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DVD Upconvert
By willbry | December 15, 2007
DVD Upconvert
Is it worth the time, cost, and effort?
With the increasing popularity of high definition LCD and plasma televisions, a wide gap exists between the quality of resolution in traditional DVDs compared to the quality of the resolution found in these new televisions. There are ways, however, to increase the quality of the image of traditional DVDs; this is where the dvd upconvert process comes into consideration.
Why a dvd upconvert? Some technical background.
Regular DVDs provide a resolution of 720×480 (this is also known as 480i). High definition televisions are usually 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, with 1080p being the highest quality. Even at the lower end of the spectrum - 720p - there is a gap between a DVD’s 480i resolution and the HDTV’s resolution of 720p.
When you have an upconverting DVD player, the dvd upconvert process takes the lower resolution 480i and upconverts it to either 720p, 1080i or 1080p. The result is a greatly enhanced DVD viewing experience. The larger the television, the more pronounced DVD upconvert becomes. Read that again: the larger the screen on your HDTV, the greater the impact the DVD upconvert process has on your viewing experience.
High Definition DVD’s (HD-DVDs)
The other option to experience DVDs at this much higher resolution is to purchase an HD-DVD player and upgrade your existing DVD collection to HD-DVD’s. HD-DVDs natively provide a much greater resolution than traditional DVD’s. However, current prices for HD-DVDs start around $30 each, and increase in price.
Imagine having to replace every DVD you currently own with their HD-DVD equivalent. This is a very, very cost prohibitive transition. In addition, you will need to purchase an HD-DVD player. The price of HD-DVD players starts around $500. And that’s before you’ve purchased any movies!
Also, a non-stop battle is raging between Blu-ray and HD-DVD; it’s possible that HD-DVD could go the way of the beta max, rendering an HD-DVD player obsolete!
DVD Upconvert: The end result.
If you were to compare a plain DVD viewing experience on a 720p, 1080i, or 1080p HDTV to the experience of watching the same DVD that has been through the DVD upconvert process, the results are staggering. DVD upconverted movies provide a much greater enhanced viewing experience; the colors are more vivid, the image is crystal clear, there is no “jittering” video, fast on-screen motion and rapid scene transitions are maintained, pixilation is removed, and color shifting is eliminated.
In short, the DVD upconvert process allows you to enjoy your HDTV the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
DVD Upconvert: Quality matters.
Despite the tremendous difference the dvd upconvert process makes, there is a huge difference among DVD upconverting players. The DVD player must have a well-integrated, quality video processor and the processor must be optimized for your viewing experience.
There are a number of DVD Upconvert players on the market. One of the top rated DVD players that provides a dvd upconvert is the OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio. Not only does this player have a 5 star rating from Amazon reviews, it performs the dvd upconvert beautifully, and provides 7.1 audio channels. Don’t have 7.1 channels in your home theater yet? This player gives you room to grow!
If you don’t mind spending a little more, check out the Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player with HDMI, 1080p Up-Converting, DivX & SACD . In addition to excellent upconversion, the DV-981HD offers playback of a whole host of formats including DVD-Audio, Super Audio CS (SACD), Audio CDs, HDCD, WMA, Kodak Picture CDs, all version of DivX including DivX6, as well as Xvid, .SRT, .SMI, .IDX, and .SUB file formats.
DVD Upconvert: The conclusion.
If you have a high definition television, your old DVD collection is preventing you from taking full advantage of the vivid, high definition viewing experience your television was designed to provide. A DVD upconvert player bridges the gap between the limited resolution your DVD movies can provide and the vivid, life-like resolution of your HDTV.
If you are still watching an old analog CRT television, the DVD upconvert will not provide any benefit. However, if you are a part of the growing population that has chosen to upgrade to high definition television, you need to DVD upconvert in order to take advantage of your HDTV’s true capabilities.
A better viewing experience awaits you; are you ready for the next step?
Relevant links:
DVD Upconvert
OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player with HDMI, 1080p Up-Converting, DivX & SACD
DVD Upconvert: Making Sense Out of Resolutions
William Bryson
Topics: dvd upconvert |
One Response to “DVD Upconvert”
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December 23rd, 2007 at 11:34 am
Thanks for explaining things. I’d heard about DVD Upconvert but didn’t really understand the concept. Your article explained things clearly.