im not sure if this is a problem with the dvd or with the dvd player. but im guessing its the dvd player, since it seemed like a cheap one. the tv i have is an lcd 720p 40". like up close, the picture seems washed, but like 10 feet away it looks good. i know what like upclose, things arent as better as alittle far back. but if i get a better dvd player, would the picture look better? if this is kind of confusing, my main question is, can i get better picture quality if i get a better dvd player? not like HD quality, but 'better' than what i have now. also, if the video skips or freezes for awhile, is that the dvd's problem or the dvd player? edit: another question, if i have a 720p tv, would that be considered HDTV? and would an HD player work good with that? what if i dont have HD-DVDs?
Are the DVDs you are trying to play commercial DVDs or DVD +/-R written in a PC DVD burner? If commercial DVDs skip or freeze, is the bottom side clean and free of scratches? If so, time to get a better DVD player. Most(many?)HDTVs below 40 inches are 720p and are still considered high-definition. They will "scale" 1080i and 1080p source video for display at 720p on the smaller HDTVs, so a hi-def DVD player is still required to play back hi-def DVDs. If you don't want to spring for a hi-def DVD player yet, then I suggest getting an "upconverting" DVD player and connecting it to your HDTV with an HDMI cable. You may be surprised at the image quality you get from commercial (and home-made) DVDs since they "scale" the video to either 720p or 1080i and some will scale to 1080p. Below 40 inches most viewers will not be able to see the difference in the picture at any of those scan rates.
Yes, but the only DVD players with an HDMI connection are the so-called "upconverting" players. With the HDMI connection you also are guaranteed to play copy protected commercial DVDs to an HDTV. Do a search for upconverter dvd player.
You may be also bummed out to find that most upscaling players are useless, unless you are willing to pay top dollar.
I have a Sony DVP-NS71HP that cost $100 usd at Costco. A friend has the 77 model for the same price. They work surprisingly well. I haven't tried any $50 upconverting players. It is possible the "scaler" circuitry could vary in quality.
Wrong. I got a Sony upconverting one from Circuit City for $94 that is phenomenal, and almost as great as the $149 Toshiba A3 that will not pay DVD +R's well. The HDMI cable and the upconverting one make what was normally played on a regular DVD player with one video cable look dazzlingly good. 8 feet away from my 42" it looks perfect. The HDMI cable (online for $15, btw) makes all the difference.
Hasn't that always been the bane of +R? The Toshiba has no problems with any -R's I've thrown at it. With one video cable? Almost everyone these days would at least be using component (3 video cables) for flat panel hookups. If you where using one cable no wonder you think your Sony looks good.
I have the same Sony mentioned and I don't see any difference in the up converted vs 480p. Good player though. Also my A2 plays +r's great as long as their book typed to dvd-rom. dragnandy are you at least using component cables with the progressive setting turned on for your dvd player. If not then that alone will make the picture substantially better for dvd's.
by that you mean the 3 cable one (red white yellow)? then yes. and what do you mean by progressive settings?
oh, then no. are they better? would i have to have the dvd player set to progressive scan? and when i checked the prices, like at frys they sell starting at 25USD, while on ebay a new one can be less than 10. but some also range to 25USD or more, so im wondering if the brand or anything matters.
Yup, set it to progressive scan. If your run is short no need to spend big money. http://www.buyextras.com/3fecovicawh.html#product_reviews
is an s-cable better than the component cables? also, does component cables carry audio, like the composite cables do? if not, how would i transfer audio to the tv?
thank i did that. and ill go with composite cables, but i dont know how to get the audio through if the composite cables only give video.
I'm sorry but I'm just shaking my head over all this talk about the various connections. Why does everyone obsess so? dragnandy, you said in your original post: "my main question is, can i get better picture quality if i get a better dvd player? not like HD quality, but 'better' than what i have now." The answer is YES! And you can get it, with no cabling hassles, for less than 100 USD. In fact, you can get a Toshiba machine for substantially less. The key word is "upscale", "upscaler" or "upscaling" and only an upscaling DVD player will have the HDMI connector. The HDMI connector has both video and audio - and it will connect directly to your 40 inch LCD HDTV perfectly. Also, any issues concerning "progressive" or 720p, 1080i should be taken care of transparently by the default "auto" setting on the player. A new player ought to also take care of any skipping problems you have. As a bonus you will swear that many commercial DVD movies look almost hi-def because many of the them have been transfered to DVD from film via a very expensive scanning system. Seems to me this information should settle the issue.
You sure about that? That any upscaler will provide good results? That HDMI is always the best choice? Hardly. I bought a Magnavox upscaler ($50) and tried it on my Panasonic 720p plasma via HDMI. Compared to my older JVC, via component, the picture was inferior. Panasonic's native upscaling does a much better job. So I took it to my tavern and hooked it up to a Vizio 42" 720p LCD. The picture is OK, but there is a certain 'harshness' for lack of a better description that is evident (same as on my Panasonic). On the opening Magnavox logo screen there is this artifacting around all the type reminiscent of what you see in Xvid encodes. I played around with the settings and minimized this effect to an extent. On the other Vizio I have a Phillips player via component that provides a more pleasing picture to these old eyes. The HDMI Magnavox is useful though for the one cable advantage (made for a neater/easier run) when routed to the Vizio it's on. One size does not fit all.
MysticE, You of course are right. Just because I bought a readily available upconverting DVD player, connected it to my 32 inch LCD HDTV and had wonderful results is not conclusive that other people will be so lucky! However, considering the experience and needs wished for by the OP, I think the probability of a happy result is quite high. Although not so long ago video scalers varied greatly in visual quality, my experience with a late-model, low cost (100 USD) Sony would likely be matched by even lower cost competitors - IF THEY ARE OF RECENT VINTAGE. Standard-definition DVD player and burner technology has been improving steadily even in the most recent year. HDTVs just two years ago played std-def sources very poorly and the reason was poor scaler performance. Because of that, an after-market for high quality scalers emerged but was short lived because the HDTV makers started doing a better job. I think the same can be said of the scalers in DVD players. The performance improvements to play just about any DVD and the low cost these days should make an investment in a new player truely rewarding. -- Ken
Well I'm glad you chose $100 as low cost. I cringe at the constant advice to buy $30 players because "they play everything".
