Problems connecting blu-ray player to TV

[Deleted User]

Ben84 wrote: »

Just a quick update, which may help anyone else with similar problems

I sincerely doubt there will be anyone else trying to connect a modern Blu-Ray Player to a thirty year-old TV.:D

Lumstorm

almillar wrote: »

Macrovision copy protection on a BluRay? They're a bit more sophisticated than that, and use HDCP for HDMI connections. If you're outputting over analogue connectors there's no copy protection unless I've missed something.

As far as I'm aware HDCP is used for the HDMI but the analogue output will have macrovision otherwise you could just copy from the analogue output you won't see it connected to a TV directly but if you connected via another device such as a recorder it will show and cause flickering of colour and the brightness.

Newer BD player's are even more restricted than older models you used to get HD through the component connection now they have disabled HD when output through the component if your player has them. They want to push HDMI due to the protection it gives.

Ben84

Lumstorm wrote: »

As far as I'm aware HDCP is used for the HDMI but the analogue output will have macrovision otherwise you could just copy from the analogue output you won't see it connected to a TV directly but if you connected via another device such as a recorder it will show and cause flickering of colour and the brightness.

Newer BD player's are even more restricted than older models you used to get HD through the component connection now they have disabled HD when output through the component if your player has them. They want to push HDMI due to the protection it gives.

I doubt macrovision is used any more, it's basically stone age technology on so many levels. It only applies to analogue 625 line signals and it only stops VCRs recording them. It's not a universal copy protection, it's pretty crude how it works and is dependent on pre 1990s technology.

Basically, while a PAL TV set receives a 625 line signal, only 576 lines are scanned on to the back of the screen by the electron beam. The undisplayed lines contain other information, including teletext data on some channels - but the key point is that that while they're being received by the TV the electron beam is switched off so that it can be positioned at the top to start another scan down the screen. Macrovision is a very intense pulse within these undisplayed lines. The TV set ignores it - the electron beam is turned off and everything looks normal.

Many video players however get confused by it, as they contain a circuit intended to optimise recording, but it can also be exploited to mess up the recording by this pulse. Recording to tape is basically all about magnetising the metal powder coating, and to make a good recording the intensity of the magnetisation should not be too low as the recording will be faint and excessively affected by background noise in the tape, or too high as there's only so much you can magnetise tape and recording too close to this level ends up clipping off the top of the signal. So, to make a quality recording, magentising the tape right in the middle of it's potential range is useful. This is why many video recorders contain a circuit that constantly measures the intensity of the signal and adjusts it up or down to place it in an ideal range for recording to tape. Unlike the TV, VCRs with this feature do notice the intense pulse from the macrovision, and end up reducing the recording strength so much in response, that the recording of the 576 displayed lines following the pulse is really faint and fuzzy as it's little stronger than the background noise on the tape. Then just as it recovers it receives another pulse and is messed up again. PAL TVs refresh 50 times a second, each time with the undisplayed lines and a potential macrovision pulse stashed in them, so it doesn't get much time to turn up the recording strength.

Anyway, the threat of being pirated on VHS (or more absurdly Betamax or V2000) is about as relevant to modern film studios as the threat of being invaded by the Romans. I mean, even *I* don't have a VCR any more.

[Deleted User]

Ben84 wrote: »

I mean, even *I* don't have a VCR any more.

I thought you'd have a Betamax top loader!:D

Ben84

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

I thought you'd have a Betamax top loader!:D

Of course, it would be just the thing to attach to a 50" plasma TV :rotfl:.