DavidHale
Registered user
I need to get a new dvd player and I was wondering about killing 2 birds with one stone and getting a playstation 3 instead. Are they any good for playing back regular dvds?
PS3 as a dvd player?
- Thread starter DavidHale
- Start date
garfield
Registered user
DavidHale
Registered user
garfield
Registered user
Wot?
you can go into the settings and make sure you are playing your DVDs at the very best quality.....
DavidHale
Registered user
Ta! 
Google was my friend too:
What is an upscaling DVD player? Upscaling players take standard definition pictures and boost them up to High-Definition resolution using clever techno-trickery. You can even select the resolution, typically either 720p or 1080i.
How do the pictures compare to those from a normal DVD player?Picture quality is generally better, but often not earth-shatteringly so. The problem is that HDTVs already have built-in upscalers, which adjust any incoming signal to fit the resolution of their screens. However, the upscaling ability in a quality DVD player should be better than the TV’s.
Are the pictures as good as HD?The resulting picture quality is nowhere near as good as proper Hi-Def sources like Sky HD or Virgin Media. DVD images contain 576 lines of picture information, whereas HD contains a minimum of 720.
How does upscaling work?Upscaling DVD decks can’t add new info, they create extra lines of pixels by copying parts of surrounding pixels, effectively "guessing" at what the image should look like at a higher resolution. If done badly, it can ruin picture quality.
Can you get upscaled pictures from all of the outputs?No. Upscaled video is usually only available from the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). All upscaling decks boast this connection, which keeps signals in the digital domain and doesn’t allow any signal degradation. Is it worth getting an upscaler to work with my old TV? Absolutely not. Tube (CRT) TVs don’t have HDMI inputs and can’t display HD pictures. You need an HD-ready plasma, LCD, rear-projection telly or projector.
Shouldn’t I get a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player instead?
If you want true High-Definition pictures, then yes you should. They can upscale DVDs too. But upscaling DVD players get the best possible pictures out of your existing collection without you having to fork out a grand! Buyers checklist1. Make sure your telly has an HDMI input and check its resolution – if it doesn’t have at least 720 lines, don’t bother buying an upscaling DVD deck. 2. Don’t expect earth-shatteringly sharp HD pictures. If you want proper Hi-Def, get Sky HD, Virgin Media or an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player. 3. More pricey players generally boast more powerful upscaling circuitry, so the picture quality is better, especially on bigger screens. Port spotting Optical Audio These digital connections typically feed to a surround sound amp, which decodes the 5.1 soundtrack on disc. Component Next in the picture quality pecking order, this port is capable of carrying Hi-Def signals in analogue form. HDMI This all-digital connection is able to carry upscaled video to your TV and offers the best picture quality available. Composite This is the lowest quality connection, and should only be used when all the other options are exhausted. S-Video Short for Super-Video this is best suited to plugging in camcorders, but provides pretty solid image quality. Scart Best for old-school CRT TVs, and the most common analogue connection. It still delivers rich, vibrant images.
Google was my friend too:
What is an upscaling DVD player? Upscaling players take standard definition pictures and boost them up to High-Definition resolution using clever techno-trickery. You can even select the resolution, typically either 720p or 1080i.
How do the pictures compare to those from a normal DVD player?Picture quality is generally better, but often not earth-shatteringly so. The problem is that HDTVs already have built-in upscalers, which adjust any incoming signal to fit the resolution of their screens. However, the upscaling ability in a quality DVD player should be better than the TV’s.
Are the pictures as good as HD?The resulting picture quality is nowhere near as good as proper Hi-Def sources like Sky HD or Virgin Media. DVD images contain 576 lines of picture information, whereas HD contains a minimum of 720.
How does upscaling work?Upscaling DVD decks can’t add new info, they create extra lines of pixels by copying parts of surrounding pixels, effectively "guessing" at what the image should look like at a higher resolution. If done badly, it can ruin picture quality.
Can you get upscaled pictures from all of the outputs?No. Upscaled video is usually only available from the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). All upscaling decks boast this connection, which keeps signals in the digital domain and doesn’t allow any signal degradation. Is it worth getting an upscaler to work with my old TV? Absolutely not. Tube (CRT) TVs don’t have HDMI inputs and can’t display HD pictures. You need an HD-ready plasma, LCD, rear-projection telly or projector.
Shouldn’t I get a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player instead?
If you want true High-Definition pictures, then yes you should. They can upscale DVDs too. But upscaling DVD players get the best possible pictures out of your existing collection without you having to fork out a grand! Buyers checklist1. Make sure your telly has an HDMI input and check its resolution – if it doesn’t have at least 720 lines, don’t bother buying an upscaling DVD deck. 2. Don’t expect earth-shatteringly sharp HD pictures. If you want proper Hi-Def, get Sky HD, Virgin Media or an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player. 3. More pricey players generally boast more powerful upscaling circuitry, so the picture quality is better, especially on bigger screens. Port spotting Optical Audio These digital connections typically feed to a surround sound amp, which decodes the 5.1 soundtrack on disc. Component Next in the picture quality pecking order, this port is capable of carrying Hi-Def signals in analogue form. HDMI This all-digital connection is able to carry upscaled video to your TV and offers the best picture quality available. Composite This is the lowest quality connection, and should only be used when all the other options are exhausted. S-Video Short for Super-Video this is best suited to plugging in camcorders, but provides pretty solid image quality. Scart Best for old-school CRT TVs, and the most common analogue connection. It still delivers rich, vibrant images.
Buying A PS3 is a very good idea. Lets not forget they will also play Blu Ray movies as well 
Deleted Member I
Guest
PS3 is a pretty good blu ray / DVD player.
BUT you need a good HD TV
BUT you need a good HD TV
garfield
Registered user
Buying A PS3 is a very good idea. Lets not forget they will also play Blu Ray movies as well
and I do.....
a luverly Panasonic.....
I'm in Home Cinema Heaven.....
DavidHale
Registered user
garfield
Registered user
Deleted Member I
Guest
It's just a HDMI cable connection. It carries all the signals.
Just plug it into the TV or through a home cinema amplifier AND BINGO!
Just plug it into the TV or through a home cinema amplifier AND BINGO!
IainMac
Registered user
+1 more on the PS3.
They can also act as a music streamer, if you have music loaded onto a PC using windows media player then sharing them with the PS3 over a network allows your PS3 to play them back. I've got mine hooked to a Denon home cinema AV AMP, works pretty well for me.
Dont forget to hook up the PS3 to your ADSL /internet so you can download the updates as some improve/add features to blue ray etc.
They can also act as a music streamer, if you have music loaded onto a PC using windows media player then sharing them with the PS3 over a network allows your PS3 to play them back. I've got mine hooked to a Denon home cinema AV AMP, works pretty well for me.
Dont forget to hook up the PS3 to your ADSL /internet so you can download the updates as some improve/add features to blue ray etc.
Big Lee
Registered user
Anyway, the telly bit - I'm gonna get a Sony so I guess they'll work well together. It's got the bravia II thingie and all the other relevant doofers and wimwamburgers.
Can you tell I do technical?
Good telly that
It got best 32" TV in the What Hi Fi telly supplement I have while I was looking for my telly. It also says you must sit between 2.13m and 3.55m away while watching standard def and nose on the screen 1.42m when watching hi def I wonder how many people have got a far too big a telly for how far away they sit from it?
PhilM
Registered user
Unless you want to play games as well, I see no benefit from buying a PS3.
This would be an excellent buy.
Sony Blu-Ray player
This would be an excellent buy.
Sony Blu-Ray player
Fanum
Toubab
Let's be honest about this David- trying to use 'need a new DVD player' as an excuse to buy yourself and the girls a PS3 isn't going to wash when you can get a decent DVD player for £30 is it
Go on, admit it, you are, and always have been, 7 years old and you just want to play Super Mario bothers
Don't worry, we won't tell Shaz
Go on, admit it, you are, and always have been, 7 years old and you just want to play Super Mario bothers
Don't worry, we won't tell Shaz
Steve
Registered user
Go on, admit it, you are, and always have been, 7 years old and you just want to play Super Mario bothers
Motorstorm: Pacific Rift - that's the kiddie!
Bought it for the boy at Christmas with his PS3, and we've played it at least an hour a day together since. First console game I've ever played/been interested in/been able to work the controls on.
I've even beaten him a couple of times...
DavidHale
Registered user
You know me too well...Let's be honest about this David- trying to use 'need a new DVD player' as an excuse to buy yourself and the girls a PS3 isn't going to wash when you can get a decent DVD player for £30 is it
Go on, admit it, you are, and always have been, 7 years old and you just want to play Super Mario bothers
Don't worry, we won't tell Shaz
Fanum
Toubab
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2008
- Messages
- 502
- Reaction score
- 1
Although a pensioner, I decided that a PS3 from Woolworth's with 10% off seemed a good idea before Xmas - it's got the 80gb drive in it - but can't seem to discover what use the hard drive on it is?
Doesn't seem I can record a borrowed or rented game on it - and it doesn't appear to want to record a rented Blue Ray film to it!!
So - what CAN I use on it? Music? - that's on the computer
Pictures? - they're also on the computer!!
Any ideas, please - either rude - or useful !!
Mike
Doesn't seem I can record a borrowed or rented game on it - and it doesn't appear to want to record a rented Blue Ray film to it!!
So - what CAN I use on it? Music? - that's on the computer
Pictures? - they're also on the computer!!
Any ideas, please - either rude - or useful !!
Mike
Unless you want to play games as well, I see no benefit from buying a PS3.
This would be an excellent buy.
Sony Blu-Ray player
That is a cracking DVD player (I wish I had one!).
But to get the best from it, you need an HDTV and an amp that supports Dolby Pro Digital IIx and a 7.1 speaker system.
But even hooking it up to a Pro Digital II system would give a really good HD package.
Greg
Similar threads
