Ok folks, I need help!

Imagine

I just purchased a Westinghouse LVM-37w3 1080p Monitor. On it, it has (1) HDMI Input and (2) DVI Inputs. At present, my HD DVR is connected to the HDMI Input.

My DVD player does not have a HDMI or DVI Output, so I am using the YPbPr Inputs.

Lastnight, while watching Casino Royale, I noticed that while viewing full screen, the picture looked streched. After playing with the remote, and setting the Aspect Ratio to Standard, the picture went from full screen to non-full screen. In other words, I was probably watching the movie at 32" instead of 37". No big deal, but non the less.

I also noticed that the maximum resolution is 720 x 480i.

So here are my questions.

1) In order to view full screen, do I need a DVD HD player?

2) In order to view 1080p or 1080i, do I need a DVD HD player or is this a problem with the Westinghouse? I tried changing the resolution, but it wouldn't change. Although, I am getting 1080p while watching HD DVR from my DirecTV, so I know I am capable of getting 1080p.

3) Is an Up Conversion DVD player the same as DVD HD (High Definition) player? Up Conversion players are less expensive than DVD HD players.

4) Is it worth getting a DVD HD, assuming this is better than the Up Conversion players?

Thanks for your time and answers.

-Dean

Stew4HD

Dean, welcome the forum!

1. Your DVD player is most likely outputting 480p. I am not sure why your display is doing that. There is no way to assign resolution types to each input on your TV?

2.To take full advantage of your display, an HD DVD or BD player will do that for you in true 10801 or 1080p. The HD DVD players will give you the best upconverting power for SDs at this time.

3. Hopefully another member can answer this for you.

4. I would say yes, that HD DVD will give you the best picture but I have not seen an upconverter in action.

You can get into an HD DVD player for about $300-$400 now for the first generation Toshiba players. The Toshiba HD-XA1 was voted the best by a leading electronics magazine. Check out this link. Robert at Valueelectronics.com will take great care of you.

__________________
___________________________________
For PFC5 I miss ya, buddy WB L2W!
Living Room:
*JVC DLA-RS40 3D projector
Da-Lite wall mounted screen 110" diag.
DirecTV DVR
Sony PlayStation 3 60GB (first gen)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD
*Denon AVR-A100
Magnepan MMGW L/R
Magnepan MMGC center
Aperion 5DB surrounds
Aperion 10D sub
Oppo BDP-83SE
*Panny DMP-BDT100
XBOX 360 (first gen)
HTPC
WII
*special thanks to Robert at valueelectronics.com, you are great to work with!

Lee Stewart

What is the make and model of your DVD player? Is it a progressive output player?

We need to use the correct nomenclature. Wide Screen is where your entire display is filled (and the source is 1.78 the Aspect Ratio of your display). If you watch a movie that was shot in Panavision (scope - anamorphic) where the AR of the movie is 2.40 then you should see this as an image in the center of your display with black bars above and below the image - called letterboxing

Full Screen denotes 4x3 AR while Wide Scree is 16x9 (you)

You are reading the incoming signal that is going into your display. This leads me to believe that you do not have a progressive DVD player or it is not set to output a progressive signal cause if you did you would have seen 720x480P - check DVD's setup menu.

No. All you need is a movie (SD DVD is fine) that was NOT shot in Panavision and has an AR of 1.78 or 1.85 and is "enhanced for 16x9 TV's." On the back of DVD covers this information is available IF it is a widescreen DVD and NOT a full screen DVD.

You have a fixed resolution panel; 1920x1080P. it cannot be adjusted. It will convert all incoming signals into this resolution format. What you start out with has a great bearing on what you see on the display.

The only source of 1080P today is HD Disc (HD DVD and BD.) All other sources are either 1080i or 720P. Your HD DVR is either set to 1080i or 720P and your display will "fix" that signal so it can be seen by you - called scaling)

It can be. The Toshiba HD DVD players excell at this ability. You can go online to Amazon.com and get a brand new HD-D1 for $290.24 AND you fill out a coupon and Toshiba will send you 5 free HD DVD's from a list of movies they created.

Well a decent one runs about $200 so the above deal for $90 more is a steal. Plus the $150 in free HD movies.

Make sure that both the HD DVR and the DVD's display is set to 16x9 (or widescreen) - found in the setup menu on each device

Again Welcome to HDF . . . we are here to help you, if we can

Imagine

Stew4HD and Lee,

Thank you for the information. Regarding the terminology, this is new to me, but I'll try to get it right.

The DVD model is a DAEWOOD DVG-9200N with Progressive Scan. The display is set to 16:9 (Wide Screen). Although I did change the settings to 16:9 on the DVD which helped, and the displays Aspect Ratio is set to Fill. Checking the resolution on the display, it read 720x480i, not "P". Now I get it. 1080P can only be displayed with HD DVD's, all others are 1080i or 720P.

The display only had one HDMI Input. If I purchased a HD DVD and a HDMI to DVI cable (the display has 2 DVI Inputs), would I lose any quality?

Thanks again, I appreciate this.

-Dean

Bigloww

I think if it is in progressive mode, the output should still show to be 480p not 480i. Some players have a switch for progressive mode or a setting in the menu, so I would also double check that. But like previously said, maybe it is 480p and your display is just reporting 480i as a default. Hook it up via composite. You should definately see a difference between the 2. If not, something is not set correctly.

__________________
Commit to the Indian..

"I don't get drunk, I get awesome"..

Lee Stewart

The main difference between HDMI and DVI is that HDMI carries both Digital Video and Digital Audio . . .while the DVI only carries Digital Video.

It would work fine.

You say "The DVD's AR is set to FILL" What other options are on that setup screen.? When you say you are using Component cables, you mean the special red, green and blue RCA jacked cable right? (RCA jack looks like the connector for red and white audio or single yellow video - all analog)

Do you have a "video output" screen in the setup menu?

Do you have an "audio output" screen in the setup menu?

Lee Stewart

Hey Bigloww:

"Belly Bombers Forever!"

Stew4HD

A six-pck of belly bombers.. oh the memories! We don't have White Castle in Houston.. They are all over St. Louis.. so many times.. after a night of drinking.. on the way home... damn!

__________________
___________________________________
For PFC5 I miss ya, buddy WB L2W!
Living Room:
*JVC DLA-RS40 3D projector
Da-Lite wall mounted screen 110" diag.
DirecTV DVR
Sony PlayStation 3 60GB (first gen)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD
*Denon AVR-A100
Magnepan MMGW L/R
Magnepan MMGC center
Aperion 5DB surrounds
Aperion 10D sub
Oppo BDP-83SE
*Panny DMP-BDT100
XBOX 360 (first gen)
HTPC
WII
*special thanks to Robert at valueelectronics.com, you are great to work with!

Lee Stewart

When I lived in Long Island had one two blocks away! Always thought the walk home would help with the digestion. Now in Ft. Laud . . . nada

No matter how many times I ate there I always got a charge ordering:

"10 Hambergers, a pack of fries and a large Sprite...to stay!"

BobY

No, an upconverting player does not produce an HD image, it increases the pixel density of an SD image to that of an HD image, but it can't add the fine details you see in a true HD image.

While I'm sure you can find some SD discs that, upscaled on some players, look as good or even better than some HD discs, a good HD disc utterly blows away upscaled SD.

Bigloww

A case of Heineken, a Slider crave case, a few freinds and some HD plasma March Madness. It doesn't get much better than that (or is that Ole Milwaukee ). As long as they step outside instead of my family room to let em rip .

Man am I off topic.

__________________
Commit to the Indian..

"I don't get drunk, I get awesome"..

Stew4HD

Do we ever stay on topic.. all the wat through a thread? LOL, gotta keep it alive

__________________
___________________________________
For PFC5 I miss ya, buddy WB L2W!
Living Room:
*JVC DLA-RS40 3D projector
Da-Lite wall mounted screen 110" diag.
DirecTV DVR
Sony PlayStation 3 60GB (first gen)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD
*Denon AVR-A100
Magnepan MMGW L/R
Magnepan MMGC center
Aperion 5DB surrounds
Aperion 10D sub
Oppo BDP-83SE
*Panny DMP-BDT100
XBOX 360 (first gen)
HTPC
WII
*special thanks to Robert at valueelectronics.com, you are great to work with!

Imagine

Regarding the AR, there are 2 settings. Fill and Standard. Here's some info from the manual.

7. Aspect Ratio
Set display to “STANDARD” or “FILL”

Adjusts the ratio between the width of the picture and the height
of the picture. A 16:9 picture will be displayed in its original
format.
• Standard – conventional format used for viewing 4:3
programs in their normal format.
• Fill – format that horizontally stretches 4:3 pictures to the
edge of the screen (some programs will be broadcasted
with black or gray bars on the top and bottom or sides of
the picture).

Also if you're interested in the manual, you can d/load it here:

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/p...ser_Manual.pdf

I am using the Red-Green-Blue cable via YPbPr. The audio is set up on my 5.1 system, so I'm not using the displays audio feature.

I don't see a "video output" screen in the setup menu. Should it specify?

Thx
-Dean

Imagine

Bi BobY,

By SD, do you mean "Standard DVD Disc"?

So technically, a true HD DVD player will play a HD DVD to its full potential.

A SD disc will play in a true HD DVD player, and the image is better than that of a standard DVD player, correct?

So from better to best, we're looking at:

1) Standard DVD player (will play standard DVD's)
2) Up Conversion (will play standard DVD's better)
3) True HD DVD player (will play HD DVD's)

Will a True HD DVD player play standard DVD's better than a Up Conversion DVD player?

Man, all these questions!!! I want to make sure I'm buying the right thing.

Thx, I appreciate your time.
-Dean

BobY

SD or "Standard Definition" is sometimes used to refer to analog (NTSC) video, but more properly refers to Digtal TV (DTV) resolutions of 640 x 480 pixels up to 720 x 480 pixels for conventional DVD's.

An upconverting (or upscaling) DVD player may make an SD DVD look better on a given display, or it may not, as any display capable of receiving the upconverted signal is also capable of upconverting the SD signal in the first place. Whether it looks better letting the display or the player perform the upconversion depends on the specific display and player.

Hi-Def disc players (HD DVD and Blu-Ray) encode the video at true HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) for a much sharper, more detailed picture. Through image processing, Upconversion can make an SD image look smoother and less pixelated than it otherwise would and in some cases create the illusion of a sharper image, but it can't really add detail to a lower resolution image where the detail was never there to begin with.

Hi-Def disc players also appear to be excellent SD upconverters owing to their advanced, high-speed image processing and overall quality of components.

BTW, while Hi-Def disc players can play and upconvert SD DVD's, Hi-Def discs can only be played on a Hi-Def player. Hi-Def discs won't even be recognized by a conventional player, upconverting or otherwise.