Upscaling of standard DVD'S on blu-ray players-& cheap surround/speaker question?

Travelman1966 · 27-09-2011, 08:40

Hi again.

Wonder if you good folks could advise me. Looking at 3 blu-ray players, http://www.richersounds.com/product/...5/pana-dmpbd75 (£69-deffo plays DIVX HD from USB), http://www.richersounds.com/showclea...g+Bdp1580.html (£49!!!!!!! Normally £100-not sure on DIVX HD-anyoe advise?) or http://www.electrical-deals.co.uk/ph...fps-divx-.html (again not sure on DIVX HD-bargain at £43!).

Firstly-which one (they all say upscales to 1080) do you guys/girls think would upscale the most on DVDS? And do they REALLY upscale to 1080? I have to say the TV on it's own (a Tosh SL738B 42 inch) seems to upscale already!!! I'll probably look to download DIVX HD movies onto USB-so ulness you guys/gals know different the Panosonic seems the best one??

Also....TV speakers. The TOSH speakers are not that great. Looking for a cheap (not neccesarily surround sound/home cinema) way to plug in better speakers...we would be playing music sometimes but not often..it's just that the tv speakers are a bit tinny??

Any advice would be great. Seen some surround soundy type things on amazon for around £40ish & Argos £55. Not too fussed at having 5 or 6 speakers dotted around living room (not that much space)-just 2 would be fine. Any advice/links where or what to buy?

Thanks in advance.

Chasing Shadows · 27-09-2011, 09:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travelman1966

Firstly-which one (they all say upscales to 1080) do you guys/girls think would upscale the most on DVDS? And do they REALLY upscale to 1080?

Blu Ray players in general have very good upscalers in them. Yes, they all really upscale to 1080, as a Blu Ray player must be capable of playing a Blu Ray disc (which is 1080p encoded).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travelman1966

I have to say the TV on it's own (a Tosh SL738B 42 inch) seems to upscale already!!!

Of course it does - it's a HD telly. Otherwise you'd just be watching a tiny picture in the middle of the screen whenever you fed it an SD signal. In my opinion, Blu Ray players generally have better upscalers in them than TV sets - certainly both my Samsung and LG Blu Ray players seem to upscale better than my Toshiba and Samsung HD tellies do.

Travelman1966 · 27-09-2011, 11:13

Chasing shadows...thanks! Told you I was new (& a little bit thick!) about these things-thanks again.

(embarressed at being thick!)

Travelman1966 · 27-09-2011, 12:03

wireless looks good. Would these http://www.wirefreeav.co.uk/products...8Black%29.html be suitable for my Toshiba SL738B?

chrisjr · 27-09-2011, 13:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travelman1966

wireless looks good. Would these http://www.wirefreeav.co.uk/products...8Black%29.html be suitable for my Toshiba SL738B?

Pretty pointless if you are using them as substitutes for the built in speakers of the telly. They would be stood either side of the TV so you may as well save the effort of changing batteries every few days and use a pair of wired powered speakers.

These speakers only make sense if you use them remotely from the source of the noise, eg out in the garden or another room in the house, and running cables is not an option.

As I linked to in another thread about TV speakers these

http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipmen...onitors--22551

would probably blow away most similarly priced units.

Travelman1966 · 27-09-2011, 15:12

thanks for that....sorry to be thick...do I need an additional 'amp' or something? Do I just plug them to the back of the tv? Sorry to be so thick (!).

chrisjr · 27-09-2011, 15:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travelman1966

thanks for that....sorry to be thick...do I need an additional 'amp' or something? Do I just plug them to the back of the tv? Sorry to be so thick (!).

The speakers have their own built in amp. Just like most "PC speakers". Though from my experience they sound a hell of a lot better than most PC type speakers at that price level.

Looking at the manual for your telly on line you have a choice of headphone socket or SCART via an adapter for the audio out.

The Headphone socket may not deliver the ultimate sound quality, depending on what is driving it, but at least it should mute the built in speakers and you can adjust the volume with the TV remote. If you use the SCART then the volume will be fixed and you will have to use the knob on the speakers to adjust how much noise you make. Which means getting up and walking over to them, no remote!

Travelman1966 · 27-09-2011, 21:13

Thanks so much guys....you've been a great help! Will start 'building' my cinema (!) at the weekend.

porkpie · 27-09-2011, 22:14

Don't worry about upscaling .
If your dvd or Bluray player does not do it then your tv will.

Don't expect for a second that your dvd's will look anything even close to genuine 1080.
It's a marketing scam.

pocatello · 28-09-2011, 01:52

As chasing said, upscaling is bs marketing, everything displayed on a high resolution display that isn't HD HAS to be upscaled, either the tv or the player will do it..your choice...it will happen..

It won't polish a turd, it simply is the least worst way of getting it to work at all.

Not sure why you are fixated on divx-hd, almost anything actually encoded in divx is made for piracy purposes, and low size to fit "scene" rules, meaning it looks like garbage, even if it is in HD.

Travelman1966 · 12-10-2011, 08:14

Thanks for the help guys/gals!

Ok...bought a £40 PC speaker (Logitech-6 w speakers & subwoofer) for £40 at Argos. TV difference is amazing-much better (when you unplug headphone jack it shows how crap the tv volume is!)-music is v. good (played Depeche Mode concert dvd-excellent)-although obviously never gonna be as good as a home cinema or £100+ speakers/surround sound.

Bouglt an LG BLU-RAY player (bd555)-upscaling is FANTASTIC on standard DVD'S-on the 42 inch full HD screen I have I'd say its 85% of full BLU-RAY quality. Even upscaled a 14 year old Depeche Mode singles DVD v.well! Have to say my....ahem (!) private collection (!) of shall we say...films of an adult nature look crap on 42 inch screen-shows how rubbish standard definition is!

Have had moderate success with 8gb usb flash stick/movies-quality is like 'standard' definition on the MKV files (around 580-700MB)-ideal if theres a film you're 'half-hearted' about seeing (or paying for)-certainly more than watchable. the 2gig downloads for example -bad teacher-are almost up there with HD quality-v. good. Only had the odd MKV that won't play (& resulted in me having to manually turn off BLU RAY player at mains as it stuck!).

Thanks all for your help!

27-09-2011, 08:40	#1
Travelman1966 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Huddersfield Posts: 70	Upscaling of standard DVD'S on blu-ray players-& cheap surround/speaker question? Hi again. Wonder if you good folks could advise me. Looking at 3 blu-ray players, http://www.richersounds.com/product/...5/pana-dmpbd75 (£69-deffo plays DIVX HD from USB), http://www.richersounds.com/showclea...g+Bdp1580.html (£49!!!!!!! Normally £100-not sure on DIVX HD-anyoe advise?) or http://www.electrical-deals.co.uk/ph...fps-divx-.html (again not sure on DIVX HD-bargain at £43!). Firstly-which one (they all say upscales to 1080) do you guys/girls think would upscale the most on DVDS? And do they REALLY upscale to 1080? I have to say the TV on it's own (a Tosh SL738B 42 inch) seems to upscale already!!! I'll probably look to download DIVX HD movies onto USB-so ulness you guys/gals know different the Panosonic seems the best one?? Also....TV speakers. The TOSH speakers are not that great. Looking for a cheap (not neccesarily surround sound/home cinema) way to plug in better speakers...we would be playing music sometimes but not often..it's just that the tv speakers are a bit tinny?? Any advice would be great. Seen some surround soundy type things on amazon for around £40ish & Argos £55. Not too fussed at having 5 or 6 speakers dotted around living room (not that much space)-just 2 would be fine. Any advice/links where or what to buy? Thanks in advance.

27-09-2011, 11:13	#3
Travelman1966 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Huddersfield Posts: 70	Thanks! Chasing shadows...thanks! Told you I was new (& a little bit thick!) about these things-thanks again. (embarressed at being thick!)

27-09-2011, 12:03	#4
Travelman1966 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Huddersfield Posts: 70	Wireless.... wireless looks good. Would these http://www.wirefreeav.co.uk/products...8Black%29.html be suitable for my Toshiba SL738B?

27-09-2011, 15:12	#6
Travelman1966 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Huddersfield Posts: 70	Hi Chrisjr! thanks for that....sorry to be thick...do I need an additional 'amp' or something? Do I just plug them to the back of the tv? Sorry to be so thick (!).

27-09-2011, 21:13	#8
Travelman1966 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Huddersfield Posts: 70	Thanks! Thanks so much guys....you've been a great help! Will start 'building' my cinema (!) at the weekend.

27-09-2011, 09:02	#2
Chasing Shadows Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,536	Quote: Originally Posted by Travelman1966 Firstly-which one (they all say upscales to 1080) do you guys/girls think would upscale the most on DVDS? And do they REALLY upscale to 1080? Blu Ray players in general have very good upscalers in them. Yes, they all really upscale to 1080, as a Blu Ray player must be capable of playing a Blu Ray disc (which is 1080p encoded). Quote: Originally Posted by Travelman1966 I have to say the TV on it's own (a Tosh SL738B 42 inch) seems to upscale already!!! Of course it does - it's a HD telly. Otherwise you'd just be watching a tiny picture in the middle of the screen whenever you fed it an SD signal. In my opinion, Blu Ray players generally have better upscalers in them than TV sets - certainly both my Samsung and LG Blu Ray players seem to upscale better than my Toshiba and Samsung HD tellies do.

27-09-2011, 13:54	#5
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by Travelman1966 wireless looks good. Would these http://www.wirefreeav.co.uk/products...8Black%29.html be suitable for my Toshiba SL738B? Pretty pointless if you are using them as substitutes for the built in speakers of the telly. They would be stood either side of the TV so you may as well save the effort of changing batteries every few days and use a pair of wired powered speakers. These speakers only make sense if you use them remotely from the source of the noise, eg out in the garden or another room in the house, and running cables is not an option. As I linked to in another thread about TV speakers these http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipmen...onitors--22551 would probably blow away most similarly priced units.

27-09-2011, 15:35	#7
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by Travelman1966 thanks for that....sorry to be thick...do I need an additional 'amp' or something? Do I just plug them to the back of the tv? Sorry to be so thick (!). The speakers have their own built in amp. Just like most "PC speakers". Though from my experience they sound a hell of a lot better than most PC type speakers at that price level. Looking at the manual for your telly on line you have a choice of headphone socket or SCART via an adapter for the audio out. The Headphone socket may not deliver the ultimate sound quality, depending on what is driving it, but at least it should mute the built in speakers and you can adjust the volume with the TV remote. If you use the SCART then the volume will be fixed and you will have to use the knob on the speakers to adjust how much noise you make. Which means getting up and walking over to them, no remote!

27-09-2011, 22:14	#9
porkpie Inactive Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2,484	Don't worry about upscaling . If your dvd or Bluray player does not do it then your tv will. Don't expect for a second that your dvd's will look anything even close to genuine 1080. It's a marketing scam.

28-09-2011, 01:52	#10
pocatello Inactive Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 8,622	As chasing said, upscaling is bs marketing, everything displayed on a high resolution display that isn't HD HAS to be upscaled, either the tv or the player will do it..your choice...it will happen.. It won't polish a turd, it simply is the least worst way of getting it to work at all. Not sure why you are fixated on divx-hd, almost anything actually encoded in divx is made for piracy purposes, and low size to fit "scene" rules, meaning it looks like garbage, even if it is in HD.

12-10-2011, 08:14	#11
Travelman1966 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Huddersfield Posts: 70	Update Thanks for the help guys/gals! Ok...bought a £40 PC speaker (Logitech-6 w speakers & subwoofer) for £40 at Argos. TV difference is amazing-much better (when you unplug headphone jack it shows how crap the tv volume is!)-music is v. good (played Depeche Mode concert dvd-excellent)-although obviously never gonna be as good as a home cinema or £100+ speakers/surround sound. Bouglt an LG BLU-RAY player (bd555)-upscaling is FANTASTIC on standard DVD'S-on the 42 inch full HD screen I have I'd say its 85% of full BLU-RAY quality. Even upscaled a 14 year old Depeche Mode singles DVD v.well! Have to say my....ahem (!) private collection (!) of shall we say...films of an adult nature look crap on 42 inch screen-shows how rubbish standard definition is! Have had moderate success with 8gb usb flash stick/movies-quality is like 'standard' definition on the MKV files (around 580-700MB)-ideal if theres a film you're 'half-hearted' about seeing (or paying for)-certainly more than watchable. the 2gig downloads for example -bad teacher-are almost up there with HD quality-v. good. Only had the odd MKV that won't play (& resulted in me having to manually turn off BLU RAY player at mains as it stuck!). Thanks all for your help!

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Upscaling of standard DVD'S on blu-ray players-& cheap surround/speaker question?