Admin: see this link for the fix.

I've noticed that while video switching is incredibly convenient it seems to have created a number of problems with my system. Oddly the problems are centered entirely around inputting a component video signal.

The most persistant and irritating problem is that sometimes while watching DVDs there will be a brief white flash across the entire screen. After paying attention to this I noticed that they always come up at the same time. Since the problem is reproducible testing ensued to determine the cause. The white flashes never show up coming from any other video input (TiVo runs on S-video and a Gamecube on composite) or when watching TV directly over cable.

At first I thought it was just a connection issue and after putting it off for a bit due to the hassle of hauling out the receiver and checking everything I held off on it until I had to take it out for the recent software update. Everything go unplugged so the receiver could go visit the computer. When I rewired I made certain that all of the connections everywhere in the chain were secure and paid extra attention to separating out the sources, the speaker wires, and the power cords to prevent crosstalk.

After plugging everything back in I recalibrated with DVE and while doing this noticed (as I had before) that when running through the 1070 the blacker-than-black bar on the pluge pattern was no longer being passed. Since I had it before I got the 1070 I double-checked and yes, this was the result of running it through the receiver (it has nothing specifically to do with the component input as I found when running the DVD player into the 1070 through a composite input, but it is a mild disappointment that the 1070's video processing circuits don't pass it). I brushed it off because while it was important I could deal with it. It was during the recalibration that I noticed that the white flash problem still existed.

I checked a few other discs as well and they all had the same problem at various points. After settling on a test disc I cleaned it with a soft cloth and tried again. Still with the flashes! I methodically trying loosening component cables from the back of the DVD player to see if it was a problem with a particular cable... nope. I tried routing the component cable directly to the TV and this seemed to fix it. I tried replaying the chosen problem area four or five more times and the problem failed to reappear.

At this point I could tell it was definitely not the fault of the disc itself (well, since it was locked to specific points on every disc I tested it was, but that's largely irrelevant) since removing the 1070 from the loop solved the problem. It was at this point that I tried to shake it down even further. I checked the DVD player using composite cables directly into the TV and again, after multiple passes there was no flash. I tried connecting the DVD player through the 1070 with composite cables and there were no problems with flashing.

At this point it was largely isolated: the problem was coming about only when the DVD player (or perhaps another device, I don't have any other component-out equipment to test with) is connected to the 1070 on a component input. It was definitely not a problem with the component output (component out is the only video output I have connected) or it would have shown up when I upconverted from one of the non-component inputs. I finally tried checking the other two component inputs thinking it might merely be a single defective input, but I had the exact same problem at the exact same time on DVD, Video 2, and Video 3.

Any idea what might be causing this problem and, far more importantly, any ideas on how I might be able to fix it (that do not involve just passing video directly to the TV)? Also is anybody else having problems at all like this or am I the only one?

Belgand,

I have the same issue with the 970 (basically 1070 minus the amps). I get the white flashing and I also have a 6" vertical band on the left side of my 92" screen that looks like a thin grayscale bar has been laid on top of it. I have talked to Scott and he told me to try a reset, although he thought that may not work as it sounds like a hardware issue. I am going to try later tonight.

Yeah, I had to reset when I applied the upgrade and that didn't fix it.

Do you own Toy Story 2? I am wondering if the white flashes happen at the same points on your 1070 and my 970. If so, I will tell you where to look.

Why don't you guys post a couple of DVDs and the times that this happens at?

It would help the Outlaws troubleshoot it.

Also I have a 970 on order. When I set it up I could test for this too.

Regards,

Charlie

Toy Story 2 is the only movie I remember remember exactly where a white flash was at, though there were several during my testing scenes in this movie. The issue was present on Episode 3 and U-571 as well. I know I use chapter 15 on U-571 and the opening sequence on Episode 3, but I don't remember exactly where the flashes occured.

It occured on Toy Story 2. A white flash happened right after Buzz Lightyear runs from the spikes and picks himself up on the platform before jumping on the suspended discs. This scene is the opening sequence for the movie.

The flashes were also only when using a component input. After doing a reset on the 970 last night the S-video looked better than it did originally, but the blacks were still pretty poor. I have given my info to Scott and he has been very helpful.

Nope, don't have Toy Story 2, U-571, or Episode 3.

I was using The Big Lebowski (the original, not the recent re-release) where there is a flash shortly after the beginning of chapter 2 just as Woo (the second thug) walks down the hallway.

Probably the best reference to work from here is Digital Video Essentials where I have most definitely noted the flashing. I'd need to pull it back out and work out at least one place where it occurs. I've also noted it a few times in the extended edition of LOTR: The Return of the King, but I'd need to go back and find out when they happen.

Though the problem looks to be with the 1070 alone the DVD player I'm using is a Sony DVP-NS300. The discs seem to have a role in this and it may be that the player does as well. Every little bit helps.

Just threw in The Matrix to check and I found something interesting that makes it rather convenient to check on this problem: start the movie and then stop it (I found this works pretty much any time in chapter 1, but not necessarily in other chapters) and almost immediately after it goes back to the DVD player's title screen the flash shows up. I checked some other discs and they didn't show this . Otherwise it's a pretty quick way to test. Just start, stop, and wait for the flash.

Belgand,
I have the same problem. To be more specific, my "white flashes" appear to be artifacts all over the TV screen. That is, not only in the viewing portion but in the black bars as well.

I basically tried the same troubleshooting as you that ended with the same result: wiring my DVD player and SAT receiver directly to my TV, which works fine. I also noticed that there was no rhyme or reason as to when it happened, i.e. they appeared on all media and channels. This is a hardware problem that needs to be addressed.

Indeed, the flashes appear as a full white flash that covers the entire screen. I've also noticed (although this could just be my mind playing tricks on me as it can be tough to spot) that the scene will often darken just slightly a second or so before the flash occurs. This isn't something that's visible most of the time though, but it's enough that I can sometimes predict a flash.

You said these were on "all media and channels" does that mean you're getting the problem when connecting devices with non-component inputs?

If you haven't checked please try running your DVD player through the composite inputs and checking to see if it's still an issue. That was what I found to be the most perplexing part of this. If it was just adding noise to the signal or amplifying underlying problems with the disc I could understand, but transfering a component signal from a component input to a component output should (I believe) cause less problems than upconverting a composite signal and passing it out through component.