I just bought an LCD HDTV. Should I get an upconverter?

Question

I have a 1080p LCD TV. Why should I get an upconverter? Also, we have some Sony surround sound system that has a DVD player built in it. Is it possible to hook the upconverter up to this and play DVDs on the upconverter? Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

Depends what you mean by "upconverter".

If you mean a video processor (e.g. DVDO) as used in high end HT systems, they are very expensive (typically $2-3000), and I don't think you are considering one of these.

On the other hand if you mean an up-converting DVD player, whether you would benefit or not depends on the relative quality of the video processor in your HDTV (which has its own up-convertor) and in the DVD player.

A good up-converting DVD player (e.g. Oppo 981... see link) will give better results than a normal DVD player fed to an HDTV with mediocre video processing capabilities. Results will not be as good as true HD disks, BUT depending on your HDTV they may be pretty close ... and whether the difference is worth the cost would be up to you.

That said, HD DVD or Blu-Ray players are moderate to good quality DVD up-convertors (as well as HD disk players). One problem is that the less expensive (~$250) players (e.g. Toshiba HD-A2) are not as good up-converters as for example the Oppo 981 DVD player.

A first question is whether you will benefit sufficiently from HD disks to justify the $250-$500 cost of a HD player over a good upconverting DVD player (~$230).

If your 1080p HDTV is smaller than about 40" and you watch further away than optimum (e.g. 5 ft for a 37") you won't see a big difference. And differences even under optimum conditions are noticeable, but hardly startling. See the 2nd link for some comparison pictures of the same scene from a DVD and an HD DVD (Caution .. big files. mouse over to 'flip' between versions).

Other considerations include: HD DVD and Blu-Ray are incompatible formats and about 50% of the ~800 HD movies so far available are in each format; prices for disks are typically $5-8 higher than for DVDs; and, rental options are much more limited than for DVDs.

So you have a bit of a dilemma. If you can benefit from HD disks you may wish to consider a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player and also use it to upconvert normal DVDs. But note the low end ($250) model is 1080i output and only available in HD DVD format, and won't do as good a job upconverting as the oppo, but $500 is a lot to spend for as good an upconverter unless you also want good HD DVD or Blu-Ray as well. If not, or you don't want to move to HD disks for whatever reason, you could benefit from a good upconverting DVD player for ~$230. But differences will not be great so unless you have a big DVD collection and/or you are very fussy about video quality (which considering you bought a 1080p HDTV you may be) you may be quite happy with your existing DVD player.

I'd suggest you consider your preferences and try your existing player to see if you are satisfied with the results, and if not see if you can borrow an up-converting player or a Blu-Ray or HD DVD player to see if it provides a benefit. You may even get a store to sell you one with an agreement to let you bring it back if it doesn't provide a benefit.

BTW I assume you have ordered HD cable or satellite to take advantage of your new TV? A surprising % of consumers don't.

Anyway .. hope this helps.

Answer 2

NO need to buy any upconverters. These days you can buy an HD DVD players at the same price.
(Your TV can do the upconversion just fine).

Make sure you get some HD programming via off the air antenna, satellite, or cable.