For those of you with TV's capable of 1080i

[Area51_FLG]

Make sure you have a DVD player that can process at this resolution.

AKA:

Up converter

Line doubler


My movies look a shit load better since I bought a DVD player that can process at this rate.

Just wanted to make a mention of this. It's probably known by most, but, being a semi newb to the whole Video thing, I wanted to share

[termdec]

Can we please just create an "Area51 talks about HDTV" subforum?

[Defiant One]

We did.

It's listed as "The Tech Shop"

[Area51_FLG]

Originally posted by Defiant One
We did.

It's listed as "The Tech Shop"

This is where we talk about tech right?

[Boss99]

Any suggestions? We still have our lil' 5 disc player that came with our first home theater system.

[Vandalous]

I don't think there are any carousel DVD-HD players yet. Go to AVSforums and search on "DVD HD" and see what people think about the players. I decided to wait a bit as the reviews I've seen are very mixed and there is still no current standard. It's another Beta vs VHS battle in the making.

Note there there aren't any true HD DVDs yet. The DVD HD players upconvert existing 480p content. It's comparable to watching TNT-HD, where everything is upconverted, and Discovery-HD, where most of the content was recorded in 720p or 1080i.

Over at satelliteguys.us, there's a post (http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=42104) that shows a bunch of DVDs that will be released in HD format.

[Area51_FLG]

I just bought the new LG and toshiba at Bestbuy. These are upconverter DVD players with HDMI

They both SUCK ASS!!

I am returning them both and going with what I should have a long time ago

http://www.goodguys.com/adtemplate.asp?invky=806849&catky=

[Vandalous]

You should wait, unless you don't mind upgrading again later this year. Sony demo'ed Blu-Ray DVD players at CES and several other makers are coming out with Blu-Ray or DVD-HD players later this year.

[Area51_FLG]

Originally posted by Vandalous
You should wait, unless you don't mind upgrading again later this year. Sony demo'ed Blu-Ray DVD players at CES and several other makers are coming out with Blu-Ray or DVD-HD players later this year.

I don't see how that will be an advantage. I mean, it will and can only process at what the DVD was encoded at. IE: All my DVD's I have now won't look better played with a Blue Ray.

Unless I have no clue what Im talking about

/discuss

[Swagger]

Originally posted by termdec
Can we please just create an "Area51 talks about HDTV" subforum?

HAHAHAHA! preach on!

[Vandalous]

Originally posted by Area51_FLG
I don't see how that will be an advantage. I mean, it will and can only process at what the DVD was encoded at. IE: All my DVD's I have now won't look better played with a Blue Ray.

Unless I have no clue what Im talking about

/discuss

It will be an advantage in that you won't have to buy yet another player when the new ones come out. The Sony you want doesn't support Blu-Ray so it will only upconvert the existing DVDs. When the new HD DVDs come out, you'll be forced to buy a player that supports Blu-Ray, DVD-HD, or whatever format is popular at the time. Why not save the $300 and just watch your DVDs in 480p through the Progressive Scan?

Of course, since you're a baller, you prolly can drop the money on both without batting an eye. :D

[Area51_FLG]

Originally posted by Vandalous
It will be an advantage in that you won't have to buy yet another player when the new ones come out. The Sony you want doesn't support Blu-Ray so it will only upconvert the existing DVDs. When the new HD DVDs come out, you'll be forced to buy a player that supports Blu-Ray, DVD-HD, or whatever format is popular at the time. Why not save the $300 and just watch your DVDs in 480p through the Progressive Scan?

Of course, since you're a baller, you prolly can drop the money on both without batting an eye. :D

Well the first thing, I ain't a baller. I work hard and play hard like everyone else here. I'm fortunate to have an equally as motivated wife, so together, we're a great team and great parents. Now , onto the other part

Blue Ray Discks won't officially take over the world for at least 2 years. So, in the interim, before they become a standard, I will enjoy playing them with a non Blue Ray.

Also, why would I want to watch a movie at 480 when I can watch it at 1080? so, $300.00/ 24 months= $12.50 a month

That's pretty cheap entertainment. When Blue Ray comes out, I will more than likely join the party, and by that time, players will be a shit load cheaper.


:-)

[fishmonger]

Fuck expensive upconverting DVD players. I've tried several, they all suck. The Sony one is as bad as the Toshiba, if I remember right.

Get an HTPC, a decent DVD decoder (like the nV one), Zoomplayer and FFDShow. FFDShow works magic, and is fully tweakable.

Seriously, try it.

[Area51_FLG]

Originally posted by fishmonger
Fuck expensive upconverting DVD players. I've tried several, they all suck. The Sony one is as bad as the Toshiba, if I remember right.

Get an HTPC, a decent DVD decoder (like the nV one), Zoomplayer and FFDShow. FFDShow works magic, and is fully tweakable.

Seriously, try it.


Hmmmmmmmmmmm No shit? When they work, I have noticed a huge difference.

Looking at your reccomendation, looks like these are PC cards. Or, they look extremely expensive. Got a couple of links?

[Vandalous]

Originally posted by Area51_FLG
Hmmmmmmmmmmm No shit? When they work, I have noticed a huge difference.

Looking at your reccomendation, looks like these are PC cards. Or, they look extremely expensive. Got a couple of links?

Yeah, fish, share the knowledge. I've been wanting to build an HTPC but I want to know what the primary benefits would be vs. a dedicated component. If I can record in HD and play DVDs in HD, I would have to seriously consider integrating an HTPC into my existing setup.

[fishmonger]

//edit preface: I pretty much only use my HPTC for DVDs, as I get an HD-DVR for $5 a month with my cable subscription, so I have no need for HD recording. You can do that easily w/ a PCI HD card though.

Build an HTPC that fits your needs. I have a small form factor PC (HP dc7100) w/ a 3.2Ghz P4, 2GB of RAM, a good sound card and a vid card with DVI (I got a low-profile X300 SE which is working out well). The more horsepower you have, the more you can do with FFDShow.

Here's the software I use:

Zoomplayer (http://www.inmatrix.com/files/zoomplayer_download.shtml)
nVidia DVD filter (http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html)
PowerDVD audio filters (http://www.gocyberlink.com/english/products/product_main.jsp?ProdId=28)
FFDShow (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow/)

The great thing about this is you can futz with DVD decoders, audio decoders, and ffdshow settings until you find a combination that looks best to you. You can do pretty much anything you want with it.

Here's a beginner's (http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=ffdshowdvd_1) guide to the setup. It also has some before/after pics showing what FFDShow can do for you.

AVS Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/) is a great place to look for further information.

[Area51_FLG]

Originally posted by fishmonger
Build an HTPC that fits your needs. I have a small form factor PC (HP dc7100) w/ a 3.2Ghz P4, 2GB of RAM, a good sound card and a vid card with DVI (I got a low-profile X300 SE which is working out well). The more horsepower you have, the more you can do with FFDShow.

Here's the software I use:

Zoomplayer (http://www.inmatrix.com/files/zoomplayer_download.shtml)
nVidia DVD filter (http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html)
PowerDVD audio filters (http://www.gocyberlink.com/english/products/product_main.jsp?ProdId=28)
FFDShow (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow/)

The great thing about this is you can futz with DVD decoders, audio decoders, and ffdshow settings until you find a combination that looks best to you. You can do pretty much anything you want with it.

Here's a beginner's (http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=ffdshowdvd_1) guide to the setup. It also has some before/after pics showing what FFDShow can do for you.

AVS Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/) is a great place to look for further information.

Thanks FISH. As much as I wouldliek to do this, a Componant is gonna work best for my family. Now, in my office, well, that is a different story. mmuuuhhhaaaa

P.S. I'm gonna try the sony. I have always had great luck and they have never let me down as far as quality.

Thanks again dude.

[fishmonger]

I have mine set up so that it works exactly like a component. You turn it on, it boots, goes straight into Zoomplayer. You put the DVD in, and use a remote to control the system.


If you're going to buy something, I'd make sure it has a Faroujda chip in it. The Zenith model seems to be highly regarded. I didn't like it next to my HTPC, but the set-top guys seem to. I went down that road and didn't like any of the results, espcially for the cost. I can pretty much guarantee you have a PC sitting around that can do this - you ought to at least hook it up and give it a try before dumping 400 bones on something.

[Area51_FLG]

thanks

[Aksen]

Or get an upconverting dvd player that can decode divx =D

[DeadLamb]

meh.. I'm pretty sure divx on a bigger better tv would like like total ass... and not hot porn ass but hillbilly fell in the outhouse sort of ass (well unless you dig hillbilly porn).

main down side of the HDtv's they tend to look fine for pure stuff but standard cable or older dvd's etc the can look pretty lame.. you can sort of get away with it if ya get a older tech like projection but anything "new" like plasma or LCD tv it will look just brutal.

[Aksen]

Signal is key. If you're displaying an analog signal, rear projections will look better than a high end LCD.

but hey, a divx player with hdmi output is the only way to run a high definition disk. You could encode high def porn to high def divx, burn to dvd and watch on your home theater. No other way to do it without an htpc.

[Area51_FLG]

I bought the Sony Upconverter DVD player. This thing runs SOLID!!

Ecellent player, great menu options ( SPeaker size, distance) my movies look and play perfectly. I knew I would have good luck with this player. Thanks

[Swagger]

Originally posted by Area51_FLG
I bought the Sony Upconverter DVD player.

Whats the model number on that?

[Swagger]

Originally posted by Area51_FLG
I bought the Sony Upconverter DVD player. This thing runs SOLID!!



Bet this bitch can run nicely

http://www.onecall.com/PID_23716.htm?BCPID=988

I have an old HK AVR20....its like 10 years old...but runs better than alot of the newer stuff by other companys

[Area51_FLG]

Yeh, i was looking at the 7.1 recievers. But, there pretty dam expensive for a good one like HK.

O, this is the unit I bought. Not from this store, but the same one:

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Code=SON+DVPNS975V&JRSource=google.datafeed.SON+DVPNS975V

I am really enjoying it. If you buy it, make sure you go through the set-up process in the DVD menu. Set it for 1080i as a the default output and you can also tell it if you have large or small speakers and how far apart. Pretty cool. My DVD's + Surround F'ing Rock.

[Aksen]

I use an Onkyo TX-SR702 receiver. 7.1, and upconverts component. I can't vouch for that feature because I don't own an hdtv =-o

[Silly]

Originally posted by Aksen
Signal is key. If you're displaying an analog signal, rear projections will look better than a high end LCD.

but hey, a divx player with hdmi output is the only way to run a high definition disk. You could encode high def porn to high def divx, burn to dvd and watch on your home theater. No other way to do it without an htpc.

Not that I can try, but this little deal I got http://www.fusionlangaming.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6033 has component output. Don't know if it'll do 1080i, but I'd sure love to find out.

[Area51_FLG]

Very cool

I was following that thread. You really like that thing huh?