[EXPERT TIPS][MICHAEL
TLV]
Disabling the TV Internal Line Doubler?
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Some owners express dissatisfaction with their internal TV doubler that they are
considering the idea of disabling it. Is this a good idea? Can it be done? I asked
video calibrator Michael TLV to get his expert
opinion.
"Disabling a line doubler? ... No ... I have not encountered any way to
disable the internal linedoubler in any set I have seen. As far as I know, you can
only bypass the internal doubler by feeding the TV a progressive scan source via a
progressive scan DVD or an external line doubler. The only HD ready set that comes without
a line doubler is the RCA directview 32" and 36" 4:3 sets. They accept
1080i and progressive inputs.
The main problem with people having problems with their internal doubler is that the TV
settings are usually set wrong. I'll bet the sharpness is turned way too high. And
then we have those that say that the linedoubled image softens the image ... when they
really don't. It's an optical illusion that scan lines play on the brain. Interlaced sets
appear to be sharper because the brain fills in details in the black gaps thus creating
the perception of a more detailed image when in fact it isn't. The example best used here
is a white wall devoid of detail. presented as a progressive image, sans any scan line
structure, the image is a white wall. Put this same image up as an interlaced image, the
scan lines will make the white wall appear more detailed and sharper, when if fact that
cannot be. Scanlines cause the brain to create false detail ... adding detail to
where there isn't any.
The other thing about linedoublers ... cheap ones do make an image look bad ...
like on my 1993 Proscan set. The current crop of linedoublers found in TVs are far
superior to that in the old proscan set." |
