VIctor
Can a regular Blu-Ray play a HD DVD?
Answer
HD-DVD was a competing format to Blu-Ray. Both are HD formats. Several months ago, HD-DVD was dropped by all its coalition manufacturers. A couple companies made players that could play both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, but those models have been discontinued due to the demise of the HD-DVD format. Unless your player specifically lists HD-DVD as a format that it supports, your Blu-Ray player will not play HD-DVDs.
HD-DVD was a competing format to Blu-Ray. Both are HD formats. Several months ago, HD-DVD was dropped by all its coalition manufacturers. A couple companies made players that could play both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, but those models have been discontinued due to the demise of the HD-DVD format. Unless your player specifically lists HD-DVD as a format that it supports, your Blu-Ray player will not play HD-DVDs.
Should I get an Blu Ray Player or a DVD UpConverter?
Rayford
I have an Xbox 360 running HDMI on a 32" 720p tv. Will a DVD Up-converter do a better job? Or should i just wait to get a Blu Ray Player? Or, on my tv, is it even worth it to get a blu ray payer?
Answer
On a 32" 720p HDTV the improvement of Blu-ray over DVD will be small. And if you are watching DVDs on a Blu-ray player it may or may not be better than a DVD on an upscaling DVD player ... it depends on the quality of the video processor chip. Many upscaling DVD players don't do a great job, but more expensive ones (say > $60) aren't bad. On the other hand cheaper Blu-ray players (say < $150) generally don't do a great job upscaling DVDs either.
So really your choice is a "better" upscaling DVD player or a "better" Blu-ray player. Since you won't get much benefit from Blu-ray disks on your current HDTV unless you plan to upgrade it in the next year or so I'd opt for a "better" upscaling DVD player. The best choice is a used OPPO player. They are now discontinued, but the DV981 (See link) was generally considered one of the best upscaling DVD players ever made, so try to find one of those used.
FYI, I watch DVDs on a Blu-ray player that does better than average DVD upscaling and display via a 1080p projector on a 110" screen. While Blu-ray disks are a bit better, in most cases DVD looks pretty darn good. So, even though I can play Blu-rays I more often than not still buy DVDs because they are usually much cheaper ... and few movies really warrant Blu-ray.
Hope that helps ... Good luck.
On a 32" 720p HDTV the improvement of Blu-ray over DVD will be small. And if you are watching DVDs on a Blu-ray player it may or may not be better than a DVD on an upscaling DVD player ... it depends on the quality of the video processor chip. Many upscaling DVD players don't do a great job, but more expensive ones (say > $60) aren't bad. On the other hand cheaper Blu-ray players (say < $150) generally don't do a great job upscaling DVDs either.
So really your choice is a "better" upscaling DVD player or a "better" Blu-ray player. Since you won't get much benefit from Blu-ray disks on your current HDTV unless you plan to upgrade it in the next year or so I'd opt for a "better" upscaling DVD player. The best choice is a used OPPO player. They are now discontinued, but the DV981 (See link) was generally considered one of the best upscaling DVD players ever made, so try to find one of those used.
FYI, I watch DVDs on a Blu-ray player that does better than average DVD upscaling and display via a 1080p projector on a 110" screen. While Blu-ray disks are a bit better, in most cases DVD looks pretty darn good. So, even though I can play Blu-rays I more often than not still buy DVDs because they are usually much cheaper ... and few movies really warrant Blu-ray.
Hope that helps ... Good luck.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
