Samsung "HD" DVD Player

[ibglowin]

Has anyone out there seen the new Samsung 720p/1080i DVD Player?

From the website:

" The 720p/1080i DVD Players greatly enhance video performance by increasing the video resolution of ordinary DVD titles and up-converting them to HDTV compliant formats. A normal DVD player outputs 480i (interlaced) video. Progressive Scan DVD players can roughly double that resolution by outputting 480p video. the HD players enable you to enjoy an HDTV compliant picture-roughly twice the resolution of progressive scan DVD players. It is not High Definition DVD, so it is not a new format and works with existing discs. "

Was wondering if it would actually have any better picture than a 480P player. DVD's today are all 480i format (I believe) so this guy just upconverts that to 720/1080.

Web link: http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_subtype.jsp?eUser=&prod_path=%2fAudio+and+Video%2fDVD+Player%2f720p-1080i+DVD+Player

[RAD]

I looked at this box but found out that the upconvert only happens on the DVI output, not the component, drats.

[ibglowin]

I looked at this box but found out that the upconvert only happens on the DVI output, not the component, drats.


That leaves me out as well. Component only connections.

For the moment! :lol:

[Chris Blount]

It's an interesting idea but I wonder how well it actually works. Any type of up-conversion can result in artifacts or a softer picture. Even Showtime programming, which claims to have "Broadcast Quality" up-conversion on some of their HD movies, still show motion blur and video irregularities not found in true 1080i.

I would be skeptical how well a $299 DVD player can do any type of up-conversion.

[Mark Lamutt]

I watch all of my DVDs upconverted to 1080i with TheaterTek on my HTPC, and the picture is noticibly better than watching the same DVDs with my progressive scan Panasonic RP-82 DVD player. The upconverted picture is almost HD quality, with no noticible softness or artifacting.

A couple of weeks ago, I was over at a friend's hourse taking a look at his new Bravo D1 DVD player that outputs 720p/1080i via DVI connected to a Marantz DLP projector. His DVD output from the Bravo actually looked slightly better than HBO-HD comparing the same movie.

Upconversion, when done properly, can be a very good thing. :)

[Tulsa1]

I had the Samsung 931 for 5 months now and have been impressed with
its performance. I have the new Samsung 617 DLP RP HDTV for viewing.
I first connected it via component ports and the pic quality was average.
I then connected it via DVI port and played with the output scale settings.
I found the 720P setting resulted a slightly better pic than the 1080i.
This was quite impressive. I had been very pleased with my Panasonic
RP82 DVD, but this was much better.........brighter, sharper, true colors.
The downside of the 931 is the remote and its control features.
I also got the Denon 2900 DVD for its hybrid capabilities for DVD-A and SACD
and found its pic quality via the component port was near the Samsung 931.
This was great as the DVI port was best used for my SATHD200 receiver.
The 2900 was impressive out of the box but after tweeking it with DVE makes
it appear close to HD quality, especially with newer DVDs or Superbit DVDS.

[marko]

I watch all of my DVDs upconverted to 1080i with TheaterTek on my HTPC, and the picture is noticibly better than watching the same DVDs with my progressive scan Panasonic RP-82 DVD player. The upconverted picture is almost HD quality, with no noticible softness or artifacting.

A couple of weeks ago, I was over at a friend's hourse taking a look at his new Bravo D1 DVD player that outputs 720p/1080i via DVI connected to a Marantz DLP projector. His DVD output from the Bravo actually looked slightly better than HBO-HD comparing the same movie.

Upconversion, when done properly, can be a very good thing. :)


I realy need to figure this out on my home computer. I have the dvi going out from my computer out to my hdtv, but since I just blew a bunch of money on my computer, I am hesitant to purchase Theatertek right away (too bad they don't have a free download trial).

This is interesting though, For the $300 purchase price, you could almost build a standalone htpc that would have the ability to play dvds. Probably would take an extra $100 though.

[ehren]

I bet the movie Shrek looks pretty darn good!