digital reality creation

[tg18083]

Some Sony HDTV tvs have a processor that "upconverts" lower quality "standard" inputs to near hi def quality (their claim).

Is there a conventional wisdom about this?? Good or Bad??

Do any home theater receivers do the same?

tia

[Krispy Kritter]

Most current HD TV's perform a similar function just to get your input to match the screens native resolution. Same principal as an upconverting dvd player. While in some cases it does look better, it is not near HD quality.

[jlietz]

It is necessary to separate the marketing from the reality. While the resolution may be changed, you can't get extra detail from a source that never contained it in the first place. For example, even a perfect VHS source only has X amount of visual detail. No change in resolution will increase the amount of detail beyond that X amount.