[akron05]

Well? Experiences? I've seen a lot of newer DVD players that supposedly "upconvert" from 480i/480p to 720p or 1080i. Since the original source is 480, does this really make much of a difference?

 

[BillP]

Yes it does, provided you get a good player and have a good display. There are numerous threads on this same topic, so if you do a search, you'll find more detailed information on this.

 

[Tina C.]

Like Bill said....


There are a lot of variables.



And for the love of God....throw out the cable that comes with the DVD player.

 

[joshesi]

Many people on this forum would argue the thing about throwing out the cable. Some say that HDMI is HDMI, so it does not matter if you have some great cable.

 

[BillP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshesi Many people on this forum would argue the thing about throwing out the cable. Some say that HDMI is HDMI, so it does not matter if you have some great cable.

I agree. For analog cables, quality can make a big difference. But for digital cables, the 1's and 0's either get there or they don't. If they don't, due to poor construction or very long runs, then better shielding may be needed. But if they do get there, with no visible artifacts, then a more expensive cable will not produce any visible differences. So, if the included HDMI cable works fine, with no artifacts, why would anyone want to throw it out?

 

[Naylia]

Upscaling players can certaintly make a difference. It comes down to quality of components since any dvd will need to be upscaled to be shown on a HD display. The display will have it's native resoltuion or number of lines. Take for instance a Sony A10 that has a 1280x720 native res. If you connect a regualar dvd player to it, a 720x480 image is sent to the tv and the tv will upscale the image to 1280x720. The other option is to purchase an upscaling dvd player. In the upscaling dvd player, the dvd is still 720x480 but the dvd player upscales it to 1280x720 and then sends this 1280x720 signal to the tv that will do no upscaling on it since it is already at the tv's display resolution.


So the question comes down to, do you think the scalers in the dvd player you are eyeing up are better than the ones in your tv. If they are you should probably get a noticable improvement in picture quality depending on how much better they are. Theoretically on a cheap upscaling dvd player the image could actually be worse then if you just let your tv do the job.


The only way to really tell i take one home with a good return policy or find somewhere that will let you borrow one and try it out for yourself, and maybe even rent two copies of the same dvd and do an a/b test with your regular dvd player on one and the upscaling on the other. Have someone else do the connections for you and start the movies up simultaneously so that you can switch between inputs with your remote and do a little blind test.

 

[rboster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naylia The only way to really tell i take one home with a good return policy or find somewhere that will let you borrow one and try it out for yourself, and maybe even rent two copies of the same dvd and do an a/b test with your regular dvd player on one and the upscaling on the other. Have someone else do the connections for you and start the movies up simultaneously so that you can switch between inputs with your remote and do a little blind test.

That is the bottomline answer that should be given on this topic. Each set up is different...the only way to tell if "it's better or worth it" is to try an external scaler or upconverting dvd player and see if it scales better than the internal proj./display's scaling capabilitles.

 

[Clepto]

Also, keep in mind that the display may ALWAYS be doing some scaling depending on it's native resolution.


For example, most Plasma/LCD panels have native resolutions like 1365 x 768, 1280 x768, 1024x768, 852x480, etc. None of these resolutions matches to 1080i, 720p, 480i, or 480p... So the display will have to perform SOME type of scaling (though maybe not deinterlacing).


As mentioned, the biggest factor is if the scaler/deinterlacer in the player is much bettern than what's in the display or not. The other being the native resolution of the panel compared to what the upconverting player is scaling to.

 

[wonderboy905]

Quote:

And for the love of God....throw out the cable that comes with the DVD player.

I think you guys are missing the point. He's referring to the fact that EVERY DVD player comes with a set of composite (RCA) cables. Yes, they should be thrown out. Obviously if they included an HDMI/DVI cable, coax or optical audio cables or half decent component cables you should not be throwing them out, but how many players come with any of those? ... very few.

 

[BillP]

Many do come with HDMI cables.

 

[Azanon]

Quote:

In the upscaling dvd player, the dvd is still 720x480 but the dvd player upscales it to 1280x720 and then sends this 1280x720 signal to the tv that will do no upscaling on it since it is already at the tv's display resolution.

Most HDTV's only upconvert DVD's to 480p (using 3/2 pulldown, i believe is what they call it) if the DVD player isnt already progressive scanning in the first place. The HDTVs of today aren't going to upconvert a DVD to 720p or 1080i.


TVs dont just have one resolution, as you're implying, most do at least 3. My 30" Samsung CRT HDTV does 480i, 480p, and 1080i.

 

[Naylia]

CRTs can do multiple resolutions, most types of tvs do not do multiple resolutions anymore...fixed pixel displays do not (RP LCD, DLP, LCD, Plasma), like the tv mentioned in my example.

 

[Clepto]

With FP displays, DVDs will be scaled to Native Resolution, so most are in fact upconverting, it's just whether or not they do as good a job of it as the player might.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azanon Most HDTV's only upconvert DVD's to 480p (using 3/2 pulldown, i believe is what they call it) if the DVD player isnt already progressive scanning in the first place. The HDTVs of today aren't going to upconvert a DVD to 720p or 1080i. TVs dont just have one resolution, as you're implying, most do at least 3. My 30" Samsung CRT HDTV does 480i, 480p, and 1080i.

 

[ChrisDuncan]

I think if your TV or projector can actually do 720p or 1080i it's worth it. But if you have a 480p projector or TV then it isn't worth the extra cost just to use DVI or HDMI in my opinion. In the Optoma H31 projector thread a lot of people have posted about how it's a night-and-day difference using DVI over component, and I just don't see it. I honestly think it's a lot of hype in some cases. It's supposed to be apparent to your eyes that it's a cleaner signal, but I can't tell one iota of difference after calibration.


But again, if you have a 720p or 1080i display, it's a different story.