DVD playing too dark

[speccyteccy]

I've had a DVD player for a few years but when I bought a new TV a few years ago all DVD's play back too dark - I have to ramp up the brightness/contrast on the TV to get a good picture.

So, I've just moved in with my gf and we bought a new TV and plugged her DVD in and had the same problem (different TV, different DVD). My DVD plays back on the new TV fine and hers plays back on my TV with no problems.

Any ideas?

[BertKoor]

Let me recap that:

• Your DVD player on old (your) TV: too dark
• Your DVD player on new TV: OK
• Her DVD player on old (your?) TV: OK
• Her DVD player on new TV: too dark

Is that the situation? Well, at least you've got working combinations

How is the DVD player connected to the TV? With SCART, DVI or HDMI? Does using a different cable affect it?

[UltraJv]

Some tv/video combinations will be like this. It sounds like youre using a SCART connection. These are analogue and subject to variations. Thats why on mixers, we can adjust to suit. On SCART, there is no adjustment.

[speccyteccy]

Let me recap that:

• Your DVD player on old (your) TV: too dark
• Your DVD player on new TV: OK
• Her DVD player on old (your?) TV: OK
• Her DVD player on new TV: too dark

Is that the situation? Well, at least you've got working combinations

How is the DVD player connected to the TV? With SCART, DVI or HDMI? Does using a different cable affect it?

Yes - that's the correct permutations - same problem on two entirely different pairings. If it had just been one DVD or TV I would have ignored it.

Connection's via SCART - I've tried three cables but it made no difference.

It's no big deal really as the combinations work ok, but I assumed that, as this happened with two different combinations, it would be a known issue with some kind of workaround.

Unfortunately both players are a few years old and both basic models, so SCART is the only option.

[BertKoor]

The only thing I can think of is the usage of RGB signals versus composite or S-video in SCART. Some DVD players let you select what protocol is used in a setup menu.

Scart is a confusing protocol, and not as standard as you might think.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART

[deaf dunderkwac]

the rgb output on one of my older dvd players compressed the living daylights out of the 'black' but the composite output was close to normal.
-tis the nature of 'analog' video chip converters with poor default settings and no settings for the user to adjust.

[speccyteccy]

Thanks for your insights - I'll have a look for any hidden settings, but I've a feeling I'm just going to have to be thankful that things are fine the way I've got them set up.

[Alessandro Machi]

I am having the same experience here in 2024, using my CRT television with built in DVD and VCR. When I hook up my Antenna TV to the HD decoder into the TV, I can adjust the levels and get a PERFECT image, nothing is crushed, not even in low light situations. When I switch to the DVD Player, oh the horror. I think there has been massive confusion over the purpose of zero black IRE, versus 7.5 black IRE. I had my own high end RS-422 Video editing studio for a decade back in the 90's complete with waveform and vectorscope in front of me at all times and the ability to control video, color, brightness, hue, and contrast, and video clip capabilities. Zero black works best with animation, it can be a true disaster when people edit their video and don't readjust their zero black. But it can also be a disaster to keep adding 7.5 IRE since two generations will create 15 IRE. I use a SMPTE pluge color bar to set my monitor perfectly, so when I color correct I am doing it on a properly calibrated monitor. One theory is PAL is zero IRE, so it is possible our television sets are balanced to zero IRE, which then requires blasting the image to offset the zero black setting. HD sets may be able to tolerate such an abusive use of color correction, but SD sets require a 7.5 IRE signal to properly playback an image.