My AVR takes all incoming signals and upconverts them to 1080p. Should I get an upconverting DVD player just so I can route the pure digital signal through HDMI to my avr? Will I notice a difference? Does the analog signal from the component outs respond differently to upconversion?

My AVR takes all incoming signals and upconverts them to 1080p. Should I get an upconverting DVD player just so I can route the pure digital signal through HDMI to my avr? Will I notice a difference? Does the analog signal from the component outs respond differently to upconversion?

Even without the AVR your display will scale any supported input video signal to it's native resolution, so no you don't need an upconverting player.

You may want one, in that it is possible the player is better at deinterlacing and scaling than the AVR or the display. But there is no general rule; you have to try it.

An article at the top of this forum has much more: A Primer on DVD in a High-Def world (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=477740).

As to "will I notice a difference?" that is hard for anyone else to predict. Do you use a calibration disc at the moment? That can make a larger difference in picture quality than buying new gear.

Finally, when looking at buying DVD players these days, you should certainly be considering Blu-ray as well.

-Bill

Even without the AVR your display will scale any supported input video signal to it's native resolution, so no you don't need an upconverting player.

You may want one, in that it is possible the player is better at deinterlacing and scaling than the AVR or the display. But there is no general rule; you have to try it.

An article at the top of this forum has much more: A Primer on DVD in a High-Def world (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=477740).

As to "will I notice a difference?" that is hard for anyone else to predict. Do you use a calibration disc at the moment? That can make a larger difference in picture quality than buying new gear.

Finally, when looking at buying DVD players these days, you should certainly be considering Blu-ray as well.

-BillI read the primer but I couldn't see an exact answer to my question. I'll have to try a friends upconverting one. I think I may see a better picture, only because it stays fully digital all the way via HDMI as opposed to going through a D/A conversion and then back to digital utilizing the component outputs and then back to digital in my AVR via HDMI into the tv. I'll try it and let you know. Thanks Bill.

Edit: I was reading a different primer on DVD and not the one you linked. So it looks as if I will get a better pic w/an upconverting DVD player. Cool, thanks Bill!