Blu-Ray or Upconvert for 720p HDTV set? (1 Viewer)

[Anthony D]

Hi all,

Just wondering if using a Blu-Ray player would be "overkill" on a Sony Bravia 32" KDL32L4000 720p set? Would it be just as useful to go upconversion or should I just keep using my progressive player?

NB: checked the specs on sonystyle.com and it says "1080p (HDMI only)". Is that true 1080p using HDMI or does it "upscale" the digital signal somehow?

 

[Ed Moxley]

It's true 1080p, if you're watching a blu ray movie. But, as above, if your tv's only capable of 720p, then that's what you should see, from a blu ray movie. I'm really guessing at this, since I don't have a blu ray player yet, and don't have a 720p tv, but it makes sense to me. If I'm not right, I'm sure someone will correct me on this.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

The physical dimensions of this screen are actually 1366 pixels by 768 pixels, so its native resolution is 768p. Like all fixed-pixel array sets, this one can only display its native resolution. All incoming signals are going to be scaled to 768p.

The "1080p via HDMI" refers to the input signal the set will accept via the HDMI input. Yeah, if you connect a Blu Ray player via HDMI that set will accept a 1080P signal - and then scale it down to 768p. It will also accept 480i from a standard def DVD play and scale it to 768p or 720p from an "upconverting" DVD player and scale that to 768p.

Whether the scaling is being done by the TV or by the player you have to realize that it isn't really adding any resolution to the image. Nothing can add detail that doesn't exist in the original signal. All a scaler can do is convert the interlaced signal to a progressive one, and then use algorithms to "guess" what information might exist in extra lines of resolution if they existed, and then "fill them in." And whether your TV or your player does a better job of this depends on the equipment. My Sony SD DVD player upconverts over HDMI, but not over component. I have it connected to my TV both ways and I can't see any difference in the image. So my TV's scaler seems to be doing just as good as job as the Sony, and I'd probably do just fine with a DVD player that didn't even have the ability to upconvert.

That said, however, I would still be doing much better with my (true) 720p JVC H-DILA set if it were being fed by a Blu Ray player. I'd get a better picture from my set if it were dropping lines from a 1080p source signal than deinterlacing and interoplating lines from a 480i source. The fact that I would end up with a 720p image (768p in your case) either way does not mean that those 720/768 pictures would be of the same quality. Put it this way: My set also upscales all the SD TV channels to 720p, and downscales all the 1080i HD channels to 720p. There is no way I'm going to mistake one for the other.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Kevin Stewart]

There's no reason to go Blu on a 32" 720p set.

 

[Anthony D]

Thanks for the replies - much appreciated.

Joe - thanks for explaining the 1366x768 - stupidly I never realized the second number was the horizontal resolution! Duh!