Easy question for you guys...

Matt_Bradley · 08-14-2003, 11:37 AM

Does any PC DVD-ROM drive output in 480p? My brother just bought a 32" Sony HDTV and he would like to use his PC to play DVD's in progressive scan instead of shelling out more $ for a pro-scan DVD player. Here are the relevant specs on his PC:

P4 2.4
1024 pc 2700 DDR sdram
Radeon 9700 Pro

How well will this setup work through the DVI port on his Sony?

TIA

Matt

Scott McC.@home · 08-14-2003, 11:47 AM

it will work perfectly, just set a custom resolution in powerstrip for the TV, then press play! I'd use PowerDVD XP for it, better S/PDIF support. You can also use the PC as a scaler, and send the DVD as 720p, 1080i, or even 1080p if the TV supports it.

Vince Maskeeper · 08-14-2003, 11:48 AM

1) Resolution is not the product of the DVD drive, rather the video hardware.

2) The DVI port on the TV is likely not the same format as the DVI output on PC- two different things. There are ways to adapt- but a direct connection is not it.

3) To do HTPC correctly requires some trweaking, some good software and some patience. If you're looking to get 480p out of it- the tradeoffs versus buying a $200 DVD player are, imho, not really worth it. Keep in mind HTPC has no adaptive deinterlacing- so on non-film sources and things that aren't flagged well, a vanilla Prog Scan dvd will beat it.

4) the point of HTPC is scaling beyond 480p- and if he has an HD display he could output DVD at 1080i or 720p. However- again- if all he's looking for is progressive scan output- doing a cheap prog scan player will be less of a headache.

-V

Matt_Bradley · 08-14-2003, 12:01 PM

Well, I imagine that if he can scale a DVD up to 720p (which his Sony will up-convert to 1080i) he would like that.

He is a tinkerer by nature, so I think this kind of thing is right up his alley.

You mentioned that the DVI is different between his Radeon and the TV - would he be better off getting some sort of vga -> component or dvi -> component cable? If not, how would he plug the Radeon into the TV?

Vince Maskeeper · 08-14-2003, 01:31 PM

Quote:

You mentioned that the DVI is different between his Radeon and the TV - would he be better off getting some sort of vga -> component or dvi -> component cable? If not, how would he plug the Radeon into the TV?

**HTF Ads**

Scott McC.@home · 08-14-2003, 02:04 PM

Vince: most DVI solutions are now compatible, you don't need to do anything other then plug it in; check the manual, or call sony, but in my experiance only a few older models didn't work with DVI.

Vince Maskeeper · 08-14-2003, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Vince: most DVI solutions are now compatible, you don't need to do anything other then plug it in; check the manual, or call sony, but in my experiance only a few older models didn't work with DVI.



Skin Chooser:	Contact Us - Advertising Information - Home Theater Forum - Archive - Top