Sparkles - Blu-ray Forum

xneox · 08-01-2009, 03:14 AM

Why am I seeing the occasional white sparkle on this new tv? Seems to be only certain blu-rays. Are they in the movie?

BStecke · 08-01-2009, 03:15 AM

Is the only thing new the TV? Sparkles are a common symptom of a bad HDMI cable, or lower quality cables run over long distances.

If it's just occasional, white specks are usually dirt on the print. HDMI "sparklies" are usually visible all the time.

xneox · 08-01-2009, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BStecke

Is the only thing new the TV? Sparkles are a common symptom of a bad HDMI cable, or lower quality cables run over long distances.

Yeah...nothing else new.

I was thinking it might be the cable too, so I replaced the BJC Series 1 (8') with a Monster Cable 1000HD right-angle end (6.6'). We just watched The Strangers (terrible, complete waste of time of a movie). I still saw a few, but seemingly less. It looked like a bad transfer, so maybe it's in the movie? The only other place I saw them was Lord of War. I'm not seeing anything in Bug's Life...although I have yet to watch the whole thing. I don't seem to see anything via Dish either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BStecke

If it's just occasional, white specks are usually dirt on the print. HDMI "sparklies" are usually visible all the time.

Yeah, definitely just occasional, and always white on a dark scene. Never any colored ones. Never saw them on the 800u...maybe just 'lucky' with the titles I've seen...? Or is this display pointing out more?

JasonR · 08-01-2009, 03:40 AM

Have you calibrated your display? I would try to first set your sharpness at zero and see how you like that.

I believe what you are experiencing is film grain. Some settings can enhance this, sharpness being the biggest contributor.

xneox · 08-01-2009, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonR

Have you calibrated your display? I would try to first set your sharpness at zero and see how you like that.

I believe what you are experiencing is film grain. Some settings can enhance this, sharpness being the biggest contributor.

Haven't yet...trying to carve out some time this weekend to do just that.

I do know that it's not film grain I'm seeing...I know what that looks like, and as much as I wish it wasn't there, I've learned to accept it. I usually run sharpness somewhere between 30-40, but I'll leave it wherever it ends up after running the DVE disc.

It's definitely a white spec, maybe once every 10-30 seconds, and only in dark scenes.

wafi · 08-01-2009, 12:52 PM

Theres usually a sharpness enhancer apart from the "Sharpness", atleast its on the Pios...check and see if you have something similar on the V10, I like the others here do feel that it is a sharpness/grain issue that can be solved by tweaking the settings.

xneox · 08-01-2009, 01:56 PM

If it's a sharpness setting, why only in certain movies, in dark scenes, and why one bright white pixel (like a strobelight) in an otherwise dark picture? I know what grain looks like, and this is NOT it.

BStecke · 08-01-2009, 02:38 PM

Can you duplicate the problem?

Ie, same movie, same frame, every time? If so, it's probably a speck of dirt.

Blu-Dog · 08-01-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xneox

Why am I seeing the occasional white sparkle on this new tv? Seems to be only certain blu-rays. Are they in the movie?

Before spending tons of money on cables, etc., a quick warning: this is usually a power problem.

Surge protectors won't help - but a good line filter will. You're not seeing spikes in power, it's probably dips in power from another device somewhere on the circuit.

The usual culprit is anything with a motor - an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a room fan, something like that. It will kick on and off, leaving a perfect picture and leaving you wondering what's going on.

Try unplugging everything that's on the same circuit as your television, and see what happens.

xneox · 08-01-2009, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BStecke

Can you duplicate the problem?

Ie, same movie, same frame, every time? If so, it's probably a speck of dirt.

Haven't tried that...I'll give it a shot. Thanks.

xneox · 08-01-2009, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

Before spending tons of money on cables, etc., a quick warning: this is usually a power problem.

Surge protectors won't help - but a good line filter will. You're not seeing spikes in power, it's probably dips in power from another device somewhere on the circuit.

The usual culprit is anything with a motor - an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a room fan, something like that. It will kick on and off, leaving a perfect picture and leaving you wondering what's going on.

Try unplugging everything that's on the same circuit as your television, and see what happens.

See equipment list in my signature. The H10 takes care of such things.

wafi · 08-01-2009, 04:57 PM

I had a similar experience with Underowld 3 and certain dark scenes on Planet Earth which was solved by tweaking the PQ. Anyway you can list the setup under your Picture option?

Kryptron · 08-01-2009, 06:23 PM

I had a sparkle problem with a sony bravia tv i use to own. This is probably different, but i herd the sparkle problem was solved with a firmware update and it fixed a problem with the video processing engine (Bravia engine).

Try to connect the tv to the internet and update the firmware if an update is available.

Do you have this problem on all sources? Or only on HDMI? Try a different hdmi port see if you get the same results. And like someone else said before, replay a scene of the movie a few times and check if the sparkles appear on the exact same spot at the exact same time.

xneox · 08-01-2009, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BStecke

Can you duplicate the problem?

Ie, same movie, same frame, every time? If so, it's probably a speck of dirt.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kryptron

like someone else said before, replay a scene of the movie a few times and check if the sparkles appear on the exact same spot at the exact same time.

So I'm watching TBS HD on Dish...they're playing Bad News Bears...cute movie. Anyway, I noticed some sparkles, so I backed it up (I love this DVR thing) and sure enough, same spot, every time.

Phew.

wafi · 08-02-2009, 03:09 PM

Lets see if I can replicate something similar to see if this is what you are looking at...btw its from a camera phone.

xneox · 08-02-2009, 04:13 PM

You would have to point out what you're talking about...all I see is a grainy picture.

Do you see a sparkle (there's usually only one on the screen at a time...the size of a pixel)?

Blu-Dog · 08-02-2009, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xneox

See equipment list in my signature. The H10 takes care of such things.

If nothing else works, try unplugging everything else, anyway. The H10 is a single-stage filter, and may not be able to deal with a really aggressive motor on the same circuit.

Refrigerators and air conditioners are a real problem, as are room fans. The H10 will deal with other electronic noise from transformers and such, but motors?

Just keep it in mind.

xneox · 08-02-2009, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

If nothing else works, try unplugging everything else, anyway. The H10 is a single-stage filter, and may not be able to deal with a really aggressive motor on the same circuit.

Refrigerators and air conditioners are a real problem, as are room fans. The H10 will deal with other electronic noise from transformers and such, but motors?

Just keep it in mind.

Gotchya. I do have a window a/c in the living room, but it is on it's own dedicated line...despite that, when the compressor kicks on, the H10 switches to boost. Guess it's affecting the entire panel...

Either way, the sparkles I was seeing are in the movie...I was able to duplicate them in the same frame every time.

xneox · 08-02-2009, 06:22 PM

And for the record, I just calibrated using the DVE disc, and sharpness seems to have ZERO effect on anything. I went from 0-100-0 with no change in the picture on the geometry screen.

So I'm leaving it at 0.

Strange, because that wasn't the case with my 800u...

Edit: does have a mild effect on Dish, which tells me it's doing something on the Blu-ray, as both are connected via HDMI, but I just can't see it. This one's worth a new thread...

Blu-Dog · 08-03-2009, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xneox

Gotchya. I do have a window a/c in the living room, but it is on it's own dedicated line...despite that, when the compressor kicks on, the H10 switches to boost. Guess it's affecting the entire panel...

Either way, the sparkles I was seeing are in the movie...I was able to duplicate them in the same frame every time.

Dang. Then it's the disc, or the player...dang. I was hoping for a cheaper fix.

08-01-2009, 03:14 AM	#1
xneox Expert Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Hartford, CT	Sparkles Why am I seeing the occasional white sparkle on this new tv? Seems to be only certain blu-rays. Are they in the movie?

08-01-2009, 03:15 AM	#2
BStecke Blu-ray Knight Member since:Jun 2007 4K collection:182 Blu-ray collection:567 DVD collection:1 Digital collection:1 iTunes collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 1 Trading Score:6	Is the only thing new the TV? Sparkles are a common symptom of a bad HDMI cable, or lower quality cables run over long distances. If it's just occasional, white specks are usually dirt on the print. HDMI "sparklies" are usually visible all the time. Last edited by BStecke; 08-01-2009 at 03:20 AM.

08-01-2009, 06:23 PM	#13
Kryptron Expert Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Tampa Bay, FL Home Theater Gallery:21 4K collection:83 Blu-ray collection:450 Trading Score:4	I had a sparkle problem with a sony bravia tv i use to own. This is probably different, but i herd the sparkle problem was solved with a firmware update and it fixed a problem with the video processing engine (Bravia engine). Try to connect the tv to the internet and update the firmware if an update is available. Do you have this problem on all sources? Or only on HDMI? Try a different hdmi port see if you get the same results. And like someone else said before, replay a scene of the movie a few times and check if the sparkles appear on the exact same spot at the exact same time. Last edited by Kryptron; 08-01-2009 at 06:26 PM.

08-02-2009, 06:22 PM	#19
xneox Expert Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Hartford, CT	And for the record, I just calibrated using the DVE disc, and sharpness seems to have ZERO effect on anything. I went from 0-100-0 with no change in the picture on the geometry screen. So I'm leaving it at 0. Strange, because that wasn't the case with my 800u... Edit: does have a mild effect on Dish, which tells me it's doing something on the Blu-ray, as both are connected via HDMI, but I just can't see it. This one's worth a new thread... Last edited by xneox; 08-03-2009 at 01:24 AM.

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08-01-2009, 03:40 AM	#4
JasonR Super Moderator Top contributor Member since:Nov 2007 Trading Score:12	Have you calibrated your display? I would try to first set your sharpness at zero and see how you like that. I believe what you are experiencing is film grain. Some settings can enhance this, sharpness being the biggest contributor.

08-01-2009, 12:52 PM	#6
wafi Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:along the beltway Home Theater Gallery:26 Blu-ray collection:384 Blu-ray reviews: 11 Trading Score:4	Theres usually a sharpness enhancer apart from the "Sharpness", atleast its on the Pios...check and see if you have something similar on the V10, I like the others here do feel that it is a sharpness/grain issue that can be solved by tweaking the settings.

08-01-2009, 01:56 PM	#7
xneox Expert Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Hartford, CT	If it's a sharpness setting, why only in certain movies, in dark scenes, and why one bright white pixel (like a strobelight) in an otherwise dark picture? I know what grain looks like, and this is NOT it.

08-01-2009, 02:38 PM	#8
BStecke Blu-ray Knight Member since:Jun 2007 4K collection:182 Blu-ray collection:567 DVD collection:1 Digital collection:1 iTunes collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 1 Trading Score:6	Can you duplicate the problem? Ie, same movie, same frame, every time? If so, it's probably a speck of dirt.

08-01-2009, 04:57 PM	#12
wafi Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:along the beltway Home Theater Gallery:26 Blu-ray collection:384 Blu-ray reviews: 11 Trading Score:4	I had a similar experience with Underowld 3 and certain dark scenes on Planet Earth which was solved by tweaking the PQ. Anyway you can list the setup under your Picture option?

08-02-2009, 03:09 PM	#15
wafi Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:along the beltway Home Theater Gallery:26 Blu-ray collection:384 Blu-ray reviews: 11 Trading Score:4	Lets see if I can replicate something similar to see if this is what you are looking at...btw its from a camera phone.

08-02-2009, 04:13 PM	#16
xneox Expert Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Hartford, CT	You would have to point out what you're talking about...all I see is a grainy picture. Do you see a sparkle (there's usually only one on the screen at a time...the size of a pixel)?

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