how this is performed?

A This feature is available on the Pioneer recorders and should be on the Marantz as well, so you have to check and see if the model you are considering supports the feature. If you use a different player to play the disk, that player has to support the feature too for it to work. Some do and some do not. I do not know how to use the feature on your particular Marantz model.

Q I own a Hitachi PC-DVD player on a Pentium II 350 Mhz system. Being on a tight budget as a student, I was hoping to use this as a DVD player for my television through the purchase of a dedicated hardware decoder board which can output video via S-Video output and Dolby Digital sound to my amplifier. The board itself, however, seems not to have a DD coaxial digital output and only has the typical male/female phono jack outputs. In order to fully utilize Dolby Digital AC-3, must one always use a coaxial output?

A If the phono jack is a digital output then you can get a phono-to-coax converter. If the phono(s) are the analog outputs, then you will need another decoder that has the AC-3 output. AC-3 can be on either Toslink (optical) or coax. The Panasonic LD-10 Palm Theater has a phono output, and they ship a special phono-to-optical cable to get the AC-3 signal from there. You might contact your decoder card maker and ask them if they can supply such a cable.

Q I have a Pioneer Elite Pro 100 projection TV and an RCA 5451 satellite receiver. I'm having a problem with the picture quality. I have it hooked up directly with S-Video, but when the picture is close up on something and it then moves, it gives a digital shadowing for a split second. I've replaced the LNB, hooked up a different receiver, switched out cables, and I don't know what's causing it. RCA's service man doesn't really know what might be wrong, and I'm starting to go crazy. It's been doing this since I bought it.

A Have you tried the receiver with a second TV? Or have you tried another input on your Pioneer TV? It could be some digital processing that is happening in your TV. DSS is also sourced from composite, then converted to component before being broadcast. The quality is pretty bad, and the artifacts of DSS really mess up video processors like line doublers. Do you see this artifact on all channels? PPV are the highest quality channels, and network feeds tend to be the worst with artifacts.

Q As main speakers, I run a pair of Sonus Faber Concertos matched with a pair of REL Strata subwoofers. I use the Concertos full range, with the subs connected via speaker level outputs and rolling off above 45 Hz. I also have the LFE from my processor connected to the subs for the odd DVDs that have a separate LFE channel. The Concertos are physically mounted on top of the subs with slabs of marble and TipToes to provide some measure of isolation. In effect, I have created a full range floor stander with powered subs. I am shortly moving to a house with a much larger room, and I am wondering whether I might be better off switching to proper full range speakers. Mirage OM-6 or used B&W Matrix 801 are possible contenders, but the questions is not so much about individual speakers, but whether this theory makes sense. I listen to music of all types (including large scale classical) and
movies.

A There is no full range speaker that I know of that can really go down to the 20 Hz range like a good subwoofer. I think you are just fine with your Concertos and associated subs. You might try using the pre-outs from your preamplifier, if they are available, rather than speaker-level outputs, to your subwoofers. If you have a preamplifier with only one set of outputs, you can use Y adapters to split the output between the power amplifiers and the subwoofers. You can also use cassette recorder output loops, but this would not give you any subwoofer volume control from the preamplifier. In this case, you would have to adjust the subwoofer volume from the volume control on the subwoofer itself.

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