Pioneer PDP-51 picture problems

[admin_exported]

I just bought and set up the new Pioneer PDP51 blu-ray player yesterday and whilst the initial impression of the picture and audio quality is very good ... there is a permanent and annoying tendency for the picture to judder during slow pan sequences (e.g. across room/ scenery pans, end credits, etc.). I've tried everything including picture downscaling and it just does not improve the situation.

The tv is a Panasonic PZ70 and the input on Blu-ray is being played at 1080p. I've also never experienced any semblance of judder problems via. the Sky HD box or upscaling Sony HDD/ DVD recorder. The manual confirms that the PZ70 is a full-HD screen.

Does anyone have any idea whether this is a blu-ray player or tv problem and, more importantly - how to fix it? Should I return the player?

 

[Anonymous]

Have you got the tv set to display 24fps?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi hifi_nut, the tv sets it the frame speed automatically and can't find a manual way of doing it. Also, I've tested the BDP51 on my other tv which is a Panasonic TX32LXD700 and the same problem exists.

Noting your footnote, I have QED Qunex HDMI's for all gear - and have also tested with an IXOS cable too!

 

[Anonymous]

DubLinn:
Hi hifi_nut, the tv sets it the frame speed automatically and can't find a manual way of doing it. Also, I've tested the BDP51 on my other tv which is a Panasonic TX32LXD700 and the same problem exists.

Noting your footnote, I have QED Qunex HDMI's for all gear - and have also tested with an IXOS cable too!

Hmmm it really sounds like a 24fps issue.

Just looked, have you tried changing Prog Motion and Pure Cinema settings on the player? page 38

http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/support/index.html

R

 

[Clare Newsome]

Both your Panasonic sets don't natively support 24fps - they use 3:2 pulldown, which can mean judder occasionally (the slow pans you mention would highlight it). I'd therefore focus on the TV's settings, not the Pioneer's - check you're not introducing additional motion issues by, for example, having sharpening modes turned right up.

 

[beater]

Clare, i have the panasonic 50px70 and panasonic bd30 and can really notice motion judder, if i changed to a different blu-ray player would i see any improvement, i think you said you did'nt notice it on the ps3.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Well we found the PS3 would happily output 24fps to the '7' series Panasonics, which then apply their 3:2 pulldown- this may be more judder-free than your BD30 not running natively. I'd suggest you borrow a PS3 and try it with a Blu-ray you've had issues with and see if there's any improvement.

 

[Anonymous]

I thought I would add here instead of creating a new thread. Anyways, I watched Happy Feet on region 2 DVD with my son the other week through my BDP-F1. Shortly after, he wanted to watch it again, so I put the DVD on again but the screen just displayed lots of green lines and no picture, I could here the sound from the film however. I tried all my other DVD's and there ending up like Happy Feet did, just green lines down the screen.

 

[beater]

Thanks for your quick reply Clare, i have noticed it on a couple of films but planet earth was really bad. I will try to borrow a PS3 and try it on that.

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:Both your Panasonic sets don't natively support 24fps - they use 3:2 pulldown, which can mean judder occasionally (the slow pans you mention would highlight it). I'd therefore focus on the TV's settings, not the Pioneer's - check you're not introducing additional motion issues by, for example, having sharpening modes turned right up.

Hi Clare and thank you for your advice, much appreciated. What I can't understand is that if you output a disk from the Pioneer at 720p there is no improvement.

In regards to the tv, adjustments are limited and I have had sharpness set to zero without any effect. All other picture enhancement settings are turned off without improvement.

Using the Pioneer BDP settings, can the 24 fps be changed to compensate? The picture quality is staggering on fast moving/ static images, but the judder is highly annoying.

Basically, is this coming down to a decision to put up with the judder or exchange the TV for a 1080p 24 fps tv?Is there anyway of upgrading the Panasonic tv's software?

 

[Clare Newsome]

It's not a 720/1080 issue - the frame rate of Blu-ray is 24fps regardless of resolution. Without the Pioneer in front of me, i'm not sure of its output options - but either way you'll have the player or the TV using picture processing technology to compensate for the Panasonics' lack of native 24fps support. Maybe the Pioneer is already doing its own thing and not outputting at 24fps to the TV? If so, i'd try and force it to output 24fps if you can, as the Panasonics' picture processing is superb.

And sadly the Panasonics cannot be updated to natively support 24fps (well they probably can technically, but i'd bet the cost is prohibitive!)

I'd definitely have another play around with the Pioneer's output settings to see if you can lessen the judder.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Clare for your speedy response, I'll give the Pioneer settings a go later today and update the post if it works!

 

[Anonymous]

Clare,

I am about to buy the Pioneer 37V tv with this blu-ray player. Will I have the same issue?

thanks

Rich

 

[Anonymous]

Hi DubLinn,

On your remote (I own a Pioneer BDP-LX71, so I am assuming the '51 works in pretty much the same way), there are an up and down button to change resolution.

Scroll through them and select either "Auto" or "1080p". If your TV is not 24fps-compatible, which is pretty much the conclusion made, then your Pioneer Blu-ray Disc Player will out-put 1080p but at 50hz or 60hz, and I think this will solve your problem. I hope so, anyway.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Richard8:
Clare,

I am about to buy the Pioneer 37V tv with this blu-ray player. Will I have the same issue?

thanks

Rich

No, because the Pioneer TV is able to handle native 24fps content. You should be judder-free!

 

[Anonymous]

dantan:
Hi DubLinn,

On your remote (I own a Pioneer BDP-LX71, so I am assuming the '51 works in pretty much the same way), there are an up and down button to change resolution.

Scroll through them and select either "Auto" or "1080p". If your TV is not 24fps-compatible, which is pretty much the conclusion made, then your Pioneer Blu-ray Disc Player will out-put 1080p but at 50hz or 60hz, and I think this will solve your problem. I hope so, anyway.

Hi dantan and thanks for your advice. I tried adjusting the resolution but had no effect. Clare mentioned that the the player default outputs at 24fps so changing the resolution does not make any difference. Tried loads of things last night without any luck ...

 

[Cofnchtr]

Davey1984:I thought I would add here instead of creating a new thread. Anyways, I watched Happy Feet on region 2 DVD with my son the other week through my BDP-F1. Shortly after, he wanted to watch it again, so I put the DVD on again but the screen just displayed lots of green lines and no picture, I could here the sound from the film however. I tried all my other DVD's and there ending up like Happy Feet did, just green lines down the screen.

Hi,

Check your connections - this sounds very like a loose HDMI or SCART connection - depending on what you're using.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the 51FD and it won't output 720p at all. It send 1080i to screens unless they can take 1080p. And it won't send 1080p if your screen can't take it. Shame there's no 720p output.