I just bought the HDMI cable so that I could upscale SD dvd's using my 360, and I'm kind of confused. I've changed the display settings in the 360 from 480p to 1080p and back, and cannot seem to tell a difference. Nothing looks any better than using my component cables, and I can't really notice any difference between the 2 resolutions (in movies) over the HDMI. I can see wolds of difference between the two resolutions in the dashboard, but I don't really see the point of buying the extra cable to "upscale" the dvd's. Yes I have confirmed the source is changing via my display dialog on the tv. Is there any specific media that I should use to show the effects the most or is upscaling just not that big of a difference? I'm a HUGE hd buff and have a rather extensive library of HD content, I'm just trying to find a way to inch out every last bit of life my dvd's have.

I just bought the HDMI cable so that I could upscale SD dvd's using my 360, and I'm kind of confused. I've changed the display settings in the 360 from 480p to 1080p and back, and cannot seem to tell a difference. Nothing looks any better than using my component cables, and I can't really notice any difference between the 2 resolutions (in movies) over the HDMI. I can see wolds of difference between the two resolutions in the dashboard, but I don't really see the point of buying the extra cable to "upscale" the dvd's. Yes I have confirmed the source is changing via my display dialog on the tv. Is there any specific media that I should use to show the effects the most or is upscaling just not that big of a difference? I'm a HUGE hd buff and have a rather extensive library of HD content, I'm just trying to find a way to inch out every last bit of life my dvd's have.

DVDs are recorded at 480i and have 720x480 pixels maximum (NTSC). Different methods of scaling to fit an HD display can produce slightly different results, but a dramatic change in quality: no.

-Bill

then why all the fuss and $$$ for upconvert/scaling players?

then why all the fuss and $$$ for upconvert/scaling players?

One suspects that consumer electronics is driven by marketing and buzzword hysteria.

Rather than buying new gear, many people would be better served by using a calibration disc.

That said, I've been pleased with my Oppo players and find their deinterlacing and scaling better than that of my LCD. It's not night and day, but enough of a difference that I want it. SD-DVD has limited resolution and if you are fanatical about squeezing the last few percent of quality out of your titles, this is the sort of thing you have to do.

-Bill