TV v. DVD Player Upconversion
jwbeck17 -- Tue, 03/27/2007 - 12:04
Just a N00B question for you experts: I have a Sony progressive DVD player connected to a Pioneer PDP-5070 plasma TV via component. The output looks great even at 480p and compares very favorably to the cable 1080i content I see.
I've seen a lot about upconversion DVD players, and I am wondering if they would do a significantly better job than a 480p DVD player. Since the TV is pretty quality, does its Faroudja chip do a comparable job? Thoughts anyone?
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1999 - 2011 NextScreen. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
I think it will matter quite a bit exactly which upconversion player you are talking about. Some will make very little impact, others may be noticeable. I hate to ask, but how much are you willing to spend? And are you sure HD-DVD or Blu-Ray isn't the place to invest?
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
I was just toying with the idea of getting an inexpensive one, while I can't justify an HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player yet. I just wasn't sure if the "upconversion" technology that these things tout is a significant improvement. The way hi-def dvd player costs are going, I may get ready to get one by next year, with more content.
Yes, it will depend on the player and the dispaly it's used with.
A lot of the better displays have very good scalers built-in.
Unless the input exactly matches the display's native resolution, it is still going to have to scale.
Better to skip that step if you can.
IME I have yet to come across any affordable DVDP with better scaling than my Pioneer 50" PDP so my OPPO 970 feeds a raw 480i signal into the PDP via HDMI.