DVD Upconvert: Frequently Asked Questions (DVD Upconvert FAQ)
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DVD Upconvert FAQ
1. What does “dvd upconvert” mean exactly?
“DVD Upconvert” is the process by which the video on a DVD – which is at 480i resolution – is “upgraded” or “upconverted” to the native resolution of your HDTV (720p, 1080i, 1080p).
So if your television has a native resolution of 1080p, the dvd upconvert process is simply the upgrading of the DVD’s 480i resolution to your HDTV’s 1080p resolution, so the DVD can be viewed on your HDTV’s native resolution.
Similar phrases:
upconverting dvd, dvd upconversion, upconvert dvd, upconversion dvd, dvd upconvert
2. Does my HDTV upconvert dvds?
Yes, your HDTV upconverts DVDs from 480i to the native resolution of your HDTV. Newer HDTVs do a much better job that older HDTVs; however, both are inferior to the latest generation of dedicated hardware solutions that provide a DVD upconversion (such as the Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player).
Most Blu-Ray and HD DVD Players also provide some degree of DVD upconversion; this varies by make and model. Upconversion is a secondary function of these players and, as such, they generally will not provide the same quality as dedicated DVD upconvert players.
3. Are upconverting dvd players worth buying?
See question 2. If you have a vast DVD collection, an HDTV, and want to get the highest quality viewing experience from your DVD collection, then yes, a quality DVD Upconverting player is worth investing in.
If quality isn’t that important to you and you don’t mind fuzzy, bloated images and choppy sequences, then you may be satisfied with the native upconversion of your HDTV (if you don’t notice these problems without a quality DVD upconvert player, ignore this response and your friends and family when they point such things out to you).
4. You’ve got to be kidding me. DVDs have a 480i resolution; you can’t create what isn’t on the disc. DVD Upconversion is a joke.
In some cases, sadly, this is an accurate statement, particularly with low quality/cheap DVD upconvert players.
What determines whether DVD upconversion actually makes a difference – and is worth it – is the quality of the upconversion process, which is controlled by the video scalar (the piece of hardware located in the DVD upconvert player that does the heavy lifting during the upconvert process).
I can only speak from my experience; there is a huge difference in upconversion with the Oppo DV-981HD.
5. How does upconverted video quality compare to HD quality? Or, is upconverting the same as HD?
Upconverting is not the same as HD. However, upconverting DVDs (with a quality DVD Upconvert player) is “near HD” quality. That is, DVD upconverting results in an experience that is greatly enhanced compared to viewing non-upconverted DVDs, but still not as high a quality as HD.
To put this into perspective, here is the order of quality of the pieces we’re talking about here, from lowest to highest:
DVD -> Upconverted DVD -> HD
6. Does dvd upconversion need HDMI?
Absolutely. If you are not using HDMI connections between your DVD upconvert player and your HDTV, you are converting the video signal from digital to analog, then back to digital again. This multi-conversion process results in a loss of quality. The Oppo DV-981HD comes with an HDMI cable to avoid this problem.
Similar questions:
What connection is needed for dvd upconversion?
Does dvd upconversion work with s-video?
6. Which DVD movies upconvert well?
The higher the quality the DVD movie is, the higher the quality the upconversion will be. “Super bit” movies – while still at 480i – will generally upconvert the best because they are uncompressed.
7. You sure do reference the Oppo DV-981HD a lot; do you work for Oppo or something?
No, I don’t work for Oppo. However, when I find a quality product, I like to share it with others who are interested.
The other issue for me is this whole Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD war. Sure, it looks like Blu-Ray is going to win, but I simply don’t want to take a chance on buying hardware that may be obsolete in a year (the next generation of Blu-Ray is coming out later this year, anyway, rendering most current Blu-Ray players obsolete; see this link).
So, here I am with a huge DVD collection, a beautiful HDTV, and a gap between the two. I researched options and tried other hardware, but ultimately found the best answer for me was the Oppo DV-981HD.
And, as I once said before, my old DVD collection never looked so good.