i'm looking to get a cheap upconvert player for my old dvds. i'm currently watching them on a 37" 1080i display, through component cables on a ps2 (outputs 480i, iirc), watchable but not pretty. is the jump from component to upconvert on hdmi cable as big as the one from composite to component?
Nothing special, but I'm very happy with the sound it delivers for the price. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5622735
You may be mistaking what others are saying: A small HDTV is obviously an upgrade. HD programming on TV kills standard def. What is being said is, a smaller HDTV minimizes the benefit you get when going from standard DVD players to Bluray players. When I got my 60-in 1080p a few years ago, I immediately found that the screen was large enough that even DVDs didn't look as good as I had been used to on my old 36" CRT. Essentially, the picture was getting blown up too much to retain quality. With an upconverting DVD player, that issue got minimized nicely. Watching HD or digital programming on TV was fine. With Blu Ray, the image is fantastic. If I were to watch the same movie on BR and then on standard DVD on a 36" screen, I wouldn't see neaerly as big a difference between the two. There would be some, but not nearly enough to justify the expense of a BR player and movies. Evan
I recently got the SAMSUNG HT-Z510 (5.1 Home Theater), and love it when I'm watching blueray. The sound is pretty damn good for a HIB, and blue ray knocks my sox off.
you know what is an awesome upconvert dvd player? a hd dvd player. since they are 'obsolete' they are dirt cheap on ($50-$70) you can read the reviews online about their video processing. i have one myself, it's way better than the samsung hdmi player i had before. bay.
yeah well, i could tell you that the dvd part of it is not very good. there's lots of video processing involved in dvd players and the cheap HTIB ones are the worst. I'm not hating on your philips, I'm sure the price performance is what you expect it to be.
No worries. I knew HTIB were budget systems when I picked it up. But even for the price point the DVD playback is disappointing to me, although I'm more than happy with the sound.
I think it also depends on how far you sit. I sit like 3 feet away from my TV, and at only 37", there is a pretty big difference between blu-rays and DVDs. Also, the Blcockbuster Online is pretty cool in that you can rent the Blu-Rays in the stores with your returned envelopes, so I basically watch most of the rentals in Blu-Ray. Another great deal is Gamestop, if you go to one with movies, they have an buy 2 get 4 free special that extends to Blu-Rays. Alot of good stuff are gone and you wont likely find that much Blu-Ray stuff, but the deal is also good w/ box sets of TV series. So I picked up WAR and another movie on Blu-Ray, a season of south park, Lord of the Rings Return of the King Collector Edition, An anime series and original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD for like $40, not bad at all.
I was one of the Laser Disc suckers...oh, I thought I was such a gadget badass in the mid 90's! Hundreds of dollars and useless laser discs later, I've been sort of gun shy about the latest new video technology ever since. I've finally made it to the next century. I bought a PS3 recently here in New Zealand. Are most blu-ray discs still region protected? If anybody has a blu-ray copy of the Planet Earth series in America, could you check if it specifies by region and let me know in this thread? It's exponentially cheaper to buy blu-ray discs from Amazon and get them shipped here than go to the local stores in Auckland and get ritually violated.
it depends on the dvd. dont buy old movies on blu ray. most will look the same as they do on regular dvd
Well the HD ready T.V. may be 720p, but it is a good brand, 40 inch screen, and what I have learned is HDMI cable is a must for the Blu-Ray movie to be maximized...and I have old school 1990's era stereo surround speakers set for it. We got 6 movies initially including Ironman, and some others I forgot. But now that my wife wrapped everything, I don't recall if the HDMI cable is included. I'll have to remember that. Thanks to everybody for getting me pumped about eventually setting this up...
Just admit defeat already Cheetah, You bet on the wrong horse this time. Take your defeat like a man.
