Do I need an upscaling DVD player with my new HDTV?

g c

Hello. I Just got a Panasonic TH-42PX60U. I have an older Panasonic DVD-S35 DVD player (progressive scan). I'm about to go out and buy component cables (not S-video cable which is the only other plug in the back of the dvd player).

Should I buy the component cables or just go buy a new upscaling DVD player?

Thanks from a true newbie.

Answer
Just use the DVD player you have for now. Component cables will get you great picture quality and you will be able to take advantage of the progressive scan capabilities of your DVD player with these as well. Make sure you enable this option on your DVD player. It will either be in the on screen setup menu or as a switch on the unit itself.

You're TV has a built in upscaler that will automatically scale the 480p resolution sent out by your DVD player to the native resolution of the display. The reason why upconverting DVD players exist is just because they have chips that try to do it better than the built in upscalers. Some DVD players excel at this and some do it no better or even worse than the TV.

Will it make a difference if you had a very good quality upconverting DVD player such as an OPPO? Yes it would make a difference. Is it worth dumping a perfectly good DVD player and buying a $200+ one? No. The difference in picture quality will be minimal and mainly discernable in text. Most people will not be able to tell the difference watching the actual movie from normal viewing distances.

Also, when you go buy component cables, DO NOT let them sucker you into Monster or other expensive cables that will claim to increase your picture quality. Either get a generic phillips or something brand for fairly cheap or buy them from www.monoprice.com. Try not to spend over $20 for a 6 foot cable.

Enjoy your television. It is an excellent plasma.

P.S. turn the video settings off "Vivid" and to "standard". Vivid will oversaturate some colors and make things look unnatural.

HDTV and DVD Players?

travis ric

I know this is a stupid question but in not that great at this kind of electronics. Just computers but, do i need a special DVD player to play high def movies, or do i just need HDMI cords for regular players.

Answer
you need an up-scaling dvd player but they don't upconvert to full 1080p only Blu-ray players do. chances are it your player has an hdmi out it is of the upconverting type. your question on the hdmi "cables" is abit confusing since only one is required for HD and it is capable of carring both the audio and vidio signals from your dvd player to your HDTV

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I hook up my DVD player to my HDTV?

Mary Elise

I have a samsung flat-screen HDTV and a comcast cable box. I am trying to hook up my toshiba DVD player to the cable box. I plugged the DVD player into the outlet in the back of the cable box. I pressed the TV/VCR button on my cable remote and the screen goes blue.Tell me if i need to put anymore info.

Answer
Ok from what I'm following you with you have an HDTV and a comcast box and a DVD player. It really depends on how you're connecting your comcast box to the television and what types of connections you have available on your HDTV. Your comcast box can go into HDMI slot 1 and your DVD player can go into HDMI slot 2 if it is available. Otherwise your DVD player can plug into the back of the television using component cables, (red,blue,green) cables. It sounds like you have power going to the DVD player, but no signal coming out of it to go into the actual televison. Power lines and signal lines are completely different.

Do I need an upscaling DVD player with my new HDTV?

g c

Hello. I Just got a Panasonic TH-42PX60U. I have an older Panasonic DVD-S35 DVD player (progressive scan). I'm about to go out and buy component cables (not S-video cable which is the only other plug in the back of the dvd player).

Should I buy the component cables or just go buy a new upscaling DVD player?

Thanks from a true newbie.

Answer
Just use the DVD player you have for now. Component cables will get you great picture quality and you will be able to take advantage of the progressive scan capabilities of your DVD player with these as well. Make sure you enable this option on your DVD player. It will either be in the on screen setup menu or as a switch on the unit itself.

You're TV has a built in upscaler that will automatically scale the 480p resolution sent out by your DVD player to the native resolution of the display. The reason why upconverting DVD players exist is just because they have chips that try to do it better than the built in upscalers. Some DVD players excel at this and some do it no better or even worse than the TV.

Will it make a difference if you had a very good quality upconverting DVD player such as an OPPO? Yes it would make a difference. Is it worth dumping a perfectly good DVD player and buying a $200+ one? No. The difference in picture quality will be minimal and mainly discernable in text. Most people will not be able to tell the difference watching the actual movie from normal viewing distances.

Also, when you go buy component cables, DO NOT let them sucker you into Monster or other expensive cables that will claim to increase your picture quality. Either get a generic phillips or something brand for fairly cheap or buy them from www.monoprice.com. Try not to spend over $20 for a 6 foot cable.

Enjoy your television. It is an excellent plasma.

P.S. turn the video settings off "Vivid" and to "standard". Vivid will oversaturate some colors and make things look unnatural.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How can I connect an upconvert dvd player with hdmi cable to my tv in conjunction with rca cable to a receiver

best dvd players for hdtv image

Kyle B

Hi,
I want to connect an upconvert dvd player to my hdtv with an hdmi cable for video, but I want the audio to be run through my receiver with an RCA cable. Is it possible to do this?

Answer
Yes
All DVDs output analog audio in parallel with digital audio.
You can use either stereo RCA or coax/optical s/pdif.

Can I connect my Xbox 360 to a DVD player using a optical cable to take advantage of 5.1 surround sound.?

SSJ Marco

I want to connect my 360 to a upconverting dvd player connected to my hdtv via hdmi. The dvd player is connected to a 5.1 receiver via "red & white" plugs that doesn't have an optical cable input. Is it possible to connect everything together? Xbox to DVD to both Receiver and HDTV?

Answer
X-box, PS3, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players have the same connections as a standard DVD player, such as Composite, S-Video, and Component video. OUTPUTS as well as Analog Stereo and Digital Optical and Digital Coaxial Audio OUTPUTS.
By utilizing the receiver it provides the capability to switch between your different components, i.e Xbox, DVD, and uses its internal amplifier to drive your speakers for audio and push the video to your display. Just look as to what is labled an OUTPUT and what is INPUT.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

What resolution should i set my upconverting dvd player to?

best dvd players for hdtv image

Matty A

I just bought a Philips DVP5990 upconverting dvd player, and i have a sharp 32" 720p hdtv. The player is hooked to the tv via hdmi. What resolution should i set it to? The obvious answer seems to be 720p, but the 480p looks better. Is it something i've done wrong or what? I know its a bit of an awkward question but i could take any help i can get.

Answer
You may have answered your own question.

In theory, as you note, 720p should be best, but there is really no way to predict ... you have to try different settings.

The problem is that there are various video manipulations involved and some scaller/video processor chips do a better job than others.

For example, if you set the DVD player to 480p output, your HDTV upconverts the progressive signal to fit the native resolution of your HDTV (i.e. 720p). If you set the DVD player to 720p or 1080i (for example), the HDTV processes this accordingly. 1080i is converted to 720p and the 720p signal is used direct.

So, depending on the relative quality of the DVD or HDTV scalers/video processors you get better or worse results.

That said, you don't say what connection type you are using and that can matter. Ideally upconverting DVD players should be connected via HDMI since on some models component is only outputting 480p, not 720p or higher, despite menu settings. And you can't get anything higher than 480 from composite or S-video.

If you are connected via HDMI, and 480p output works best in means the processor in the TV is better than that in the DVD player (and essentially you wasted your money .... not uncommon since budget upconverters rarely work well). On the other hand, if you are connected via component, composite or S-video try HDMI (you don't need to spend more than $10-$15 for a cable ... expensive HDMI cables are a rip-off).

Hope that helps.

besides the picture quality, can my old dvd player work with the new 1080p HDTV?

Eric C

i am getting a new 1080p hdtv but don't feel like spending another few hundred bux for a upconverting dvd, for now.
can the old dvd player work with hdtv? do i need to buy any connect wire?

Answer
Absolutely! Use the best connection you can so you get the best possible picture. If your DVD player has an HDMI port, use that. Otherwise use the component cables (red, gree, blue for video + red and white for audio). If not that, try S-Video. And lastly, if not that, use the yellow, red and white component cables.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I connect my new HDTV to my DVD player if my DVD player?

best dvd players for hdtv image

Patti Boyd

How do I connect my new HDTV to my DVD player if my DVD player doesn't have a HDMI spot to plug the HDMI cable into? It would be helpful if I knew if there was a type of adapter that I needed to use to complete the task.
Thanks!

Answer
Only upscaling DVD players have an HDMI port. Otherwise, you'll have to use component video cables. Be sure to set the DVD Player to output in progressive scan (480p). Your HDTV will automatically upscale the picture to its native resolution. However, most upscaling DVD players will do a better job at rescaling your DVDs into near-HD quality than you TV.

If I hook an upconverting DVD player to an HDTV, should I still get the black bars at the top and bottom?

CMDubb

I hooked an upconverting DVD player up to my widescreen (16:9) HDTV. I expected the movie picture from a DVD with a 16:9 anamorphic transfer to fill the entire screen. However, I still have the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen as with a standard TV. Have I hooked something up wrong or is this how it's supposed to be?

Answer
Anamorphic DVDs play in the native aspect ratio that the movie was filmed in. You will always have the black bars with these DVDs, unless the native aspect ratio of the movie was 16:9. Generally, the aspect ratio is stated on the DVD case. You can, of course, eliminate the bars by using one of the TV's stretching modes, but this just distorts or cuts-off part of the picture. To see the movie as you would in a theater, this is the way to do it.
The up-scaling DVD player doesn't change aspect ratio, it just increases the resolution of the picture. By the way, you should not upscale the DVD to a resolution greater than that of your TV's screen. Your TV will just downscale it, and the more processing done, the more the picture will be degraded by it.
See the link for an explanation of anamorphic DVDs.



http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How can I connect an upconvert dvd player with hdmi cable to my tv in conjunction with rca cable to a receiver

best dvd players for hdtv image

Kyle B

Hi,
I want to connect an upconvert dvd player to my hdtv with an hdmi cable for video, but I want the audio to be run through my receiver with an RCA cable. Is it possible to do this?

Answer
Yes
All DVDs output analog audio in parallel with digital audio.
You can use either stereo RCA or coax/optical s/pdif.

Can I connect my Xbox 360 to a DVD player using a optical cable to take advantage of 5.1 surround sound.?

SSJ Marco

I want to connect my 360 to a upconverting dvd player connected to my hdtv via hdmi. The dvd player is connected to a 5.1 receiver via "red & white" plugs that doesn't have an optical cable input. Is it possible to connect everything together? Xbox to DVD to both Receiver and HDTV?

Answer
X-box, PS3, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players have the same connections as a standard DVD player, such as Composite, S-Video, and Component video. OUTPUTS as well as Analog Stereo and Digital Optical and Digital Coaxial Audio OUTPUTS.
By utilizing the receiver it provides the capability to switch between your different components, i.e Xbox, DVD, and uses its internal amplifier to drive your speakers for audio and push the video to your display. Just look as to what is labled an OUTPUT and what is INPUT.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I make my Sony DVD player stop playing in black and white?

best dvd players for hdtv image

foxshot97

I was setting up my Sony DVD player to my 1080p HDTV, so when I turned it on, I tried to watch Spider-man 3, but it was playing in black and white. Please help me!

Answer
You have it hooked up wrong and you interestingly said absolutely nothing about how you have it connected.

How Do You Hook Up an Old DVD Player to a new HDTV?

lordstryfe

I have an Toshiba 42" 1080p LCD HDTV REGZA, cable box and a DVD Player. I can't figure out how to hook up my DVD player to either my TV. My cable cords use the same cords slots as my DVD player.

Answer
Since you said your DVD player is old, I assume it does not have an HDMI output. If it had component video (Red, Green, Blue) then you need a component cable and you can connect it to the HDTV. You still need red and white audio (composite) to get the audio to your TV. If you do not have component output, then your only bet is composite (yellow for video, red and white for audio). HDTVs are intelligent enough to recognize all the inputs you plug into them.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

If most of the new hdtvs have built in upconverters what's the point of an upconversion dvd player?

best dvd players for hdtv image

JmaN

I wouldn't need an upconversion dvd player if i have a hdtv that does it for me would i?

Answer
Your tv will not rebuild the image like a dvd player will. It will simply rescale it (make it fit) into the resolution of the tv. When you use an upconverting dvd player with an hdmi cable you actualy change the resoultion of the picture vs simply sqashing and stretching the image to fit onto the screen.

What resolution should i set my upconverting dvd player to?

Matty A

I just bought a Philips DVP5990 upconverting dvd player, and i have a sharp 32" 720p hdtv. The player is hooked to the tv via hdmi. What resolution should i set it to? The obvious answer seems to be 720p, but the 480p looks better. Is it something i've done wrong or what? I know its a bit of an awkward question but i could take any help i can get.

Answer
You may have answered your own question.

In theory, as you note, 720p should be best, but there is really no way to predict ... you have to try different settings.

The problem is that there are various video manipulations involved and some scaller/video processor chips do a better job than others.

For example, if you set the DVD player to 480p output, your HDTV upconverts the progressive signal to fit the native resolution of your HDTV (i.e. 720p). If you set the DVD player to 720p or 1080i (for example), the HDTV processes this accordingly. 1080i is converted to 720p and the 720p signal is used direct.

So, depending on the relative quality of the DVD or HDTV scalers/video processors you get better or worse results.

That said, you don't say what connection type you are using and that can matter. Ideally upconverting DVD players should be connected via HDMI since on some models component is only outputting 480p, not 720p or higher, despite menu settings. And you can't get anything higher than 480 from composite or S-video.

If you are connected via HDMI, and 480p output works best in means the processor in the TV is better than that in the DVD player (and essentially you wasted your money .... not uncommon since budget upconverters rarely work well). On the other hand, if you are connected via component, composite or S-video try HDMI (you don't need to spend more than $10-$15 for a cable ... expensive HDMI cables are a rip-off).

Hope that helps.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I make my Sony DVD player stop playing in black and white?

best dvd players for hdtv image

foxshot97

I was setting up my Sony DVD player to my 1080p HDTV, so when I turned it on, I tried to watch Spider-man 3, but it was playing in black and white. Please help me!

Answer
You have it hooked up wrong and you interestingly said absolutely nothing about how you have it connected.

How Do You Hook Up an Old DVD Player to a new HDTV?

lordstryfe

I have an Toshiba 42" 1080p LCD HDTV REGZA, cable box and a DVD Player. I can't figure out how to hook up my DVD player to either my TV. My cable cords use the same cords slots as my DVD player.

Answer
Since you said your DVD player is old, I assume it does not have an HDMI output. If it had component video (Red, Green, Blue) then you need a component cable and you can connect it to the HDTV. You still need red and white audio (composite) to get the audio to your TV. If you do not have component output, then your only bet is composite (yellow for video, red and white for audio). HDTVs are intelligent enough to recognize all the inputs you plug into them.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers