DVD Playback

[dave_d]

Hi all,

Hopefully this is a quick question. Basically I switched from a CRT to an LCD and now when I play DVD's on my PC I see artifacts I had never saw before. From what I've found out it's called combing. Given that my DVD playback software is really old(IE 2003) would this be expected and would just using newer playback software fix the issue?

 

[realzeus]

Probably not. You are experiencing a common condition known as LCD shock. It happens when you downgrade from a CRT to an LCD. Only one solution is known to the scientific community. You go and find a good CRT, prefferably an aperture grill one.

Cheers!

 

[jaguarskx]

It's most likely your LCD monitor. Generally speaking, all LCD monitors can have some visual artifacts when displaying movies. This is especially true if your LCD screen uses 6-bit TN technology.

LCD monitors built around TN panels are inexpensive and generally good for gaming because of fast response times. However, they are pretty poor at color accuracy, viewing angles. and most are notorious for displaying visual artifacts in movies / videos.

You most likely have a LCD monitor build around a TN panel. There is really nothing you can do other than replacing your monitor. If you have a 22" LCD monitor then it definitely is a TN panel; they all use that panel type.

LCD monitors built around the slightly more expensive P-MVA, or S-PVA panels should have minimal video artifacts. That same is true for LCD monitors bult around S-IPS panels which is even more expensive.

To give you an idea of the cost, an inexpensive 22" costs around $250.

In the 24" LCD arena there are no TN panels, at least not yet. The least expensive 24" LCD using a P-MVA, or S-PVA panel is about $590. The least expensive 24" LCD using a S-IPS panel is at least $1,250.

 

[dave_d]

Actually I think my monitor is S-PVA. (It's a Samsung 971p) I really don't notice artifacts when I play say movie trailers. It's just playing DVD's with the old DVD program that I got for free with my computer.(I know, you get what you pay for.) Just curious if that's a known thing.

 

[jaguarskx]

Okay, it could be possible that it is the software. But a DVD player from 2003 should still be pretty decent. I've been using PowerDVD 4 on my PC until I decided to go with version 7. I don't really notice any difference in video quality on my LCD.

Perhaps it is your video driver. Uninstall your driver and install the latest version. Maybe that will help clear things up. I suppose it's also a good idea to check the video cable connection as well.

 

[dave_d]

Well that might be worth a shot.(Especially since I think my drivers are kind of old.) Thanks for the info

 

[Traveller]

I think my drivers are kind of old.

Most graphics card drivers (e.g. nVidia & ATI) are updated on a quarterly basis (not including numerous Beta versions in between).

It is never a bad idea to keep all your drivers up to date, but I think you need to look at this article from BEHardware while you're at it... .