3960 beats DV-47Ai... Again

madmax

This is BS. The modded 3960 sounds awesome as promised. It beat out my pioneer unit which was much more expensive. Ok, I'll give it that and just say that it is the combination of parts. Now for the BS part. I held onto the DV-47Ai because it is touted as being an awesome video machine. It even lists my PDP-3050 plasma as being a great match. Well, after shipping off my modded 3960 I finally got around to hooking the pioneer up to my plasma. It is ok in most respects but it leaves digitized edges on everything, comparitively. In some respects it is a little better than the 3960 but overall the 3960 did a much better job. How can this POS 3960 better both the audio and video quality over the pioneer. I mean, so what the h$ll did I spend an extra $800 for? To say the least I'm a little pissed right now. Yes, I made sure all the settings were correct and played with the menus for at least 6 hours today. Off to ebay with the pioneer and I guess I'll spend another saturday modding yet another unit for myself, just for the video if nothing else. How can this be???
madmax

F1nut

There is a lot about this hobby that will make one scratch their head.

TheReaper

Take a look at Toshiba's semi-conductor offerings. They are one of the leaders in ASIC design and manufacturing. ASIC is Application Specific Integrated Circuit. One monster chip does the processing in a Toshiba DVD, the other components on the boards are basically just interfaces to the outside world for the ASIC. Fewer components equals cheaper prices.

madmax

Originally posted by TheReaper
Fewer components equals cheaper prices.

And better performance possibly... Although some other players with the same chip sets do not perform as well according to those who have played with them. I guess it is a combination of short signal paths AND synergistic reaction between components and such. I'm thinking it may have a lot to do with part placement also. Many PC board guru's still consider placement a black art. If you ever take a piece of equipment for testing (CE, FCC etc) they pretty much prove that to you. Off to the store for another test victim I guess.
madmax

reeltrouble1

I am going with the tin cups and string from this point on.:D

dcarlson

Max, I'm sorry to hear your situation but happy to hear you're already missing it.

Now I'm really anxious for it to come.

Thanks again.

Airplay355

tin cups and string can also be procured on ebay on the cheap

madmax

Originally posted by Airplay355
tin cups and string can also be procured on ebay on the cheap

Of course I want the very hard to find teflon coated string and a tin cup made of a very special alloy. The voice must be controlled yet vibrant.

madmax

Tour2ma

Originally posted by madmax
Of course I want the very hard to find teflon coated string...

madmax

Tour's Tip of the Day...

Think dental floss...

dorokusai

Originally posted by Zero
MadMax,

Do you want to know another secret? The 3960 stock audio performance can be equaled if not bettered by an NEC 602 External CD-ROM drive (circa 1993), and can be had on Ebay between $5-15.

Listen to that, and your head will implode..... Value doesnt get ANY better then that.

Nope...it sounds exactly like the money spent on it.

madmax

I found a problem with the DV-47Ai. When the "Pure Cinema" mode is set to Auto it takes a very short amount of time to figure out whether it is in film or video mode. The difference between the two modes is frame timing and is determined depending on whether the original source was film or video. This very short amount of time is just enough to see. Whenever the scene switches to a new on you can see horizontal tear on the screen. It is so short that after watching for a while you cannot see it but initially it is very disturbing. On the Toshiba it worked flawlessly. With the Pioneer it went away when I turned off the pure cinema mode. I am much happier with it's video performance now that I have figured this out. At least now it is up to (or maybe a little better) than the video performance of the modded 3960.

madmax