How to Compare a 1080P Upconverting DVD Player to Blu-ray
Blu-ray movies provide huge enhancements in audio and video performance, but many consumers are hesitant to replace their entire DVD library with Blu-ray movies. Upconversion is a method of playing standard-definition DVDs on an HDTV.
Other People Are Reading
-
What is Blu-Ray?
-
A Blu-ray is essentially a DVD with substantially upgraded audio and video. Blu-ray discs can only be played on Blu-ray players, which can also play standard DVD discs. Blu-ray movies are encoded in a native 1080p resolution, which is seven times greater than that of a standard DVD. Blu-ray discs also have uncompressed, studio-quality audio in either the Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio format.
What is Upconversion?
-
Upconversion is a process in which a standard-definition DVD is played on an HDTV, and extra pixels are interpolated to play the DVD in a high-definition resolution. Upconversion will not make a DVD look like a Blu-ray, but it will look noticeably better than a DVD played normally. Upconversion does not affect the audio quality of a DVD.
-
Which is Better?
-
A Blu-ray movie will still look and sound much better than an upconverted DVD, especially on a 1080p HDTV with a home theater system. Additionally, a Blu-ray player will upconvert all standard-definition DVDs just like an upconverting DVD player would. Upconverting DVD players are still a good option for consumers who own HDTVs but are not ready to make the leap to Blu-ray. There is no advantage to an upconverting DVD player for consumers who do not have an HDTV.
-
References
- Photo Credit a dvd-r disc image by wayne ruston from Fotolia.com
