HD-DVD/Blu-Ray AND Upconversion

[Hanse18]

I'm assuming that the 1st line of next-gen dvd players is NOT going to include a de-interlacing / upconversion chip for the old 480i dvds. So, any speculations on when the first, somewhat affordable, next-gen dvd player is going to include a decent de-interlacing chip for non hd-dvd and blu-ray dvds? Also, how long are you planning on running 2 dvd players?

OR

Is it already announced that these next-gen dvd players are going to upconvert old dvd's to 720 or 1080p already? In which case, could it possibly be a really crappy chip that they include which would still justify a seperate player for upconversion?

 

[runninkyle17]

I have not heard anything about the new HD DVD or Blu-ray players offering any type of upconversion to 1080p or 720p. If you think about it, upconverting a 480 DVD to a much higher res is probably not a good idea. It would seriously mess with the DVD itself. The only thing as far as conversion that I have heard about the upcoming next-gen DVD players is the fact that they will downconvert the video if it does not have the correct copyright protection.

The whole downconversion thing really makes me angry because I buy all my DVD's copy them and then I watch the copied version. The original is stored in its box in my closet so that it will not get stolen, damaged, etc.

Plus with the format war raging already the whole next-gen DVD era is giving me a headache. I have a feeling that the general public will just be confused with the whole situation and be content with their normal DVD's until the stupid, squabbling companies can figure out a truce or middle ground or standard or whatever. Personally, Blu-ray looks to have the superior technology (but look what happened to Beta). Oh yeah one last point, keep an eye on what the porn industry chooses as far as HD DVD or Blu-ray. I am not at all proposing that you go buy porn, because I am strongly disgusted by it. But I am a common sense guy and I know that whatever format adult films adopt is probably going to be the format that will be the dominant one. It kinda makes you sick to your stomach, doesn't it. Anyway, I have said too much and I know I am going to get all kinds of crap for the last few lines of this post. Oh well!!!

 

[mfabien]

That opinion about the choice made by the adult film industry has been expressed before. And it is a reasonable consideration.

But it is way too soon to be distracted by BR or HD-DVD because:
1. The war between the two formats is ongoing
2. The Movie industry is waiting on the sideline to see who will win
3. The initial price of the player will be an early adopter price ($$$$).
4. If you haven't seen the movie in HD on TV, the present DVD format is quite acceptable and provides very good sound.

The present accessible and wise investment is in an HD DVR. And one which can accept an external second drive via a SATA serial connection would be a good choice. You will never look at TV the same way once you have that. Available with most cable or Satellite providers.

 

[krzywica]

Yo man

Hey is that strong bad?? I used to go on that site all the time!!!!!

 

[sdy284]

hmm, i figured you guys would've known about this:

Samsung's Dual format player: Link1 Link 2

 

[Hanse18]

well, "from what I have heard", HD-DVD should be available to American consumers by christmas (so about 2 months), although I am guessing that means mainly through internet and high-end stores, and then only to people with deep pockets, and even then you might need to be importing movies or just using it as an expensive paperweight (and a heavy one too, from the looks of the players!).

SO

Assuming you pick up one, or both, hd players, are you planning on keeping your current up-converting dvd player, or sacrificing some of the upconversion quality for the convenience of 1 dvd player in your media cabinet. OR do you do what I'm planning on doing (along wth everyone else who doesn't have an extra $1000 layin around) and wait for all this stuff to become mainstream (like in 2 years like everyone says), which by then will hopefully produce players that are universal (HD-DVD and BD) AND upconvert standard DVD to High Def (720p or 1080i is fine for me.... most good dvd's will be re-released in true hd by then anyways).

Maybe that makes my question a little more clear.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Eh, 99% of all "adult" content is still 480 videotape. True 1080p porn will require the fimmakers using real film (Ha!), or the price of 1080 videocameras will have to drop to sub-$1000 before the "industry" adopts. A few higher-end companies (Vivid, Hustler) should have no problem, but most companies are real cheap.

 

[BMXTRIX]

While there seems to be no specific information on any players other than that none will be released this year, I would think that some sort of conversion will be included.

You see, if a disc is encoded at 1080i - or even better - 1080p, then it may be necessary for the player to convert from 1080i to 720p - or maybe 480i for playback. In fact, if it includes standard composite outputs, it must convert downward to 480i.

So, it is logical, that if the unit plays DVDs at all, then it will be easy to include a chip that upconverts DVD material. In fact, I fully expect this to be normal as the goal is to replace your DVD player with a HD unit. So, you would connect the player via HDMI to your TV, then set either a standard output resolution (say 720p) and the player would convert ALL discs, HD or regular, to 720p output.

How good of a job will they do? Well, I imagine they won't do any better of a job than today's upconverting units really. Since the ones today are all over the board with quality, I expect the new HD ones will be as well. So, some testing first, then purchase.

Am I sure? No, but I believe that it makes sense. Heck, sense it makes sense, it probably means that it WON'T be included.