I searched on Superbit DVD's and didn't see this question answered, though I apologize if ym Search skills are subpar.

I own about 4 Superbit DVD's, and understand a little about the more bandwith, higher rates, DTS sound tracks etc, but I am not clear on wheter or not the disks are actually slightly higher resolution or not.

So my questions are as follows:

1) I own a Pioneer 5070, and have been told by most on the Plasma forum that the internal scaler is very good, so I should send all sources at their native resolution, and let the TV upscale or downscale. Does that sound right, or is my Toshiba A2 perhaps a better scaler?

2) That being said, I have been sending SD DVD's to my TV at "upto 480i" and all HD DVD's at "upto 1080i". Should I send Superbit DVD's at a different resoltution, perhaps 480P?

Sorry if these questions are inane, just trying to make sure I am generating the best image possible. I do understand I could "try it for myself and see what looks best to me", but I want to know if from a technology standpoint, different resolutuions should look better by design, and if perhaps someone else has a 768P Plamsa and can share their results.

Thanks

Doug

From what I understand, Superbit DVDs are exactly the same as the non-superbit versions except that instead of bonus features and stuff, superbit has much higher bitrates on video and audio.

It's still a 480 source...it's just a higher-quality 480 source. And I would say you should set your A2 to "up to 1080i" and let it do the upconversion rather than your TV.

It's the same res (720x480?), just a higher bitrate thanks to more space (due to a lack of extras) and DTS standard. Anchor Bay has a similar branding, known as DivimaX, but this is all in the basic DVD spec. It's basically what they should be striving for anyway. :p

Superbits should be displayed just like every other standard DVD. A few of the Superbit releases do include new transfers though like Lawrence of Arabia and Desperado. The Desperado Superbit is the best looking upconverted DVD that I have seen.

I have a couple of Superbit titles (Blackhawk Down & Spiderman 2) and even with the A2 upconversion (my tv also converts all sources to 1080), both movies still scream mpeg2 and look no different then many other decent SD DVD's (on the same setup of course) regardless of what setting I try - it still looks 480, in fact, many non Superbit DVD movies look better, like I-Robot, Gladiator, LOTR, etc. I WISH the Superbit stuff delivered, but I never saw it, at least no PQ wise.

I have a couple of Superbit titles (Blackhawk Down & Spiderman 2) and even with the A2 upconversion (or my tv upconverting all sources to 1080p), both movies still scream mpeg2 and look no different then any other decent SD DVD regardless of what setting I try - it still looks 480, in fact, many non Superbit DVD movies look better, like I-Robot, Gladiator, LOTR, etc. I WISH the Superbit stuff delivered, but I never saw it, at least no PQ wise.

Yeah, in a lot of cases it was pretty much just marketing once DVD encodes in general got better (although having DTS was nice :D ). Anchor Bay's DivimaX discs were also touting mastering in HD from 1080p transfers, but this is not uncommon now either.

So is it the consensus then that most of you A2 owners output everything at 1080i, and let the Toshiba do the scaling?

That will be the only change I make then. I guess it is possible that the A2 and my Pioneer 5070 have comparable scalers, so perhaps it wont make much difference, but I will try.

Thank you all very much for your replies, and I tried Desperado last night, and I was amazed at it's clarity for Superbit. But after reading a Superbit link, it seems since it is only 100 minutes long, the bit rate is 108% higher! Where some are as low as 24%.

Thanks again.

Doug

I'm not impressed with most TV's upscaling. I prefer to have the players do it instead of my TV, and my TV then deinterlaces it to 1080p. I like superbit as a rule, but some are better than others. The Fifth Element Superbit has been my SD demo/test disc for years.

I guess it is possible that the A2 and my Pioneer 5070 have comparable scalers, so perhaps it wont make much difference, but I will try.

I envy you your Pioneer's 3:3 pulldown. If you upgrade to the 5080 at a later date, you may want to compare its new scaler to the A2's.

I envy you your Pioneer's 3:3 pulldown. If you upgrade to the 5080 at a later date, you may want to compare its new scaler to the A2's.

I could have waited a few months more... :D

I love my 5070, and our main TV died, so waiting 2 weeks was hard enough. Plus I got a ridiculous deal on it, so no regrets. Though I wish I had the 5080...: (

However, I waited this long to enter HDTV at all, and there is always something better around the corner, so I dove in!

Doug

I could have waited a few months more... :D

I love my 5070, and our main TV died, so waiting 2 weeks was hard enough. Plus I got a ridiculous deal on it, so no regrets. Though I wish I had the 5080...: (

However, I waited this long to enter HDTV at all, and there is always something better around the corner, so I dove in!

Doug

Well, you picked a pretty good one to start with! I just got my first plasma this year, Panny 42PH9UK (mostly for the black levels, tweakability and lack of speakers, but really because it was cheap and on special :p ). Looks like Pio's back on top with black levels now, though, from what I've read. Kuro indeed. :D

Well, you picked a pretty good one to start with! I just got my first plasma this year, Panny 42PH9UK (mostly for the black levels, tweakability and lack of speakers, but really because it was cheap and on special :p ). Looks like Pio's back on top with black levels now, though, from what I've read. Kuro indeed. :D

Like most on these forums, I did an excrutiating amount of research, and in the 768P 50" Plasma category, the Pio seemed to be the best value, and not many complaints.

It handles motion sequences, judder, and SD programming about as good as any, and at the current prices, not much of a risk.

I am envious of the 5080 owners though, hearing about these ridiculous black levels, but I cannot have everything I guess, LOL

The picture still looks damn good, and really incredible with my A2.

Color me happy (just really dark grey, not black, LOL)

Doug