Hello everyone!

[Jumay]

Hi,
I am an excited new member of audiohlics home theater forums. I have just purchased a new 42" Toshiba lcd HD tv. Read the information about getting the best bang for the buck and it seems so far I have been in the ballpark--hdmi connections, hd box, etc. True there are not many hd channels, but Direct is adding a bundle this fall.....so I switched to Direct Tv.

Well, now for my question. I have a several dvds that I recorded on a Panansonic DMRE75V. I know that there is no way to get 1080p out of these, but will the upconverters improve the pix on my Toshiba? I read about the Denon, but it does not mention these dvds. ANy hints or is it a lost cause?

 

[Adam]

Jumay, welcome to the forum!

Sorry, I can't help you with your question because I just don't know. However, I was wondering which model TV you got. I've been heavily considering getting a Toshiba LCD myself and would like some comments on them. Are there any things about the picture that you don't like?

Thanks.

 

[jcPanny]

DVD upscaling

I am not familar with that camcorder model, but it probably records in 480i format just like regular DVDs. A progressive scan DVD player will output 480p. An uscalling player will output 720p, 1080i, or in some cases 1080p and can improve the PQ if the scaler in the player is better than the one in your TV. I am having good results with the Oppo DV970HD DVD player and my smaller 32" LCD.

 

[Jumay]

Jumay's Toshiba

Adam,
I have a 42" TOshiba Regza. The HD is perfect....could not ask for better colors, depth, etc. Borders on three dimensional. This gets a 9.7 out of ten. IT has three HDMI connections. HOwever, the digital channels from Direct tv leave a lot to be desired. No matter what "theatre" you choose, and/or how many adjustments you make they are somewhat fuzzy. I am not in the least impressed. I hear this is the case for most HD tv's. ALso, the configurations for this set are amazing...also, on the upside, Direct Tv is suppose to be coming out with over 100 HD channels in the fall(maybe in September). And word has it, they are not going to charge extra(we will see). I plan to add an HD DVD player and that will compensate somewhat.

I spent several years deciding to make this move up and am glad that I did regardless of the "other" channels. Researched a lot of tvs and went to Cirucit City many times to check out all the tvs. Finally, decided on this one. If I had had about 600 more dollars to invest, I might have gone with the Sony, but I will not look back.

Hope, this helps you somewhat. This is a really tough decision since this is a major financial decision.
Jumay

 

[Gimpy Ric]

Hey Jumay,

I have Directv HD and wait till the weekend. Watch the big four networks for live broadcast. NASCAR, Golf, Baseball, and soon Football all look killer on my Samsung DLP. Also, look right above your local channels and below 100, I think thats where the HD channels are.

 

[Jumay]

The Oppo

Is the Oppo an HD DVD also. I know it has that listed, but I just wondered if that is because it has the potential to upgrade to 1080. Know this is silly, but is there a difference, say, will it play hd dvds also?

 

[MDS]

Which Regza model - HL167 or the just released LX177?

I've been monitoring a thread at AVS Forum about the LX177 models and the only problem to date is that some of them have what they are calling 'green push' where sometimes the darker areas have a greenish tint to them.

It's still at the top of my list though, just can't decide between 46" and 52".

 

[Jumay]

Toshiba Regza

I have the HL167. Do you think they are improved reception on the non HD channels? Do you think all HD tvs have the same problems with are accentuated by the HD channels being so excellent? Everything is relative. Happy hunting, for the right tv that is.

 

[Audioholics]

One thing to remember is that if you send 480i (the recorded DVD) to the TV, the Toshiba will upconvert it and deinterlace to its native resolution...

Alternatively an upconverting DVD player could do this and the Toshiba would simply play it with a minimum amount of processing.

The short anwer is that you may or may not get any benefit out of an upconverting DVD player, unless you purchase one with scaling and deinterlacing capabilities that exceed the Toshiba.

 

[jcPanny]

HD-DVD or BluRay

Jumay,
No, the Oppo players do not play HD-DVDs. They play regular DVD and upscale to a higher resolution. They also play SACD and DVD-A audio formats. If you plan on purchasing a HD-DVD or BluRay player in the near future than it should do a pretty good job of upscalling regular DVDs and you wont need the Oppo. If you are going to wait for the format war to shake out, the Oppo could hold you over for a while.

I would also recommend a calibration DVD like Avia or DVE to dial in the settings on your new HDTV.