Will a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player work on my TV?

Question

I have a Mitisubishi 65908, built in 2001 and it doesn't have HDMI or DVI input. It only has a component HD input that will recognise 480p and 1080i. It doesn't do 720p. Will I see much difference with the Blu-ray or HD-DVD if it is input through my component input?

Answer 1

If it doesn't do 720 or 1080p, I recommend just upscaling.  Go with an entry level HD DVD player as toshiba has the best tested upscalers.  Unless you are viewing at 720 or 1080, the HD material will not be significantly better than upconverted material and will allow you to just continue using your DVD's.  This would be your best bet.  Not to mention, you would get 7 free HD DVD's to test out on your new system and see if indeed you are able to see a difference.  It should only cost you around 100-130$ as opposed to bluray which would cost you 300-400 and that would be for an incomplete format player.

Even on my 1080p I can get by with upscaling movies that aren't released on HD DVD.  I personally won't be buying into bluray until the prices are on par with HD DVD and the features catch up as well.  Contrary to popular reports, HD DVD is not a dying format, and is doing quite well in the current market because it is the same picture and resolution as bluray at less than half the cost.  A no brainer.

Answer 2

Yes, it will work, in 1080i through your component imput. The details will not look as great as with a comparable 65" 1080p, but Blu-Ray/HD-DVD will look better in your TV than most HDTV channels. This is because the signal will not be as heavily compressed as the signal that comes from any cable/satellite operator.

Answer 3

yes it will work,you will not recieve full bennifits.(compression) use your component jacks, red,blue,green.. and l/r for your audio... save up for a full 1080p tv

Answer 4

Yes it will work, go with BR if you can as HDDVD days are numbered.

Answer 5

Yes it will work but the tv you have i would not recommend a blu ray because blu ray and HD DVD is made for LCD and plasma that is where you will see a differ  for $400 i would keep the money how ever blu ray and hd dvd is the identical picture quality. We do not no who will win the war but the picture is the same sony is sony and they are expensive because of the name but sales man don't know who will win and people will say blu ray is better but reality it is the same pic and if you need to buy one i recommend Toshiba HD-A3 model at best buy has it for $149.99 and it comes with 2 movies in box and 5 through mail. toshiba A30, and A35 is more expensive but also there are stuff on the player that your tv don't have so you will waste your money if you get an  A30 or A35 you will be happy with A3

Answer 6

Wow, this turned into a HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray debate very quickly, didn't it.

The answer to your question, in most cases, would be yes. Most Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players come with a component output option and should support 1080i. This includes the PS3 and the XBox360 HD-DVD attachment.  The same should also go for ouputting the video at 30 or 25 frames per second when it comes to playing 24p video, concidering most players can also outpout SD via composite cables. Double check though that the specific player you choose does support component out, before you purchase. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players, although they do full 1080p, all support playing at 1080i, because they know many earlier model and even cheaper current model TV's only do 1080i. Playing 1080i through component cables is a well established HDTV standard that I doubt they'd ever consider not supporting.  Just incase I also double check with your TV's manual, which I found here http://download.jazel.net/misc/filecache...

As far as if you'll see a difference, if you mean compared to DVD, I should think so.  Here's a question.. do you have HDTV? Do you see the difference when watching an HD channel? If so, you'll certainly see a difference with HD-TV or Blu-Ray at 1080i because it's the same resolution but alot less compressed then what comes in on HDTV.

I don't know what all this business about upscaling and HD-TV is all about.  First of all, like I said, both type of player should normally ouput at 1080i so I have no idea where upscaling comes in. I'm also no sure what the one answer is trying to imply about DVD playback, but both HD-TV and Blu-Ray players play regular DVDs. I suppose some could upscale to 1080i better then others.. but the difference can't be that extreme, just as long as the player can do it.

As far as HD-DVD not being out of the game yet and Blu-Ray tending to be more expensive, this all may be true. Although I have no idea what Blu-Ray needing to catch up with features means. Both formats have comparible features as well as picture and sound quality... with slight differences. In fact, technically, Blu-Ray is cable of holding more video and playing it at a higher bitrate.. so technically the video can be less compressed then HD-DVD. But the quality depends on alot of factors, including the transfer process, what kind and how much compression is used, as well as the quality of the original movie. Furthermore, more videos do come out on Blu-Ray.. so yeah your spending less money on a HD-DVD player, but you'll also be able to play less HD movies. Not to mention if Blu-Ray does win out, you'll have to buy one anyway and you'll have purchased an HD-DVD player you don't use.

I'm not saying go with one or the other.. I'm just saying don't buy into any BS either way.  Could either hold out from buying a little longer or try one of those combo players that can play both, if you can't decide. Although I don't own one so I can't vouch for their quality.