Need help from Philips 5140 and Toshiba 3990 owners! Please read! Thanks!

[bloomcounty]

Hi,

I just got a Toshiba 3990 as a replacement for my old 2180 (I think that was the model number) from years back as part of some class-action suit thing and I hooked it up today and was disappointed to see that on animation dvds (like Justice League and Teen Titans) the picture will actually go from being sharp to being slightly blurry at times (it seems to be mostly happening when the image/figures on the screen aren't moving). I couldn't get it to do this with a regular movie, but I'm guessing that's because stuff is always moving in regular movies (as compared to things "standing still" in animation).

I tried it with componant, composite, and S-video and it's the same thing all around. I'm only using a 27" Toshiba TV (flat tube screen).
Any thoughts on this? Could it be because the 3990 is 14bit video whateveD/A whatever and my old player was 12-bit, so it being "better" actually looks worse on my TV?

Also, I noticed that with componant, the picture is very greenish and the color is greatly reduced.

I actually think the picture was better on my old 2180 -- or, at the very least, it didn't go from sharp to semi-blurry on and off. It also looked better (not so desaturated or green) when connected with componant cables.

This effect gives me a headache so I'll be calling Toshiba and telling them its unacceptable. I'm going to ask them to send me the next model up (not sure if they will). It looks like there's: 4980, 4990, 5980, 5990, and 6980. The 6980 is the only one that had decent reviews on Amazon. Any suggestions as to which I should ask for (and in what order?)?

I've been considering buying the Philips 5140, so if I get a Toshiba I like that doesn't play Xvid/DivX, then I'll just go for the 5140. But maybe all the higher model Toshiba's play XviD/DivX?

Some other questions about the Philips 5140, as compared to the Toshiba 3990:

1. Does the 5140 let you resume play after pressing stop once when watching Xvid like the 3990?
2. Does the 5140 have the option to watch the file in it's "original size" or expanded to fit the screen? (The 3990 lets you do this.)
3. Does the 5140 have any problem with playing files with packed bitstreams -- causing the image to be "stuttery" (the Philips 3040 does).

Thanks for the help!

[CrayonEater]

Interesting you mention the problem with packed bitstreams because, yes, the 5140 does have a problem with packed bitstreams which contain multiple consecutive B-frames. That was the subject of a recent discussion, in fact, so here is a link that may help. Apoparently, using mpeg4modifier on your Divx/xvids might alleviate these problems. I can't help with the former two questions as I've only been looking at the 5140, but I haven't actually bought it yet as I'm leaning a bit more towards the 5960.

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1580315&highlight=5140+packed+bitstream#1580315

What's this about a class-action lawsuit over the 2180? Did you surrender yours or what happened?

[bloomcounty]

The class-action thing was about their old players not playing a number of regular officially released dvds or something. Mine was one of them. But I waited a year to send it in, so I got the 3990 instead of the 3980 as a replacement. But the sharp/blurry thing is a big bummer.

That's unfortunate about the 5140 and the stuttery stuff. I know the Toshiba 3990 I just got doesn't have that problem, because I played a disc that was stuttery on the 3040 and it played fine on the 3990.

Question:
So what is the deal with Video D/A? What is that? The 3990 has 14bit/108MHz. I think my 2180 had 12bit... and it looks like all the Toshiba models above the 3990 only have 10bit/54MHz (which is what the Philips 642 has). I think the 5140 has 12bit. But even the Toshiba 6980 only has 10bit/54MHz.

So if I try to get them to send me a better model, should I go for the 4990 because it also has 14bit? Or is that my problem?

So what's the deal with that? Does 14-bit deliver better picture quality than 10-bit? Do you have to have a certain quality TV to notice it? Could the fact that the 3990 is 14bit be the reason I'm having the problem with the animation dvds listed? The Toshiba website lists their players with 10bit as having the "highest quality video" etc. etc on the spec sheet, yet the 3990 doesn't even mention the 14bit as a bonus... why would that be? Is it not better? Me am confused!

[bloomcounty]

Okay, so I just tested some other cartoon dvds. I don't see the problem on the Looney Tunes Golen Collections or even JL Season 1 (that I noticed). But I do see it on Teen Titans and JL Season 2 -- but I only see it on the Toshiba 3990. When I play those same discs on the Philips 642, I don't see it. However, on the flip side, JL Season 1 looks better on the Toshiba than the Philips.

So I'm really starting to wonder if it has something to do with the Toshiba having Video D/A of 14bit/108MHz and the Philips having 10bit/54MHz. And maybe something to do with interlacing? I don't know... I guess the picture is more clear with the Toshiba and the 14bit/108MHz... but maybe in some cases it's TOO clear? So maybe since the 10bit/54MHz on the Philips isn't as "good", it actually keeps the sharp/blurry thing from being noticeable? But, again, not all the animation DVDs have that problem, even on the Toshiba (as far as I can tell).

Me am still confused! Any thoughts? Thanks!