A Question About Film Mode On TV's

Ok, Im not the startest guy in the world when it comes to TV's and how they operate. I have a Mits 1080p DLP rear projection TV. It has an option for "FILM MODE" what does this do and does it make your television picture better in lamest terms please?

[Post edited by tony1569 on Jan 17, 2008]

Tony, I'd imagine it does 1 or 2 things when selected. I'm not familiar with that specific model, and you might want to google the model# for reviews, like those found on cnet.com etc.

1 - Selecting Film Mode might provide a more natural "cinema" settings for your TV, enhancing the contrast, and reducing brightness, color, and sharpness a little, so the image doesn't look too "processed". This is especially important when viewing in a "lights out", dark room environment (which is my preferred choice for viewing movies and concerts).

2 - Or, like Sharp Aquos LCDs, selecting F.Mode provides accurate processing/deinterlacing of film-based interlaced signals, 480i and 1080i, being input from your disc players (or from films broadcast on cable/satellite/antennae). Unless you always feed your TV display progressive signals, any film-based interlaced signals from 480i and 1080i have to be deinterlaced, w/3:2 pulldown, so as to avoid conversion noise/jaggies/etc, when transferring film's 24fps to your TVs native 30fps, which is doubled to 60hz (ALL TVs have native 60hz). And 24 doesn't convert properly to 30 (or 60hz), so the 3:2 pulldown processing is necessary.

And as I stated previously on other threads, some TV displays, such as the Pioneer plasma, not only offer full and accurate deinterlacing (before converting to the set's native 720p or 1080p resolution), but provide an "advanced" option (under it's "Pure Cinema" feature) - which allows their TVs to accept native 1080p/24 film-based signals, and that do NOT have to add 3:2 pulldown (deinterlacing), since in this advanced option, the TV changes it's frequency from 60hz to 72hz, and 24 is an even multiple of 72 (24x3), so no further processing is needed, and the hi-def film version can be viewed with near perfect image quality straight from your Blu-ray or HD-DVD player, providing you also have either player "set" with a 1080p/24 output (important). This works with either of Pioneer's plasma resolutions, with the signal now processed as 720p/72hz, or 1080p/72hz.

Otherwise, if your TV provides accurate deinterlacing, just have your player feed it the popular 1080i/60hz signal off the disc, or send the signal in progressive form with either 720p/60hz, (or 1080p/60hz, which is what the majority of 1080p hi-def disc players do anyway). FYI: usually the deinterlacing quality is better in the disc player, than the TV display, although Pioneer's plasmas (like my KURO) provide perfect deinterlacing of interlaced signals, so I can choose to use any signal output, and the image quality remains excellent.

Hope this helps!

-Love Hendrix! (The Loverboy)
~ DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray/KURO Plasma owner ~

[Post edited by Love Hendrix! on Jan 18, 2008]

Thanks Love Hendrix,

I did google it last night and found out that basically turn the feature off when watching video like a news cast and set it to auto when watching video recorded on film.

Hendrix, I have a A-35 that does out 24ps, and will eentually get a TV to do it too. But do the DISCS have to have that as an option? Or will that work with ANY disc?

comicgeekoid said -

Quote:
"Hendrix, I have a A-35 that does out 24ps, and will eventually get a TV to do it too. But do the DISCS have to have that as an option? Or will that work with ANY disc?"

The content on almost all Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs is ALREADY native 1080p/24hhz (a few are 1080i/60hz, like some of the concert discs). Depending on your player setting (choice of signal output), the native 1080p/24hz signal will be converted to either of these -

720p/60hz
1080i/60hz
1080p/60hz

Now, IF your TV display also has the 24fps option for viewing the disc's native signal without further processing to any of the above frequencies, and IF your player offers a pure native 1080p/24hz choice of output (like some of the Toshiba HD-DVD players, the PS3, and other Blu-ray players), THEN yes you can choose the 1080p/24hz signal output from the player to get an image that is smoother when viewing motion - (and with no 3:2 pulldown needed), as the deinterlacing is done at the player itself (1080progressive).

What this looks like to our eyes - on many of the slow and faster pans the image will look much smoother, with less use of film's natural "judder" movement, and less of a blur effect within movement (although some people's eyes might not get use to the slow-motion like smoothness of watching 24fps without the usual judder from the frames of film-type signals). This "smoothness" is comparable to that of VIDEO signals (like videotape, and like some of the "soap opera" shows) - some prefer it, but others like the natural judder of film's frame rate.

Once you have a TV that offers it, and an applicable player, then you can experiment with 1080p/24hz output. If wanting to keep the signal with the standard, usual way you've always viewed it, then have your player output at either 1080p/60hz, 1080i/60hz, or 720p/60hz signals, the way that MOST everyone sees disc content with their players/TVs, whether upconverted DVD, HD-DVD, or Blu-ray.

Note: for standard DVD resolution playback, the players either output 480i/60hz (interlaced), or 480p/60hz (progressive). But most of us now "upconvert" to one of the other signal frequencies I said above.

-Love Hendrix! (The Loverboy)
~ DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray/KURO Plasma owner ~

Hendrix,

You are the man. )