Which would you recomend for mostly SD sat. TV and SD dvds? This Toshiba, Sony 46X3500 or Sharp 46XL2?
All 3 do a good job, though if you're talking about scaling and deinterlacing Toshiba has the edge.
Hello.
Thanks for the review.
I was wondering about the 5:5 pulldown feature of the z-series. You did not mention it in the review.
Here's from the toshiba website:
24 FPS Compatible with 5:5 pull-down From a 24 frames per second input the image processing replicates the exact frames in sets of 5 to virtually eliminate 'Film Judder' artefacts. Each of the 24 frames is replicated exactly and then repeated 5 times in 1/24 of a second.
I can't see how this should become video-like since no extra frames are beeing calculated?
Maybe what you saw was the "film judder canceller" which they say is: "Converting film from the original 24 frames per second (fps) to display on television at either 50 or 60 frames per second introduces an error called 'film judder'. Active Vision M100 HD eliminates the problem by introducing new frames in place of the dublicated frames theat caused the error. It estimates the movement required to get halfway towards the new frame and inserts this new frame, removing the 'judder'.
Disregarding marketing material for the moment, here's what I saw on the
Toshiba 47Z3030D I tested when fed with a 1080p/24 signal:
- Telecine judder if [Active Vision M100] or [Film Stabilization] was disabled
- Frame interpolation resulting in artifacts and video feel if [Film Stabilization] was engaged
Thank you for your review.
You said judder was still visible for 24Hz sources like PS3 and you suspect the Z3030 outputing 60Hz with 3:2 pulldown for HD material recorded in 24Hz.
I don't think it's true because :
1) Toshiba Z3030 product description shows distinctive 24p 5:5 pulldown capability, which means it is capable of outputing 120Hz on 24Hz sources (24x5).
2) A friend got a 52Z3030 before Christmas along with a Toshiba EP10 HD-DVD player. He let me upgrade the player firmware to 2.7 and enable the 1080/24p mode on various HD-DVD disks like "Babel" "The Curse of Golden Flower"... I am quite sure these disks are displayed in 120Hz mode (5:5 pulldown) as I could not see any telecine judder : the end credits were 100% smooth (vertical travelling).
I own a Pioneer LX508D (along with a Toshiba XE1 HD-DVD player) which is known for the best 24p handling capability and I was stunned to see the Toshiba Z3030 delivering the same true cinematic experience.
I think you should reconsider this point in your review and try 24p mode with another player, because the test with the PS3 may not be relevant due to poor HDMI synchronisation or whatever.
Regards.
Stephane.
Hi Stephane
1) Again, because my findings did not tally with Toshiba's product description, I checked my results multiple times before publishing them.
2) Was [Active Vision M100] engaged and [Film Stabilisation] set to "
Smooth" on your friend's 52Z3030D? That was the only condition under which I see telecine judder totally eliminated on the
Toshiba 47Z3030D, but that process involved frame interpolation (due to introduction of artifacts and the video feel).
I have a faulty Sharp LC46XD1E set which I would like to switch to a Toshiba 47Z3030D instead. If you compare theese two sets, which has the better picture quality, black levels and so on? Do you think switching to the Toshiba set would be a good choice?
The Z3030D is one generation later than the XD1E, and as such offers overall better picture quality with the exception of black level.
Hello Vincent, i don't know if you realize this but you haven't listed this review on the main page as you would normally do. http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/
I only saw this one when I was browsing the All Reviews page.
Thanks for letting me know... I was rushed for time on New Year's Eve.
Hi Vincent. I hope you can comment on this because it's become quite a hot topic in various forums.
In your opinion, does the 42Z3030D do what it advertises with regard to 5/5 pulldown? Having watched several versions of the same film (PAL, NTSC and HD) I'm not convinced. According to Toshiba the 5/5 mode is activated automatically when the set is fed a 24Hz signal, but this doesn't appear to be the case.
I chose Fantastic FOur: Rise of the Silver Surfer as a test because the opening credits - specifically the pan across the stars and the moon - are a good indicator. On the PAL DVD this pan is smooth. The NTSC displays telecine judder. The Blu-ray also displays telecine judder, which can only be reduced by activating Film Stabilization in either standard or smooth mode. As I understand it, the 5/5 pulldown should give a 120Hz refresh rate, displaying each frame five times. Shouldn't this make it at least comparable to the PAL DVD in terms of smoothness without having to use the interpolated modes?
It's not just FF:RotSS either. I tried 300, The Thing and a couple of others where I have multiple versions of the film. I saw the same thing every time. I have used two 24Hz players - the Toshiba EP35 and Samsung BD-P1400 - and both exhibit the same behaviour.
Toshiba are adamant that it engages 5/5 mode when fed with a 24Hz source, but I don't see how this can be when I see what looks like 2/3 pulldown artefacts. Another review mentioned that the 100Hz mode was disabled in the menu when the TV received a 24Hz source, but that doesn't happen with mine. I'm most confused and slightly annoyed that the TV may have been mis-sold. I'd really appreciate it if you could give your views.
Hi
Your findings are similar to mine... the telecine judder can only be removed by setting [Film Stabilization] to "
Smooth", a method which without doubt involves frame interpolation.
Warmest regards
Vincent
