TV upconverts; why another upconverter? If so, why would an upconverting DVED player make any difference?
265313
The point of this player is if your TV has a poor scaler, and DVDs look bad. The Faroudja DCDi chip in this and the OPPO OPDV971 is one of the best scalers on the market.
135358
Thank you for your question. No matter the format that is being up-converted, up-conversion only works to a degree. It can't make programming not shot in 4K look as clean as true 4K material. It will do something to slightly improve the quality but it can't perform magic to programming not produced in the format. Thanks again very much.
2127735
I played this unit on both of my 1080P TVs. One is way more detailed than the other. There is about 5 year difference between the two. So I think it matters on your TV. Also this unit does not play all files as stated.
572833
the converter mainly works with the satellite receiver and the newer receivers already have this function built into them. It's not a converter for the TV, but for the receiver.
1519285
It depends on your TV. But most likely it is not recommended and the results not very good. Receivers can be cheap and they make huge difference.
2043341
This tuner will ONLY convert analog TV signals. It will not convert digital TV signals.
1055020
I have the same TV. The problem is this TV defaults to the dolby digital format which this converter does not accept. When I manually convert the TV output to PCM via the TV menu audio format it works fine, but every time I turn the TV off it reverts back to Dolby format. Samsung says the TV digital output automatically coverts to the proper format when going directly to another audio source but not when using this converter. Thus it reverts back to the default setting. Unless you want to mess around with the TV menu every time you use the TV thus product is not acceptable.
1329476
Hi Wise 1, You can view blu-ray (and *probably* NON-upconverted standard DVD but I'm not sure of this) output using the component outputs. Assuming your TV has component inputs. There is also an RCA video output but this will be very low-fidelity. At least the specs on this TV say those outputs exist (I don't own one of these players ... yet). I say NON-upconverted for standard DVDs, since upconversion only makes sense over HDMI. You won't be getting the most out of your blu-ray player but it will be useable. You will eventually want to upgrade to a TV with a 1080p HDMI input. If you do not need analog outputs for multi-channel decoding (this is usually the case for most people, but not for me) then you can save a bit of money by buying the Panasonic DMP-BD60 instead. If your TV does not have component inputs then don't bother until you get a new TV (but yes you *could* use the RCA composite video option). Hope this helps.
1226758
HDCP requirements forbid DVD players from upconverting copy-protected DVD content to greater than 480p over component video for piracy reasons (since it's a non-encrypted analogue signal). If the disc is not CSS encrypted, then it can upconvert to 1080i on this player. Unfortunately, almost every commercially pressed DVD is CSS encoded.Some players can be hacked to bypass the HDCP restrictions. I have heard that a firmware hack exists for this player... do a Google search and I'm sure you'll find it. I can't vouch for it, myself.
712371
Upconverting is a process in which the player guesses on what the data gaps are. In many cases you will see a shaper more defined picture, depending on the quality of the DVD PQ itself. You will only really tell the diff between 480p and 1080p w/ an upscaling DVD player with a good tv bigger than 50". There is in fact a visible diff between a standard dvd player, a samsung upconvert 1080i and a oppo 1080p. Players like the Oppo seem to do a better job at guessing than a samsung because of the differing "guessing" process to fill the gaps. In the end you do end up with a better picture than a standard DVD player, but you do get what you pay for. A more accurate term might be 480p+, but why confuse the already confused masses.
2005109
Every cable system is different, but my understanding is that a cable box functions quite differently from an HD to analogue digital converter and therefore for most cable systems you are stuck with whatever the cable system recommends.
929712
xavier, I was looking for the same feature set: an upscaling DVD player, converting PAL to NTSC, region-unlocked. I opted for a Pioneer DV-49AV hardware modified by 220-electronics to be region free to take advantage of the high quality conversion engine; I don't think the Pioneers accept a software region unlock code. Another suggestion might be the Philips DVP5982 which appears to have an unlock code but not quite as high a quality upscaling chipset as the Pioneer; I've not tried the 5982, but I've had good experiences with the older non-upscaling DVP5140 reading region 2 PAL DVDs.
2110661
Matt, thanks for posting this. I had the same question and couldn't find an answer. Is it possible that the latency the reviewer perceived is due to upconverting the signal to 1080i, and you are simply converting the analogue to digital signal without changing the resolution? I'm not clear on whether converting implies *up*converting, couldn't really find an answer... but based on your feedback I think I'll give this a shot.
1338602
Your TV's lack of HDMI renders this player unusable, regardless of your receiver's capabilities. I'd recommend the 980H, but that does not perform as well with PAL conversion. There are rumors of a future model, the DV-983H, which may (or may not) support component video. Note, however, that CSS-encrypted discs will not upconvert over component. One thought though... if your TV has a DVI input you might be able use an HDMI-DVI adapter (which is what I did).
340148
use the analog. This player has an excellent D/A converter.if you use the digital output, you will bypass this. Most receivers and amps do not have the same quality D/A converters built in.
170875
There are too many possible combinations of inputs and outputs to give a blanket answer to your question. The main limitation is that the included converter does not accommodate Dolby digital which is standard output for most newer equipment. Also, if the input to your device is HDMI, in many cases non-HDMI outputs are automatically shut down so they will not work with the converter in that case either.
2167417
I can tell you that the output of the Geffen digital to analog converter, currently in my system, has ZERO propagation delay - IT IS IN SYNC WITH THE VIDEO... The ONLY item I would caution you on is - every "once-in-a-while" DIRECT TV's digital box will output a "glitch" on its DIGITAL AUDIO OUTPUT - this manifests itslf as a POP (quite loud) in my audio stream... This COULD cause some discomfort to you with your hearing aides... FYI...