A day or two ago I ordered an upconverting DVD player from woot.com. I need a DVD player anyway (we’re getting tired of using the roomie’s PS2,) so since it was cheaper than an upconverting player would normally be, and only a little more than a decent regular DVD player, I decided I might as well get it. I know it won’t make my DVDs look like HD or Blu-Ray, but it can make them look at least a little better, right?
I know my TV isn’t 1080p, but then, the upconverting wouldn’t make use of the 1080p anyway. The front says it does 1080i, so it is therefore assumed that it can also do 720p? For that matter, is 1080i or 720p better? I know progressive is better than interlaced, but is more lines always better?
And a side question: the DVD player has HDMI out, and my TV has a digital in, but I think it’s a DVI, not HDMI. I know there are converters for this, but does anyone know offhand of a good website to get decent quality ones that aren’t too pricey? I also need an HDMI cable (or DVI cable if the converter plugs into the HDMI port on the DVD player.)
From what I’ve heard, it’s really only videophiles that claim to tell the difference between 1080i and 720p. I beleive they are generally regarded to be about equal.
You should check your manual. My TV, a 4 year old Panasonic plasma, won’t accept a 720p signal on the HDMI or component inputs, so it’s definitely possible yours won’t play nicely with a 720p signal.
www.monoprice.com has good prices on cables. Be warned though - HDMI carries video and audio, while DVI only carries video. So if the DVD player you ordered doesn’t have separate audio out connectors, you won’t get audio.
Is it a digital set (plasma, LCD) or an analog set (CRT projection)? My projection HDTV only says 1080i on the front, but it happily accepts any input (except 1080p). Since analog displays have no native resolution, they have no scaling limitations. Therefore, they are more likely (but by no means guaranteed) to accept both 720p and 1080i.
It’s a Panasonic HDTV CRT. I have long ago lost the manual, and it’s VERY heavy and there are so many cables plugged into it already I don’t want to even turn it around to look at the model number, since at least a few of the cables won’t be long enough and will drag my Wii, PS2, or cable box from their precarious spots on the shelves.
I believe the DVD does have separate audio, since it has a plethora of outputs (it even has USB input so I can play files directly from a PC .) Is it even worth using HDMI/DVI if I have a nice set of component cables I can use?
Component cables will work nicely, and won’t cost you nearly as much as HDMI cable / DVI converter. I don’t have any experience with DVI connectors, but I have my Xbox 360 plugged into my tv with HDMI, and it senses the resolution and screen frequency automagically.
Technically 1080i is more, but since it is interlaced it is not really that much better than 720p. 1080p is the best, and is supported by the Hi-Def video formats, though tv probably won’t ever use 1080p.
The government didn’t set a standard, so there are a lot out there. The manual should list all the formats it works with. There are converters for the connectors.
.) Is it even worth using HDMI/DVI if I have a nice set of component cables I can use?