DVD players that produce a HDTV quality picture? (1 Viewer)

[Eric_Nathan]

Is there a big difference in picture quality? I am talking about the DVD players that give standard DVDs a hi def quality versus just a regular DVD player. I've never compared side by side.

 

[Michael Reuben]

The question is unclear. All DVDs contain the same native resolution, which is less than half the resolution of what is generally considered hi-def TV.

What do you mean by "hi-def quality"?

M.

 

[Don_Berg]

No, those upconverting players can't add resolution beyond the original source material and all DVDs are limited to 720x480 resolution. They merely scale up duplicating pixels which causes a blockiness and artifacts, it is nowhere near true HD quality! You must wait for a new HD-DVD format (incompatible with the current DVDs) comes out perhaps in a few years for true HD quality. A good 480p progressive player with a top-rated de-interlacer like Faroudja or Silicon Image is superior.

 

[Iver]

Let's take as an example this LG model which is actually an OTA HD tuner, QAM HD tuner, and provides so-called 1080i DVD playback. The vegomatic of hi-def sources. It slices. It dices. It upscales 480 to 1080. The marketing copy calls it "quasi-HDTV."

LG DVD player

A recent review in one of the HT magazines of the Samsung HD-931, which does a similar upconversion, did say it was something of an improvement on the 480i/480p players. [Home Theater Magazine, Jan 2004]

Perhaps the advantage comes about in that the player has circuitry which can do a good job of bringing the signal up to 1080i and this signal, if you use the DVI connection, stays in digital as long as possible.

 

[Jay Blair]

Don't listen to the naysayers.

I have several DVD players and also have a JVC D-Theater capable D-VHS VCR (which produces a true HD image at 1080i). I also have the LiteOn LVD-2001 that upconverts DVD to 1080i over component. The LiteOn signficantly improves the image quality, getting more than halfway to HD quality, when comparing my best DVD player at 480P to my D-Theater tapes at 1080i (and using the same films to compare). I don't see any unusual blockiness or artifacts with the LiteOn except with a few PAL DVDs when the camera pans. Many others report very good results using other scaling DVD players, especially with the players using DVI to upscale.

Make no mistake, the new scaling players are not HD, but they still look mighty purdy and are a worthwhile upgrade, assuming you have the right equipment to take advantage of 1080i or 720P.

 

[Mike Veroukis]

Well, there's one advantage to a scaling DVD player; some TVs will only do the "anamorphic squeeze" in 1080i mode, like our Toshiba 50HX70. So, in that sense, feeding the TV a 1080i signal, as opposed to a 480i/480P signal, will produce a more detailed picture due to the higher resolution of the anamorphic squeeze trick.

Btw, doesn't every HDTV upconvert to 1080i anyway?

- Mike

 

[Don_Berg]

No many HDTV sets can do 480p native as well as 1080i. 480i and 480p is displayed as 480p.

 

[John S]

You should try it, and come back with your opnions...


I would have thought no way... But the points brought up by others makes me wonder.

On my one 480p / 1080i HD component input, I do get the native 16:9 widescreen mode, not just on 1080i sources, or at least I don't think so anyways.

The modes seems to be clearly related to the input itself, and not source driven.

I want to know all I can though, as right now, I am letting the TV do the Progressive scan, and really have no complaints about the way DVD's look, both anamorphic wide screen and 4:3 stuff.