Upscaling TV???

[admin_exported]

Despite loads of research last year (and valuable help from this forum) I postponed my 'new system' until now when I am actually moving into the new house. Re-familiarising myself with what is available I find I have a question. I am minded to but a Panasonic Viera TX37LZD70 LCD HD. The blurb for this states: 'The 1080p Digital Re-Mastering Processor takes a variety of video signals, such as those from analogue broadcasts and standard DVD movies, and steps up the image quality to a level that approaches full-HD.' This is confusing me as i was all set to but a DVD player which 'upscaled' my DVDs to something life HD. Does this facility within the TV mean i now don't have to or what? Just a little confused. Any enlightenment will be gratefully received.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, this is common to all TVs of this kind - the processing must, after all, rescale the picture input to fit the display panel, so a signal coming in at 576 lines (ie standard definition) will have to be upscaled to fit the screen, which in this case is a 1920x1080-pixel panel.

If i didn't, you'd just get a picture filling a small part of the screen!

The main question, then, is whether the upscaling in a good DVD player does a better job than the processing in the TV, and that's something only you can tell with some in-store viewing.

I'd still say there are benefits of using a high-quality upscaling player, such as the Marantz DV6001/DV7001 or Sony's PS3, but with inexpensive upscaling players the gains may be more marginal, if any at all.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you Andrew, very well explained! I have it now Much appreciated.

Marantz DV7001 looks very impressive from the few reviews I have just Googled. To complets my prospective system can you recommend what I could look at/for in terms of sound/speakers etc. I was thinking of a soundbar type thing having limited space, but if I get the Marantz I could consider other options.

And if not pushing my luck too far, a good DVD recorder.

Thank you again

C

 

[Andrew Everard]

Well if you're really pushed for space you could go for the Sony DAV-IS10 all-in-one system.

Or I'd suggest an Onkyo TX-SR505 with the Marantz DV6001 player - less expensive than the 7001, but still excellent, IMHO - and the likes of the KEF KHT1005 or KHT2005 speaker system.

DVD recorder? The Panasonic DMR-EZ27, at about £200, is a good bet, or you could go for a hard-disk Freeview recorder such as the Sagem DVR64250T or one of the excellent TVonics units.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much for this Andrew. Will have a good look around and see what my budget can do. Most appreciated!

C