What Does Pscan Mean on a DVD Player? All You Need to Know

A progressive scan or Pscan DVD player is one that can play video in resolutions of 480p or 720p. Upconverting DVD players are those that can output resolutions higher than 480p. Players that could output 480p were sold prior to the widespread use of HDTVs.

What Does Pscan Mean on a DVD Player

If your DVD player is showing a yellow triangle with the word Pscan on it, it means that a progressive scan signal is being sent to a non-progressive TV (interlace). You must turn off the DVD player’s progressive scan (PSCAN). Progressive scan inputs are typically found on HDTVs.

How Do I Turn My Pscan off on My DVD Player

While you unintentionally or on purpose enable progressive scan on a Memorex DVD player, your may result in a split screen. In these cases, you need to turn off the Pscan. 

There should be a switch marked “Progressive Scan” on the back of your Memorex DVD player. To inspect your television screen, turn off your player, flip the switch to the “Off” position, and then turn the player back on if it has one and it is in the “On” position.

In case of the Philips player, turn off the Pscan, turn on interlaced mode or turn off progressive scan. For more details, consult the user manual for your TV. To open the disc tray on your player, hit OPEN/CLOSE or EJECT. Now press and hold the number 1 for a few seconds on the remote control. The progressive scan feature is turned off as the TV screen becomes blue.

What Is Progressive Scan on DVD Recorder

Video is typically presented at a frame rate of 30 frames per second, however, interlacing produces 60 separate images per second, each of which only comprises half of the original image. 

On larger screens, this might cause scan lines and flickering, which lowers the clarity of the image. In the same amount of time it takes to display the two image fields of an interlaced picture, a DVD player using progressive scan technology combines the two interlaced halves of the picture at once and shows each composite picture twice. 

The picture has significantly fewer and less apparent black scan lines, and it appears much better overall because it does not alternate between the two fields. Connections designed for interlaced videos, such as composite video (single RCA terminated cable) and S-Video (Super-Video), cannot be used for progressive scan output (Mini-DIN terminated cable).

What Does P Scan Mean on a Digital Television

On a digital television, a progressive scan is a technique used to stabilize and sharpen the DVD image. The picture displayed on the screen is made up of 525 scan lines, 480 of which are typically visible in American standard video signals. A progressive scan DVD player is one that can play video in a progressive scan format or in resolutions of 480p or 720p.

Conclusion

In contrast to analog picture generation, which creates images by pairing odd and even lines, in progressive scan, the image is built up gradually line by line. It’s vital to note that the majority of progressive scan DVD players can only be used with High Definition and Digital televisions and cannot be utilized with normal television sets.