Hi Def DVD converter players?

Question

I own a Panasonic EDTV (Model TH-42PWD7UY). I was wondering if I get an HDMI cable, and a Hi Def DVD converter player; would that make a better picture? I like the way DVDs currently play, but being the picky person I am, i was wondering if this could be an improvement. I'm not thinking about replacing my TV for some time, so i was thinking about ways to get the best out of it.

Answer 1

The last post was right on the money. Don't buy an up-converting dvd player for its ability to produce a resolution higher than your tv can display. Instead, buy that up-converting dvd player beacuse you can use HDMI to send your TV 480p resolution DIGITALLY. You would be amazed at the difference in picture quality and reliability between a $50 dvd player w/ component video cables and a $150 dvd player combined with an HDMI cable sending the same resolution image. Check the specks on a Denon 1730 dvd player. It does up-convert but ignore that part. Buy the HDMI cable and set the output resolution to 480p. The clarity and vivid colors that have not been polluted by converting a digital dvd signal to analog component will make you wonder what exactly you were watching on that other "progressive scan" dvd player.

Answer 2

Good idea .... but since your TV is EDTV (i.e. 480 lines vertical resolution) the picture is matched perfectly to DVD resolution (also 480 lines) and would not benefit from an upconverting DVD player (720p or 1080i resolution). Upconversion may improve the picture somewhat on an HDTV. The best you can do is to be sure you have a DVD player capable of "progressive" output and feed 480p (rather than 480i) to the TV.

In case you are not familiar with the "i" and "p" desigbation they refer to how the picture is "drawn" on the screen. With 480i the picture is drawn in two parts, first lines 1,3, 5, etc are drawn than 2,4,6, etc. This is fine for still images but if there is fast motion by the time the first half of the picture is drawn the second half may not exactly match and the resulting image may be a bit offset (and slightly blurry). A 480p picture is drawn continually as lines 1,2,3,4, etc. and is therefore clearer.

You may have to tell the TV via a menu setting that you are feeding a 480p picture.

Answer 3

it would want to seem a touch extra useful in case you do this, yet I doubt that it's going to because the signal that you're starting up with remains used, even though it purely more advantageous. imagine of it like taking a image on your computing device and re-sizing it better, although, although, it is going to lose clarity. examine and note if the recorder you purchase can enter w/ a coax and educate stay television out of aspect or HDMI, this may help you image situation.