Posted on 12/10/2007 6:00:03 AM PST by shove_it
...With prices on HD DVD players in a perpetual state of free fall, it was only a matter of time before the slashings bled over to the other camp. Sure enough, Samsung's fairly well spec'd BD-P1400 -- which was announced at $549 and sold at $499 in late August -- has sunk to $298.76 at Amazon. In case you needed a refresher, this one's packing 1080p24 support, Dolby Digital Plug / True HD, DTS HD, HDMI 1.3, 1080p DVD upconversion and a pretty snazzy design, too. And hey, if you need extra incentive, there's always the five free flicks that come along with it...
(Excerpt) Read more at engadget.com ...
I think it's base on the number of arc-seconds resolvable by the typical human eye. That makes some sense, just like the fact that the human ear typically can't hear much above about 18 kHz. But in both cases, I think that having the information intact outside those thresholds has an effect on the overall sensation. I think you're actually right, I just wanted to see if you had any thoughts more interesting than "full of s*%&".
I'm still not clear on all this HD DVD stuff. Are you saying that "up-conversion" only works with DVD's in HD format? I thought that "up'conversion" players would enhance regular DVD's to HD............Am I wrong in thinking this?
That being the case, then what is the purpose of DVD players stating that they are "Up-converters" if they are only talking about HD DVD's?
And if the DVD "Up-Converters" only convert HD DVD's, then what is the difference between them (at a $70 price tag) and the actual HD DVD players?
This is getting more and more confusing to me..........
It's basically a scale convertor that maps the pixels from the DVD onto your higher-resolution HD screen, using one of various methods to interpolate the extra pixels. It's *not* the same as a true HD DVD, because the regular DVD doesn't carry enough information for that sharp of a picture, and the upconverting player isn't magic. The difference is whether the extra pixels of resolution are real and from the source, or whether they're guessed at by a computer based on the lower-resolution DVD. Upconversion is not necessary with a true HD DVD or Blu-Ray.
That being the case, then what is the purpose of DVD players stating that they are "Up-converters" if they are only talking about HD DVD's?
A mix of marketing hype and a marginally better picture at best.
And if the DVD "Up-Converters" only convert HD DVD's, then what is the difference between them (at a $70 price tag) and the actual HD DVD players?
They won't play true HD DVDs, and their picture is inferior to true HD DVDs.
LOL! Oh well, thats why I went with the $78 player, I needed another one anyway. I can use it on my den's tv........
?
Well I’m telling you MOST can’t tell. in fact a good upconverting DVD will make some DVDs look as good as the first crappy bluray movies that hit the market.
I’m an AV fanatic...and tbh the bang for the buck isn’t there yet and I own an hd dvd player. My wife got it for me as a gift, so I *love* it when she asks but for people that don’t know her I tell them the truth.
Hey, five free flicks... this could be a good reason to make the jump... of course, I have no good reason to, considering I don’t have HDTV (yet). But anyone with HDTV probably should consider it, IMHO.
Since you are a fanatic, perhaps you’d tell us what upconverter does this so well. I could be in the market.
Please explain.
Sounds like good advice.
Well the funny thing is now with HD DVD dropping in price you can get a HD DVD player with upconverting for few bucks more than a 1080p DVD upconverter (or even the same price).
It’s all about timing with electronics. BluRay is still about 1 year away from being a reasonable price. But to be honest there’s a couple things to watch for when buying an upconverting DVD Player.
1) What is your native TV resolution? If it’s only 720P...you don’t need a 1080P upconverter
2) What size is your TV? As posted by someone earlier size and viewing distance makes a big difference (that’s what she said [g])
3) A personal peeve of mine...don’t buy an LCD. even they *may* look good in stores if you get a pixel stuck “on” it will drive you crazy and many lcds allow for a few bad pixels out of the box. But even then if the pixel gets stuck on 3 years from now...you’ll need to buy a new TV.
4) I’m waiting to upgrade my 720P DLP projector (110” screen) to a 1080p unit when the prices get better. And I’m going to replace my 57” 1080i CRT (which still has better PQ than just about any digital set on the market) with a 1080p plasma next year—I’m figuring that the price on them will be better and they have the PQ that can match CRT in most areas and better in others.
Why?
It does not play HD dvds so why waste the money.
Do you notice if the up-converting dvd’s look any better on your CRT.
I read on AVS forum somewhere that on analog tubes you don’t really see much of a difference.
Same guy said it’s better to use Component cables on analog tubes than the digital HDMI so the CRT set doesn’t have to convert the digital signal to analog It’s one less link in the chain.
I also wonder if the up-converting chip on most of these players are any better than the one already built in on my Sony. (Oppo not included)
Good advice, how do I do it?
It’s RPTV...but the guns are CRT ;-)
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