Scaling and native resolution for movies

[Frank]

As all affordable LCD tvs seem to offer the same 1360 * 768 resolution, while video playback is always in a different resolution than that, how do you get good DVD output?

Is there a "magic" combination of DVD player, LCD tv and cabling that offers a good viewing experince? Or do you simply have to limit yourself to (expensive) televisions that have 720 or 1080 lines as their native resolution?

In my (limited) experience, scaling to and from 720 or 1080 lines (and the different amount of pixels) severely degradates the picture. And the digital noise filter of the tv adds more visible artifacts than it removes.

While this will be different for each model and brand, it seems to be pretty consistent in offering a much worse picture than when you have your software player on your PC render the output directly to the native resolution of the display.

So, in short: what do you need to be able to play movies and have it scale and display crisp, but for a pc with a good software player, that uses the tv as monitor?

In terms of personal preference:

1) software player (native resolution): 9/10
2) graphic card (native resolution): 6~7/10
3) combination of stand alone DVD player and LCD tv (720p or 1080i): 2~4/10

 

[Skrying]

I would guess you just have to have a TV or DVD player that is really good at scaling, which tends to be expensive. Its a loss loss situation, I know and that's why I've held off buying any HDTV at the moment until the dust settles and most everything is 1080P (a bit off, I know, but I much rather wait than waste money).

 

[Frank]

Yes, I agree. But then again: for the difference in price between the basic model tv and the one that is supposed to actually give you that best picture, you can buy a top of the line pc and graphic card, and still be cheaper off.

None of the tvs I've seen in the stores come close to using a software player. Not even the native 720/1080 ones while using a real HD input all for themselves.

So, I guess that even while they are simply a computer with monitor and a tuner, the costs of providing enough processing power to scale the picture satisfactory are too high for tvs.


Edit: or, as the salespeople said: all the other consumers aren't as critical.

 

[pascal]

My Sony DVD-player show lots of mosquito noise when connected to the HDTV with video component. My PC software DVD player is very good eliminating mosquito noise.
Processing power and algorithms are in the PC side for DVDs.
HD-DVDs I dont know.

For 1360x768 the HDMI has better color and contrast but some scalling artifacts. VGA has 1:1 pixel mapping but maybe not the best color/contrast.

Probably the best setup today for DVDs is a 1080p native resolution TV with a HDMI-DVI connection to a PC (1:1 pixel mapping and good color/contrast) with a good videocard and good software player.

 

[Frank]

Ok. So, up to my next question: Why didn't I read a lot of complaints about that here, before?

I am pretty sure I'm not the first.

 

[Skrying]

Ok. So, up to my next question: Why didn't I read a lot of complaints about that here, before?

I am pretty sure I'm not the first.

Because B3D is really not the place to be reading up on this stuff. Its great for 3D but in the HDTV space its not that good, which is pretty much expected. Also a lot of people here who do own HDTVs went for the 1080P or expensive sets.

 

[BRiT]

DiGiru,

I think thats because the serious discussion related to HTPC/Video takes place at it's defacto home of AVS Forum. That site has always had the focus on AV Science, while B3D has just stepped into that realm fairly recently.

 

[Pete]

When you say stand-alone DVD player, do you mean an upconverting (720p/1080i) player or a regular 480i/p one?

 

[Frank]

Because B3D is really not the place to be reading up on this stuff. Its great for 3D but in the HDTV space its not that good, which is pretty much expected. Also a lot of people here who do own HDTVs went for the 1080P or expensive sets.

Yes. But I sort of expected more from this site and all the knowledgeable people participating.

 

[Skrying]

Yes. But I sort of expected more from this site and all the knowledgeable people participating.

I do not recall your post asking for any advice.

 

[Frank]

When you say stand-alone DVD player, do you mean an upconverting (720p/1080i) player or a regular 480i/p one?

The first one. It clearly outputs in 720p when I ask it to. I can see the lines where the tv interpolates.

So, the main problem is probably in the tv. But how much would I have to pay for one that displays it correctly? Unless you switch to 1080i? 720 * 2 is 1440, not 1080. So you cannot have a single set that displays all the resolutions (including PAl/NTSC) satisfactory, unless the source is very good at scaling it to the native resolution. Which requires a very expensive DVD player.

 

[Frank]

I do not recall your post asking for any advice.

That is probably my main mistake. I should have asked here before.

 

[Skrying]

Well a lot of your problem can come down to that your source is getting scaled twice when you're using your DVD player. Once by the DVD player and then again by the TV. That would cause a number of artifacts, and indeed your PC would probably do a better job at that.

 

[AlNom]

Buy and Xbox 360 and the VGA cable. Great scaler and has some custom resolutions. I believe 1366x768 is one of them.

 

[MuFu]

Surely you must be able to put a cheap PC together?