stuey Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 just a few questions ok. here goes....... as my telly is now HD ready 1... if i buy a HD dvd recorder do i have to use HD discs 2... will my existing dvd collectoin play in HD 3.... is a play station 3 HD 4... will ps2 games play in HD on a ps3 cheers guys........... im a bit of a techno phobe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmmackfc Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 1... if i buy a HD dvd recorder do i have to use HD discs HD DVD Recorders are not available yet. You may be getting confused with HDD, which means your DVD recorder has a Hard Disk Drive. 2... will my existing dvd collectoin play in HD Modern Non HD DVD players can upscale a standard definition picture. In laymans terms it duplicates pixels on one line to another making the picture clearer and appear to be in HD. Only BlueRay (on a PS3) and Toshibas HD player play true HD DVDs, which are special DVDs. 3.... is a play station 3 HD See above, inbuilt BlueRay HD quality 4... will ps2 games play in HD on a ps3 Pass, I wouldn't have thought so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 The only way to get something like a PS2 or similar input (ie not HD) to appear HD is by putting it through an upscaler of some sort. High end amps and surround sound systems tend to have these in, the Denon being one that is often used as a reference point. HD ready will require you to provide the inputs through the HDMI connection. It is probably worth checking howmany inputs you have..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ir_fuel Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 and HD-DVD and blu-ray are different formats btw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Stuey seems your questions have been answered apart from your PS2 one, so here goes: Yes and no. To expand a bit for you, the PS3 on a reasonably recent download got the ability to upscale normal DVDs to HD (although not full HD) quality. Afaik it also does this for PS2 games - HOWEVER don't think the PS3 will play all your old PS2 games. I thought it would, but turns out no for the UK machine. There are certain games it is back compatable with but not that many I don't think. Stick to proper PS3 games - they're much better anyway. I bored myself stupid with really looking into HD in a lot of detail at the beginning of the year when I was sorting a new TV and I also have a PS3 so if you want any more info mate (although I'm by no means professing to be techy or have all the answers) just PM me and I'll help you as best I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuey Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 its a flippin mine field....!! cheers for that so far guys....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Quads Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 The only way to get something like a PS2 or similar input (ie not HD) to appear HD is by putting it through an upscaler of some sort. High end amps and surround sound systems tend to have these in, the Denon being one that is often used as a reference point. but then the TV it self will have an upscaler in it. There is no way to make a non-HD signal into HD. You can scale it up but you only have so much data to start with. How good the upscaled image all depends on the scaler be it in the TV, DVD player, an AMP etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 The only way to get something like a PS2 or similar input (ie not HD) to appear HD is by putting it through an upscaler of some sort. High end amps and surround sound systems tend to have these in, the Denon being one that is often used as a reference point. but then the TV it self will have an upscaler in it. There is no way to make a non-HD signal into HD. You can scale it up but you only have so much data to start with. How good the upscaled image all depends on the scaler be it in the TV, DVD player, an AMP etc. True. The rest of it is what I said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 The only way to get something like a PS2 or similar input (ie not HD) to appear HD is by putting it through an upscaler of some sort. High end amps and surround sound systems tend to have these in, the Denon being one that is often used as a reference point. but then the TV it self will have an upscaler in it. There is no way to make a non-HD signal into HD. You can scale it up but you only have so much data to start with. How good the upscaled image all depends on the scaler be it in the TV, DVD player, an AMP etc. Agreed. Drives me mad when people tell me their £20 DVD player from Tesco upscales and is amazing! My f'in TV upscales just fine thanks! Unless you have a good processor doing the upscaling (i.e. a good Amp or a PC) then an upscaller is next to pointless. Another potential pitfall is that SD DVDs can only be upscalled using certain connections to different extents. I think that XB360 for example wont deliver fully upscalled DVDs over component (goes to something like 720p from memory). However the TV then upscales the half upscalled picture to full HD, which can lead to degredation of image quality. Main thing is to remember is that you prob wont be able to tell the difference between a good upscalled image and a poorer one as the TV will do a fine job. So just enjoy the telly and dont get hung up on if it is HD or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Sorry to take this off thread a little, but I have been considering the purchase of a 37" set (can't fit anything larger into the small room). I have looked at a Panasonic 37" LCD and a Samsung 37" LCD. Both are 1080p HD ready and look great, but the recent Which report gave Samsung a poor overall rating for its LCDs (though they did not test this particular set - LE37M86BD). I've also considered the equivalent Sony set, but was not impressed by its appearance or price. At the same time, I have noticed that Panasonic now also make a plasma set at this size, though I'm not sure if it's resolution is as high as the LCD set. So now I am spoiled for choice. Anybody got any views on the long term benefits of going plasma as opposed to LCD? My main uses are for watching broadcast (Sky), occasional DVDs and showing our own digital images. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Pick up a copy of What Home Sound & Vision and it will explain all. There are pros and cons for both, generally accepted plasma works better in larger applications. Personally at that size I would go for a Panasonic Viera. (LCD) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Sorry to take this off thread a little, but I have been considering the purchase of a 37" set (can't fit anything larger into the small room). I have looked at a Panasonic 37" LCD and a Samsung 37" LCD. Both are 1080p HD ready and look great, but the recent Which report gave Samsung a poor overall rating for its LCDs (though they did not test this particular set - LE37M86BD). I've also considered the equivalent Sony set, but was not impressed by its appearance or price. At the same time, I have noticed that Panasonic now also make a plasma set at this size, though I'm not sure if it's resolution is as high as the LCD set. So now I am spoiled for choice. Anybody got any views on the long term benefits of going plasma as opposed to LCD? My main uses are for watching broadcast (Sky), occasional DVDs and showing our own digital images. Jim, don't know if you've sorted this yet or not but on the assumption you haven't I'll chuck in my thoughts. I bought a Samsung 40in LCD (LE40M86BD) and it's awesome. You'll find that the (can't remember whether it was contrast ratio or brightness) is about the highest on the market at 15000:1 which means that the colours are really sharp. You'll notice much more of a difference over a normal tv running a full HD source through it, the PS3 looks incredible Agree that anything over about 40in is plasma territory. Also when plasma & lcd were being developed some manufacturers concentrated on plasma & others on lcd. iirc correctly there are only 2 manufacters of lcd screens (they then supply all the other brands), Sony aren't one of them but Samsung are. In fact its a Samsung lcd screen in Sony TVs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Thanks for these thoughts Andy. I have now decided to go for the Samsung, having looked at dozens of sets in different outlets to compare. The contrast ratio is only 8000:1 in the 37" set, compared to your 15000:1 in the 40". Nevertheless I have been impressed buy the picture quality even with ordinary broadcast inputs. Unfortunately I am a bit limited in the space I have for the set and a 40" is just a bit too big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 One further question for everybody - most of the online suppliers of TV sets like these offer good prices, but only the 1 year manufacturers warranty. A typical 3 year extended warranty will cost around £175 and a 5 year warranty will cost around £250-£300. Does anyone think an extended warranty is necessary/sensible, or is it a total waste of money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 It depends on how much you think it will cost to replace the TV if something goes horribly wrong after a year. Extended warranties (and even manufacturers warranty) will probably not cover dropped/dead pixels on an LCD either. Remember also that contrast ratios quoted on LCD screens are more often than not "dynamic". This contrast ratio is NOT to be compared with Plasma contrast ratios, as they are calculated in a different way. Dynamic ratios are calculated by measuring the darkest black when the LCD backlight is on low, and the brightest white when the LCD backlight is on high. LCDs acheive an artificially high contrast ratio by varying the intensity of the backlight to acheive the variation. This can cause issues when a picture has both dark and light areas, as the screen has to decide which level to set the backlight at in order to acheive the best. you can read more about how this works here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrast_ratio There is no specific formula on how to compare a static to dynamic ratio, as it depends on how much the light can be varied on the LCD backlight. With newer LCD's its the variation of the backlight that increases the contrast considerably - I would divide the modern LCDs ratio by 5 or so to get the true static contrast ratio that can be compared to a plasma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Jim, I never buy extended warranties on any electrical equipment. I reckon that the odd one that does go wrong will be paid for by all the money saved by not buying warranties on all the others. Anyway, remember than John Lewis do 5 year warranties as standard on all tvs, and also do price match ( although not against internet prices ). So depending on where you were thinking of buying from, you may get a "free" warranty by using JL Gus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Gus That's my usual practice too - it's just the thought of having to repair/replace such an expensive item. I'll check out the price match at JL - that might save some cash. Thanks for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Jim, I never bother with extended warranties either, it seems a waste of time to me. And there's always home insurance with accidental damage I always work on the assumption that if it's gonna go wrong then it will do pretty quick (and usually well within 12 months), as evidenced by the first TV Curry's delivered to me - it lasted 3 weeks (but at least I got the brand new more expensive replacement model for no extra ). And if it hasn't gone wrong within 12 months then it will do just after your extended warranty has run out - least that's what I've always found in the past!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuey Posted November 12, 2007 Author Share Posted November 12, 2007 mine comes with a 5 yr free parts and labour garuntee...!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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