HELP PLEASE! SO CONFUSED--NEW hdtv FOR XMAS--OLD DVD PLAYER NO HDMI HOOKUP??

[princess crazy]

Hi

OK--so I got alot of really good help and advice here on the new HDTV we are getting for xmas---we have the tv-----then I posted about the HDMI cable and got lots of great advice for that

This morning I found a great price for an HDMI cable on buy.com and was ready to get it and realized that our dvd/vcr combo player is pretty old and I began to wonder if there was even a connection on that player for the HDMI since the cord is noticeably square and not round like a regular cable cord. Well, of course I go and check it and it does not have a place for a HDMI cable to plug in---we don't want to use the regular cable --I know we can but we want to be able to enable the Hi Def through the DVD player.

Then, I got to reading that you have to get a blu ray player but that you can't play all your old dvd's on it. So..........I am so confused and I have already purchased alot of new movies on regular dvd for DD for xmas and we are not ready to switch everything over right now and buy all blu-rays. So, I did some research and found some dvd players that upconvert old dvd's and enable you to play them and of course use the HDMI cable.

My ????'s are---I found a Toshiba XD-E500(Upconverting 1080p Extended Detail DVD Player on Amazon for a good price of $68. ---Is this what I would need if we don't want to go to blu-ray and would it work with a "40 LCD HDTV 1080p???? OR.....is there a way to use our current DVD player that I'm not aware of????--I do know that you can use it with the regular cable but that the resolution wouldn't be Hi Def because you aren't using the HDMI cable.

If anyone could please help----I would really like to get the cable ordered today and order this DVD player if we need it before the price goes back up on Amazon. Or.......can anyone direct me to a good price on a similiar quality DVD player like this where we can watch the dvd's we currently have----Could I get a better price than this one?????

Thanks so much --you all have been a great help!!

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

The only thing I do know is a standard DVD will only get you a 720 instead of 1080 which is considered HD.

This article does a great job explaining it:

http://hometheater.about.com/od/dvdbasicsfaqs/f/dvdbasics12.htm

Here is an interesting highlight:

However, if you DO have an HDTV, and a standard DVD player, you will get the best results using the Component video connection (red-blue-green) between the DVD player and the HDTV. In addition, if your DVD player is progressive scan capable, always use that option when connected to a progressive scan capable television.

 

[jedijill]

A Blu-Ray player will play your old DVD's. It will upconvert them to a better picture quality although not as good as Blu-Ray quality.

I love my Blu-Ray player.

Jill in CO

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

A Blu-Ray player will play your old DVD's. It will upconvert them to a better picture quality although not as good as Blu-Ray quality.

I love my Blu-Ray player.

Jill in CO

What she said! I ran out the door after I posted and was standing in Target when a display starting speaking It basically said that someday you will start adding Blu-Ray to your collection for the full HD, so you might as well get one now as it will play DVD's too!

 

[elgerber]

What she said! I ran out the door after I posted and was standing in Target when a display starting speaking It basically said that someday you will start adding Blu-Ray to your collection for the full HD, so you might as well get one now as it will play DVD's too!

I agree, buy the Blu Ray!!! Even if you don't buy too many Blu Rays yet (which ones you watch one, you might want to ) you will have it already, and it will upconvert your DVD's too. And with Disney selling their new movies with both the Blu Ray and DVD in the same pack, you can't really lose.

 

[princess crazy]

Thanks everyone!

So, you are saying I can get a blu-ray player---thought I just read somewhere that you can't play older non blu-ray dvd's on a blu-ray player?? Where did I get that from---was it like that when they first came out with the blu-ray players maybe?

Anyway, I was able to pick up a Maganavox upconverting dvd player tonight at Walmart for $38--a good deal I thought with surround sound. Now I am thinking should I take it back and get a Blu-ray player instead??---only thing is we hadn't even planned on spending any more money then what we did on the TV so if I go Blu-ray what is the cheapest I could get a good one for now and where??

Somebody said I can just hook up the old DVD player but I had read that the dvd's will look grainy if we use the old dvd player without an HDMI cable--isn't that the purpose of getting the 1080p??

Thanks again!!

 

[katman2540]

I have my old dvd/vcr combo hooked up to my hdtv and while it is not High def I have not noticed much of a loss of picture quality. I am using the Red, white, yellow cables to hook it up.

 

[elgerber]

Thanks everyone!

So, you are saying I can get a blu-ray player---thought I just read somewhere that you can't play older non blu-ray dvd's on a blu-ray player?? Where did I get that from---was it like that when they first came out with the blu-ray players maybe?

Anyway, I was able to pick up a Maganavox upconverting dvd player tonight at Walmart for $38--a good deal I thought with surround sound. Now I am thinking should I take it back and get a Blu-ray player instead??---only thing is we hadn't even planned on spending any more money then what we did on the TV so if I go Blu-ray what is the cheapest I could get a good one for now and where??

Somebody said I can just hook up the old DVD player but I had read that the dvd's will look grainy if we use the old dvd player without an HDMI cable--isn't that the purpose of getting the 1080p??

Thanks again!!

You will never get 1080 with a DVD, but the upconverting will make it better, as will the HDMI cable.
I know Best Buy has been selling the Insignia Blu Ray player for $99 a few times, you might check there if you are interested in one.

 

[wmharley]

The only thing I do know is a standard DVD will only get you a 720 instead of 1080 which is considered HD.

This article does a great job explaining it:

http://hometheater.about.com/od/dvdbasicsfaqs/f/dvdbasics12.htm

Here is an interesting highlight:

However, if you DO have an HDTV, and a standard DVD player, you will get the best results using the Component video connection (red-blue-green) between the DVD player and the HDTV. In addition, if your DVD player is progressive scan capable, always use that option when connected to a progressive scan capable television.

actually, 720p is considered HDTV and is on par with a 1080i screen.

the 1080p is considered FULL HDTV

 

[CR88]

Actually with a standard DVD player you will only get 480p. On a Hi-Def TV, it really won't look that great. 720p is considered high definition and you'll need a Hi-Def player to get it. You would be much better off with a Blu-ray player although a player that can up-convert will help. Up-converted DVD's don't look as good as true Hi-Def. I thought I saw a Blue-ray player advertised at Walmart for $78. Warner Brothers even announced a new program to trade up your standard-def WB dvds to blue ray for as low as $7.95.

 

[Hotdoggie1977]

actually, 720p is considered HDTV and is on par with a 1080i screen.

the 1080p is considered FULL HDTV

This is true. A DVD player is only going to get 480i or 480p. You really don't need to use hdmi for a DVD player. The quality won't be that much different.

Also if you buy a player that does have HDMI don't buy cables from buy. The best and cheapest place to buy them are at monoprice.com.