Info and forum posts by 'Sarmad'

Subwoofer advice

I`m currently using my old B&W "Solid" range Powerbass subwoofer with my AV setup (Denon 2802 6.1 amp + Mission 72 speaker package). The subwoofer is 70W and frequency range goes down to 38Hz at -3dB.

How low should a subwoofer go down to, to get a good effect from movies? Some people say it should go down to 20Hz, but do many LFE signals in films reach that deep?

I was considering upgrading to a Yamaha YSTW320 which has a lot of recommendations, but its spec says that it only goes down to 40Hz, which is not far from my existing sub. Or am I missing the point somewhere?

Thanks.

Hollow Man

Is there any differences between the USA (R-1) and UK (R-2) versions of Hollow Man on DVD? Was anything cut from the UK version?

I notice it`s 18-rated on DVD but 15-rated on cinema. Has anything been restored on DVD or is it just because BBFC is stricter for home entertainment so they like to bump-up the age-limits?

Thanks.

Help: Jurassic Park 3 easter egg wanted

This request applies to the Region 2 of Jurassic Park 3 easter egg wanted

I heard the Region-2 version has an Easter Egg or two. Does anyone out there know what it is?

Thanks.

Planet Of The Apes

Does anyone know the difference (if any) between the Region-1 and Region-2 versions of "Planet Of The Apes" ?

According to play247.com the Region-1 feature time is 124 mins, whereas the Region-2 version is 115 mins. Is that a typo on the 247 website or does the USA have a longer film?

Thanks.

RE: Enemy at the Gates - Region 4

"Enemy.." is probably has the dreaded RCE feature which stops the disc running on multi-region machines. "Crouching Tiger..." may not be RCE, which is why it works. It depends on how DVD have been modified for multiregion. Some can get around the RCE problem.

RE: Evil Dead Book Of The Dead R1 (?) arrived this morning but....looking dodgy!!!

I heard this new release "Evil Dead" has some deleted scenes and easter eggs. What are those deleted scenes, I`m very curious.

I bought the first DVD release with just the film (in cardboard cover), now I wish I`d waited a bit longer for the new version to be released.

RE: Is the Pioneer DV-444 the machine to buy?

I have this machine, and am very happy with it so far. I bought mine from www.techtronics.com and they made it multi-region and macrovision disabled. All for £199 including VAT, delivery and all the adjustments!

What doubts did you read about in this player, because I could find any mentioned on this site? I will be interested to know.

RE: Display problems

I now changed my M5 to Pioneer 444. I still have the same problem with RGB. Bought a gold-plated Scart socket for £16. Might the problem be the WRONG type of Scart socket? It didn`t say whether 21-pin on the box. Are all Scart cables RGB compatible or does it need to be 21-pin? Thanks.

Component video vs RGB Scart

Is there a noticeable difference between using RGB Scart or component video, for watching DVD movies?

I am thinking of buying a DVD player and deciding between the Toshiba 210E or the Pioneer 444 (or 545 if my arm can be twisted to pay extra 70 quid). The Toshiba has component output but the Pioneer doesn`t. Both have RGB Scart. How much will I be missing out on if I opt for the Pioneer DVD player and go without component video output?

Thanks.

Display problems on M5

I am trying to use RGB Scart for watching DVD. S-Video and Composite connections work fine but I want to use the superior RGB Scart. The problem is when I select this on the setup of my Warfedale M5 (output set to Scart, Scart set to RGB) and connect this to the RGB compatible Scart socket on my Toshiba 33" TV (4:3 ratio), the picture is VERY bright and I lose contrast. I have to adjust the brightness/contrast settings on the TV but this of course affects display on the other TV channels. Something`s obviously wrong if I have to keep altering the TV brightness/contrast each time I want to watch DVD and then having to change back when I want to watch TV, video or satelite. Am I doing something wrong or is this a faulty player.

Also, the "TV Type" setting on my player is on "Multi". When I select "PAL-60", which is supposed to give superior display, the picture becomes stretched vertically. Setting the TV ratio in the player`s setup (eg 4:3 16:9 widescreen) has no effect to bring everything back to normal, unless I switch back to "Multi" or normal "PAL".

Can anyone suggest anything I might be doing wrong, before I make an unecessary trip to Tesco`s to exchange the player?

Thanks,

Sarmad.

RE: Denon 2802 receiver

I am also interested in info about this amp and considering buying it. I read some good reviews on the Net but those are written by owners, who`re obviously not going to bad-press something they spent a lot of money on. I haven`t found any non-biassed reviews in magazines, etc, about this product. If anyone knows where I can read a review, please let me know. I need to be convinced before I part with £550.

Thanks,

Sarmad.

Colour problems on Warfedale M5.

I sometimes get colour problems on my M5. Character outlines turn blue/green and red, very much like I`m watching one of those old 3D movies. This doesn`t happen often, but it always happens on particular points of certain films. It`s particularly noticeable during parts of the pod-race sequence in "The Phantom Menace". I think it`s particular colour and/or movement combinations that bring rise to the strange colours. I think it happens when there`s a lot of movement in a well-lit scene, perhaps when there`s a big change from one frame to the next???

I tested this on this different TV`s but the problem persists.

Anytone else get this problem?

Thanks,

Sarmad.

Subwoofer hum

I have a Warfedale M5.

My B&W Powerbass active subwoofer is connected to the speaker outputs of my Prologic amp (haven`t moved onto DTS/DD yet). My M5 is connected via analog channels to the amp. No problems with that.

But the M5 also has a dedicated subwoofer output which I`d like to use instead. When I connect that directly to the subwoofer, I get a hum comming out from the sub while a disk is loading (I don`t get it while the disc is loading, only after it`s loaded). The hum doesn`t go unless I turn its power down, which is no good because the sub isn`t giving any effect with low power! When I disconnect the M5 feed from the sub, the hum goes away.

Does anyone else get this problem, or know how I can combat it?

Thanks,

Sarmad.
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This item was edited on Sunday, 16th December 2001, 02:03

16:9 problem on Warfedale M5

I have a Toshiba 4:3 ratio TV which I`m running my Warfedale DVD player on.

The problem is when I use the 16:9 function on my TV to compress the 4:3 picture to widescreen format, while playing DVD, I get a distict line on the lower part of the picture, just where the TV-added black bars separate from the actual picture from the DVD. When this 16:9 function is switched off (normal mode), I assume that this line is still there but I don`t see it because the decompressed picture pushes it off-screen. Anything else where I use this function (TV, VCR, Satellite) doesn`t give this problem. This line appears with most discs (especially "Gladiator" and "Phantom Menace") either throughout the whole film or only certain parts of the film. You don`t get necessarily get it on the menu screens.

What I`m trying to do is rather than selecting 4:3 on the setup of my DVD player so it automatically transmits a widescreen picture to my TV, I select 16:9 so a vertically stretched picture comes to my TV. Then I use 16:9 function on my TV to recompress it back to correct ratio. The picture quality is greatly improved this way.....but as a compromise I have to suffer this annoying line at the lower portion of my screen. Does anyone else get this problem? Is the problm with my TV, DVD player, or what?

Thanks.

Sarmad.

Warfedale M5

I`m a bit of a DVD virgin and pondering buying the Warfedale M5, mainly due to its ease of multi-region hacking and RCE compatibility. How does the M5 compare to Warfedale`s earlier models, the now deleted 750 and 750S? I`m especially interested in soud and picture quality aspects.

Reviews gave the 750/750S good marks for picture and sound, yet the newer M5 model has been given just mediocre marks for these aspects. Has picture & sound quality been compromised for the M5 or was the reviewer who wrote the article just having a bad day? It does happen sometimes that manufacturers will decrease the performance quality of a newer model, so they can add new features yet they make a compromise somewhere to keep the price down.

Any suggestions greatly welcome.

Thanks,

Sarmad.

Is Philips RCE compatible

I`ve read the hacks for the various Philips DVD players, eg the 712, etc. They all seem to be got multi-region rather than for setting a specific region. Wouldn`t this give problems for RCE disks? Do the hacks given for the Philips DVD players combat RCE problems or does anyone know a way around this problem?

I am looking for a player, a bit of a DVD virgin myself, and looking for something that I can set to multi-region + RCE compatible without me having to open up the player and invalidating the warranty (preferably using handset entered code). The reason why I mentioned Philips because I`m quite limited to what my local shops stock.

Thanks,

Sarmad.