DVD HDMI 1080i to DLP TV 720p conversion?

[Maynard]

I recently bought a Mitsubishi DLP WD-52525. I have hooked up my new LG upconversion DVD player with HDMI to the TV. The DVD player allows me to choose which HD mode the HDMI output uses - 480p, 720p, 1080i. Keep in mind that this Mitsubishi TV will convert any of those to 720p for the final output to the screen.

My question... Am I better to tell the DVD player to output as 720p so that the TV does not have to do any conversion? In other words, does keeping it as 720p out from the DVD player and then displaying it at 720p on the TV give me a better quality picture? The other choice is to tell the DVD player to output it at 1080i, but then my TV will need to convert it to 720p anyway. Logically it would seem like that added conversion would lower my quality more than a 720p-to-720p option.

Any input on this? To the naked eye, I find it hard to tell the difference in the picture quality for either. Although when I show other people the two options, they tell me they think the picture looks better when I set the DVD player to 1080i and let the TV convert it down to 720p.

I have read that 1080i is better for faster motion (because the interlacing reduces some of the blurring / jaggies), and 720p is better for pictures with less movement (the progressive scan provides perception of better detail). But when I am trying to compare my options I am trying it with the DVD freeze framed sometimes to try to keep things equal.

[Jazzwyld]

Yes you are right about the difference between 720 and 1080. As far which is better. I would guess the upconverter circuitry is marginally better in the Television, but you have already introduced signal loss when you carry the signal from DVD to TV. Its really 6 1/2 dozen of the other. Sorry to sound vague, but I can't imagine there is a considerable difference because they both contain a relatively low grade up converter.

[BMXTRIX]

The answer is really, you gotta try it all and see what looks best.

I am not convinced in the least that upconverting DVD players do diddly for picture quality improvements. A TV has a processor in it, the DVD players now have processors in them. They end up costing more, but then duplicate the work your TV is already doing. Why do it twice?

Take it off the disc with a decent player and send it component to your TV and let the processors inside your TV do their job. But, you have the more expensive upconverting DVD and now you feel obliged to use the circuitry even if it doesn't improve the image. Makes sense, but not really. ;)

720p is better for motion as it provides more full & accurate frames of information while 1080i provides less frames with more detail in each frame. It just can't keep up when things start moving fast though.

If I must use an upconverting DVD - then go with 720p first... and definitely look at 1080i, 480p, and 480i. Each player is different and not all are created anywhere near 'equal'. Also make sure to hook up true HDTV to your display so you can see what the benchmark is that you are aiming for in a quality image.

Then don't stress at all and enjoy your stuff.

[awesomebase]

Well, as another poster mentioned, upconverting is kind of being duplicated on both ends if you have the DVD player to do as well as the TV that does it. Technically speaking, the 1080i should show better because the DVD player does not have to do as much processing to upconvert the signal (it is natively at 480p ~= 960i if that existed, but understand what I'm getting at). However, the main difference is also in the refresh rates. If you've done your research on upconverting DVD players, one major problem is none of them yet are able to fully resolve the full 780p or 1080i resolutions. So, in essense, you are losing resolution or losing refresh rate depending upon your DVD player and your player's settings. Add to that the processing that is done by the TV and you can actually get a worse picture. Best thing you can do is send out your native 480p signal via component cables to your TV and choose the HD resolution there. At least that way, you won't potentially loose BOTH resolution and refresh or more of each (in the case where both TV and DVD are unable to resolve either resolution or refresh rate).