Sony Bravia weird flicker on clothing pattern

[BTobin]

Hi,
Sorry if this is not a new question. I've been aware for a while now that with certain films clothing patterns (especially corduroy (specifically in films like Hugo)) start to flicker in this kind of odd way. It doesn't appear to be aliasing/moire. I've read at least with Hugo that the film had a great transfer. I suppose it could be my player (Panasonic DMP BD87) or the TV. Panasonic told me to try a new HDMI cable, which I did. The issue persists. I now suspect the TV. I've tried a number of settings and resettings and have arrived at a point where it is far less noticeable. I'm just trying to figure out what this might be, if it's my screen or not my screen. I'm just the kind of person who gets distracted by things like this. I saw Hugo played on a blu ray player on a big screen and did notice a hint of the flicker in the clothes but it wasn't as strong as mine. I don't think the discs are defective because it has happened with a couple of them. I can't find any answers or similar accounts though I've looked. At least for Hugo again (I use this as a primary example as it's one of my favorite films) I can't find a bad word about the 2D transfer.

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by BTobin

Hi,
Sorry if this is not a new question. I've been aware for a while now that with certain films clothing patterns (especially corduroy (specifically in films like Hugo)) start to flicker in this kind of odd way. It doesn't appear to be aliasing/moire. I've read at least with Hugo that the film had a great transfer. I suppose it could be my player (Panasonic DMP BD87) or the TV. Panasonic told me to try a new HDMI cable, which I did. The issue persists. I now suspect the TV. I've tried a number of settings and resettings and have arrived at a point where it is far less noticeable. I'm just trying to figure out what this might be, if it's my screen or not my screen. I'm just the kind of person who gets distracted by things like this. I saw Hugo played on a blu ray player on a big screen and did notice a hint of the flicker in the clothes but it wasn't as strong as mine. I don't think the discs are defective because it has happened with a couple of them. I can't find any answers or similar accounts though I've looked. At least for Hugo again (I use this as a primary example as it's one of my favorite films) I can't find a bad word about the 2D transfer.

What you're seeing is "screen door effect", and it's one of the two reasons I went to a Kuro. I had seen it in a number of films, where there were close lines being panned - The Dark Knight started with this, with the smooth panned helicopter shots of the city, and it was obvious that the vertical lines of the building windows was suffering from this. Any movie with overhead city shots makes it glaringly obvious - the second Bourne film, and The International come to mind - and it's disconcerting and distracting at the same time.

The second reason I got a Kuro was again The Dark Knight - the opening shot of The Joker waiting to be picked up by his team on the corner showed no definition of his suit - it was all just non-contrast gray, and I knew I needed higher black contrast. It also revealed some screen-door effect.

Both of my televisions - a Sony XBR 1080i rear projection, and a Sony XBR2 LCD - couldn't shake it. On the LCD, I could alleviate it somewhat by changing player output to 24 FPS instead of 60, set the television to the same, and saw an immediate improvement. It works for Blu-Ray, but doesn't do much for regular broadcast television (where it's usually not an issue anyway).

I'm not familiar with the settings on your player, but you can try it if it does. The problem is the speed of the display - there are a lot of pixels turning on and off, very quickly, and they tend to stumble over each other.

There's nothing wrong with your television or player, other than the speed of the display. Going to 24FPS should help a lot. I've seen lower end televisions, that look great (Vizio and others) where this is the only stumbling block. You don't need to take a hammer to your wallet the way I did; try the 24FPS trick, and it should help.

[BTobin]

Thanks so much! I'll give it try. I'm glad I know what it's called now.

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by BTobin

Thanks so much! I'll give it try. I'm glad I know what it's called now.

You might also hear references to "3:2 pulldown", as the 60Hz signal that comes as a default displays a 24 frames per second display for movies. There's all kinds of noise about multiples of the 60hz signal - 120Hz, 240Hz, 600Hz, etc. But the easiest method, and just as effective, is to go 24FPS.

Good hunting!

[BTobin]

I'm having a bit of trouble finding where to get the TV to do 24 fps or 24P. I've been poking about in the settings but I think I must be looking in the wrong place.

[BTobin]

Managed to find the 24P setting but I'm still seeing this weird flickering in the corduroy pattern