Blu-ray or DVD with HDMI?

koantemplation · 02-06-2009, 15:06

Should I get a Blu-ray player or a DVD play with HDMI?

Aldi are doing a Blu-ray player for £139 and next week Lidl are doing a DVD player with HDMI output for £20.

My TV is a 21in LCD tv with a spare HDMI slot I'm not using at the moment.

I mainly play my DVDs (I have no blu-ray discs) from my computer via VGA, would a DVD player via HDMI offer better quality?

Cheers.

Jarrak · 02-06-2009, 16:23

Go with the cheap player, there is still a premium for Blu disks and with that screen size a decent upscaled SD source should look fine.
As for the comparison between a PC based and standalone DVD source well impossible to tell until you run them side by side as there are too many variables.

Nigel Goodwin · 02-06-2009, 16:34

Depends what you want, BluRay gives you HD from BluRay discs, a normal DVD player (even with HDMI) only gives you SD.

But a set that small, unless you're watching from VERY close, isn't much use for HD anyway. Playing from a computer via VGA is likely to be just as good as HDMI, and probably better than a cheap £20 player.

koantemplation · 02-06-2009, 21:09

Thanks for the advice, I thought 21in would be a bit too small to get the full benefit of Blu-ray.
I might go for the DVD player but I'm not sure if it will be better than the computer.

Nigel Goodwin · 02-06-2009, 21:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by koantemplation

Thanks for the advice, I thought 21in would be a bit too small to get the full benefit of Blu-ray.
I might go for the DVD player but I'm not sure if it will be better than the computer.

I would imagine it will probably be worse, but it will be much more convenient.

02-06-2009, 15:06	#1
koantemplation Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Wolf359 Posts: 96,797	Blu-ray or DVD with HDMI? Should I get a Blu-ray player or a DVD play with HDMI? Aldi are doing a Blu-ray player for £139 and next week Lidl are doing a DVD player with HDMI output for £20. My TV is a 21in LCD tv with a spare HDMI slot I'm not using at the moment. I mainly play my DVDs (I have no blu-ray discs) from my computer via VGA, would a DVD player via HDMI offer better quality? Cheers.

02-06-2009, 16:23	#2
Jarrak Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Ilkeston Posts: 18,075	Go with the cheap player, there is still a premium for Blu disks and with that screen size a decent upscaled SD source should look fine. As for the comparison between a PC based and standalone DVD source well impossible to tell until you run them side by side as there are too many variables.

02-06-2009, 16:34	#3
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Depends what you want, BluRay gives you HD from BluRay discs, a normal DVD player (even with HDMI) only gives you SD. But a set that small, unless you're watching from VERY close, isn't much use for HD anyway. Playing from a computer via VGA is likely to be just as good as HDMI, and probably better than a cheap £20 player.

02-06-2009, 21:09	#4
koantemplation Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Wolf359 Posts: 96,797	Thanks for the advice, I thought 21in would be a bit too small to get the full benefit of Blu-ray. I might go for the DVD player but I'm not sure if it will be better than the computer.

02-06-2009, 21:13	#5
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by koantemplation Thanks for the advice, I thought 21in would be a bit too small to get the full benefit of Blu-ray. I might go for the DVD player but I'm not sure if it will be better than the computer. I would imagine it will probably be worse, but it will be much more convenient.

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Blu-ray or DVD with HDMI?