HD Upscaling DVD player...is it worth it?

[snadge]

Hi
Im thinking of purchasing a DVD player with 1080i HDMI Upscaling....(1080i is all they are available in)
thing is my HDTV is 32" and 720p....
will the upscaling work or be at all noticeable on my 32" 720p screen?
and do upscaling DVD players actually do a good job? and how do they work exactly?

thanks

[josetjr]

there are many 1080p upscalers now.
To me its a big difference. Some movies look near-HD connected by hdmi, while through component cables it doesn't look as sharp.
The difference is almost like comparing digital cable or directv to standard cable. Same programs but digital feeds are much better looking.

The big difference between upscaling dvd players and normal dvd players is the hdmi cable option.

btw I have a 32" Samsung.

[edDV]

Your HDTV already upscales from analog or 720x576 to 1280x720. The TV also has chips to deinterlace 576i.

A standard progressive DVD player has chips to deinterlace to 576p.

An upscaling DVD player usually has deinterlacing and upscaling chips. The other difference is it has an HDMI interface to an HDMI TV.

Which deinterlace or upscaling chips are better? That depends on how old each generation chipset is and what you paid for your TV and DVD player. A moderate quality recently purchased HDTV may outperform a current budget upscaling DVD player or visa versa. HDMI as an interface will have some advantage for large screen HDTV sets.

If you want to try a new generation DVD player, make sure you have return rights. Do an A-B comparison with your old player.

[snadge]

so basically, I would benifit if i bought a 'cheap' 1080 upscaling DVD player...

as for the comment about my TV already upscaling...why would they make DVD players AND Freeview sets with upscaling 1080i on them wih HDMI interfaces if HDTVs already do it?

I have a BUSH DivX DVD player (cheap £30 from Tescos) but am thinking of buying a
one with 1080i upscaling with HDMI interface/cable ....
I just wanted to be sure it will actually work as all the players (and freeview sets) are 1080i and with my HDTV been 32" it is 720p....
I dont want to replacemy current DVD player with a 1080i upscaling model if its not actually going to do it..

[gshelley61]

It depends on several things. Your TV is 32" diagonal (16:9 widescreen, I assume). Is it a tube CRT, or an LCD flat panel type? If it is an LCD, it has 1280x720p native resolution (pixels), right?

How far do you typically sit from the screen? 32" is a relatively small HD display, so if you are at a couple of meters or more viewing distance then an upscaling player probably won't make any visible difference. Less than two meters, then maybe a good upscaling player would provide some improvement in perceived detail and sharpness (and perhaps better inverse telecine processing).

Upscaling players can be set to your native screen resolution (1280x720p). The upscaling process occuring within the player at the digital level, plus the all digital connection to your TV, should result in a better picture (theoretically) than sending the TV an analog 576i signal through the SCART connector. It's certainly worth a try. You can always return the player for a refund if not satisfied.

[snadge]

thanks dude.. yes i sit close..small flat..about 1.5-2.5 meters away
ive already been told that even just the HDMI connection will improve the quality a little...so you've talked me into it..hehe
thing is i was just going to buy a cheap £35 wharfedale one from argos...but ive been told cheap upscalers arent as good?

[gshelley61]

Correct, the cheapie upscalers tend to be somewhat dicey on picture quality. The lower end Sony upscaling players are very good (I don't know what model numbers in the UK would be).

Many folks like the most recent Philips upscaling player, too.

[edDV]

so basically, I would benifit if i bought a 'cheap' 1080 upscaling DVD player...

as for the comment about my TV already upscaling...why would they make DVD players AND Freeview sets with upscaling 1080i on them wih HDMI interfaces if HDTVs already do it?

If your TV is "720p" that usually means 1366x768 for LCD or 1024x768 for plasma. Few modern sets have exactly 1280x720 as native resolution.

The TV will upscale 720x576p DVD to say 1366x768 in one step. If you use a "1080i" upscaling player the process gets fairly ugly. First the player upscales 720x576p to 1920x1080p, then interlaces it to 1920x1080i and sends it over the HDMI port. The HDTV then needs to deinterlace back to 1920x1080p then downsize to 1366x768. Whether all that processing in cheap chipsets results in a better picture needs testing.

Most upscaling DVD players will also output 720p (as will your Feeview tuner). In that case, the player/tuner must first deinterlace any 576i source to 576p, then it upscales to 1280x720p for HDMI transfer. Then the TV must upscale again from 1280x720p to 1366x768p.

You can see why any "picture improvement" needs to be tested for each combinantion of components and for 576pi, 576p, 720p and 1080i connection.

I agree that the greatest improvement probably results from the HDMI connection because quality analog parts are not used in cheap players or cheap HDTV sets. HDMI parts are now cheap and generic.