I got the DCT5100 from Shaw in Burnaby today. Wow! I'm not a huge fan of Jay Leno, but the Tonight Show looked terrific on channel 138.

Here are my current settings:

TV Output: 16:9

YPbPr: 1080i
4:3 Override: 480p

My TV: Sony KV-36XBR450 (4:3 TV with automatic 16:9 Enhanced Mode)

I am using component output from the DCT5100 to the Sony TV.

A few questions: In what situations would I set the YPbPr to 720p? When I set it to 720p, the screen goes haywire. When I set it back to 1080i, the HD programs (The Tonight Show, ER, CSI, etc.) look fine. Similarly, when would I ever set the YPbPr to 480i or 480p?

There's also a setting for "4:3 Override": 480i, 480p or OFF. Which one do I set it to? Right now, I have it set to 480p.

Lastly, I notice that the non-HD channels through the DCT5100 don't look as good as when I have the cable hooked up directly into the TV's tuner (ie., using the analog cable feed). The difference is very subtle, but I do notice it (the analog signal looks slightly smoother).

For instance, when I use the DCT5100, the little red CNN logo on the Headline News channel pulsates ever so slightly. When I use the analog signal, there is no pulsing. Also, the text on this channel (and other news channels) looks slightly smoother with the analog feed as opposed to the digital feed. None of these differences are night and day, but they are there.

Is this due to a slight over-compression of the digital cable signal? I've read that sometimes analog cable is better than digital, especially when the cable company tries to cram too many channels into their digital stream.

Anyway, I'm happy with the DCT5100 so far. I just wish the box didn't cost so much, and I wish there was more HD content!

A few questions: In what situations would I set the YPbPr to 780p? When I set it to 780p, the screen goes haywire. When I set it back to 1080i, the HD programs (The Tonight Show, ER, CSI, etc.) look fine. Similarly, when would I ever set the YPbPr to 480i or 480p?

There's also a setting for "4:3 Override": 480i, 480p or OFF. Which one do I set it to? Right now, I have it set to 480p.


My TV (Toshiba 34HF81) does not support the 720p format, so the setting I use is 1080i. That may be the case with yours as well.

I had my "4:3 Override" set initially to 480p, but then I was only able to access the IPG when using the component inputs only. By changing the setting to 480i, the IPG was accessible even when using the coaxial or S-Video inputs.

I have been using the component inputs for all my viewing, i.e. HD channels, digital, and analog. In some cases, I have switched to the coaxial input to view some shows, especially sports, which sometimes look really bad using the component inputs. As for the S-Video input, it seems to produce a bad picture on my TV, regardless of the source, so I never use that.

I had my "4:3 Override" set initially to 480p, but then I was only able to access the IPG when using the component inputs only. By changing the setting to 480i, the IPG was accessible even when using the coaxial or S-Video inputs.

I'll have to try this tonight...