HD-DVD on EDTV?

jim.vaccaro · 06-27-2006, 10:50 PM

As the owner of a SP4805, I'm curious...has anyone here tried their shiny new HD-DVD players on an EDTV display, be it plasma or front projection? I'd like to know if anyone's noticed any difference between HD-DVD downrezzed to EDTV and the equivalent DVD on EDTV. Thanks.

Benson R · 06-28-2006, 12:33 AM

I dont have hdtv, but I have watched my high definition cable box on my 4805 and my x1 and on both it was noticeably better then dvd.

This has been discussed at avs and I believe it was explained that even though you can only still see 480 lines of resolution, on a dvd there is only 480 lines of resolution in the luminance part of the video signal and less then that in the chroma signal. If you feed the 4805 a 1080i or 720p signal you will see more color resolution then you can get from a sd-dvd. Also I think most dvds are way over filtered and high definition content does not have that problem.

I would also be interested though to hear feedback from 4805 owners that have tried out hd-dvd. At the low price point compared with all the positive reviews I have found myself very tempted to start investing in hd-dvd now instead of waiting like I planned.

Sami Kallio · 06-28-2006, 12:43 AM

Given the small number of HD releases I would wait if I was you. There is definately a big leap in PQ going to 1080p but some of that is already taken away with 720p. On a 480p, all things considered, I don't feel you're getting much for your money.

I don't know if I can test it with my 480i FP but if I can I will try it out and tell how it looks.

Michael TLV · 06-28-2006, 01:39 AM

Greetings

If you can tell the difference between HDTV and DVD on your TV ... then you will see a difference with HD DVD. If not ... then you won't.

Regards

Joseph Bolus · 06-28-2006, 01:43 AM

I'm in the exact same boat. My current main display device is an Infocus 4805; and, like you, I've noticed that Charter HD cable often looks (marginally) better than upscaled DVD on my system.

About a month ago I decided to wait until July 2007 to upgrade to a HD optical format. I feel like by then we'll have a better idea as to which way the wind is blowing; and there may even be a DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray combo deck available. My IF 4805 will be two years old by then so I'll also consider upgrading to a IN76 at the same time.

In the meantime I have to tell you that the DVDs' that I've purchased over the past two years have consistently looked extremely good as displayed by the IF 4805; so I really don't feel a pressing need to update early.

**HTF Ads**

PeterTHX · 06-28-2006, 01:45 AM

Seeing as most EDTVs I've tested can't even reproduce what DVD has to offer I think I'm missing the point here.

jim.vaccaro · 06-28-2006, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Seeing as most EDTVs I've tested can't even reproduce what DVD has to offer I think I'm missing the point here.

I thought my question was plain enough, but maybe not. I'm wondering if 1080i HD-DVD scaled to 480p on the Infocus SP4805 will look noticeably better than 480i DVD deinterlaced to 480p on the same projector. What do you think?

Sami Kallio · 06-28-2006, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim.vaccaro

I thought my question was plain enough, but maybe not. I'm wondering if 1080i HD-DVD scaled to 480p on the Infocus SP4805 will look noticeably better than 480i DVD deinterlaced to 480p on the same projector. What do you think?

"noticeably" could be defined differently by different people but I'm putting my money on the "no" side. Pick up a HD-DVD player from a store that doesn't charge restocking fee and see for yourself, that's the best way to find out.

Joseph Bolus · 06-28-2006, 09:12 AM

Quote:

I thought my question was plain enough, but maybe not. I'm wondering if 1080i HD-DVD scaled to 480p on the Infocus SP4805 will look noticeably better than 480i DVD deinterlaced to 480p on the same projector. What do you think?

Jim,

A few people at AVS have tried this combo, and they took the players back citing that there wasn't enough difference to warrant the purchase. I would think that the main benefit would be a freedom from EE and MPEG-2 compression artifacts and perhaps a little better color saturation. (Of course, a well-mastered DVD would already be mostly free of these artifacts, and you can get the better color saturation via an upscaling player utilizing your DVI input.)

I think you would be better served to save up for a IN76 and wait for things to shake out a little in the format wars. Toshiba just yesterday stated that they still want a unified format(?)

Michael TLV · 06-28-2006, 09:48 AM

Greetings

http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/

The following web site has done a comparison of DVD to HD taking the original HD signal and downconverting it to the same resolution that you would see on an ED set.

It's pretty eye opening. DVD upconverted to the ED panel versus HD down converted to the ED panel.

No difference? Hardly.

Regards

jim.vaccaro · 06-28-2006, 01:47 PM

Michael, that link would be just the thing I was looking for....but I can't the get the site to open right now, heh. Thanks though.

Michael TLV · 06-28-2006, 01:49 PM

Greetings

The link is good ... but your end is likely filtering ... so take a look later on.

regards