The computer and electronics super geek thread

[Agent-GHQ]

I got this Panasonic TC-P50G25 50" 1080p Plasma HDTV and I'm still seeing a mild to slight grains when watching Blu-Ray movies. Is there a way I can get the images to sharpen or to look razor sharp on this particular TV?

Edited July 25, 2010 by Agent-GHQ

[Vince]

I got this Panasonic TC-P50G25 50" 1080p Plasma HDTV and I'm still seeing a mild to slight grains when watching Blu-Ray movies. Is there a way I can get the images to sharpen or to look razor sharp on this particular TV?

change picture to vivid then adjust with custom setting. seem like all the Panays have the same problem, just bought a second 50' S2 cuz my 2 years old 5085U stopped working, changed setting on both and look pretty good.

I use a DVI outport on my video card, then hook it through a DVI to VGA connecter into TV's VGA port.

I've never had any luck installing drivers on my computers. (It's kind of like trying to drive around Richmond BC without getting lost. Maddening!). So could you walk me through it?

have you try uninstall the video card in safe mode?

in device manager, unstall the video card and restart, let windows figure the setting.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Vince

[CoryHolmes]

have you try uninstall the video card in safe mode?

in device manager, unstall the video card and restart, let windows figure the setting.

No joy . I'm thiiiiiiiiiiiis close to calling in the Geek Squad.

[eugimon]

No joy . I'm thiiiiiiiiiiiis close to calling in the Geek Squad.

So, it could be that explorer is damaged. Try doing a "repair" install of your vista disc.

[azrael]

Few questions and things:

-Have you installed any software or updated Windows, prior to your re-wiring?

-Do you have MagicISO or MagicDisk installed?

-Have you checked for viruses?

-Try this, boot into safe mode, open a command prompt, type in the following (no quotations): "chkdsk c: /f" . What does it report?

-Did you install Vista SP1?

-What happens when you press CTRL-ALT-DEL?

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/itprovistadesktopui/thread/02b7e62c-ac58-479f-b5f8-9ef2b26f5294

So, it could be that explorer is damaged. Try doing a "repair" install of your vista disc.

Try some of the things above before doing a restore/repair.

[Agent-GHQ]

Looked more clear, but I'm still getting that baby grainess!

[VF-19]

Looked more clear, but I'm still getting that baby grainess!

Just how close are you to the TV? You may have gotten the grain down to the minimum, but you're so close that you're able to see the grain still.

[Vince]

Looked more clear, but I'm still getting that baby grainess!

custom setting can help tune it further, it will look better in a week or so, mine we like that too.

[VF-19]

I just got a Samsung P2770HD monitor for my computer. Question: Is there supposed to be a minor halo around text in extreme contrast situations? Or is it something I'm missing? It's hooked to my computer via HDMI.

[Agent-GHQ]

I'm approx. 12 ft away. I wonder if the HDMI cable has any effect to the sharpness?

[VF-19]

I'm approx. 12 ft away. I wonder if the HDMI cable has any effect to the sharpness?

It shouldn't. A HDMI interface is digital. It's either going to work, or it won't work at all. Heck, if you even wanted to, you could cut the cable in two, and splice in a section, and, as long as you didn't make a mistake, the signal will still get through.

[Agent-GHQ]

Rephrase or elaborate what you said about cut the cable in two?

[Vince]

I'm approx. 12 ft away. I wonder if the HDMI cable has any effect to the sharpness?

what is the sharpness set to, lower it will help. i have brightness at 60, contrast at 40, and sharpness at 80, HD signal look pretty good. since we have pretty much the same panel, they should behave similarly. after the first couple of week I noticed the image is better, so there might even be a burn in period?

P.S. Is that the 3D BD Samsung you got there?

Edited July 17, 2010 by Vince

[VF-19]

Rephrase or elaborate what you said about cut the cable in two?

It's a digital signal. In theory, you could cut the cable, splice in a piece, and it will still work, with no difference from the un-spliced cable. With an analog cable (S-video for example), you could splice the cable, but you WILL loose signal strength due to the increased distance.

With HDMI there is a distance limit, but it will work just fine up to that point, and then it won't work at all.

[David Hingtgen]

Most TV's are set way too sharp from the factory. "Vivid" will only make it worse. Want to make any upscaled DVD look utterly horrible? Set a TV to "vivid".

IMHO, any and every "feature" on a TV, only highlights flaws and artificially changes the image. If you want it to look the best, turn EVERYTHING off that you can.

Inducing contrast and edges only magnifies the flaws that are already there.

PS--what exact movies are you watching? If it was FILMED, then there will be grain. It it's 100% CGI from Pixar, then it's possible to be grain-free. But so long as there's actual film in a camera at some point, grain will occur. (and even digital cameras still induce noise--the only way to have PERFECT clarity is to be 100% CG rendered from scratch)

[Agent-GHQ]

Vince, I'll try that configuration as recomended. Yes, its the 7.0 HT-C6730W but it doesn't say 3D on it though. Thanks!

VF-19, Oh okay. I see what you're saying now. Thanks!

[Agent-GHQ]

If you want it to look the best, turn EVERYTHING off that you can.

What do you mean? Give example!

PS--what exact movies are you watching? If it was FILMED, then there will be grain. It it's 100% CGI from Pixar, then it's possible to be grain-free. But so long as there's actual film in a camera at some point, grain will occur. (and even digital cameras still induce noise--the only way to have PERFECT clarity is to be 100% CG rendered from scratch)

Terminator Salvation, Dante's Inferno, Transformers, AVP, 300 etc..

[eugimon]

What do you mean? Give example!

Terminator Salvation, Dante's Inferno, Transformers, AVP, 300 etc..

seriuosly? All those movies have TONS of film grain. Go throw in something by Pixar and then tell us if you're still seeing grain on your set.

[Agent-GHQ]

Yes, I was serious because it can mean many things! As for the movies, I will browse for something by Pixar to see the effects.

[eugimon]

Yes, I was serious because it can mean many things! As for the movies, I will browse for something by Pixar to see the effects.

it doesn't help to say your picture is "grainy" when the movies you're watching are grainy to begin with.

[Agent-GHQ]

Well that's the thing I misunderstood between certain Blu-Ray movies and how they are filmed versus the ones that are 100% CGI from Pixar. So excuse my ignorances in this particular. Thanks to all whom contributed, I now understand and have identify the problem.

[BeyondTheGrave]

I got this Panasonic TC-P50G25 50" 1080p Plasma HDTV and I'm still seeing a mild to slight grains when watching Blu-Ray movies. Is there a way I can get the images to sharpen or to look razor sharp on this particular TV?

http://www.tweaktv.com/

It'll get you in the ball park.

Edited July 19, 2010 by BeyondTheGrave

[CoryHolmes]

Few questions and things:

-Have you installed any software or updated Windows, prior to your re-wiring?

-Do you have MagicISO or MagicDisk installed?

-Have you checked for viruses?

-Try this, boot into safe mode, open a command prompt, type in the following (no quotations): "chkdsk c: /f" . What does it report?

-Did you install Vista SP1?

-What happens when you press CTRL-ALT-DEL?

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/itprovistadesktopui/thread/02b7e62c-ac58-479f-b5f8-9ef2b26f5294

Try some of the things above before doing a restore/repair.

No MagicISO or anything like that. The last program I installed was the iPad converter software linked above.

Chkdsk reports that the volume cannot be tested and asked if .I wanted to schedule one for the next reboot. No to SP1 and I get the task manager when I ctr-alt-del.

Would pitching the computer over my balcony do any good?

[Agent-GHQ]

http://www.tweaktv.com/

It'll get you in the ball park.

Thank you kind Sir!

[shiroikaze]

Would pitching the computer over my balcony do any good?

Do you have multiple ports on your video card? If so, have you tried the other port? Have you tried using System Restore and restoring to a previous state?

[David Hingtgen]

What do you mean? Give example!

Stuff to turn off:

Anything labled "enhancer".

Anything labled "adjuster".

Anything labled "auto".

Anything labled "dynamic".

It'll vary TV-by-TV, and brand-by-brand. But in short--if your TV has a "movie" mode, start from there. Go through all your picture options--if it can be turned "off", do so. If not, pick "low".

Frankly, you should have nothing more than the basic contrast, brightness, tint, sharpness controls to actually fiddle with, same as a TV from the 70's. Everything else is junk, and should be OFF. (all those extra things also introduce lag, if you play games). A lot of people who complain of lag, often have a lot of those things turned on or set to high--the TV has to do extra processing to do those things, and that introduces delays in rendering the frames. You want to TV to do as little work as possible, and simply show what it's being sent--whether from a Blu-Ray or antenna or PS3.

[azrael]

Chkdsk reports that the volume cannot be tested and asked if .I wanted to schedule one for the next reboot. No to SP1 and I get the task manager when I ctr-alt-del.

Did you reboot and allow chkdsk to run?

[CoryHolmes]

Did you reboot and allow chkdsk to run?

I did. I didn't see anything, so maybe I missed it.

[Chewie]

Get a Geek Squad calibration. Best $300 you'll spend on top of of the cost of the tv.

[anime52k8]

I just noticed that Google changed their image search page again. the new layout looks like balls, does anyone know how to revert it back to the old layout?

[Agent-GHQ]

Stuff to turn off:

Anything labled "enhancer".

Anything labled "adjuster".

Anything labled "auto".

Anything labled "dynamic".

It'll vary TV-by-TV, and brand-by-brand. But in short--if your TV has a "movie" mode, start from there. Go through all your picture options--if it can be turned "off", do so. If not, pick "low".

Frankly, you should have nothing more than the basic contrast, brightness, tint, sharpness controls to actually fiddle with, same as a TV from the 70's. Everything else is junk, and should be OFF. (all those extra things also introduce lag, if you play games). A lot of people who complain of lag, often have a lot of those things turned on or set to high--the TV has to do extra processing to do those things, and that introduces delays in rendering the frames. You want to TV to do as little work as possible, and simply show what it's being sent--whether from a Blu-Ray or antenna or PS3.

Much appreciated there!

[David Hingtgen]

Trouble-shooting for someone else, but not having much luck---his PC keeps resetting while trying to boot. Here's the scenario:

Has an HP P6110Y. Recently installed an XFX 5750 (and a new Corsair PSU)--maybe 2 weeks ago. Everything was great. This afternoon, came back to apartment and heard the PC whirring away---the graphics card fan was SCREAMING. Had left the PC in 'sleep' like always that morning before coming home again. PC was still on, but utterly unresponsive, had to use the surge protector switch to turn it off.

Now, PC will power on for about 3 secs, beep once, then shut off. NOTHING appears on the monitor. It will keep attempting this cycle if you don't cut the power.

Now, HP's own site says this PC will shut itself down if it's too hot---but with no notice/warning at boot? And why didn't it do so when he was away when the gfx fan was screaming? And most importantly of all---how/why could a graphics card get hot when the PC was sleeping? Or even if it somehow came out of sleep, it sure shouldn't have gotten hot while just idling away.

[David Hingtgen]

Minor update: The monitor itself definitely works, for it will do its quick R-G-B/inputs self-test, then do the "monitor preparing to shut down" sequence a second later---it's just not getting anything from the PC.

Second update: physically pulled GFX card---same symptoms.

Third update: resetting CMOS via jumpers seemed to have worked. Now, the question is--what caused it in the first place? And why did resetting CMOS fix it?

[eugimon]

Minor update: The monitor itself definitely works, for it will do its quick R-G-B/inputs self-test, then do the "monitor preparing to shut down" sequence a second later---it's just not getting anything from the PC.

try resetting the motherboard bios settings. There should be a jumper on the motherboard that manually lets you do this. Make sure stuff like memory and cpy and whatever else is secured properly.

[David Hingtgen]

Event log has numerous 300, 302, 351 errors---the most common being "USB mini port driver for input device"-----but seriously, refusing to boot because of that? (and running the GFX fan on uber-max for no apparent reason this afternoon) I don't even think that PC really has anything on USB, other than the basic keyboard, mouse, and printer---none are using mini ports, all are plugged in directly to the motherboard's USB ports I think.