pixelly? DVD on HDTV

CDC

Member
This is probably pretty basic for you folks but I wanted to ask so it appears I know what I'm talking about when I go to check this out.
My stepson has just hooked up his HDTV and complains that his DVDs are displaying in little blocks (pixels). When he played a DVD, the TV displayed "DVD 480p" He said he tried to change the setting on the TV menu but was unable to change it. We connected, HD Sat. Rcvr and DVD player both component video inputs on Sony Surround Rcvr. We ran component video out to the TV. The HD Satelite image looks great.

Thanks for your help.

CDC
 
DVD is much lower resolution than HDTV so you should expect it to look much worse than HD Satellite. This is why BluRay and HD-DVD are battling it out right now. Is the DVD player upscaling? That will help.

Remember when DVD came out and we were in awe of the picture quality vs. VHS?

:)
 
For now until HD gets a bit cheaper... I bought a Samsung upscaling DVD player DV-960. It does a good job of upscaling the dvd to 1080p and outputs 1080p though its HDMI cable (keeping everything digital). This is the best way to play normal DVDs. Actually they look great on my 56" Samsung 1080P HDTV.

John
 
Thanks for the replies. That is what my suspisions were. Is "Upscaling" a feature on certain DVD players? Or is it something that is enabled?

Thanks again.
CDC
 
Not all players have upscaling, but many have progressive scan, which is better than nothing. Sounds like his has this, as the TV said 480p (p for progressive).

I've also heard of some upscaling players that don't play nicely with some TV's over an HDMI connection.

Upscaling players start at about $80 (1080i) and go up from there.
 
His TV Is mounted above his fireplace. His equipment rack is off to the side. We have coax run from the rack to the tv for component video. No way to get HDMI over there. Is there an HDMI cable approved for installation in walls?

CDC
 
Something else to try is to shut off the 480p in the DVD player, forcing it back to 480i. This will make the TV scale and de-interlace- sometimes the TV can do a better job than the DVD player, especially since it is doing both scaling and de-interlacing at the same time.
 
A upscaling DVD player will do a better job if your HDTV has a HDMI input as it will then stay all digital. I was on a dl.tv episode awhile back about a HDMI extender (for hanging plasmas on a wall). Look through their archives to see if you can spot it.

John
 
shut off the 480p in the DVD player, forcing it back to 480i. This will make the TV scale and de-interlace- sometimes the TV can do a better job than the DVD player, especially since it is doing both scaling and de-interlacing at the same time
Oooh! Good suggestion!
 
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