WSS trigger & n-Vi

Not to my knowledge I'm afraid.

Will look into it though...

Fingers crossed.....

Until I get an HD screen I'll be using RGB Scart once I get an n-Vi.... would hate to have the backwards step of manually changing aspect ratios - every other DVD player seems to be able to do this... can't understand why an n-Vi would be fitted with a Scart but be left without this basic facility...

Hi Duncan,

I've got the same problem, have to switch my video projector aspect ratio every time.

I use the analogue YUV outputs on BNC.

Please tell if you get a solution from AV@Naim...

Thanks

It's only the scart that I'd expect this facility on... after all there is a signal pin for this... but we seem to have no answer (yet).

Margan.... I don't know anything that would or could do format switching on YUV, S-Video or Composite.

Mike, I expected the n-Vi to convert the picture and send it in 4:3 or 16:9 to the display.
What else is the reason to select the aspect ratio in the n-Vi setup, only to switch a signal on the SCART output?

It should be able to do this, to preserve image quality on anamorphic discs, but the format switching is only triggered by Scart.... if you're using other connections then you'll have to adjust the aspect ratio of your screen/projector to and from "anamorphic" manually.

This is true of every dvd player I've had in the eight years of using the format.

The very fact that you're switching this manually proves that the n-Vi is sending both anamorphic and non-anamorphic images in their respective modes. If it were downconverting there'd be no need to switch, but picture quality would suffer on the anamorphic footage.

Aah, thanks Mike.
That means the aspect ratio you select on the n-Vi is absolutely worthless if you don't use SCART.
Would be a nice remark in the manual...

No, not true.
If your screen is 4:3 then 4:3 images appear as 4:3
Non-anamorphic discs will appear as 16:9 or 2.35:1 in the middle of your screen with lines of resolution being used to generate the black bars.
However an anamorphic 16:9 disc actually gives a 4:3 picture on this screen.
This means it's using all the available lines of resolution to give a good picture.. but it looks like the picture has been squashed and everyone appears tall and thin.

Now if the screen was a 16:9 with the ability to take anamorphic pictures then the screen Could (in the right setting) stretch the picture back out horizontally to give you the picture as intended.

As a 4:3 screen (usually) can't do this, the setting is there on the n-Vi's (and every other dvd players) menu for 4:3 screens.
When fed an anamorphic disc they will then (in simplified form) remove one horizontal line of resolution in every 4, thus reshaping the picture and adding in the black lines top and bottom so that you can see the right shaped 16:9 image on a 4:3 screen.

Try this experiment - look at the boxes of your dvd collection for examples with claim they are and aren't anamorphic.

Set your n-Vi to 16:9 screen.

set your screen to FULL picture ( as opposed to 14:9, 16:9 etc)

Play the discs.

Non Anamorphic discs will gives you a small but correctly shaped picture in the middle of the screen.

Anamorpic discs will give you a full 4:3 picture (if it's a 16:9 movie) that looks stretched vertically.

Many thanks Mike!

I was always confused with this aspect ratio handling but now I think I got it:

An aspect ratio setting of '4:3 Letterbox' or '4:3 Pan & Scan' on a DVD-player (like n-Vi) always gives you a 4:3 picture. Non-anamorphic dics will be unconverted, anamorphic disc will be converted to 4:3 (in either Pan&Scan (if setting AND disc enable this) or Letterbox (else)).

An aspect ratio setting of '16:9' is meant for 16:9 displays, but it should better be called 'Linear' because it always gives you an unconverted picture, for non-anamorphic discs in 4:3, for anamorphic discs in 16:9.

So with my 4:3 projector (600 * 800) with aspect ratio setting:
- if I choose a 4:3 setting on the n-Vi I never have to switch the setting on my projector dependent on the disc (will try this soon). But I loose image quality with anamorphic discs. Because in this case first the n-Vi scales the image (as you described it), then my projector (up to 600 lines).
- if I choose the 16:9 setting on the n-Vi I always have to switch the setting on my projector dependent on the disc. But with anamorphic discs only my projector will scale.

Because one scaling is better than two I think I'll stick to the 16:9 setting.

------------

I think Overscan means that my projector displays only let's say 550 of the 576 lines and scales these 550 up to 600.

I think something's getting lost in translation, but we both seem to agree that for best picture quality on all discs you need to set the n-Vi to 16:9 and manually change aspect ratios on the screen.
This is, without doubt, the case.


For the record, I've never used pan&scan - always prefer to see the full picture - if you're in a darkened room then the black bars don't matter, do they
Ta!