Whats the difference between an HD player and HD up conversion?

Answer 1

An HD player, such as HD DVD, is designed to play HD content stored on the disc. The disc will have HD material stored on it and the job of the player is simply to playout the signal. HD up conversion is a technique that takes a standard definition signal and converts it to an HD format. So, a standard definition signal that has 480 lines (standard NTSC signal) can be converted to a 1080 line signal, ready to be displayed on a 1080 monitor. Standard definition signals are either 480 line (US) and 576 line (UK and Europe). HD signals are 720, 1035 and 1080 line. However, (because there is always a catch!) the fact that the signal is now 1080, does not turn the programme into HD quality. An up converter NEVER adds detail to a signal and, in fact, will actually reduce the real quality by a small amount because of the process used. Having said that, a dedicated up converter can sometimes do a better job of converting the signal than the same device built into HD LCD or plasma displays. All HD displays have the converters to convert any incoming signal to the native resolution of the display. Some work better than others, so the real test is to view the results. If it looks good for the programme material you want to watch - then it's a good converter.