Low Video Level on MVP Outputs

[billbremer]

My new MVP (Rev D1) has low brightness on both the S-Video and composite outputs.

Peak white levels while playing an mpeg clip are only about 60 IRE (they should be 100). Sync level is 20 (should be 40). The same clip looks fine when played on other devices.

Is this a known issue with the MVP? Would another hardware revision be better? Can these levels be adjusted via software?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[soccerdad]

I am not sure this is what you are looking for but you can change the brightness, saturation, sharpness, etc in the direct.ini file in the gbpvr directory. By default, all are set to auto. I found that the MVP picture was too dark so I set it to "75" which was good for me. This changes how it is recorded so it changes both the display on the PC and on the MVP. The setting works well on both systems for me. Just edit it in notepad.

[Pilot]

I too had to change the settings for my MVP. I used the Hauppauge Tweak Tool, and bumped the contrast up rather than the brightness. I don't like what brightness does to the color black, so the contrast did a better job for me. I also had to bump up the saturation a little because the colors were looking a little dull. You can get the HTT from the Utilities section at GBPVR.com:

http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Utility/Utility

If you have the ability to do a side by side PIP/POP thing on your TV, that's the easiest way to get the colors right. Just put GB-PVR in LiveTV mode, and then put your TV on the same channel. LiveTV will be a little behind the TV tuner, but you'll still be able to get a good comparison. Otherwise, if you try to compare the colors on your computer monitor to the colors on a TV, you likely will not end up with the same thing when using MVP.

[billbremer]

Thank you very much for the info.

I guess I should confess that I'm not currently using GB-PVR. I posted to this forum because you guys are so into the technical nitty gritty.

The video level problem I'm seeing occurs when using the MVP software from Hauppauge. I've tried serveral different versions, all with the same results. I can't be sure but I believe it's a hardware problem because the level is low from the moment the box is powered on (even before it has downloaded software from the server).

Will the Hauppauge Tweak Tool work with the MVP only? I don't have any other Hauppauge hardware.

Thanks

[Pilot]

Actually, I've mislead you a little -- the Tweak Tool only works on Hauppauge TV tuner cards. Since I'm using one with my MVP, I just assumed you were as well. If you're not using a Hauppauge TV tuner card, then I don't think it would do any good for you.

Have you tried using the MediaMVP UI for the PC? You can download it here:

http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/software/...how_ui.bat

It mirrors what you would see on the TV set, except it displays it on your PC. If it turns out dark on your PC, too, that would pretty much point to your MVP. You could also try GB-PVR just to see if it does better than the Hauppauge software. If it does the same, then you definitely know that it's hardware. Also, have you tried it on other TVs or just the one?

Have you been unplugging your MVP when trying all these different driver versions? If you just turn it off instead of unplugging it, the new or different driver will not be downloaded.

[billbremer]

As near as I can tell, running show ui.bat allowed me to see and control the mvp user interface from my computer. I did not see that it gave me any extra control over the video settings. Did I miss something there?

Yes, I did power cycle the mvp each time I changed software.

I'm measuring the voltage levels of the video output signals using a professional video waveform monitor/oscilloscope. The level should be 140 IRE units peak to peak (including sync). What I'm seeing is around 90 IRE instead. (Roughly 36% too low)

I'm starting to wonder if this may be a common problem with some revisions of mvp's (mine is D1) and most people simply adjust their monitors to compensate. Of course it's also possible that my particular box is defective.

Anyone else with access to an oscilloscope who could check the level on their mvp?

Thanks

[Pilot]

Haha...you're way beyond me. I thought you might the brightness level just appeared to be dark, not readings from an oscilloscope! The UI app was just to see if it looked as bright on your computer monitor as it did on your TV....that's all.

Using the MVP software, I didn't really notice my video being too dark. However, when I started using GB-PVR, I did notice it came in a little dark and required the settings being tweaked to get it up to par with the normal display using my TV's internal tuner.

Hope you find your answers!

[hasso]

Yes... this is a hardware "problem" with some versions of MVP. I think the D1 was among them (do a search). I find everything is a bit "redshifted" and a bit dark. People seem to have been out in the sun just a tiny bit too long. I've just adjusted the TV settings just slightly to compensate (and still have regular TV look OK). I believe the E1 versions are better (but don't have one to compare).