I see upconverting DVD players all over stores nowadays... How can the DVD player "upconvert"? Wouldn't the DVD have to be formatted to BE upconverted to begin with? What is the point of buying one of the upconverting DVD players? (Would it allow you to use an HDMI cable?). Straight from the todays news: "DVDs can also be upconverted to output resolution of 720p or 1080i which is useful if you own a good HDTV.". I thought that blueray DVD's are formatted to be displayed in high resolutions... Maybe I am wrong. But how can it upconvert a standard DVD's resolution... Thanks.
HD discs, both HD-DVD and Blu-ray, have data that can be assigned to every pixel in a 1080i display. 1080p displays show both 1080i fields simultaneously. Upconverting a DVD will take the limited data from a DVD and assign it to every pixel in a 1080i or 1080p display rather than leave some pixels vacant. The resolution is mathematically no better with DVDs, but the "apparent" resolution looks better because every pixel is active.
