on those HDMI DVD players, what does "HD upscaling" mean?

Answer 1

Current DVDs are recorded in 480 resolution. High Definition is 1080. Upscaling, or upconverting, attempts to take the 480 output and upscale it to 1080 by rendering the picture at a more precise reading of the data, and "interpolating" the rest to enhance the output to as close to 1080 as possible.

The new Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats actually record the movies in 1080 resolution, but that doesn't help you with your current library of movies - and those players come at a significant cost right now.

If you do get one of the new upscaling units (and I really recommend them if you have an HD TV), be careful to insure that your current TV has an HDMI interface (or DVI) on the back. If not, you will need to find one with component outputs (though I have never heard of one).

If you don't have an HD-TV, don't bother with an upscaling DVD player.

Answer 2

One more thing to add: although upscaling produces signals that are compatible with HD standards (720p. 1080i), the resolution you get is still 480 lines, so the result WILL NOT be HD pictures from upscaled standard DVDs. There will be some improvement in picture quality because there is less signal deterioration when the HD-format signals are processed; also if the DVD player handles its signals properly, the source of 480p (which is recorded on the disc) is not ouputted at 480i then de-interlaced, which is what is done on nearly all progressive scan DVD players.

Answer 3

A DVD source is 480 interlaced (every other scan line)lines of resolution, where an HD source is 1080 interlaced or 720 progressive (every consecutive line) lines. WIth an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connection, the player will reproduce the missing lines and recreate the existing lines digitally, producing an HD resolution from a DVD source. HDMI is both an audio and video transport cable that is completely digital, so the information doesn't have to be compressed, as it would with an analog video cable (component video). The processor that 'upconverts' the signal is inside the player itself. A DVI cable also a digital cable, but it carries only a video, not an audio signal.