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In my theater I run a Panasonic PT-AE100U 720p projector. This particular projector is very well regarded for its ability to show 480p DVD's in what appears to be near HD quality. I'm running a standard, not upconvert Toshiba DVD player. Would an upconvert player improve the picture on 480p DVDs or are the chips doing this inside the projector as good or better?
My problem with buying into one of the HD formats is not the potential obsolescence of the player but rather that I would end up with a library of $29 movies in an obsolete format.
Meanwhile, for about $55, less than the cost of two HD disks, Friday at Wal Mart I got the following collection of 480p movies
These were either $2.96 or $5.88
Enought to take me through the winter (well maybe not quite).
Eragon
Flyboys
Walk the Line
Message in a bottle
Mystic River
Alexander
Batman Forever
DaVinci Code
Hitch
Lethal Weapon 4
The Producers
Scooby Doo
Sleepers
Walk the Line
I am especially anxious to see how Flyboys and Eragon look on my 100-inch screen, both with great flying special effects.
A basic problem remains that $20 -$30 for an HD disk had better be something I really really want to see in HD, when I can get all of this for about the cost of 2 HD disks
Meanwhile I've been to Beowulf twice, once in non-3D and once in 3D. The 3D version was very impressive and I have been wondering why the 3D version cannot be transfered to DVD and sold with glasses.. Not sure exactly what the 3D projector at the theater is doing that can't be duplicated at home. But I see "Meet the Robinsons," using similar 3D technology in theaters was not released in 3D on disk.
The 3D stuff if it can't be done at home is good enough to really get people out to the theater, and the 3D version of Beowulf is doing very well at the box office.
I would be willing to pay $20-$30 for a 3D disk of Beowulf if it would play in 3D on my projector. But straight HD,...naw...my 720p projector on a well-made 480p disk is of comparable sharpness to what I see in the theater in standard non-3D movies each week.
FWIW, hhgregg has Toshiba HD players on sale for $149 this morning.
Follow Ups:
There are a few older players that can be made to upscale via their analog outputs (the Momitsu V880 and the V Inc Bravo D1 are two such models), but their deinterlacing capabilities were limited (strictly flag based). All of the upconverting players sold today will require a digital connection (due to HDCP) in order to output a > SD resolution signal. From what I have seen of the specs for your PJ, you don't have a digital input.
This is different from the HDMI input on the projector? It has that.
Provided you get a player that has a better deinterlacer and/or scaler than the PJ, you should see some improvement in picture quality. By the way, I did a Google search on your PJ and I could only find information that said it had composite, S-video and component connections -- no HDMI. Perhaps I got the model number wrong.
Not sure why that did not pop up. The new PT-AE200U has two HDMI inputs, the PT-AE100U that I have has but one. When the machine first powers up, the screen actually shows graphics of all the connectors available on screen, HDMI, composite, component, SVideo as well as which one its currently getting its signal from. At the moment I have the player setup rigged to play VHS tapes through the first composite and DVD's through the component ports from the Toshiba combo player. By resetting my audio receiver I can also play DVD's through the composite port, but the component port is vastly superior. Then I have a second projector, my Mitsubishi Colorview HC3 running into its SVideo port from the Toshiba player, and I have been able to make some interesting comparisons between the two projectors and the various signals. The Mitsubishi, despite its 1/4 HD resolution, actually does very well on the SVideo connector.
The two HDMI connector design on the 200 model would make it possible to have both a BR and HD player connected w/o the need for an outboard switcher. But I can even see the need for 3, one for standard DVD running upconverted. The 200 is readily available on line for about $1300.
David
It's going to depend on the player. All upconverting players are not equal. If you get one with a better chip than your projector, then you'll see a benefit. If not, you'll end up running things the way you are now.
See if you can borrow a few players, either from a dealer or from friends, and try some. It's probably the only way to find out.
David Aiken
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