IntelliVolume
Prominent Member
I don't think too deeply about the whys and wherefores of such things. Technology is evolving and different brands and players have strengths and weaknesses. Some are better than others. None are perfect.
The Pannys have steadily improved their PQ but their upscaling comes at a small cost of sharpening that's generally barely visible. It can be largely defeated by using the luma and chroma slides but with the price of dipped luminance which is visible. So the edge enhancement is, to me, preferable.
Having ringing on upscaled brs and dvds is a consequence of the technology, chip and algorithm, just like most cd players have ringing in the signal output as a natural consequence of the binary waveform. We buy different brands and qualities depending on our tastes and personal demands.
If we want perfection we pay a lot of money for a specific standard. But even some of the most expensive kit has 'flaws' simply because the technology has limitations.
I have a cd player that skews the signal in the DAC to smooth out the waveform and transients that results in an inaccurate output technically, but aurally is much more pleasing and closer to the original intent. Or I can set it to other presets on the fly, one of which is very technically accurate but can sound harsh with consequent ringing that is inherent in the way digital data is processed by technology.
Same with video technology.
You can't take analogue media like film, convert it to digital binary code then reconstruct it at the other end with the same level of detail. There are inevitable degrees of deterioration, as well as introduction of artefacts. The higher the quality in - say we have now 4k - the lower the losses of data, and better quality at the other end. The better technology evolves and the better the data in, the better the data is going to be at the consumer end.
It's just a fact that no matter how good we are at today's level of technology, we haven't hit the nearer to perfect levels we will get to eventually.
Tech today is good, but not perfect and will be better tomorrow.
What Panasonic are doing with DVDs is take an old level of tech with inherently and comparatively low levels of data and digitally upgrade it by adding digital information. Consequently the input is much less detailed and the processing is much higher, resulting in signal errors at the output stage way in excess of that of BR and especially 4k BR.
Panasonic have therefore chosen to do a lot of processing at the output stage to assist in ameliorating the deterioration of a signal that was already far less detailed to start with. And then to apply it to tvs or screens that are generally of a much higher spec and size than dvd was initially created for.
Just like in hifi, where we choose our kit according to how we perceive the music, and how well it recreates an original source, the same applies with av.
We choose Panasonic not because of any hope that we are getting perfection, but because we prefer how they implement technology to recreate original material to display. We have to accept technical limitations. We have to accept that only so much can be done to put out what someone at Panny has decided is the most preferable way to view the consequent image.
But what Panny has done in av is give us a lot of scope to personalise our settings and calibrate to our own tastes, once the processing has gone through input to output.
We can look at the DVD as a direct digital transfer from disc to output with all sliders at 0, and we will see the inherent flaws and ringing and lack of detail in the conversion of low data source to upscaled output. Or, we can further modify the output at the tv end or via the player.
Panasonic gave us a default they think is preferable to its consumers, that's all.
It's up to us if we like it or not. And it's up to us to decide what settings we prefer.
I personally think dvds don't need EH at +2 for my tv or my eyes. It needs EH but only +1, just like Blurays.
I also think some of the noise reduction is OTT resulting in loss of detail.
It's what Panasonic think looks best, generally.
But just like some of the presets on my cd player's DAC, depending on source, a less accurate conversion of the original signal results in a more pleasing sound. Same with the DVDs.
It's all about limitations inherent in the technology and how well the company can overcome those limitations, combined with our personal perceptions and preferences. You choose the player you prefer.
With Panny you can leave at their defaults or you can use one of their presets, or your own preferred settings.
If you want to get to the nitty gritty, you have to get the testing discs and the calibration equipment and make the changes based upon how your particular tv processes the data from your player etc. Generally with the Panasonic player, the most accurate setting would be everything at 0, giving an output as close to the input as possible.
I was merely explaining my experience with previous Panasonic decks and their deployment of noise reduction algorithms, based on your input regarding the way they implemented the feature in models preceding the UB820/9000; you thought it was the way they did things with their previous players, and I was explaining how, with the BD10A first generation BD player, at least, there were no sliders for NR to choose from.
Indeed, of course the "0" setting for all these adjustments would be ideal, as that would send out an unaltered signal -- and that's how I keep all the other sliders like color, sharpness, etc. in the player, as these have been adjusted in my display -- but I do tend to use some NR for DVD playback because a lot of the North American discs I play have been compressed to death and demand some kind of smoothing.
No, I realize that, of course; I was merely asking for your personal insight/opinion on why they may have chosen this arbitrarily.As to why someone chose +2 for that DVD EC preset? You'd have to ask them :0)