HD100 - 480i - Sony TV

[dadof4]

I have a Sony 52" XBR4 set that accepts 480i input through all sources except the HD100. With the HD100 the set displays "Unsupported Video Source". I know I can not select 480i in the HD100 setup and it will upconvert 480i signals. I would perfer to have my Sony upconvert the signal however.

Does anyone know what makes HD100 480i signal different from the 480i from my other sources (straight cable/ Cable box)?

Still Learning..
Thanks

[autoboy]

are you sure your cable box is really outputting 480i via HDMI? Many cable boxes do not support 480i output over HDMI and upscale to another resolution. Google your cable box to make sure it is set up for the right resolutions. Mine is set to 480i and 1080i for a Sony SXRD but by default it upscaled everything to 1080i which looked terrible. What connection are you using? HDMI? What resolution did you set your hd100 for? are you using native resolution output in the hd100 settings?

To get proper native output resolution of the hd100 you have to select all the resolutions your TV accepts in the extender set up before the main software loads (which should be all of them 480i-1080p) and then inside the setup menu enable native output switching.

[dadof4]

Thanks for the reply. The cable box is set to output 480i/p, 720i/p and 1080i/p and for pass through. I also have a straight coax to the set bypassing the box. The set indicates (via the "Display" button) the resolution of the source. For many of the SD channels it indicates 480i. It does a fair job of upconverting. It will not, however, accept the 480i signal from the HD100.

By not being able to pass through 480i from the HD100 I am losing the sets fairly good ability to upconvert. It's done by the HD100.

Also, I have the set configured so it will wide zoom when it sees an SD signal. When the HD100 upconverts the 480i signal the set no longer sees it as SD and does not wide zoom.

There must be some differences between the HD100's 480i and that from my other sources. The set won't accept it when it comes from the HD100.

Any ideas?

[autoboy]

You could try Component Video instead of HDMI. The quality difference is usually negligible. It works fine on my Sony TV at all resolutions.

Anyways, if you check out reviews of the Sony XBR4 it tends to fail Film resolution tests for both 480i and 1080i. I don't think the XBR4 is any better at upscaling than the HD100. Sony TVs don't tend to have the best deinterlacers in them. I use a Onkyo 875 with the Reon chip for all my scaling now instead of the TV or the HD100.

[photon]

Originally Posted by dadof4

There must be some differences between the HD100's 480i and that from my other sources. The set won't accept it when it comes from the HD100.

Any ideas?

I have the Sony Bravia XBR3 and an HD100 extender connected via HDMI and my HD100 is running the most current released firmware version (not Beta). I set my HD100 to output only 480i just to see if I could reproduce your problem and I could not. My XBR accepted the 480i without complaint and displays that the source as 480i.

Suggestions: Try another HDMI cable if you haven't already just in case the cable is causing the problem. Also try a different HDMI input. If nothing helps you may want to try the configuration reset procedure on your your extender to see if that resolves your issue. It's detailed in the manual that came with the extender.

Ultimately with your high quality hardware I suggest you set your HD100 extender to output 1080P as the only selected output resolution in the extenders output settings dialog. You will get far better picture quality from ALL content played via the extender. All resolutions and aspect ratios will display correctly and image quality will be as good as the source material. I could not take the 480i setting on my extender more than a few min before changing my HD100 back to 1080P :-)

[autoboy]

he wants to use Native output switching because he is assuming the TV has a better deinterlacer and scaler than the HD100 which may or may not be true. I use it with an expensive scaler and the results are improved over the HD100 set to 1080p. Either way, it is worth a try to see if you can get better results. As far as the 480i problem, I really don't know what is going on since my Sony TV accepts it no problem.

[dadof4]

So far...

Replaced HDMI cable - No Help
Reset HD100 - No Help
Tried Component - 480i is now OK but no go on 1080p. I guess I would expect that from component. No one is actually broadcasting 1080p anyways.

Since I'm using an A/V setup all sources ultimately are input to the TV via HDMI. The component and the HDMI sources are all output to the TV though a single HDMI output. This is the same HDMI output used by my cable box which works fine for 480i.

I know the set works on 480i. The cable box is set to pass through the signal on the same HDMI output as the HD100 on my A/V receiver. I'v ruled out the A/V receiver also by switching the HDMI from the HD100 to the input normally used by the cable box.


So I guess I'll do one of two things.

- Go with component
- Set the HD100 to 1080 only.

At this point I guess what's bothering me is the fact there seems to be an issue with the HD100. Since it's working flawlessly for everything else I'll just use one of the afformention work a rounds.

If anyone else has any suggestions I'm open to trying same.

Thanks

[autoboy]

Whoa, now I am really confused. You have a AV receiver also in the loop? Dude, you can't leave that kind of information out. Can you please tell us exactly how it is hooked up and at what resolutions?

What the cable box resolution is set to
What the hd100 resolution is set to
What the AVR output resolution is set to
What kind of AVR you have
What connections are you using for each

Most AV Receivers don't accept a 480i signal over HDMI and also don't accept a 1080p signal over component. I think you don't really know what your cable box is outputting. Try plugging it directly into the TV and tell us for sure in a clear manner with all the details.

[dadof4]

Originally Posted by autoboy

Whoa, now I am really confused. You have a AV receiver also in the loop? Dude, you can't leave that kind of information out. Can you please tell us exactly how it is hooked up and at what resolutions?

What the cable box resolution is set to
What the hd100 resolution is set to
What the AVR output resolution is set to
What kind of AVR you have
What connections are you using for each

Most AV Receivers don't accept a 480i signal over HDMI and also don't accept a 1080p signal over component. I think you don't really know what your cable box is outputting. Try plugging it directly into the TV and tell us for sure in a clear manner with all the details.

I do know what my cable box (SA 8300HDC) is outputting. It's 480/i/p, 720p, and 1080i. What makes you think (assume) I really don't know? The A/V is a Sony STR-DG910. I do know the three HDMI inputs are pass through which means there is no resolution setting for same. I do know the issue remains no matter which HDMI input I use on the A/V or the TV.

Given HD100 Component > A/V > TV HDMI works fine, I have decided to use same.

Thanks for your help.

[autoboy]

I'm sorry I can't be of any more help. I didn't mean to be rude.