Optimal settings

[danmiller3]

Hi all -
I apologize if this question has been posed many times.

We just switched from Time Warner Cable in Northeast Ohio (they were absolutely abysmal) to DirecTV. The difference is day and night. We got two H21 boxes. One for our bedroom and one for the living room. The living room is running dual tuner, the bedroom single.

I'm trying to figure out the optimal video/HD settings for the picture. The tech set it up one way but then I adjusted it. Basically, I set the picture in HD to maintain native format and I'm wondering if that is appropriate. I've got a 50" Vizio Plasma and a 42" Vizio LCD.

Are there other settings I should adjust as well? We're running component cables.

Thanks,
--Dan

 

[IcEWoLF]

Not really, but if you are looking to calibrate your TV, visit AVS Forum
You will find many people with the type of TV you have there, just gotta search for the official thread.
I am sure they can point you to the right direction.

 

[jcrandall]

WELCOME to SatelliteGuys!

Native will work great as long as your set can show all the resolutions and you don't mind a delay when changing station due to the resolution change.

I use 720p because most stations I watch are native 720, and my TV is native 720, so it just makes sense not to bother with 1080 for me.

 

[MLBurks]

I have found that on my 720P display, that turning Native OFF and choosing either 720P or 1080i (both look the same on my 720P display) will cause channel changes to be quicker and also SD material will look better than it would if you watched it with Native ON and 480i.

 

[charper1]

I also use NATIVE OFF and 1080i setting on my displays.

 

[atp1313]

I have the exact same TV's as the OP and I use Native On and let the TV figure out what looks best rather than letting the DVR do it for me. Any channel change delays are minimal and not a concern for me. And FWIW, I use HDMI for both of my sets...not a huge difference if any, but wanted to mention JIC.

But one thing that made a very pleasant difference was I recently got the Spyder3TV from Datacolor for calibration and it made a fairly significant difference over the calibration DVD that came from CC when I bought one of the sets there. This handy little tool runs about $200 but it is very easy to run and in about 10-15 minutes per set, you will be very pleased with the results.

Welcome to the forum and DirecTV! Hope you enjoy your experience with Vizio and D* as much as I have. :up

 

[marquitos306]

I have a 46" Bravia 720P, running with the native off and 1080i settings on the reciever.