1080p and Legacy DVDs and Players

phuz
phuz Posts: 2,372
edited July 2007 in Electronics
How many folks out there have 1080p displays, and are using or have used older DVD players to play regular DVDs?

The reason I asked is because I've noticed that regular DVDs just don't look very good on my 1080p TV. I previously had a 44" display capable of 1080i, with my Rotel RDV-1050. It looked good at the time, but I have since upgraded to a 55" 1080p display and movies now look a little blurry or grainy.

Do I need to upscale? Or a DVD player that does upscaling? Does the PS3 upscale standard DVDs to 1080p?

Rotel has a nice DVD player that does all of this, but at $1500 it's more than I want to spend on a new DVD player, considering I just spent $700 on my RDV-1050 in 2005.
Post edited by phuz on

Comments

  • scottvamp
    scottvamp Posts: 3,277
    edited July 2007
    I can see where SD DVD's could look off on a nice 1080p monitor. Yes, the PS3 does upscale all formats to 1080p.
  • AndyGwis
    AndyGwis Posts: 3,655
    edited July 2007
    The bigger the display, the higher resolution player you'll need to make it look decent.

    I had a 27" Flat screen CRT which looked good with SD discs played from my HTIB using S-video. Then, went to a 42" Plasma 1080i, and everything started looking like crap.

    Got a decent upscaling player (Samsung HD-850), which made it much better, but far from perfect. Got a very, very good upscaling player (Pioneer Elite 59avi) which made SD DVDs look heavenly. Then, went with a HD-XA1 which approaches / equals the PE 59avi for SD-DVD, and its HD-DVD just blows everything else away . . . oh, and it cost less than the PE 59avi.

    So, look for a nice HD-DVD or BR / PS3 player to get the most out of your new set. With prices dropping like a rock (HD-A2 + 5 HD-DVDs for around $200 - $250; BR players for a couple hundred more), you should really get one.

    They bring almost all the upside of very good upconverting players, plus the added bonus of next gen Hi Def, all for around the same amount (or in some cases much less) of coin.
    Stereo Rig: Hales Revelation 3, Musical Fidelity CD-Pre 24, Forte Model 3 amp, Lexicon RT-10 SACD, MMF-5 w/speedbox, Forte Model 2 Phono Pre, Cardas Crosslink, APC H15, URC MX-950, Lovan Stand
    Bedroom: Samsung HPR-4252, Toshiba HD-A2, HK 3480, Signal Cable, AQ speaker cable, Totem Dreamcatchers, SVS PB10-NSD, URC MX-850
  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited July 2007
    Ok then I'm pondering the PS3 to replace my RDV-1050.

    Anyone use the PS3 for SD DVD? How does it look?
  • AndyGwis
    AndyGwis Posts: 3,655
    edited July 2007
    I've noticed (from older console players, not necessarily the PS3) that video quality seems to be good, but the functionality / usability is less than a stand alone player.

    So, if you are interested in the gaming aspect of the PS3, get it for sure. But, if you are just looking for a solid BR player, there may be better options.

    With PS3 only being $500 (is that already in effect?), it is getting really tempting to grab one.
    Stereo Rig: Hales Revelation 3, Musical Fidelity CD-Pre 24, Forte Model 3 amp, Lexicon RT-10 SACD, MMF-5 w/speedbox, Forte Model 2 Phono Pre, Cardas Crosslink, APC H15, URC MX-950, Lovan Stand
    Bedroom: Samsung HPR-4252, Toshiba HD-A2, HK 3480, Signal Cable, AQ speaker cable, Totem Dreamcatchers, SVS PB10-NSD, URC MX-850
  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited July 2007
    AndyGwis wrote: »
    I've noticed (from older console players, not necessarily the PS3) that video quality seems to be good, but the functionality / usability is less than a stand alone player.

    So, if you are interested in the gaming aspect of the PS3, get it for sure. But, if you are just looking for a solid BR player, there may be better options.

    With PS3 only being $500 (is that already in effect?), it is getting really tempting to grab one.

    Yep, the $500 price for the 60gb consoles is already in effect, and I figure I should grab one before they sell out later this year.

    I'm interested in the gaming, and all around aspects of the console. Web browsing, gaming, BR, upscaling, etc. etc. etc. So it's a good choice for me. Home theater is becoming less of an interest for me and 2ch is taking overin a separate room in the house, so replacing my Rotel DVD player with the PS3 in my living room doesn't bother me.
  • duksbak
    duksbak Posts: 134
    edited July 2007
    SD DVD's on my 1080p mitsu didn't look too bad but looked better on my 27" CRT. When I got my PS3 the DVD's looked a bit better but not that much different. Than I remembered I needed to update my PS3. When I did, my SD DVD's looked alot cleaner than before.

    I've found i've been using my PS3 for more than games. I own one game and play it a bit but I mainly use it as a media server. Its a fantastic little magic box and I recomend it for anyone that has a 1080p tv.
    Television: Mitsubishi WD-57732
    Front R/L: Polkaudio RTiA7
    Center: Polkaudio CSiA4
    Rear R/L: Polkaudio FXiA4
    Subwoofer: Polkaudio DSW600
    A/V Reciever: Denon 2808
    DVD/SACD: Sony Playstation 3
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited July 2007
    Yes, you need at least the 1.80 firmware update to upscale DVDs and games. I have a 45" 1080p set and standard dvds on my Denon 1600 looked absolutely horrible, especially after watching blu-rays. There was like a fuzzy haze over everything, even animated movies like cars looked slightly out of focus because of the poor upscaling done by the electronics in my hdtv.

    When I tried the upscaling in my ps3, things returned to razor sharp clarity. Without an hd version to compare it to, cars actually looks hd like when the sd-dvd is upscaled to full 1080p. I've found that the quality does vary from source to source. Cars is a very high bitrate dvd originally so it appears very high definition like when upscaled. Other, lower bit-rate movies still look much better, but you can see more artifacts from the original encode in them. But all the fuzziness and blockiness of my hdtv's upscaler is gone when all the upscaling is handled by the ps3.

    Also - don't judge the player functionality by other consoles like the ps2. The ps3 is a very well thought out and implemented disk player for both standard and blu-ray movies. It's got almost all the bells and whistles you can get. Only main drawback I can think of - no analog outs. Things like uncompressed PCM and TrueHD lossless tracks require at least an hdmi 1.1 capable receiver to listen to. And, we're still waiting on a firmware update for internal DTS-MA decoding (but so is every other player released to date).
  • scottvamp
    scottvamp Posts: 3,277
    edited July 2007
    phuz wrote: »
    Ok then I'm pondering the PS3 to replace my RDV-1050.

    Anyone use the PS3 for SD DVD? How does it look?

    I have been going back and forth between my Panny S97 (awesome upscaler) and the PS3, picture is much sharper and sound is amazing. I am watching Premonition on SD DVD and the picture is jaw dropping. I dig my PS3 more and more everyday.