Why does playback look like crap when I use the composite cable?

I

Indyreel

Well-known member
Just got my GH1 last week and shot some test footage. You guys are righton with the 720 vs 1080 (i.e. 1080 much more touchy, but looks better).

Anyway, I just viewed the footage on my HD tv and it looked like crap, almost like VHS. (as opposed to hvx200 footage that I played back that looked very clear)

I used the supplied cable, and I know it's not HDMI but this really looked bad.

Can someone please clue me in?

Thanks
 
It's composite video...seriously that'll do it.

Uprezzing on HDTVs usually results in terrible quality...try it on a 640 x 480 TV :)
 
Using composite video cable (the lowest quality possible) ........you should be ashamed of yourself to even post this here :p
 
I was so happy that I got a mini HDMI cable weeks before my camera came, because I was able to play-back in full HD within minutes of its arrival.

I noticed one slightly odd thing when you play-back FHD (1080) clips using the camera's built-in slideshow mode (I know). When you play-back a single 1080 clip, it plays in 1080/60i mode. If you play-back a 1080 clip as part of a slideshow, it plays at 720/60p. This seems to be the camera's preferred output for "mixed-media".

EDIT: It overrides the 1080i HDMI mode in the menu.
 
If you play-back a 1080 clip as part of a slideshow, it plays at 720/60p. This seems to be the camera's preferred output for "mixed-media".
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, that's interesting (and logical to prevent delays while the TV resets itself) but I wonder whether that accounts for a few people saying that they don't see a significant difference between GH1 1080i and 720p - maybe they were looking at a 720p version all the time.
 
1080i has a delay of a few seconds before it displays via HDMI. At least it does on my TV. 720p no problem, plays immediately. Does anyone else have this?

Also, I find the colours in 1080i washed out via HDMI.
 
commanderspike said:
1080i has a delay of a few seconds before it displays via HDMI. At least it does on my TV. 720p no problem, plays immediately. Does anyone else have this?

Also, I find the colours in 1080i washed out via HDMI.
Click to expand...

Yes, and I agree that this must be why the camera just displays everything at 720 when in slideshow mode - otherwise it wouldn't be much of a show.

I also wondered if this is why some people don't see a difference. I noticed it because I put the info panel up on the screen while playing back through an HD projector.

I had a problem with washed-out colors and really flat contrast on my HD projector, until I discovered a menu setting for the HDMI ports: "Advanced" and "Normal". Advanced produced the wash-out, so it's now set to Normal.
 
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