57H84 Setup Questions

[ejohanss]

I bought a Toshiba 57H84 earlier in the week, and right now am a bit underwhelmed.

The quality for movies is great. No doubt.

Quality for satellite (Dish Network) is average. I see ghosting on text and blockiness on the screen sometimes. Also, sometimes I don't see pure color boxes...rather I see grainy images.

So, just a few setup questions for you...maybe you can help me optimize this a bit:

My connection setup is as follows:

Coax to Dish DVR510. A/R Pro cable.
S-Video to Panasonic DVD-R. Average joe cable.
S-Video to Television input. Average joe cable.

I am upgrading cables. They will soon be all A/R Pro.

Question 1: Will I gain anything by going component out to the TV from the DVD-R instead of S-Video? I know that will enable the setings for progressive scan signal, but I'm not sure it'll do anything. Thoughts?

Question 2: Do cables really matter? The store sales people will make it sound like you're a fool not to upgrade...but it's $$$$$$ to do so.

Question 3: I have a Sony progressive scan DVD that is setup with component inputs. This is a 480p signal. In the TV setup, I have the option to make this 540p or 1080i. Does it matter? (I can't see a difference.)

Question 4: On this TV, will buying an upcoding DVD make a quality difference? What about HDMI...will that make a big difference in quality?

Question 5: Any secret "tweaks" that will make picture quality with satellite better?

Question 6: How do you have your brightness/contract/sharpness/color/tint set for your satelite?

Question 7: What freakin screen size mode do I use for widescreen DVD's? It seems to vary by movie. Is this possible? (The DVD is set to 16:9)

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm a newbie and don't want to return this to Best Buy without making sure it's not my setup.

Thanks.

[57U]

1. A little.

2. The type of cable matters (composite vs. component). The cost of the cable rarely does once you have a "good" cable. See the FAQ on Cables & connections.

3. Whichever you prefer.

4. Perhaps, depends on the DVD player and how the input is calibrated. See the FAQ on DVI Connectors.

5. See the FAQs on "Poor SD PQ" and "What you need to do to your new HDTV".

6. See 5.

7. See the FAQ on "Widescreen Stretch Modes" and "Black Bars".