SnakeoilIgnore Button. The coward's feature. Premium Member join:2000-08-05 united state |
Snakeoil
Premium Member
2008-Nov-30 4:25 pm
Upverting DVD players vs Blue ray DVD players.I have been looking at DVD players lately, and have noticed a few items.
There are some out there that are upverting types. They claim to play normal DVDs and upvert them to 1080p formate. The upverting ones also claim to play back a wide varity of file dormats, like Divx, MP4, AVI, etc. They are also cheaper then a Blue ray player.
Do Blue rays play a wide format of video files? Also will they play regular DVDs? |
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LBDSLLightning Bolt join:2002-01-07 Auburn Hills, MI |
LBDSL
Member
2008-Nov-30 5:55 pm
Blu-ray players are backwards compatible, so yes they play regular DVD's, as far as other formats, I can pull out my user guide, but I personally don' mess with anything other then blu-ray, and standard DVD's |
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to Snakeoil
I have a Phillips upconvert DVD player that has a USB port. My regular DVDs are upconverted to 1080p and I can play Divx files from a USB drive as well. The regular DVDs look great...not quite as good as blu-ray, but at 49 bucks, it is a great deal. Blu-ray is a waste of money IMO...it was dead before it even got started. |
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runnoft Premium Member join:2003-10-14 Nags Head, NC |
to Snakeoil
Upconverted DVD looks better than standard DVD on an HDTV but does not look as good as a BluRay DVD. The larger the HDTV screen, the more obvious the difference. |
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TCub Premium Member join:2008-09-03 Olmsted Falls, OH |
to Snakeoil
It seems that most of the Blu- Ray players are only doing Bluray/DVD and all the DVD - R's/RW formats. But nothing like DiVX. I personally don't like the idea of up converting, I kind of doubt that technology. You may or may not notice a difference on your 42" 1080P. Though if you want to play other formats why not use the computer we built for you TV? On a side note, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've EVER seen/heard you ask a technical question... LOL Of course if you were to ask me one of those questions you know I'd ramble on about how great Apple products are... |
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tcope Premium Member join:2003-05-07 Sandy, UT 1 edit |
to Snakeoil
Two different animals!
To use the same terminology, DVD is closer to 720 (720x480). Blu-ray is basically 1920x1080. Upscaling a DVD will place that 720x40 picture onto a 1920x1080 screen but it will basically "skip" (edit: or fill in) lines in order to make the picture larger. What you will see is a less "crisp" picture and also you will usually see some "swirling" of colors (pixilating clouds of color). Most TVs will automatically upscale the DVD picture but in many cases it's better to do before the signal is sent to the TV.
Please keep in ind two things... DVD is no where near HD and, there is a video forum for these questions. |
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Hayward0 K A R - 1 2 0 C Premium Member join:2000-07-13 Key West, FL 4 edits |
Hayward0
Premium Member
2008-Dec-1 1:31 am
Depends greatly on the up converter.
I find my Toshiba DVD Recorders do a better job of upconverting than any of 3 TVs they has been connected to.
It also offers the choice of 480p, 720p, 1081i, and 1080p so connected to a 720p set, it doesn't have to be scaled back to 720p by the set, just set it to that.On a 1080p set you can set it to that. Actually with HDMI connection it will set itself usually. Though my 720p set will do FAUX 1080i, so I have to manually set it 720p to avoid another layer of scaling (back to sets native 720p).
Plus since it is a recorder, I can run my SD sat receiver through it, and have both on a single HDMI TV input and converted.
Good ones don't skip or simple double lines, they interpolate tween lines/pixels, much the way good photo software does when you enlarge/upscale an image.
Yes not as sharp nearly as the true res, but still much better than 700x525 analog was on old projection TV's of equal size (and broadcast analog you are lucky if horizantal was over 400 real lines actually). You only saw 700 lines direct from pro cameras and VTRs. One reason Sat and sometimes Cable look so much better than OTA analog. They get direct feeds, and pro level tuners called demods and equipment all the way. |
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OZO Premium Member join:2003-01-17 |
to Snakeoil
I'd wait with Blue ray DVD players. There are to many complaints about incompatibilities on many forums. It looks like it's not standardized yet as it should be. So, if you buy it now - be prepared to buy a new model soon . |
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Hayward0 K A R - 1 2 0 C Premium Member join:2000-07-13 Key West, FL 1 edit |
Hayward0
Premium Member
2008-Dec-1 1:41 am
I'll consider it when they and the disks get remotely close to standard DVR cost. There is no real reason for them to be as expensive as they are. Recently there have been drops with some of the more basic players, but still 2-3x the price...instead of 5-6x. |
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MysticGogetaThe Robot Devil Premium Member join:2005-03-14 Katy, TX |
to Snakeoil
Good investment for now as you can wait for blu-ray to drop in price and also the movies. I thought about buying a blu-ray player but the movies are very expensive (27.99-34.99 generally) for a new release is a joke in my opinion. |
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dvd536as Mr. Pink as they come Premium Member join:2001-04-27 Phoenix, AZ |
to Snakeoil
you get what you pay for. A upconverted 1080P image isn't going to be even close to a true blu ray 1080P - take a 720x480 image and resize it to 1920x1080 to see what i mean. |
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Hayward0 K A R - 1 2 0 C Premium Member join:2000-07-13 Key West, FL 4 edits
1 recommendation |
Hayward0
Premium Member
2008-Dec-1 5:17 am
Just many feel the cost is not in line with the relative worth.
Sure I'd love a Lamborghini or Ferrari... but not really worth the cost unless you have more money than god and don't know what to do with it. Lots of $50K and under cars come close enough for most people
And a lot of the upconversion lack is the original SD delivery... Straight from DVD (downconverted from a HD source vs old SD master) looks very close to 720p HD unless you put you face right in the screen... most cable and boradcast SD does not, because they bitrate limit it.
Broadcast analog will be going away in Feb, and probably Cable a few years after, as the duplication of channels just won't be worth it anymore, with virtually no sets that can receive them.... just the few die hards with converter boxes, that will still get the digital anyways.
Sort of like when UHF tuners/reception were made manditory, for a few years there were UHF to VHF converter boxes but only for maybe 5 yrs max... by then most had bought a new set, or moved up to color anyways (as the nets went full color a couple of years later), which would have a UHF tuner.
By then all channels will likely be HD, with SD content masked. And maybe a few all SD oldie program stations (like say TVLAND), as ED sub channels. With none distributed in analog... already the case really... except local OTA channels they are all D/A converted to analog for basic cable now. That will not last forever after 2/2009, especially with those 70 channels each taking up the space of several HD channels and like 10 ED channels.
Our PBS channel in Miami now has three ED sub channels. 1080i HD for main PBS, and 3 ED for an All Latino, All kids, and all educational subchannels. All are now on the unencryped "local/Public Affairs" digital cable service ATSC sets can recieve without a box. (along with local gov channels, QVC and some low end all Spanish channels,as well as CSPAN 1 & 2) |
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dadkinsCan you do Blu? MVM join:2003-09-26 Hercules, CA |
You were a HD DVD fan, huh? |
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Hall MVM join:2000-04-28 Germantown, OH |
to dvd536
said by dvd536: take a 720x480 image and resize it to 1920x1080 to see what i mean. It's not as simple as that. |
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moonpuppy (banned) join:2000-08-21 Glen Burnie, MD |
to Snakeoil
If you want a good upconverting DVD player, go with OPPO:
www.oppodigital.com
As for BluRay, the best one, so far, seems to the the Playstation 3.
Whatever version you get, make sure it has an ethernet port so you can upgrade the firmware. |
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djrobx Premium Member join:2000-05-31 Reno, NV
1 recommendation |
djrobx to OZO
Premium Member
2008-Dec-1 11:04 am
to OZO
said by OZO:I'd wait with Blue ray DVD players. There are to many complaints about incompatibilities on many forums. It looks like it's not standardized yet as it should be. So, if you buy it now - be prepared to buy a new model soon . That's why I bought a PS3. It's more likely to be updated, and publishers are more likely to test compatibility with it. Plus I can play games on it. |
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Matt3All noise, no signal. Premium Member join:2003-07-20 Jamestown, NC |
to Snakeoil
What size is your HDTV? That will make a big difference. On my 720p 42" plasma, I can BARELY tell a difference in an upconverted DVD and a Blu-Ray disc. And I mean BARELY.
I imagine upconverting to 1080p would make the SD DVD picture worse and the Blu-Ray picture better, so your mileage may vary. It seems as if older DVDs (Deep Blue Sea for instance) upconvert like shit, but newer DVDs like Iron Man or Serenity look great.
I just rip all my Blu-Ray discs, convert them to 720p 6500Kbps WMV and stream them to my XBox. They look just as good as the Blu-Ray player connected directly to the TV. |
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tcope Premium Member join:2003-05-07 Sandy, UT |
tcope
Premium Member
2008-Dec-1 12:17 pm
said by Matt3:What size is your HDTV? That will make a big difference. On my 720p 42" plasma, I can BARELY tell a difference in an upconverted DVD and a Blu-Ray disc. And I mean BARELY. Don't know what to tell you but the picture is not even close to being the same. Are you viewing these both on a 720 TV? Walk into a store and look at a Blu-ray video on a 1080 (true) HDTV. An upscaled DVD picture is not even close! |
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nixenRockin' the Boxen Premium Member join:2002-10-04 Alexandria, VA |
nixen to OZO
Premium Member
2008-Dec-1 12:45 pm
to OZO
Well, if you buy a Sony device, you don't have to worry about compatibility: they own the spec.
Now, what you might need to worry about is BD software updates. If a given BDROM requires updated software and your disc-player doesn't have them, the movies may not work for you. This is akin to the periodic updates that you need to apply to a PC, XBOX, etc. if you want to run certain programs. This is part of why the newer Sony's have built-in Ethernet (so that they can fetch software updates). |
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Matt3All noise, no signal. Premium Member join:2003-07-20 Jamestown, NC |
to tcope
said by tcope:said by Matt3:What size is your HDTV? That will make a big difference. On my 720p 42" plasma, I can BARELY tell a difference in an upconverted DVD and a Blu-Ray disc. And I mean BARELY. Don't know what to tell you but the picture is not even close to being the same. Are you viewing these both on a 720 TV? Walk into a store and look at a Blu-ray video on a 1080 (true) HDTV. An upscaled DVD picture is not even close! As I said right below what you chopped: said by Matt : I imagine upconverting to 1080p would make the SD DVD picture worse and the Blu-Ray picture better, so your mileage may vary.
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nixenRockin' the Boxen Premium Member join:2002-10-04 Alexandria, VA |
to Hazy Arc
said by Hazy Arc:I have a Phillips upconvert DVD player that has a USB port. My regular DVDs are upconverted to 1080p and I can play Divx files from a USB drive as well. The regular DVDs look great...not quite as good as blu-ray, but at 49 bucks, it is a great deal. Blu-ray is a waste of money IMO...it was dead before it even got started. Depends on what your A/V setup is like. If you have a smaller HDTV or a TV that only does 720P, then a BlueRAY would be a waste. However, if you have a larger 1080p-capable HDTV and a good audio system attached, then there is quite a difference. DVD, even upconverted is flat-sounding and lacking in the fine details of a 1080p BlueRay title. The BlueRay is MUCH closer to a theatre experience. |
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idigg to LBDSL
Anon
2008-Dec-1 2:04 pm
to LBDSL
Hazy Arc,
Just because you can't afford a blu-ray player doesn't mean it's dead, it just means, well, you can't afford one. |
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Matt3All noise, no signal. Premium Member join:2003-07-20 Jamestown, NC
1 recommendation |
Matt3
Premium Member
2008-Dec-1 2:12 pm
said by idigg :
Hazy Arc,
Just because you can't afford a blu-ray player doesn't mean it's dead, it just means, well, you can't afford one. It's definitely not dead, but even with players at the magical $199 mark, people STILL aren't buying them. With all the problems the players are having, it'll be awhile before we know if they boom or bust. Who in the hell wants to constantly update the firmware on a DVD player in the living room? |
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Hall MVM join:2000-04-28 Germantown, OH |
to nixen
said by nixen: Now, what you might need to worry about is BD software updates. If a given BDROM requires updated software and your disc-player doesn't have them, the movies may not work for you. I'm quite sure that the "movie" side of the spec is not changing and the movie will always play. What people may run into is the "extras" or some of the special feature type stuff not working. |
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nixenRockin' the Boxen Premium Member join:2002-10-04 Alexandria, VA |
nixen
Premium Member
2008-Dec-1 3:20 pm
said by Hall:said by nixen: Now, what you might need to worry about is BD software updates. If a given BDROM requires updated software and your disc-player doesn't have them, the movies may not work for you. I'm quite sure that the "movie" side of the spec is not changing and the movie will always play. What people may run into is the "extras" or some of the special feature type stuff not working. For the most part, yes. The latest update for my BDP included the following updates: • Adds Dolby® TrueHD Audio and Dolby Digital Plus Audio decoding functionality. • Compatibility with the newly released BD-R/RE format (BDMV). • Improves BD-Java compatibility to enhance interactivity with some BD-ROMs.
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RX9735 Premium Member join:2002-09-06 Oklahoma City, OK |
to Snakeoil
I wanted to upgrade to blu-ray so I did my research and bought a PS3. The up conversion dvd players were not quite good enough. |
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nixenRockin' the Boxen Premium Member join:2002-10-04 Alexandria, VA |
to Matt3
said by Matt3:Who in the hell wants to constantly update the firmware on a DVD player in the living room? You don't have any other HD components, do you? I know when I got my A/V unit, it wouldn't work right with my TV (was only delivering 720i - I had to update the firmware on both the TV and the A/V unit to get the full 1080p). At least with the TV, all I had to do was pop a thumb drive into the TV. With the A/V unit, I had to do it via an RS232 link to my laptop. Updating newer BDPs is as simple as hooking it up to your home network and hitting "update" on your system menus. Older devices are more of a chort. You have to burn a CD-R with the firmware; pop the disc in the BDP and let it go (granted, it sucks to waste an entire CD-R for considerably less than 100MB of data). Still... Not *too* onerous. |
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nixen |
to Matt3
said by Matt3:Who in the hell wants to constantly update the firmware on a DVD player in the living room? You don't have any other HD components, do you? I know when I got my A/V unit, it wouldn't work right with my TV (was only delivering 720i - I had to update the firmware on both the TV and the A/V unit to get the full 1080p). At least with the TV, all I had to do was pop a thumb drive into the TV. With the A/V unit, I had to do it via an RS232 link to my laptop. Updating newer BDPs is as simple as hooking it up to your home network and hitting "update" on your system menus. Older devices are more of a chort. You have to burn a CD-R with the firmware; pop the disc in the BDP and let it go (granted, it sucks to waste an entire CD-R for considerably less than 100MB of data). Still... Not *too* onerous. At any rate, it's less the Blu-Ray specs that are problematic: it's generally the HDMI or other inter-device connectivity. |
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to Snakeoil
A Blu-Ray disc can contain a much higher resolution picture with more frames per second and better colour saturation and audio than any DVD can (see bda.org for more technical details).
An up-converting DVD player on the other hand can make your DVDs look better on your TV if your TV doesn't already have an up-converting feature built-in. If it does, a regular DVD player and an up-converting player may look identical on your TV.
Most (all?) Blu-Ray players will also play DVDs (and audio CDs). The PS3 for example will up-convert DVDs so you get an up-converting DVD player, CD player and Blu-Ray disc player all in one. |
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to moonpuppy
I will 2nd this comment.
Personally, I have the Oppo DV-980H.
For the price and not being Blue Ray, you can't beat it.
Good Luck! |
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