720p?

[cabosn]

I hooked up my hr10-250 tivo to my 40 inch KV-40XBR800 sony hd tv and almost everything works. The hr10-250 allows you to scroll 480i, 480p, 720p to 1080i. When I do, the 720p displays a kalidiscope of mish mash while the other modes all work and make sense. I'm sure at least one of the programs was originally 720p.
I assume the sony automatically detects the display mode - I don't see any manual selection capability. Does the hr10-250 convert any incoming mode to the selected outgoing mode? I.e. if I receive 720p ota and select 1080i for viewing, does the box convert it?
Anyway, what is the deal? - no 720p - help me Mr. Wizards!

SN

 

[DarrellP]

Your set probably will not accept a 720p signal, most HD sets do not. Put you stb to 1080i for HD. The stb will convert any 720p it receives to output at 1080i so your TV can accept it.

 

[Neutron]

My RCA D52W20 will not accept a 720p signal as far as I can see.

My best friend has a 51" Sony and the manual says that it will accept a 720p signal.

I thought most RPTV's upconverted everything to 1080i anyways?

 

[DarrellP]

I thought most RPTV's upconverted everything to 1080i anyways?

They do, but some units cannot accept a 720p signal. It's called cost cutting, it makes the unit cheaper.

 

[squicken]

My current TV's manual says it will accept 720p and convert it to 1080i, but it doesn't seem to be able to do it. This seems to be a problem with 1080i fixed. It seems 720p fixed don't have trouble down-scaling a 1080i signal. This shouldn't bother you, as you could just select 1080i on the TIVO. What bugs me is most quality HDTVs have better scalers than STBs, so you get a slightly inferior PQ.

 

[mini1]

I would think an any HD XBR could deal with a 720P signal. those are not "cost cutting TV's". I have a 2004 CRT XBR that accepts every HD, digital, or analog signal. but when an incoming signal is 720p it automaticlly converts it to 1080i, and the best part is you don't even know its doing it.

 

[cabosn]

Okay, the consensus is the XBR can't handle 720p even though it explicitly says it can. I am now shopping around for a DLP to better display 9:16 format and notice that the native resolution is normally 720p. I would hate to find out the Hr10-250 Tivo unit is actually incapable of 720p and then do a 720p to 1080i conversion follwed by a 1080i to 720p conversion in order to make the thing work. I guess I am looking for conformation that the Hr10-250 really works in 720p mode.

SN

 

[Ken F]

cabos,

It does. That said, the Samsung DLP does a better job with 1080i->720p conversion than the HDTV Tivo, imo. Remember only ESPN-HD, ABC-HD, and FOX-HD (coming September) use 720p; everyone else uses the 1080i format that must be converted to 720p for display.

Note Samsung plans to release a 1080p DLP this fall for the best of both worlds. The 1080p DLP is expected to debut November in a 61" size at a MSRP of between $6000 and $7000 (perhaps $5000-$5500 through a group buy). As always, new technologies command a premium; within two years, I expect 1080p DLPs will be available at prices comparable to current 720p DLP models.

Although there isn't likely to be much native 1080p content for some time yet, 1080p displays will de-interlace 1080i content to 1080p, just like progressive scan DVD players de-interlace 480i DVDs to 480p for a significantly improved picture. I've de-interlaced 1080i content to 1080p on my PC, and it is a significant improvement.

 

[cabosn]

Ken,

Well, 1080p solves that problem. Thanks for inflating my expectations - now I gotta have it.

SN

 

[hancox]

I've de-interlaced 1080i content to 1080p on my PC, and it is a significant improvement.

Yeah - my jaw dropped when I saw the T2 UE 1080p WM9 demo.

 

[Ken F]

Actually, I thought the T2 1080p content stunk. For some reason, T2 is just a softer film. If you base your expectations on that, I think you'll be completely blown away by 1080p. Microsoft had a ScoobyDoo2 1080p demo clip that I thought was pretty good, but it's since been removed from their web site.

 

[slacker9876]

Okay, the consensus is the XBR can't handle 720p even though it explicitly says it can. I am now shopping around for a DLP to better display 9:16 format and notice that the native resolution is normally 720p. I would hate to find out the Hr10-250 Tivo unit is actually incapable of 720p and then do a 720p to 1080i conversion follwed by a 1080i to 720p conversion in order to make the thing work. I guess I am looking for conformation that the Hr10-250 really works in 720p mode.

Confirmation or validation? As you can see here it is fully supported by the HR10-250 and the Folks at TCF boast of how wonderful it is ... man I need a new TV. Just wanted to answer your question.

 

[cabosn]

Slacker,

Yeah, that site gives me my Hr10-250 manual which says when you set it to 720p, it puts out 720p. Then my manual for my Sony TV says when you input 720p, it is faithfully displayed on the screen. The problem is - it is not. So the question is what up? Now, if everyone else in the world said they have exactly the same problem with their Sony XBR I would suspect it was the TV. If everyone said they had the same problem with the Hr10-250 I would suspect it was the Hr10-250. And if someone said they had the same problem until they toggled some obscur command deep within a hidden menu, I would forever be in their debt.

SN