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Smitty77's avatar
Smitty77
Explorer
May 18, 2013

Blu Ray Players with standard DVD's

Just when you think you understand what is going on, something else comes along and obsoletes it - just when I figured out how to program the VCR, I find they are obsolete:)!

Quick background:

Smart 32" Samsung TV going into the head bumper cabinet in our coach.

While this is going in, I thought since cabling was involved, I should jump up to a Blu Ray DVD player and HDMI cabling.

I get confused when I look at the Blu Ray's available. I see very few Blu Ray, one being the Marantz UD5007, that plays back in Progressive Scan mode.

As I currently own zero Blu Ray DVD's, my thinking is that I would be better served with a Blu Ray unit that supports older DVD formats Progressive Scan mode playback. I figured we would probably never rebuild our full DVD library (again, after the jump to VCR). The other factor is with streaming Hulu and Netflix and Satellite Dish's with DVR's - DVD/Blu Ray's are not as important as they used to be.

Am I off in my thinking? Opinions and info sharing requested:)! I'm also wondering if I should just stay with a standard DVD player, and not worry about Blu Ray at all... The Cary DVD 7's are dropping in price that make them attractive, and older Oppo's are still fine players too...

Confused I be...

Thanks,
Smitty

Note: Next I will think about getting one of those new fangled phones that work without wires being connected...
  • johnrbd's avatar
    johnrbd
    Explorer
    May 18, 2013
    Note: Next I will think about getting one of those new fangled phones that work without wires being connected...


    Are you referring to the 2-can with string connecting them.



    Don't know squat about the Progressive Scan, but we just purchased a Panasonic Blu-Ray, wi-fi, with Netflix/Pandora/Hula. Works great with old DVD's. Makes them even better that DVD player did.
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    May 18, 2013
    I'm still using a standard def CRT tv. I do have a Blu Ray burner on my computer for certain data backups, and note it also reads and writes DVD & CD formats as well.
  • 1492's avatar
    1492
    Moderator
    May 18, 2013
    If you're connecting the BluRay player via HDMI, most every player will upconvert a standard DVD to HD for playback. So kind of a moot point to look specifically for a progressive scan feature(for component?). Even my $29. refurbished Toshiba BluRay upconverts 480p DVDs to 1080p HD via HDMI, besides WiFi streams and plays back HD video from USB drives.
  • 1492's avatar
    1492
    Moderator
    May 18, 2013



    Actually, I meant upconvert a standard 480i DVD to 1080 HD. Above is an example of my older Magnavox BluRay playing a training DVD on my Toshiba HD LCD via HDMI. Note that the Toshiba is seeing a 1080i HD signal, whereas the original DVD was recorded at 480i. The video looks much better than this example photo.
  • jdog's avatar
    jdog
    Explorer
    May 18, 2013
    Have you been hiding out in a cave for a few years? You are many years behind on technology!
  • docj's avatar
    docj
    Explorer
    May 18, 2013
    Upconverted DVDs may appear to look better on an HDTV but they don't actually gain resolution. Upconversion may produce a 1080 signal from a 480i DVD but you can't "create" resolution that wasn't there before. The upconverted signal interpolates the data between existing points to approximate what probably would have been there. However, the data is a guess not a real resolution improvement.

    Anyone who has worked with Photoshop knows that you if you increase the number of pixels per inch on a picture you run the risk of false color effects and other aberrations being created. The situation is the same with upconversion.
  • Smitty77's avatar
    Smitty77
    Explorer
    May 18, 2013
    jdog wrote:
    Have you been hiding out in a cave for a few years? You are many years behind on technology!


    Feel like it sometimes:)!

    I have stayed away from Blu Ray at home, pending the final demise of my old plasma 1080i.

    While I knew Blu Ray players would play older format DVD's. I was not aware that they unconverted them to HD.

    Assume the difference between a $129 vs $499+ Blu Ray, is from the quality of the components and chips used.

    Thanks for the quick education on this. Will do some more research.
    Smitty
  • 1492's avatar
    1492
    Moderator
    May 18, 2013
    docj wrote:
    Upconverted DVDs may appear to look better on an HDTV but they don't actually gain resolution. Upconversion may produce a 1080 signal from a 480i DVD but you can't "create" resolution that wasn't there before. The upconverted signal interpolates the data between existing points to approximate what probably would have been there. However, the data is a guess not a real resolution improvement.

    True, but an HD LCD TV is doing the same thing anyway. It's interpolating the standard DVD's 480i resolution video signal to fit full screen 720p or 1080 HD native screen resolution. Otherwise, the LCD screen would only use a portion of its native resolution to accurately display the 480i image, which would result in black bars on all sides of the screen.
  • wcjeep's avatar
    wcjeep
    Explorer
    May 18, 2013
    Dvd played in a bluray player are normally displayed in 720p. Dvd played in a dvd player usually played at 480i. BluRay disk in a blue ray player is usually 1080p. Most cable TV and satellite high Def is 1080i. There are exceptions.

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