Standard tv looks dark on Samsung Plasma

[Monrozombi]

I have a Samsung HP-4253. Mrs. Monro and I were watching Chronicles of Narnia on Encore. It was standard tv signal, no HD. She noted that the first fight scene between the fox and the wolves looked very dark. I have noticed this esp when watching standard programming. Should I look at tuning my settings or is this a thing for all HDTVs when viewing non-HD programming?

[Vonner]

It's probably a setting on your TV. A lot of TV's have a different set of settings for each input and I assume that you are using different inputs for your standard TV, HD TV, and DVD.

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by Vonner

It's probably a setting on your TV. A lot of TV's have a different set of settings for each input and I assume that you are using different inputs for your standard TV, HD TV, and DVD.

I have Comcast digital cable and use Monster Component cables as the inputs for video and that comes from the HDbox to the back of the tv. I use an HDMI cable from the dvd player to the tv.

[Pirate]

My old RPTV had a "night mode" that darkened the screen. Do you have something like that?

[Monrozombi]

not that I know of, but I will check when Narnia is over

[limacharliewhiskey]

I have a Samsung 4253 also, and SD tends to look darker than HD, especially if your contrast and brightness settings are set at around the 50-55 level. I crank my settings to the 60-65 level to get a bit more brightness.

One other feature that helps light up scenes better is the DNIe feature. For the first 4 months, I had this option turned off because that was what most people on the AVSForums said to do. I wasn't happy with the darkness of many scenes, so I played around with the settings and turned this option on. It made a huge difference in illuminating dark scenes without having to crank the brightness and contrast settings too high.

Try turning on the DNIe option first. If scenes still look too dark, then adjust the contrast and brightness, or possibly try one of the different video settings. I use the Custom setting mostly, but a lot of people like to use the Movie setting mostly. I use the Movie setting for movies with lots of dark scenes.

[Sehnzeleid]

Personally I hate DNIe, it smears motion in SD, especially on LaserDisc.

[limacharliewhiskey]

Originally Posted by Sehnzeleid

Personally I hate DNIe, it smears motion in SD, especially on LaserDisc.

Are you talking about SD DVDs or SD cable signals? When I've played the DNIe demo mode on SD DVDs, the image looks better to me with the DNIe on, especially in terms of lighting. I guess I haven't noticed the smearing that you mention.

I can't really see the differences with the Noise Reduction and Film Mode options on the TV. Whether I turn these on or off, I can't really see a difference.

But if you're using the Film mode, the DNIe and Film Mode options are grayed out. If you're using the Custom mode, the Film Mode is grayed out. All the options are available in the Dynamic and Standard settings.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Monrozombi

Should I look at tuning my settings or is this a thing for all HDTVs when viewing non-HD programming?

Why don't you try your super power eye sight ya pu.....Wait, wrong website AND wrong thread.

Sorry!

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by limacharliewhiskey

Are you talking about SD DVDs or SD cable signals? When I've played the DNIe demo mode on SD DVDs, the image looks better to me with the DNIe on, especially in terms of lighting. I guess I haven't noticed the smearing that you mention.

I can't really see the differences with the Noise Reduction and Film Mode options on the TV. Whether I turn these on or off, I can't really see a difference.

But if you're using the Film mode, the DNIe and Film Mode options are grayed out. If you're using the Custom mode, the Film Mode is grayed out. All the options are available in the Dynamic and Standard settings.

I'm talking about SD cable. My dvd's i have no problem viewing dark scenes on my dvds. I have an upconverter dvd player, whether or not that makes a difference but I have no complaints. I was watching Fifth Element on my Comcast on Demand and during that I turned the DNIe off and i saw that it make the scene brighter. I have the tv set to Standard mode. Contrast is at 80, Brightness at 50, Sharpness at 50 and Color at 50, Tint is grayed out and Color Tone at Warm1, anything i should change?

Iggy,

Did I say you could come out of your "cave?" Now go back and touch Boy Wonder or sumthin

[limacharliewhiskey]

Originally Posted by Monrozombi

I'm talking about SD cable. My dvd's i have no problem viewing dark scenes on my dvds. I have an upconverter dvd player, whether or not that makes a difference but I have no complaints. I was watching Fifth Element on my Comcast on Demand and during that I turned the DNIe off and i saw that it make the scene brighter. I have the tv set to Standard mode. Contrast is at 80, Brightness at 50, Sharpness at 50 and Color at 50, Tint is grayed out and Color Tone at Warm1, anything i should change?

For SD cable, I don't know if much can really be done to make it look brighter. You do have the Contrast setting pretty high at 80, which most people have set around the 50-65 level. Reducing sharpness helps get rid of mosquito noise in the background, so I'd recommend setting that to around 10-20.

I'd recommend setting all 4 of the video modes (Movie, Custom, Dynamic, Standard) to the same values, and then use the best looking mode for HD, the next best for SD DVD, and then another mode for SD cable. For me, the Standard mode is the least bright of the settings, while the Custom gives me the best brightness and clarity results. That's why I use the Custom mode for my HD and my SD DVDs with bright scenes.

It is kind of a crapshoot for SD cable because the quality really varies from each channel. On my digital cable, the Encore stations look pretty bad, while IFC looks pretty good.

[Iguana Man]

I can send you AVIA if you want Monro'.....

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

I can send you AVIA if you want Monro'.....

Yeah, it sounds like he needs to do a video calibration. Speaking of Avia, my replacement copy arrived in the mail yesterday.

EDIT: Hey Monro', do you use a S-video, Component video, or composite video connection from your cable box to your TV?

Peace...

[sub780lime]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

Yeah, it sounds like he needs to do a video calibration. Speaking of Avia, my replacement copy arrived in the mail yesterday.

EDIT: Hey Monro', do you use a S-video, Component video, or composite video connection from your cable box to your TV?

Peace...

answer

Originally Posted by Monro'

I have Comcast digital cable and use Monster Component cables as the inputs for video and that comes from the HDbox to the back of the tv. I use an HDMI cable from the dvd player to the tv.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

Speaking of Avia, my replacement copy arrived in the mail yesterday.

Peace...

Pizza (delivery) sauce again?

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by sub780lime

answer

Ah, I missed the "Component" in his post above.

One thing he can try is connecting his DVD player to his TV using component video connections and use Avia or DVE to do an initial calibration. Then he can tweak it with actual cable SD video. He should write down his current settings before doing this, though.

Once done, he can reconnect his DVD player to the TV via HDMI and do another calibration or resume his normal viewing habits.

Peace...

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

Ah, I missed the "Component" in his post above.

One thing he can try is connecting his DVD player to his TV using component video connections and use Avia or DVE to do an initial calibration. Then he can tweak it with actual cable SD video. He should write down his current settings before doing this, though.

Once done, he can reconnect his DVD player to the TV via HDMI and do another calibration or resume his normal viewing habits.

Peace...

Tom I will try that with the cables at some point this weekend.

What is Avia and DVE, i'm still a lil slow when it comes to this hardware stuff.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Monrozombi

What is Avia and DVE, i'm still a lil slow when it comes to this hardware stuff.

They're calibration DVDs.

http://www.videoessentials.com/

http://www.ovationmultimedia.com/avia.html