Everyone talks about how much better DVD's look on a 42" EDTV than they do on a 42" HDTV plasma. I'm assuming that this is on a standard 480p display. However, how does the HD-DVD player like a Samsung HD-841 look on a 42" HDTV display? Is picture quality better with an HD-DVD player with an HDTV display than a non-HD-DVD player on an EDTV display? I'm a complete newbie when it comes to this stuff, so can someone please enlighten me?
SD-DVD/EDTV vs. HD-DVD/HDTV on Panny 42" Plasma
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Umm....
The Samsung HD-841 is NOT an "HD-DVD" player.
It simply upconverts std. 480P ordinary DVD signals with signal processing, much as some features built-in to HDTV's upconvert SDTV signals (NTSC).
True HD-DVD players are not on the market yet...nor are the titles (HD-DVD movies).
Someone else on this forum should be able to give you a better explanation of what the Samsung player is doing. However, it is not magically creating true HD content from a std. DVD source.
The Samsung HD-841 is NOT an "HD-DVD" player.
It simply upconverts std. 480P ordinary DVD signals with signal processing, much as some features built-in to HDTV's upconvert SDTV signals (NTSC).
True HD-DVD players are not on the market yet...nor are the titles (HD-DVD movies).
Someone else on this forum should be able to give you a better explanation of what the Samsung player is doing. However, it is not magically creating true HD content from a std. DVD source.
Tritium is correct the samsung "upscales" the DVD to whatever resolution is chosen. The difference then is in the electronics of the scaler.
For example, all fixed pixel displays (LCD/Plasma) will upscale/downconvert the signal being fed to it...if that signal is not the NR of the display.
It all depends on which of the two (either the DVD player or the Plasma) has the better electronics to scale the signal. Also, FYI, many units, Fujitsu comes to mind, will process the signal anyway no matter the resolution of the signal being fed to it.
HD-DVD isn't here.......yet.
For example, all fixed pixel displays (LCD/Plasma) will upscale/downconvert the signal being fed to it...if that signal is not the NR of the display.
It all depends on which of the two (either the DVD player or the Plasma) has the better electronics to scale the signal. Also, FYI, many units, Fujitsu comes to mind, will process the signal anyway no matter the resolution of the signal being fed to it.
HD-DVD isn't here.......yet.
Interesting. Thanks for the clarification. Now i have 2 more questions.
1. All that aside, on which TV would the picture look better? an HDTV with the samsung DVD player which upconverts the signal to 1080i (for example) or would a normal 480p DVD player on an EDTV look better?
2. Also, if sometime in the future HD-DVD does come out, would it be a safe assumption that it would look best on an HDTV versus an EDTV?
As you can see, i'm also at a crossroads and am looking to the future as well as the present to help me determine whether HD or ED is for me. This is all from a viewing distance of about 8 feet.
Maybe i should post this in the DVD forum as well.
1. All that aside, on which TV would the picture look better? an HDTV with the samsung DVD player which upconverts the signal to 1080i (for example) or would a normal 480p DVD player on an EDTV look better?
2. Also, if sometime in the future HD-DVD does come out, would it be a safe assumption that it would look best on an HDTV versus an EDTV?
As you can see, i'm also at a crossroads and am looking to the future as well as the present to help me determine whether HD or ED is for me. This is all from a viewing distance of about 8 feet.
Maybe i should post this in the DVD forum as well.
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7,295 Posts
Here's a recent EDTV vs. HDTV thread that went on to the bitter end:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=451631
It is usually best not to post identical topics on multiple forums.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=451631
It is usually best not to post identical topics on multiple forums.
Quote:
Well at that distance I can see SDE (screen door effect, you can see the pixel borders...like looking through a screen door) on an ED set.
If you're at 8 feet I would go with a HD set.
You really need to go see these units at your viewing distance and then determine which would suit your needs.
HD will >>>always
| Originally posted by MrSandman This is all from a viewing distance of about 8 feet. |
If you're at 8 feet I would go with a HD set.
You really need to go see these units at your viewing distance and then determine which would suit your needs.
HD will >>>always
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MrSandman,
First, I don't think it's a rule that SD or NTSC cable looks better on ED plasmas vs HD plasmas. I've seen EDs that looked like crap with regular cable and HD plasmas that looked really impressive. And I think the HD plasmas seem to have really improved their performance with SD, so I don't think you take as much of a hit with SD as you used to.
Likewise with DVD. Many of the HD plasmas and HD displays in general look terrific with DVDs. The new Panasonic DLP I tested out looked terrific with DVDs, very smooth. (Although hideous with NTSC cable channels).
The ED vs HD thing comes down to comparing specific displays. Which ED panel are we talking about? There are quite a few ED panels I' wouldn't buy. Are we talking a 42" ED panel vs a 42" HD panel? Or vs a 50" panel" Or vs an LCD panel? Or vs an LCD/DLP or CRT rear projection TV? There are qualities in favor of each display.
You have to decide what you like in image quality and then go out and find which display comes closest. (Or, if you can articulate what you like, perhaps some people here can guide you somewhat to check out appropriate displays).
Cheers,
First, I don't think it's a rule that SD or NTSC cable looks better on ED plasmas vs HD plasmas. I've seen EDs that looked like crap with regular cable and HD plasmas that looked really impressive. And I think the HD plasmas seem to have really improved their performance with SD, so I don't think you take as much of a hit with SD as you used to.
Likewise with DVD. Many of the HD plasmas and HD displays in general look terrific with DVDs. The new Panasonic DLP I tested out looked terrific with DVDs, very smooth. (Although hideous with NTSC cable channels).
The ED vs HD thing comes down to comparing specific displays. Which ED panel are we talking about? There are quite a few ED panels I' wouldn't buy. Are we talking a 42" ED panel vs a 42" HD panel? Or vs a 50" panel" Or vs an LCD panel? Or vs an LCD/DLP or CRT rear projection TV? There are qualities in favor of each display.
You have to decide what you like in image quality and then go out and find which display comes closest. (Or, if you can articulate what you like, perhaps some people here can guide you somewhat to check out appropriate displays).
Cheers,
Quote:
Doh, i typed up a long response and it got deleted since i guess i can't even post a URL even when its in a quote!
Anyways, i read that entire thread you linked to above. I even used the search engire to look up old threads on those same topics. However, one thing those threads failed to touch upon is how those 2 different resolutions performed on 2 different types of DVD players. Its more like a 480P DVD vs upscaled 1080i DVD vs EDTV vs HDTV. I sure hope this isn't considered a redundant post and a violation of forum rules.
What i really want to know is if there is any significant difference between those 2 different DVD formats when compared to the 2 different TV's.
R Harkness,
The TV's i'm looking at are the 42" Panasonic PWD-7UY and the PHD-7UY. Price isn't really an issue here......more like buyers remorse and making sure i've planned correctly for the future and spent my money wisely. If watching an upscaled DVD on an HD screen looks better than a 480P DVD on an EDTV screen, then i'd get the HD.
Thanks everyone for your input thus far!
| Originally posted by Paul Bigelow Here's a recent EDTV vs. HDTV thread that went on to the bitter end: It is usually best not to post identical topics on multiple forums. |
Anyways, i read that entire thread you linked to above. I even used the search engire to look up old threads on those same topics. However, one thing those threads failed to touch upon is how those 2 different resolutions performed on 2 different types of DVD players. Its more like a 480P DVD vs upscaled 1080i DVD vs EDTV vs HDTV. I sure hope this isn't considered a redundant post and a violation of forum rules.
What i really want to know is if there is any significant difference between those 2 different DVD formats when compared to the 2 different TV's.
R Harkness,
The TV's i'm looking at are the 42" Panasonic PWD-7UY and the PHD-7UY. Price isn't really an issue here......more like buyers remorse and making sure i've planned correctly for the future and spent my money wisely. If watching an upscaled DVD on an HD screen looks better than a 480P DVD on an EDTV screen, then i'd get the HD.
Thanks everyone for your input thus far!
Mr Sandman: I am late to this thread but...There really is no one answer to your question. There are to many varibles in the equation. As you said, you want to spend your money wisely, so you have to make the decision. Speaking only for myself, I have a ED Panasonic 42' display and watch mostly HD content from Directv and over the air network stations. I have an inexpensive Sony DVD player and enjoy watching DVDs very much. I just happen to spend more on the audio part of the equation than on the video side but that is just me. If money is not really a consideration, I suggest buying a HD plasma set (50") and a new DVD player such as the Denon 2910. Watch HD over Directv (DiscoveryHD and sports) and receive your networks locally for HD content. If you go this way, there is little out there that will be better. And your money will be wisely spent.
I just spent a long time reviewing the above thread, AND the one that went to the "bitter end."
I had reached the point where I decided a 42-incher would be great for my first widescreen, based on the seating distance calculator I found on this forum. The decision seemed to be between ED and HD, and considering that my primary input would be DVD and SD analog cable, I thought ED was the way to go.
But buried among the posts were comments that made me reconsider. The problem is that my TV room is fairly shallow. We are at about 7 feet right now, and another foot is about all we could get.
I'm now thinking I'm a candidate for SDE. A 42" HD might reduce SDE, but considering my program material, would a 37 incher be better?
Starting to get really confused,
yobob
I had reached the point where I decided a 42-incher would be great for my first widescreen, based on the seating distance calculator I found on this forum. The decision seemed to be between ED and HD, and considering that my primary input would be DVD and SD analog cable, I thought ED was the way to go.
But buried among the posts were comments that made me reconsider. The problem is that my TV room is fairly shallow. We are at about 7 feet right now, and another foot is about all we could get.
I'm now thinking I'm a candidate for SDE. A 42" HD might reduce SDE, but considering my program material, would a 37 incher be better?
Starting to get really confused,
yobob
By definition:
a 42" ED blah,blah is 852x480 or 408,960 pixels
a 42" HD blah, blah is (generally) 1024x768 (720p) or 786,432 pixels
a 50" HD blah, blah is (generally) 1366x768 or 1,049,088 pixels
For a 42" HD you have nearly double the number of pixels in the same space...so SDE probably will not be evident from ~7' as SDE on an ED is barely evident, at least to me, from that distance.
You need to determine a few things:
1) can you see SDE from your viewing distance?
2) does it bother you if you can?
3) does the price difference matter? And if so is it worth it?
4) does HD look better on an HD as compared to an ED and if so is it worth it to you for the amount of cost difference?
Remember, generally, "bigger is better". You wouldn't want to purchase a unit that you wish was larger by not going bigger (this one happened to me).
But you really need to go see as many as you can with different source material (take some DVD's you know ask to switch to an SD feed...if they don't have one ask them to hook up a VCR and bring a tape. Not the same but probably the worse signal you can send any display device). All they can say is "No".
Just my .02
a 42" ED blah,blah is 852x480 or 408,960 pixels
a 42" HD blah, blah is (generally) 1024x768 (720p) or 786,432 pixels
a 50" HD blah, blah is (generally) 1366x768 or 1,049,088 pixels
For a 42" HD you have nearly double the number of pixels in the same space...so SDE probably will not be evident from ~7' as SDE on an ED is barely evident, at least to me, from that distance.
You need to determine a few things:
1) can you see SDE from your viewing distance?
2) does it bother you if you can?
3) does the price difference matter? And if so is it worth it?
4) does HD look better on an HD as compared to an ED and if so is it worth it to you for the amount of cost difference?
Remember, generally, "bigger is better". You wouldn't want to purchase a unit that you wish was larger by not going bigger (this one happened to me).
But you really need to go see as many as you can with different source material (take some DVD's you know ask to switch to an SD feed...if they don't have one ask them to hook up a VCR and bring a tape. Not the same but probably the worse signal you can send any display device). All they can say is "No".
Just my .02
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