[gwlaw99]

Should I go with the Bravo for DVI or a faroudja dcdi based player?


Will the digital to digital make a difference? I heard the GWIII was not purely digital is this true?

 

[J.H.]

OK the purely DIGITAL is a myth.All TVs DLP,LCOS,LCD,CRT and even PLASMA convert the picture to analog at some point.What DVI does is skip most of the D/A to A/D steps but on screen all tvs display as analog.We humans can't see in digital,it has to be converted to analog in order for us to see the picture.If it remained purely digital all we would see are the numbers 0 and 1 on the screen.I have a Sony GW LCD and I did lots of research on this subject because of the bashing it was taking for NOT BEING PURELY DIGITAL.Hope that helps J.H.

 

[blb]

the Bravo D1 is a pretty poor dvd player overall (with a low feature scaler). its only advantage is the dvi output and the ability to use a all digital path to the TV's scaler. Because the GWIII doesn't have an all digital path to the scaler (because the scaler circuitry expects analog), dvi input/output is not that important for dvd playback.


the main advantage of a progressive dvd player over a TV with a scaler, is that it can do the scaling with the original digital feed, instead of scaling the analog output.


even with a progressive dvd player the GWIII will have to scale the 720p to its internal resolution.


i would pick a high quality progressive dvd (say a panasonic xp-30) and call it good.


don't pick the current samsung dvi players as they use the pc dvi color standard and are not compatiable with the GWIII

 

[Juan Solo]

I f you're willing to spend the dough, the Denon 5900 does DCDi and DVI. If you're not into SA-CD or DVD-A however, it might not be worth it, as the difference in image quality between the Bravo and 5900 is not that wide; in which case it might be best to maybe get a cheaper, solid "analog" DVD player that does DCDi de-interlacing.


Juan

 

[gwlaw99]

"Because the GWIII doesn't have an all digital path to the scaler (because the scaler circuitry expects analog), "


Thanks for explaining it, but why would they do this?

 

[hoyalawya]

The Bravo D2 is supposed to be available in early March. It will have better loader and an ability to adjust brightness and contrast via DVI. If you can wait one more month, I think that it will be worthwhile. Just a comment from a current DC law student.

 

[blb]

they use an analog scaler because it was cheaper and quicker to market. they are using components from their CRT RPTV line.


they are not alone, Hitachi in their LCD's uses a 1080i scaler (all inputs are converted to 1080i), that then has to downscale 720p.


Sony has developed all digital circuity for the XBR950 line, and you can expect this to be in future midrange models.

 

[gwlaw99]

If you could have the Bravo output the same resolution as the GWIII and therefore bypass the GWIII's scaler, then would the path be digital?

 

[blb]

No.


the scaler is used for more than scaling. Its used to display on-screen menus, pip, etc.


so all paths lead to scaler, then the scaler produces the analog signals need by the lcd array.


in XBR950 series, the DVI feed (if digital) bypasses the analog to digtal stage and is sent to the scaler directly.


in the case of the bravo, its outputing 720p, that must be upconverted to 768p. I don't believe anyone has got a GWIII to sync on 768p.


the bravo has a goood scaler, but a poor deinterlacer that only has flag reading for 3:2 pull down, and no motion artifact detection.


with your set get a faroudja player or a progressive panasonic (the dvd-xp30 while discontinued is a top line player that you can get for a good price).

 

[gwlaw99]

Thanks for the help!

 

[Joe Jensen]

I have a 60" XBR950. My DVD player is a Proceed PMDT which has great 480i output. I tried a Bravo D1 and while the picture was a little different, maybe sharper, it wasn't as smooth. I was disappointed as I planned to sell the PMDT and use the cheaper but hopegfully better player and spend the delta on a better sub. I'm still waiting to see how a better DVI player looks...joe