Upscaling DVD - Panasonic DVD-S52K

Introduction

With a new LCD HDTV, it quickly became obvious how poorly standard definition (SD) video displays. The DVD player in use (the Panasonic SC-HT75) output only 480i, which did not help the situation at all when watching DVDs. At the time I was shopping (January 2007), I did not feel high definition DVD (either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray) were either mature enough or cheap enough to pursue. Of course, there was no telling which format would “win” over the other either. So I looked for an interim, inexpensive solution.

Upscaling DVD - Panasonic DVD-S52K

After some moderate research online, and shopping at Amazon.com, I settled on the Panasonic DVD-S52K. This player had good ratings and an affordable price (under $100) for an upscaling 1080i player. The 1080p was my goal, but at the time those players were more than I wanted to spend on an interim solution. 1080i would have to be good enough. I purchased the DVD-S52K on January 13, 2007 for $23 shipped after various gift cards, coupons, etc., from Amazon.com. The Amazon retail price at the time was $87.99.

Review

I have to say I was extremely excited to get it because I envisioned a total change in my DVD viewing experience. I quickly learned it was little better than my 480i experience. Better, but not much. I was glad I only paid $23. And of course I convinced myself that after all the research and spending money that it was “much, much better and truly worth it!”

The player is sleek, light weight, and thin. It did have a typically large DVD-player footprint. I had no trouble setting it up to use with the Sharp Aquos and the SC-HT75. I setup HDMI to the Sharp and composite from the Sharp to the SC-HT75. My sound setup was not optimal at all. This meant I had NO 5.1 surround sound for DVD now either (see the SC-HT75 blog) because the SC-HT75 does not have digital inputs. I decided to live with the situation until it could be improved.

I never had trouble with any DVDs or CDs. The player requires DVD-R4.7 or DVD-RW. DVD+R and DL are not supported when recorded on personal computer. The player can handle major audio (MP3, WMA) and video (JPEG, MPEG4, WMA) codecs. The player makes use of HDMI 1.2a standard and has one HDMI output. It also has one Component, Composite, and S-Video outputs.

Observations

It loads fast, plays quiet, and has many software features. The setup menu could easy get invoked on the fly. This was important when setting up aspect ratio for a particular movie. Although WAF doing this was very, very low!

Conclusion

The Panasonic DVD-S52K is a decent 1080i upscaling DVD player. With a price discount it could work for the average DVD viewer. It certainly will not impress the most video discriminating folks. A year later (February 2008) and it’s unlikely there is a reason to purchase this player given the new technology at more affordable prices.

The BIG Screen - Sharp Aquos LC-46D62U

Introduction

By 2005 we owned a home, were married, had a baby and found an invention that saved our TV - TIVO. Prior to purchasing Tivo, we seriously considered dropping cable TV. We had used Netflix successfully for about 2 years by then and it served our needs fine. The only thing cable seemed to offer was New York Yankee baseball games and the Sopranos. However, Tivo opened new doors - shows we could not normally watch due to time. We loved Tivo. We still use our Tivo - Series 2 dual tuner. And it worked great on our Sony 32″ CRT TV.

By 2006 I was getting ancy. I wanted a “big screen.” The flat kind I saw everywhere else. I researched, crunched the numbers, and auditioned many in the stores and in friends’ homes. I finally settled on the Sharp Aquos 46″ LC-46D62U.

Sharp Aquos LC-46D62U

The Sharp Aquos 46″ LC-46D62U was an upgrade from the 42″ Sharp I was prepared to buy in the store. While looking at the 42″, I noticed the 46″ was only priced a few hundred dollars more. If I recall correctly, the 42″ was about $2,000 and the 46″ was $2,600 - so I guess more than just a few hundred more! But, amazingly, it was my wonderful wife Jennifer who pushed me to get the 46″. And for once I did not argue with her. Her point - with that much money on the line you better buy something you’re going to enjoy and not regret for a long, long time. How right she was. I only wish I bought the 52″!

I purchased the 46″ from Best Buy in Orange, CT on December 26, 2006 for $2,600. Within 30 days I was able to price match the 46″ at Best Buy to an add in CompUSA. Best Buy gave me a 110% price match. However, they made a mistake and price matched CompUSA’s 42″ model at $2,200 instead of the 46″ $2,400. So I made out really well on the price (at the time!). Further, it was purchased on a Best Buy credit card with 36 months no interest.

The LC-46D62U is light weight at about 80 pounds with the stand. It is easy to setup. I had the set connected to a Comcast Motorola 6412 III set top box (STB) and tuned the QAM tuner for over the cable unencrypted HD shows. The picture quality was amazing and showed how truly poor SD content really is. I quickly learned the poor picture was not a function of my TV, but a function of the incoming source. For instance, football games in HD are not all created equally. CBS seemed to have very poor quality, whereas FOX had the best. NBC sitcoms filmed in HD looked great, and ABC serial shows (i.e., Gray’s Anatomy) looked terrible in faux HD.

AVS Forums and BANDING

It was at this time I found the great web site AVS Forums. The information here was invaluable in setting up my TV set. However, I also read extensively about the flaw in this particular line of Sharps - BANDING! You can read all about banding on many web sites, including AVS Forum, so I will not repeat all of it. Briefly, there appear to be defined differences in backlight at certain areas of the screen creating noticeable bands.

Sharp customer service claimed they were aware of the problem and offered to replace the set at their cost and extend the warranty on the new set. They were going to send a pre-screened set specifically to ensure this defect was not present in the exchanged set. Four weeks later the new set arrived and…still bands. However they were 90% less noticeable. So, I decided to just live with it. It was only noticeable during gray screen tests (mostly). Whereas the previous set was noticeable during any pan-and-scan during playback.

Review

So, I have now owned the set for 11 months and do not regret it at all. It has lived through two moves and a baby. Our daughter has left permanent finger and hand prints on the LCD screen. I found it is worse trying to clean it. This is only really noticeable when the set is off, or during black scenes. 90% of the time I can’t see them.

The picture quality is as good or better than anything else I’ve seen. 1080p at 60hrz, 4ms refresh rate, and 2,000 native (10,000 dynamic) contrast ratio . Blacks are sharp. Colors are bright. Refresh rates are great. Fast action is smooth. Even the sound (typically a criticism of the set) sounds good to me for a TV. The piano black finish is sleek looking and not nearly as distracting after a few weeks. The remote is even pretty decent.

Observations

There are only two HDMI inputs. This is somewhat limiting for those who do not have a receiver with HDMI inputs. Although it is fine for a cable STB and DVD player. But, for those with more components, like gaming systems, the HDMI inputs are lacking. There are five inputs shared between two HDMI inputs, two component inputs, three composite inputs, one S-Video input, and four audio inputs.

This set is HDMI is 1.2 compliant. HDMI 1.3a become the standard just a few months after I made this purchase. So the set cannot leverage the two-way communication in the 1.3a spec. Not a huge deal.

All buttons are on TOP of the set. This is GREAT if you have a little baby running around obsessed with pushing all the buttons on all the electronics in the house.

At the time, the QAM tuner, contrast ratio, response rate, and P (progressive scan, rather than interlaced scan) made this set the leader for the price range and size. After about 12 months the set dropped about 50% in price after newer models (D64, D84, and D94) hit the market. Banding continues to be at least an annoyance on many sets, if not present in all sets in the D62 and D64 46″ and 52″ models.

Conclusion

All-in-all this continues to be one of the best purchases I have ever made. We enjoy this set every day. HD content via cable and HD-DVD looks amazing. SD upconverted content looks nearly as clear and crisp. I recommend the set to everyone I talk to about HDTVs. I have a feeling this set will have a place in our home for a long, long time to come.

The First Surround Sound - Panasonic SC-HT75

Introduction

We moved into our first house in February 2002. Now out of an apartment, we had the room and privacy to expand beyond TV speakers. The new rage (well, years old at this point, but new to us) was a “surround sound” system. 5.1 channels delivering sounds akin to a movie theater. What could be better!?

Panasonic SC-HT75

So, after some brief shopping around (i.e., 10 minutes in Circuit City looking for something affordable (read CHEAP)) we were steered towards the Panasonic Home Theater in a Box system SC-HT75. I was not knowledgeable at the time about receivers and speakers, but it all looked too expensive for us anyway. The Panasonic system looked pretty cool for the price. We purchased it from Circuit City for $399 plus tax.

I got it home and quickly set it up. It was painless. I had true 5.1 surround sound for the first time in my life and I liked it - ney, LOVED IT. Just to digress for a second, the Panasonic SC-HT75 receiver houses an FM/AM tuner, 400W RMS amplifier (46W/channel and 170W passive sub), and a 5 disc carousel DVD/CD changer. The inputs include Composite IN for TV, VCR, and AUX. The outputs are only composite and S-Video. The 5 surround speakers are 60W at 6ohm and the sub is 200W. All speakers are hard-wired on the back with typical lightweight speaker wire. They connect to the receiver with press-down inputs.

Review

I tested the system for the first time with the DVD version of Black Hawk Down. WOW. It sounded great! The surround worked great and when pushed, the speakers kept up without distorting too badly during movies and music.

Now that I have something new to compare this to, I can post-evaluate the system. In the space (20′x15′x8′ or 2400 cf) the sound was good. I would say the presence was nice, not over or underwhelming. Dialog was clear, but the front sound stage was not very robust. The subwoofer was present, but not very awe-inspiring. For an entry-level system it was great for my needs.

Observations

1) This unit does not include Component video inputs (the SC-HT95 does though) and 2) does not have have digital audio inputs (S/PDIF). So, regarding #1, there was only SD 480i output via Composite to the TV. Best case, with the SC-HT95 and Component is only 480p though. I was using a Sony 32″ CRT anyway, so no loss there. It became noticeable when I upgraded to the Sharp Aquos 46″ LCD HDTV. Regarding #2, no digital audio inputs (S/PDIF Coaxial or Toslink) means no 5.1 surround during cable TV or VCR playback. So, at the time I didn’t realize it, but that is why I never heard anything coming out the 2 rear channels. I spent hours trying to get this to work. Four years later and now I know why. Duh!

The receiver has a 5 disc changer via carousel as previously mentioned. I was concerned first because I thought “gee, carousel = many moving parts and can potentially more easily break.” However, I never had a problem with the unit. I will say the carousel in general was painfully slow to change and load. When trying to figure out what was in each slot it could take five minutes to move through all five. And CD random play was just pointless because of the lag. The 5 disc changer became one of those neat options that is more trouble than it’s worth and we ended up using only slot 1 95% of the time.

The speaker wires are hardwired into the speakers. I’m sure I could have toyed with opening up the speaker to change them out, but this systems limits the novice owner (and let’s face it - if you’re buying this system, you’re a novice) from swapping out the wires for longer or better gauge. Push-downs would have been better on the speakers than hardwired. The passive subwoofer is very limiting and became frustrating. The subwoofer is not powered. It too has regular speaker wire hardwired into it. So, 1) you cannot upgrade the system to a powered subwoofer (that I am aware of) and 2) this subwoofer is useless on any receiver that requires a powered subwoofer. So, to point #1, there is no viable subwoofer upgrade path. And to point #2, once I got my nice new Onkyo receiver, I could leverage the other 5 speakers, but was out of luck with the passive subwoofer. Bottom line, this is not a system you can build upon - it is a use-it-while-it-lasts and then sell system.

Finally, and this was never a big issue, but the FM/AM tuner and antenna never really worked too well. FM played OK. AM was horrible. However, I cannot entirely blame the tuner, because I believe the issue was the antenna placements. The antennas sit in the back of the unit, of course, and I could never find a sweet spot for them in the entertainment console in which this unit sat.

Conclusion

All-in-all, I gratefully thank my wife, Jennifer, for purchasing this for me for my birthday! We enjoyed this system every night in our home and never had a single problem. It was so nice I bought one for my father and he still (January 2008) uses it every day too. For now, mine will be retired to another room or maybe as a hand-me-down to a friend. It’s definitely worth keeping for a secondary solution in my home.

The Home Theater Setup

On December 26, 2006 I started the process of building the all-important Home Theater. It was an onerous task, but someone had to take it on. It all started innocently enough with a purchase of a 46″ Sharp Aquos LCD HDTV (model LC-46D62U). At the time it was among the best in its class. I think it still is, but there were issues which I will address in a more specific blog about the Sharp Aquos. This was purchased post-Christmas for $2,200 from Best Buy using a Best Buy credit card and 36 months same-as-cash (no interest) payment.

The second stage was to upgrade from a Panasonic upconverting DVD (DVD-S52) player to an HD-DVD player. The Toshiba A35 provided the best mix of price and features. This was purchased on December 21, 2007 from J&R music for $299 shipped. It came with two HD-DVDs in the box (Bourne Ultimatum and 300) and five free HD-DVD movies after rebate.

The third stage was to upgrade the Panasonic SC-HT75 Home Theater in a Box (HTiB) with a new receiver and speakers. The Panasonic was great for its time and original use in our first home. However, in our new home, with a bigger space, an upgrade became desirable. The choice became clear with a factory recertified Onkyo TX-SR705 receiver. The purchase was made on December 26, 2007 for $499 shipped from ShopOnkyo.com. Additionally it came with a free factory recertified Onkyo TX-8222 100Watt Stereo receiver which was auctioned on ebay.

Finally, the speakers. I decided on online retailer Elemental Designs speakers. Elemental Designs cut their teeth on excellent car audio speakers and have quickly taken a good share of the Home Theater (HT) market. I decided to build a 7.1 system to take advantage of the TrueHD audio content passed by the Toshiba A35 HD-DVD player and the 7.1 features on the Onkyo 705 receiver. The speaker lineup is: 2 6T6 Towers for L/R fronts, 1 6T6 MTM center front, 2 6T6 MTM L/R surround sides, 2 5TC Bookshelves for L/R surround rears, and A5-350 subwoofer with LT550 amp. With wall clamps for the 2 rear 5TCs and 2 pillar stands for the 2 6T6 MTM surrounds, the price came to $1,640 shipped and order placed on January 2, 2008.

I will continue to write reviews of each component mentioned above.