hd dvd vs upconverting?

tecmo04
tecmo04 Posts: 421
edited October 2005 in Electronics
i want to upgrade my dvd player. currently there are two types i am looking inito. "regular" dvd players with hdmi output that upconverts video, or hd dvd. so my question is what is the difference and which is better to get? is it worth waiting for the blueray?
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited October 2005
    Blu-Ray.

    Support for HD-DVD is waning.
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  • Schris22
    Schris22 Posts: 983
    edited October 2005
    well if you want to upgrade your current dvd player then you'll want an upconverting if you have an HD set.

    You'll need a completly new set for blu ray b/c I don't think they are backwards compatiable. And most sets will start at 1k so that may be a downside when they are first released.

    Chris
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited October 2005
    Schris22 wrote:
    well if you want to upgrade your current dvd player then you'll want an upconverting if you have an HD set.

    You'll need a completly new set for blu ray b/c I don't think they are backwards compatiable. And most sets will start at 1k so that may be a downside when they are first released.

    Chris

    Either Blu-Ray OR HD-DVD will HAVE to be backward compatible with today's standard if it wants to survive.
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
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    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • tecmo04
    tecmo04 Posts: 421
    edited October 2005
    so my lcd tv wont work with blueray?
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  • Schris22
    Schris22 Posts: 983
    edited October 2005
    hd-dvd is already backward comptaible.

    But blu-ray isn't suppose to be if I recall. Hd-Dvd is "probably" going to have an HD side and a regular side or do an hd layer and a regular layer but since blu ray uses a different laser all together it won't work in existing dvd players.

    Chris
    Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR502-S
    DVD Player: Pioneer DV-578A-S
    Left and Right: R50
    Center: CS1
    Rear Center: R15
    Surrounds: R30
    Subwoofer: 10'' Dayton 100 Watt
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  • okiepolkie
    okiepolkie Posts: 2,258
    edited October 2005
    Blu ray will probably have two lasers, which has been done before with decent success.

    Your LCD TV should be compatible with HD-DVD and/or Blu Ray.

    Edit: Take a look at this site: www.blu-ray.com. The FAQ's say it will be able to read DVD's as well.
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  • Schris22
    Schris22 Posts: 983
    edited October 2005
    thats the player not the disk..

    I read the site right after I posted to make sure.

    If you read carefully blu ray isn't backwards compatiable with dvd players. What it states is that blu ray PLAYERs can play dvds by using two compatiable lasers.

    Chris
    Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR502-S
    DVD Player: Pioneer DV-578A-S
    Left and Right: R50
    Center: CS1
    Rear Center: R15
    Surrounds: R30
    Subwoofer: 10'' Dayton 100 Watt
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  • okiepolkie
    okiepolkie Posts: 2,258
    edited October 2005
    Right, that is what I thought we were talking about. It will be just like DVD and CD's, DVD players could play CD's, but not the other way around.
    Either Blu-Ray OR HD-DVD will HAVE to be backward compatible with today's standard if it wants to survive.

    I took this statement to read that DVD's would should be able to be played on Blu Ray and HD-DVD players.
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    Zach
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited October 2005
    Schris22 wrote:
    If you read carefully blu ray isn't backwards compatiable with dvd players. What it states is that blu ray PLAYERs can play dvds by using two compatiable lasers.
    That's what backward compatibility means. Newer players play older formats, not newer formats play in older players.
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  • Schris22
    Schris22 Posts: 983
    edited October 2005
    ok i understand now sorry

    The blu ray players are optional too though.

    Some companies will offer it but I'm sure the price of a combined player will be quite expensive as opposed to buying them seperatly but who knows about that

    Chris
    Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR502-S
    DVD Player: Pioneer DV-578A-S
    Left and Right: R50
    Center: CS1
    Rear Center: R15
    Surrounds: R30
    Subwoofer: 10'' Dayton 100 Watt
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  • John K.
    John K. Posts: 822
    edited October 2005
    Tec, your question implies that a DVD player that "upconverts" might be in some way competitive with a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player, but that isn't the case. A DVD has 480 resolution and it can't be increased to the true 1080 resolution that either Blu-ray or HD-DVD discs are capable of. Some players can scale("upconvert") the DVD output to fit the 720 or 1080 native resolution of HDTVs so that a full picture can be displayed(but not with real 720 or 1080 resolution), but even if the player doesn't do it, the HDTV has to do it itself. So, there's no special advantage in getting an "upconverting" DVD player unless its processing would be significantly better than the processing that the HDTV would do itself. Your LCD TV, which probably has 720 native resolution if it's an HDTV, would be able to downscale the 1080 material from Blu-ray or HD-DVD to 720, just as it can do with 1080 network HDTV now.

    On the separate question of the compatibility of the new players with older formats, just as nearly all present DVD players have dual lasers which operate at 780nm wavelength to read CDs optimally, and 650nm to read DVD-Vs/DVD-As/SACDs optimally, nearly all Blu-ray or HD-DVD players will have triple laser setups which also operate at 405nm to read the new discs optimally.
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  • tecmo04
    tecmo04 Posts: 421
    edited October 2005
    wow, very insitefull john! so i should wait for blueray? the only reason ive concidered buying anew dvd player is for the hdmi output...
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  • John K.
    John K. Posts: 822
    edited October 2005
    Tec, unless you happened to find a player whose processing was significantly better than what your TV does internally, you wouldn't get a visibly better picture. The other factor would be if using the single HDMI cable for video instead of three component cables was enormously important to you. My view would be to enjoy what you have now and wait for the new players.
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