Can I play a HD DVD in a Upscaling DVD Player ? (1 Viewer)

Hello all, I'm completely clueless about HDTV but I have a 22" Philips HDTV 720p coming FedEX hopefully today. Woo-Hoo, quite an upgrade from my 13" analog with a junky converter box. Now I'm looking at maybe getting a DVD player, I've never had one of those either. I'm looking at a Philips DVD player with HDMI 1080p Upscaling. My question is will this 1080p HDMI upscaling player play a HD DVD? Someone told me you cant play a HD DVD in a "normal" DVD player. I know the player "upscales" a standard DVD to near HD quality with the HDMI connector, but will it even play a HD DVD. Thanks, Chris

No.

HD-DVD is an obsolete format. It's unlikely you will find any current model that will play them. What's wrong with buying a Blu-ray player? You can get a Blu-ray dirt cheap and they upscale DVDs too.

It looks like they make them (Toshiba HD-A35 1080p HD DVD Player) HD DVD Playback DVD Playback, CD Playback 720p/1080i/1080p resolution with upconversion of Standard Def DVDs HDMI Out with Deep Color Support and HDMI CEC Includes Warner Bros' 300 HD DVD and Universal's The Bourne Identity HD DVD (packaged inside). . Will a Blu Ray play all DVD's, or only blu ray?

Toshiba doesn't make any HD-DVD players anymore. The one you're considering is probably "new-old stock". A leftover that didn't sell.


BluRay players will play regular dvd's and cd's but not HD-DVD's. A few will also play SACD and DVD-Audio.

Maybe I should look more at Blu-Ray, I thought they only played Blu-Ray disks can you tell I'm clueless? I did see a Philips Blu-Ray for about 90.00 I think. Really more than I can afford, but the Philips DVP3560/F7 upscaling DVD i'm looking at is 66.00. The Toshiba I just saw played HD DVD I wasn't looking to buy it. Playing HD DVD is not a priority to me(I guess) I just see the movies for sale sometime and wondered about the compatibility with the Philips.

Would there be much benefit to have the Blu-Ray over the upscaling DVD on a small 22" 720p LCD TV ? Do I even need HDMI 1080 upscaling with a 22" LCD 720p TV ?

With a set that small, all you need is a DVD player.

Originally Posted by Jim Mcc

With a set that small, all you need is a DVD player.

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???


... in which case you wouldn't be able to play Blu-ray discs.


Also, if you want to go to HD, the stepwise preferred route is buying the player first (and some BDs you fancy), and upgrade the TV set somewhat later.



Cees

First, your 22" display is 720P and that's all it can display. If you feed it a 1080P signal, either up-converted or BluRay, it will down-convert it to 720P.


I think the reason most all displays under 40's are 720 and not 1080 is that you can't tell the difference with a screen size that small anyway. With a 22" screen I'm also wondering if you could tell the difference between 480P and 720P?


Also, your display has an up-converter in it as well so you don't really need an up-converting dvd player either. Perhaps with your screen size and budget a standard dvd player might just be the best option for you. Picture quality can vary greatly from disc to disc whether it be a standard dvd or a BluRay disc. I have some regular old dvd's that just look fantastic even on my 65" screen. On the other hand a Bluray player can offer much more than just a true 1080P picture. You also get better sound quality should you get a home theater setup sometime in the future, and some offer internet streaming of movies and radio like Pandora etc.


Speaking of dvd's, if you have a Big Lots near you they have a wide selection of dvd's for $3-$5. Titles vary by store and you're not going to find too many blockbusters but there are some excellent titles. Here a link to a thread on the Big-Lots-sale. Lots of fun on the subject.

The OP never said he wanted to play Blu-rays when I responded. And he also said the $90 Blu-ray was over his budget. Buying a Blu-ray player for a 22" set is a waste of money. The cheapest DVD player you can find will look great on that small set. If you want a Blu-ray player in the future, then I agree you should buy a cheap one now. I saw a Magnavox Blu-ray at Walmart a few days ago for $68.

Originally Posted by Cees Alons






???


... in which case you wouldn't be able to play Blu-ray discs.


Also, if you want to go to HD, the stepwise preferred route is buying the player first (and some BDs you fancy), and upgrade the TV set somewhat later.



Cees

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