does an old dvd player affect the picture quality on tv?

Question

we have two old dvd players (one is an off-brand, and one is an old panasonic). We just bought a brand new Samsung 32 inch lcd tv from Target. It got excellent reviews on Amazon and Target...but when we watch a dvd, the picture isn't as good as I remember in the store. The lines are edgy if you know what I mean.

If we bought a new dvd player, what should we get? We're thinking Blu-Ray for movies that we'd want to see in blu-ray. What other types of dvd players are there that are really good?

Answer 1

The problem you're likely facing is that you went from a SD TV to an HD TV. But the DVD players didn't change. So before your DVD player was outputting 720x480 to a TV with the same native resolution. Everything would look rather good. Now that same DVD player is having to output that signal to a TV whose native resolution is maybe something like 1280x720. So quite a bit more. The TV is doing the up-conversion, and well none are really that good (even the high end models). So it would be expected that you would see some quality loss.



The way around it is to get an up-converting DVD player, not just a new regular DVD player. Something with HDMI out. Blu-Ray players are all up-convertors as well as BluRay players. So if you went with one of those that would be fine. The up-convertor player will have extra hardware in it designed to help with the up-conversion so it will make it look better than just a TV would.



Any of the main brands are fine. Sony set-top models, Sony PS3, Panasonic, LG, Sharp, Toshiba, Samsung they all make sound BluRay devices. Just make sure it has an Ethernet port so it can be updated. And it should be profile 1.1 or higher. If you go with an up-converting (But not BluRay) DVD player, again stick with big name brands you trust.



It still might not 100% as good though. At the end of the day you're having to invent information that doesn't exist. So it will only get so good. Also, if your old TV was a tube (CRT) set, then that might also mean a degrade in quality now. CRT TVs are AMAZING in quality. But they're heavy, bulky, and not environmentally friendly. So they got ditched for LCDs, which are better in those regards, but actually don't produce as good of an image. But most consumers were willing to deal with that face in exchange for the small form factor.

Answer 2

Well standard DVD players can only display at EDTV levels, not HDTV, as they output 480p, and that's only when component cables are used. The TV must scale this 480i or 480p signal to its native resolution, so it may not look that great.

The step-up would be the more expensive upconverting DVD players that automatically convert the signal from the 480p to the 720p or 1080p before it gets to the TV, then outputs to the TV via component or HDMI cables.

Blu-Ray of course will give your best quality at 1080p, but your 32 inch TV may not be 1080p, and at that size you may not even notice too much of a difference.



If you're using a regular yellow composite video cable or S-video cable for your DVD player, first try a set of component cables. It'll should belp a bit, unless the DVD players don't have progressive scan (check the manual if you're not sure, but most models do) in which case the improvement will be less noticeable.

Answer 3

You will need to buy an HD tuner to be able to continue to use your old non HD tv. As for the DVD's, no, they will be the same. Flat screen tv's are just that, the screen is flat. They can be CRT or LCD (or plasma), but are not necessarily HD . Some tv's say they are HD ready, which means that they do not have an HD tuner built in, but will display HD signals with an external HD tuner. Yes, an HD DVD player will play non HD DVD's.

Answer 4

They might be pre progressive players. Getting at least a progressive, if not upconverting, will help some.