To upconvert, or not to Upconvert. That is the question!

[theboytampon]

I recently purchased the LNT1953H Samsung HDTV. Yes, that's a 16:10, 19" screen. 720p / 1080i. It's for my tiny bedroom, and with the lights off... it looks about 26". No complaints. I wouldn't go large unless my room doubled in size.

I have it connected to a 1-year-old (exactly) Sony 1-Disc Progressive Scan DVD Player through composite cables. The machine can handle component, but those outputs are being used by my Wii.

I was considering a Samsung Upconverting DVD Player, with DivX. It has an HDMI output, and goes up to 1080p. It's around 100$ CAN, and does not include an HDMI cable. So that's another 50-100$ since I can't order online for the cheaper brands.

However. After much toying around with my TV and DVD Player, I inserted the first disc of the third season of Arrested Development, and... my breath was instantly stolen.

It looks incredible. It's smooth (not a spec of grain), and if you understand this description... "gluey"; inky. The colours POP out at you. The blacks are blacks and the whites white. It nearly looks 3-dimensional.

My grandmother has a 42" HDTV with 1080p. She's only connected with component cables, but... for example... I've seen Dancing with the Stars and Samantha Who? on ABC HD on this tv, and mine looks far better. FAR better.

So, if I am this happy with my current player (over composite no less)... should I bother getting the new player with HDMI? Or should I save my money. I am eventually getting a PS3... that upconverts any way, does it not?

[Cronos]

I don't see the point in upgrading if you're happy with it. Put the money towards the PS3.

[theboytampon]

I was just wondering if it would look even better. Upconverting done by a player rather then solely by the tv, and HDMI (which increases blacks, does it not?) I am happy now, but I can't help but wonder what I'm missing.

[Badbird]

Honestly, on a screen that small, you probably won't notice any difference.

[MisterChristian]

So that's another 50-100$ since I can't order online for the cheaper brands.

Shop here for your cable needs:

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

You don't need overpriced Monster Cables etc...

[theboytampon]

Will I see a difference between DVD and HD DVD / Blu-ray? *not that I'm going to commit to either before it's settled, anyway...*

[therealjohng]

16:10 TV?

Damn, didn't know they made those.

[theboytampon]

I wish they didn't.
I can see widescreen haters in outrage.
Even 16:9 content has black bars.

[Z_oasis]

i was....AM happy that i got the PS3 an i didnt notice untill i was watching Goldeneye on it and said it lookd pretty good, i sat on my remote then the dispy came up saying it was plaing in 1080i, i was.....WOW.... And thankful, i am not replacing my 300 dvds. So yea, a PS3 works cuz is at a great price and on an HDTV (I have a samsung 32") its EXCELLENT!!!

[theboytampon]

I calibrated the TV using only my eye, and various DVDs... but I kept having to change the settings for each DVD I put in. Blacks were especially hateful. Jeepers Creepers and The Descent are what I had used. The Descent looked so crisp and clear, but you couldn't see anything in the dark scenes. Jeepers Creepers, well, you could see everything, but the black wasn't black... it was a brown-ish. I can have three presets in total. I used a THX Optimizer included on my The Village DVD (I think I'm the only one who liked this film...) and set everything up on my first Dynamic preset. The actual DVD it was included on looked pretty good, especially the dark scenes. I didn't test it elsewhere, however, because I was tired of switching DVDs in and out.

Is there a way to manually force the TV to use 720p as opposed to 1080i? I'd rather have 720p due to the progressive factor. I tried the service menu and the options themselves, but nothing. I think it defaults to 1080i which is saddening.

But anyway, is THX good? And also, does HDMI make black levels any better? I've noticed that there is a greyed out option under my settings entitled HDMI Black... I can see the option 'High'... but it's off, most likely due to not using an HDMI cable, haha.

I think I'll skip the upscalling player for now and grab some component cables for the current player. They are far cheaper, and I can enjoy some DVD shopping as well.

[Damone]

And also, does HDMI make black levels any better?

Yes.

When I first got my 50" plasma and hooked my dvd player up to it with just an S Video Cable, the blacks looked rather 'pixally', not sure if that's the correct term to use but I think that fairly explains it.

When I sprang for the upconvert DVD player and hooked an HDMI cable to it, the blacks were much crisper.