1) In order to calibrate the set, any suggestions for what software to use? I do have a Sony BD player.
There are a number of good BD's around for calibration. Spears & Munsil is really good (available through OPPO's site for around $25).
2) I noticed some forums quote the TV settings CNET used in their reviews. Is this a good starting point? Perhaps there are web sites listing the best options for most every set?
It's a place to start, but I would still want to run a calibration. Individual panels will typically need somewhat different settings, which is one reason why professional calibrators exist.
3) I was looking at the Marantz that Outlaw is offering. I am curious as to why receivers need to have video processing. Wouldn’t you want this to be handled by your TV?
There can be arguments for and against video processing in receivers (or in standalone video processors). Generally the problem is quality. Any HDTV will need a video processor of some sort to compensate for different input resolutions and to convert everything to the native resolution of the panel. They don't have to be good processors, though. Deinterlacing is particularly difficult, and bad processors can create video artifacts when trying to deinterlace or scale. A good video processor produces better picture quality. The Marantz AV7005 uses an Anchor Bay ABT2015, I think, and that is a quite good processor. If a processor outside the TV scales the video to the TV's native resolution, the TV's processor doesn't have to do anything.
Additionally, having a video processor in an HDMI-equipped receiver or processor can be useful because all the video sources must pass through along with the audio. It becomes a convenient place to manage the video sources and integrate legacy video sources at the same time.
Previous Topic
Index
