Unless you have a 1080p tv, is there any reason to get a blu-ray/hd-dvd player instead of an upscaling dvd player that you can get for under $100?
Thanks!
Eddie G
DVDs are encoded and stored on the discs at 480i resolution (effectively 480p). HD discs are (mostly) stores on the discs at 1080p resolution. This is a jump in quality of about 6 fold.
Now, if you have a HDTV, perhaps a 1365x768 plasma display or a 720p DLP, you have about a million pixels available to you to see.
DVD delivers about 1/3 of the available resolution to your display! When it is upconverted DVD, it still originates with 1/3 the resolution your display is capable of displaying.
On the other hand, with HD media, you are taking away information. Your display is only capable of showing about HALF the resolution that is has available to it.
This down conversion is always the best way of doing things. Like if you had a $100 repair you wanted on your car. If you had $200 in your pocket, you pay for the repair and have $100 left over for
FUTURE use. If you have $35 in your pocket, you get some duct tape and bubblegum and make it work.
Upconverting DVD players are the duct tape and bubblegum solution to not having the best video available to consumers.
Realize as well, that many 'upconverting' DVD players don't actually upconvert properly. Instead of bubblegum to seal the leaks, you get cotton balls - and cotton balls don't do a great job of sealing leaks. So, the quality of the DVD is actually made worse by the processing of the DVD player instead of better. You introduce stairstepping, judder, and false contouring artifiacts that may not have even been on the original disc. So, you can't go with the cheapest upconverting players, you need a good one.
Once you've dedicated that $100 to a good upconverting player, then why not, at the very least, dish out another $75 for a HD DVD player? They also upconvert and they are a good deal. Even if you NEVER buy a movie for it, but simply rent from Netflix or BB Online. The quality improvement will be significant, and you will be able to fully utilize your display's capability - and the capability of the next display you buy.
