Hi, I need a bit of help understanding a few things. I recently bought a 50" LG 1080i Plasma television, 100hz. I do understand it is not full HD as 1080p, hence the great price I got it at. I currently have component 'monster' cables attached between the DVD/Austar and TV. It does have HDMI capabilities between the TV and the DVD player (also LG). The DVD player also indicates it can 'upscale' the picture, which honestly I don't really understand. After some reading I have some questions (of course). 1. If I attach a HDMI cable between the TV and DVD will that improve the 'picture' on the TV and DVD by upscaling when played through the DVD?. I read most HDMI cables are the same (short length) and the high cost ones are not really needed. 2. Will the HDMI improve the playback of AVI files on the TV via the DVD. At the moment the AVI files are sometimes 'soft' looking. I know there are probably a lot of factors involved but if anyone could help/explain it would be appreciated as the more I read the more I get confused. Thanks all.
I have a panasonic DVD player that upscales over cheap HDMI. Don't go buying a monster HDMI cable. Unlike analogue signals, Digital is more like on or off. It either works or the picture breaks up but not due to the cable unless its faulty. As for upscalling, well, its kinda hard to notice the difference TBH. The most differnece I have seen is with a fully CGI movie such as "The Wild" or Monster Inc". There is much Detail and "information" to work with in these films and if you study the picture up close you can see the difference. (just) When you start talking AVI files, well, there is not a lot there in the first place in terms of image quality and are therefore starting from a point "further down the scale" if you like. My LCD is only 32" though. Maybe helping a Standard Definition resolution "fill out" all those pixels on a bigger set by upscalling it might be more noticeable.
Yes, don't buy Monster. It would be like buying a diesel truck when you don't actually need it. Who wants to pay 5 dollars for fuel and who wants to pay 100 dollars for 5ft of HDMI cable - neither are practical. Most upscalers will not "upscale" unless you use an HDMI cable. So whether or not it really improves the picture, doesn't matter. You will most likely need to use it. But it "should" make SD DVD look better when upscaled - the player's upscaling capabilities also play a role as well.