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  1. #1
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    Question 1080p Upscaling DVD Player?

    Is 1080p Upscaling (for DVD Player) the same as FULL 1080p?

  2. #2
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Absolutely NOT. An upscaling DVD player is simply taking a 480i signal and deinterlacing and rescaling the image to fit a 1080p screen. The signal is technically 1080p, but the actual content has significantly less resolution.

    To get true 1080p resolution, you need a 1080p source and a 1080p monitor. Currently, the only 1080p sources are Blu-ray and a few scant PPV offerings from cable and satellite.
    Wooch's Home Theater 2.0 (Pics)
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    Dual CS5000 (Ortofon OM30 Super)
    Sony UBP-X800
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  3. #3
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    Hello Ace.

    To date, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are the formats which are able to store High-definition video with up to 1920x1080 pixel resolution, at up to 60 frames p/s interlaced or 24 frames p/s progressive.

    DVD is normally stored at a resolution of 720×480 NTSC for. 720×576 PAL format.

    To be precise, 1080p upscaling for DVD player does NOT upgrade the DVD content
    to Full 1080p. DVDs are recorded in 576p. How is any player capable of extracting the
    missing information from a DVD ?

    Consider the analogy of taking a high resolution photo (High DPI - dots per square inch), then take a low resolution photo. It's like trying to use photoshop to get the low res
    photo to end up exactly the same as the high res one. You need to fill the dots in with
    something, but you can guarrantee it's NOT from the original photo. You have to make
    the dots up yourself.

    These upscalers work in the same way, it is designed such that you can "see" a visual
    improvement, but it's a use of programming to fill in the blank spaces/dots. You cannot
    beat the original source. I do have a PS3 original 60 GB which has a DVD upscaler. I
    compared the Blu Ray version to DVD (with upscaler), with the new movies there is
    no comparison. You can really see the difference on a decent screen.

    If you are keen to achieve the full 1080p experience you will need to get the following :

    1. LCD/Plasma screen that fully supports 1920x1080p, (100 Mhtz refesh rate and 24 fps prefered)
    2. Obtain a source/player which will playback 1920x1080p (for example PS3) - if possible
    also supports HDMI-version 1.3
    3. Obtain a HDMI-version 1.3 1920x1080p cable which is capable of 100 Mhtz refresh rate and 24 fps) - those cables will be more expensive
    4. Obtain a post year 2000 Blu-Ray or HD-DVD movie which is in 1920x1080p

    The reason I said post 2000 is because I purchased Resevoir Dogs on Blu Ray, and
    although there was some minor improvement over the DVD, but the movie has so much
    black dirt in every frame, it appeared that Tarrantino was too poor to make the effort to
    improve the quality of the picture. Most likely the movie was too old to be recorded in
    1080p in the first place. However some companies make the effort of removing the dirt,
    such as George Lucas for the original Star Wars trilogy, and you can really notice the
    difference. It's more likely the newer films would of been recorded in full 1080p. If you
    have decent equipment your eyes will tell you if the quality of the picture is good.
    Res Dogs falls way below par.

    The above requirements are for the visual part of the HD experience. There are other
    features in place to obtain the HD sound, such as TrueHD or Master HD which then
    you'll need the source, the disc, and your amp/receiver to fully support.

    If any of the above are NOT met, you will not gain the maximum benefit.

    If you don't have a 1080p supported screen, then there's no point pursuing blu-ray, so
    you might as well stick with DVD. Also don't bother with the upscaling feature. Your
    screen will not be good enough to show the difference.
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  4. #4
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OzzieAudiophile
    If you don't have a 1080p supported screen, then there's no point pursuing blu-ray, so
    you might as well stick with DVD. Also don't bother with the upscaling feature. Your
    screen will not be good enough to show the difference.
    Agree with your other points, but I definitely disagree here. Not having seen the PAL standard, I don't know what difference you see between 480p and 568p, but I can definitely see the benefit that Blu-ray brings to the table on a 768p HDTV. Even when downscaling the 1080p signal to 1080i or 720p, it's still a significant step up from an upconverted DVD. Otherwise, given that all broadcast HDTV is 720p/1080i, does this mean that those upgrades aren't worthwhile either?
    Wooch's Home Theater 2.0 (Pics)
    Panasonic VIERA TH-C50FD18 50" 1080p
    Paradigm Reference Studio 40, CC, and 20 v.2
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    Yamaha RX-A1030
    Dual CS5000 (Ortofon OM30 Super)
    Sony UBP-X800
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    JVC HR-S3912U
    Directv HR44 and WVB
    Logitech Harmony 700
    iPhone 5s/iPad 3
    Linksys WES610



    The Neverending DVD/BD Collection

    Subwoofer Setup and Parametric EQ Results *Dead Link*

  5. #5
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    I figured there was a difference but I had to make sure.

    BTW...I have a new Sony LCD HDTV which will display 1080p via HDMI.

  6. #6
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer
    Even when downscaling the 1080p signal to 1080i or 720p, it's still a significant step up from an upconverted DVD. Otherwise, given that all broadcast HDTV is 720p/1080i, does this mean that those upgrades aren't worthwhile either?
    I agree, especially if your screen is 42 inches or less.
    So, I broke into the palace
    With a sponge and a rusty spanner
    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  7. #7
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ace H
    I figured there was a difference but I had to make sure.

    BTW...I have a new Sony LCD HDTV which will display 1080p via HDMI.
    Remember that your TV already upconverts all non-1080p signals to 1080p already, since that's your TV's native resolution.

    In fact, depending on the quality of the deinterlacer and scaler inside your TV, you might want to try sending a 480i video signal via HDMI and compare that to the upconverted 1080p image. If the DVD player uses an inferior deinterlacer and/or scaler, then the TV could actually render a better picture using its internal video processors.
    Wooch's Home Theater 2.0 (Pics)
    Panasonic VIERA TH-C50FD18 50" 1080p
    Paradigm Reference Studio 40, CC, and 20 v.2
    Adire Audio Rava (EQ: Behringer Feedback Destroyer DSP1124)
    Yamaha RX-A1030
    Dual CS5000 (Ortofon OM30 Super)
    Sony UBP-X800
    Sony Playstation 3 (MediaLink OS X Server)
    Sony ES SCD-C2000ES
    JVC HR-S3912U
    Directv HR44 and WVB
    Logitech Harmony 700
    iPhone 5s/iPad 3
    Linksys WES610



    The Neverending DVD/BD Collection

    Subwoofer Setup and Parametric EQ Results *Dead Link*

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer
    Agree with your other points, but I definitely disagree here. Not having seen the PAL standard, I don't know what difference you see between 480p and 568p, but I can definitely see the benefit that Blu-ray brings to the table on a 768p HDTV. Even when downscaling the 1080p signal to 1080i or 720p, it's still a significant step up from an upconverted DVD. Otherwise, given that all broadcast HDTV is 720p/1080i, does this mean that those upgrades aren't worthwhile either?

    This is correct. A downconverted 1080p bluray picture looks a fair amount better than 720p/1080i cable tv broadcasts on my 720p LCD tv. It is a huge improvement over DVD and a minor improvement over HD tv because of the compression used by the cable companies to reduce bandwith.

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