Upconverting DVD question

[TheSpecialist]

Do DVD players that upconvert standard DVD's to 720p or 1080p really make a difference?  My TV has a native resolution of 1080p and has HDMI inputs capable of the same.  My current DVD player has only component video output, so I'd like to get one with HDMI connectivity.  Should I wait until 1080p upconverting DVD players are widely available (no retailers in our area have any in stock right now) or should I get something cheaper which upconverts to 720p?

[Gregg Lengling]

Do DVD players that upconvert standard DVD's to 720p or 1080p really make a difference?  My TV has a native resolution of 1080p and has HDMI inputs capable of the same.  My current DVD player has only component video output, so I'd like to get one with HDMI connectivity.  Should I wait until 1080p upconverting DVD players are widely available (no retailers in our area have any in stock right now) or should I get something cheaper which upconverts to 720p?

Yes the upconvert DVD players do make a difference on a BIG TV.  Upconverts that I've seen are only active via HDMI outputs...this is the only way you can hook them up and use the upconvert.

[markd]

Well, I only have a 37" Panny PDP so I wouldn't consider it "BIG" but I do get a significantly better picture from my Oppo 971 at 720p and even 1080i.  Many DVDs (Gladiator comes to mind) look simply amazing!

[AndrewP]

I have Zenith DVB318 and it upconverts component signals.
While upconcert works it is still not a native HD format.
1080p TV will upconvert that upconverted signal even better.

[murdoc]

I love my Oppo 971.  I just got it a few months ago.  You might want to check out the new Oppo 981.  It upconverts to 1080p, plays PAL/NTSC, and DIVX movies.  Not bad for $230.

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/index.html

[Bebop]

The current $100 Sony HDMI DVD Player does a fine job of up-converting.


I noticed you have an Xbox. You might think about getting the $200 HD DVD player add-on.

[Mark Strube]

I noticed you have an Xbox. You might think about getting the $200 HD DVD player add-on.

Only if it's an Xbox 360 of course.

[kevbeck122]

The 360 HD DVD add on only upconverts regular DVDs if you use the VGA cable, otherwise they remain at 480p.  Also 1080p is only supposed to be supported over VGA, but people have gotten it through component.

[Mark Strube]

Well I'm picking up the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on tonight (along with another goodie you all will find out about soon), so I'll discover all its little secrets very soon.

[TheSpecialist]

My XBox is the old one, not a 360, so the HD-DVD add on won't help me.  Would this add on actually output 1080p?  All the other HD-DVD players that I've investigated output only 720p or 1080i.  BluRay is the only next generation disc doing 1080p that I've found.

[marcusm750]

Yes the upconvert DVD players do make a difference on a BIG TV.

Yes and no.  I have an Optoma HD72 front projector with a 108" diagonal screen driven by a Panasonic DVD-S77 up converting player thru HDMI.  As the projector has a native 720p resolution, the Panny's output is set for 720p which switches the projector's own scaler to 1:1 pixel-mapping mode (bypassed).  While the up conversion (just another term for scaling really) does improve perceived sharpness and clarity with some material such as recent, highly-saturated films, it does very little with older films with less color or with video material.  DVD mastering does vary widely so that does affect direct comparisons from title to title.  This is also to my eye, your results may be different.

In any event, keep in mind that up converting (scaling) from DVD's native 480 to 720p or 1080i will not result in a quantum leap in resolution.  Otherwise there would be no need for HD-DVD or Blu-ray!    A main advantage of out-board up converting is there are two scalers to choose from in the video chain between the DVD and final display.  If they are of different brands (ie. Faroudja vs. TI) or different chip sets (ie. FLI 2900 vs. FLI 2910) within a brand, one can choose to scale in the player or in the TV/projector based upon the strengths and weaknesses between the two for the best possible picture quality.

[Mark Strube]

I have heard pretty good things about that projector's ability to scale 480i... have you tried that? Or does the upscaling DVD player still look better?

[marcusm750]

I have heard pretty good things about that projector's ability to scale 480i... have you tried that? Or does the upscaling DVD player still look better?

Depends.  The projector uses a TI DDP 3020 scaler which seems to be more sensitive to macro blocking in a 480i signal.  The Panny's Faroudja FLI 2910 scaler has the infamous chroma up sampling error in spades.  So neither option is perfect.  I must admit that I leave the Panny set to 720p most of the time and I am pleased with the picture quality.  As both of my LaserDisc players have now died, the only regular 480i source I have left is my PS2 which I run thru the component video input.  I don't see any macro blocking but that's because the picture is rendered in the PS2 as opposed to encoded thru MPEG-2 which creates the artifact.

I see by your sig. that you're the proud owner of an Optoma HD70 projector.  How do you like that one?

[Ralph Kramden]

I'm also interested in the Optoma HD70 and Mitsubishi HD1000. I'm going to upgrade to one of these in the near future.

[Mark Strube]

I see by your sig. that you're the proud owner of an Optoma HD70 projector.  How do you like that one?

I just bought it last night, actually. I've found a very bad temporary spot for it, but I have gotten a look at the quality. (This projector has a completely different throw compared to my old 480p Epson, so I'm going to have to change where it's mounted.)

I must say, I am very impressed with the image quality. I was expecting good, but not great, which this is. The quality is on-par with what a $2,000+ projector would give you (to my eye)... so the fact that this was under $1,000 is an amazing deal. This has spurred me to look at upgrading the screen already.