Does Progressive Scan DVD match Pro Scan HD Wega 36"? (1 Viewer)

[Paolo De Luca]

I apologize if this is a rookie question but I went into a store today to buy a Sony XBR 36" HD TV and a DVD player also. I was expecting to need a progressive scan DVD player but the salesman talked me out of it saying progressive scan was only useful at looking at still pictures and for the extra money was simply not worth it. I ended up buying a non-progressive scan player but have the option of returning it. I am without television now and wanted to buy something so I figured I'd take his word for it and check it out later. Can anybody help me figure out whether the progressive scan would add any real value b/c I budgeted to buy it and don't mind paying extra if it will make a difference. THanks in advance.

 

[Steven Simon]

The salesman was telling you the furthest thing from the truth. I highly recommend taking that Interlaced player back, and purchasing a progressive scan player to match the Progressive TV... Your Sony Wega XBR accepts the 480p signal. 480p is the best possible picture you will obtain on that Sony, and you must match it with a Progressive scan 480P player....
An interlaced player will kill you with Artifacts.....
Good luck, and Welcome to the forum

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Thanks,
Steven R. Simon
HTF Administrator
Theater Pics Updated 9-11-2001
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[Edited last by Steven Simon on October 14, 2001 at 10:25 PM]

 

[Sean-D]

Unfortunately Paolo,their seems to be a lack of training in the retail sales department of most consumer electronics stores.The fact is you really need both your dvd player and video display device to be progressive scan to extract the maximum benefit from your dvd player. You could just have an interlaced(480i)dvd player and allow your display's built in doubler/convertor to perform the analog to digital to analog video conversions that are necessary to display the picture in progressive form. But the picture from going this route is usually not very good because you're set has to convert it to digital before it can double it. This extra step is why the picture does not look as good.It also introduces artifacts into the signal because of the additional processing. The 2 should be set up exactly like this for the best possible picture:
DVD Player > Progressive Scan Component Video Out >480P
Television Set > Progressive Scan Component Video Input > 480P (should bypass all line doubling processing)=Best Picture
(aslo maybe called HDTV WIDEBAND COMPONENT INPUT or COLORSTREAM HD COMPONENT VIDEO INPUTS,etc.)
(on sony models use the input that has the 16:9 vertical compression mode to display anamorphic dvd's correctly)
I worked in retail sales for years, so I know how much misinformation is out there. Don't let this guy snow you. He obvious does not know what he is talking about. I would definitely return that interlaced player to the store for something progressive like the Panasonic DVD-RP56.To confirm what I have told you, try to find a local home theater store near you that you belive has a guy that knows his stuff and ask him what he would recommend.
Does anybody else have another suggestion?
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Sean-D.
"If at first you don't succeed...,remove all evidence that you ever tried."