How much am I missing with a non-progessive DVD player? (1 Viewer)

[RussellTodd]

I am currently in the proceess of upgrading my home theater. I have recently purchased the newly released Sony HiScan/HD KV-36HS420. This is my first HD set which I'm sure will be an improvement over my 6 year old 32" RCA. I currently have an non-progressive scan RCA DVD which does have composite video outs(red,green,blue) however I have not been able to utilize them since the TV didn't have composite inputs. With the new sony I will at least be able to use the composite cables which I know will make some improvement along with the fact this TV is MUCH better. However, I am unfamilar with progressive scan DVD's and do not know what makes them better and how much of an improvement they will make. Also are there any new DVD technologies on the way? Would I better off to wait a while? I heard that the current DVD players are not Hi-def but there are some Hi-def DVD players on the way even though not all DVD's are filmed in Hi-def. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Andre Bijelic]

Progressive scan players tend to produce a slightly smoother, sharper image than standard players. The main advantage to progressive over interlaced is that the player deinterlaces the picture in the digital domain - so there's one less digital-to-analog conversion.

That said, you might not see a dramatic difference compared to your current player - your set is already performing some sort of conversion (either deinterlacing and displaying at 480p or 540p or upscaling to 960i or 1080i, depending on the mode and the particular monitor).

On my system, progressive produces a slightly cleaner, slightly sharper image.

As for HD players, the earliest your likely to see them is late-2005 or early-2006 - that's when Sony's announced plans to start releasing films on their new blue ray format.

 

[Brian L]

A small detail: The three conductor cables you are describing are Component NOT Composite. Composite is typically the Yellow cable in a A/V cable set.

Component will in almost all cases be superior to composite.

And your main question boils down to which component has the better deinterlacer; the TV or the Player. Some inexpensive players have poor deinterlacing, so you may be better to send the set an interlaced signal.

And A/B test is the best way to proceed, but this site http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/main.html has a great shoot-out of progressive players that can help you decide which has the best performance.

BGL