View Full Version : Sony DRC (Digital Reality Creation circuitry)
I have a KDP-51WS550 and like to understand what exactly DRC is doing in different settings but Sony provides no help at all (maybe I am unlucky, but two so-called experts at Sony don¡¯t know anything except what is already in the manual). I understand that DRC will double scanning line and pixels on each line for 480i sources. Therefore, could it be:
In interlaced: DRC would covert 480i to 960i and do pixel doubling?
In progressive: DRC would covert 480i to 480p and do pixel doubling?
In cinemotion: DRC would covert 480i to 480p, do pixel doubling, and activate 3-2 reverse pull-down?
OR:
In interlaced: DRC is off?
In progressive: DRC would covert 480i to 480p and do pixel doubling?
In cinemotion: DRC would covert 480i to 480p, do pixel doubling, and activate 3-2 reverse pull-down?
OR:
..........................?
What about DRC Palettes? What do reality and clarity really adjust? I read somewhere that it is some kind of edge enhancer. Similar to sharpness? I¡¯m clueless here.
It is hard to try for the best setting with naked eyes so a better understanding will help us to take full advantage of the DRC. (For example, use DRC or DVD player¡¯s PS?)
I have one more unrelated question: I cannot hear any difference going through 3 settings in audio effect (TruSurrond, Simulated, Off) or 2 settings in BBE (On, Off). Can this be normal? On a Samsung HDTV I tried, the difference is dramtic.
Thanks.
Since there is no reply I will try to answer my own questions as this may be helpful to others.
I arrived the following after searching the web and talking to Sony. I am still not sure if they are all correct so let me know if you think I'm wrong.
1) DRC will covert 480i to 960i in interlaced, to 480p in progressive, and to 480p plus activate 3-2 reverse pulldown in cinemotion.
2) For DRC Palettes, think the reality as similar to sharpness and clarity as similar to contrast.
3) Effect of DRC is subtle. If you don't know how or where to look, you may not see much a difference at all.
4) If the source is bad, DRC may make the picture look worse and You cannot turn it off for 480i source without going into the service mode.
5) DRC and hence 3-2 reverse pulldown are disabled for 480p (or up) source. However, most PS DVD players today do PS in film mode, which is the same thing as PS plus 3-2 reverse pulldown.
6) In general, it will be better to let your DVD player do PS as: a) it in general will do a better job than your TV's PS and 3-2 reverse pulldown; b) there will be less going back and forth between digital and analogue this way. However, since DRC will do pixel doubling as well, it may not be the case for Sony sets. The best way is to try them out to see which looks better for you.
Again, those may not be correct and any comments are welcome.
I still need help on my audio question: I cannot hear any difference going through 3 settings in audio effect(TruSurrond, Simulated, Off) or 2 settings in BBE (On, Off). Is my KDP51WS550 defective? Should I ask for a replacement? On a Samsung HDTV I tried, the difference is dramatic. Can you guys try on your Sony set and kindly let me know the results? Thanks.
... better to let your DVD player do PS as...b) there will be less going back and forth between digital and analogue this way. Not true!. There is the same amount of digital/analogue, plus 480i gets deinterlaced by your DVD player, sent to your TV and reinterlaced which adds an additional conversion step.
If you just sent a 480i signal directly to your TV and let it "upconvert" to 960i, this may actually provide a better picture... avoiding the deinterlacing, reinterlacing. I know it does provide an equivalent or better picture in many cases, although not necessarily with your combination of player/TV.
Thanks 57U. The following is from "DVD Benchmark, Part 5 - Progressive Scan DVD" by Don Munsil and Brian Florian.
Quote:
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the DVD player's deinterlacer also performs the deinterlacing in the digital domain right off the disc, rather than sending an analog video signal to the TV, which has to convert it back to digital for deinterlacing
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So why bother with a progressive player if your TV has a film-mode deinterlacer? First off, as we said, the deinterlacers in DVD players tend to be somewhat better than the ones in TVs. When we compare the deinterlacing in a mass-market DVD player to the deinterlacing in a TV from the same company, usually the DVD player wins. The ones in DVD players tend to stay in film mode more consistently, drop to video mode less often, and handle bad edits more cleanly. Obviously there are exceptions. For example, in our second shootout, we tested a Pioneer Elite HDTV and found that it had better deinterlacing than any of their (Pioneer's) players.
Even in cases where the TV has a better deinterlacer than the player, though, the progressive player has an advantage: better resolution. When the television deinterlaces the analog signal, it first has to digitize the signal (A/D), send it through a deinterlacing chip, and convert it back to analog to feed to the CRTs. That process inevitably loses some resolution. It might not be much. You might feel like you can live with it. But it would be a good idea to get a copy of the Avia DVD and look at the resolution pattern on it to see exactly how much you are losing. About 5 TVL (TV Lines) of loss is good performance, 10 is average, and 15 or more is bad. With the progressive DVD player, you should be able to get all 540 TVL. But if your TV has a good film-mode deinterlacer, and you feel like you can live with the resolution loss, then you might be able to save money by keeping your existing interlaced player.
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For more details, check the following link:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_4/dvd-benchmark-part-5-progressive-10-2000.html
As of using DRC to uncovert 480i to 960i, one has to use the interlaced mode. The problem is that in this mode you don't have 3-2 reverse pulldown but I'll give it a try.
Thanks again.
As of using DRC to uncovert 480i to 960i, one has to use the interlaced mode. The problem is that in this mode you don't have 3-2 reverse pulldown but I'll give it a try. I believe you'll find that 2:3 pulldown only works on 480i, it doesn't apply to 480P.
Also, the above article discusses deinterlacing being "better" in the DVD player and in the digital domain - this I can agree with, however, if you feed the TV a 480i signal and it converts to 960i, there is no deinterlacing required, therefore a potential cleaner signal with two fewer steps (deinterlacing, reinterlacing)...
The AVIA discussion is interesting because I get 540TVL with my interlaced player...as high as the AVIA test pattern goes anyway...
This is my thinking. The reason that 2:3 pulldown only works on 480i is that allmost all PS DVD players today do PS in film mode, which is called as 3:2 reverse pulldown by HDTV. Therefore, when a TV got 480p from DVD, 3:2 pulldown is already done. It makes sense as many TV's 3:2 pulldown is disabled in 480p (I was puzzled on this). It is odd that HDTV makers make a big deal about 3:2 pulldown but in fact your PS DVD player already does it and most of them do not mention it at all.
Can you guys confirm that? Thanks.
You may wish to check out the FAQ on 2:3 pulldown and PS.
