LCD tv- HDMI cable question

[melancholymecha]

I bought an lcd set recently, a Samsung 720p 32 inch, and while some of my dvds look pretty good some others look really grainy. Is this due to the dvds or the tv? would buying one of those hdmi cables help? (I currently have component cables hooked up.)

also whats the dfference b/w hdmi & dvi cables? I was reading through my manual trying to understand it all and its really confusing!

 

[Scout101]

Component (Red, green, blue) cables should be enough to upscale things, if your DVD player can help you out there. HDMI shouldn't make too much difference, unless the DVD player requires it, which it doesn't seem to. As long as you aren't using Composite (red, yellow, white), you're all set.

As for DVI, don't use it unless you have to. It was an earlier standard, and HDMI replaced it. It was basically the same video signal, but doesn't carry audio. HDMI does both on the same cable.

 

[Small White Car]

Does your DVD player upconvert? It sounds like you might have an older player that's just blowing up the DVD video without actually converting it.

If so, it doesn't matter what cable you buy. Check the player stats online.

But aside from that, yes, HDMI is "best" mostly because it's the simplest to hook up.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It sounds like you might have an older player that's just blowing up the DVD video without actually converting it.

There's always upconverting going on. If your DVD player doesn't, your HDTV will. This must happen, otherwise you'd get a tiny postage stamp sized picture surrounded by a foot of black on all sides.

 

[Saturn0660]

It sounds like you might have an older player that's just blowing up the DVD video without actually converting it.

There's always upconverting going on. If your DVD player doesn't, your HDTV will. This must happen, otherwise you'd get a tiny postage stamp sized picture surrounded by a foot of black on all sides.

I think what was meant was is the player an upconvert player. And what cables are you using now.. Yellow/red/white? Plus remember most "upconvert" player will only do it out of the HDMI..

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It sounds like you might have an older player that's just blowing up the DVD video without actually converting it.

There's always upconverting going on. If your DVD player doesn't, your HDTV will. This must happen, otherwise you'd get a tiny postage stamp sized picture surrounded by a foot of black on all sides.

I think what was meant was is the player an upconvert player. And what cables are you using now.. Yellow/red/white? Plus remember most "upconvert" player will only do it out of the HDMI..

It doesn't matter if you have an upconverting player. Most decent HDTVs will have a better upconverter than the player would.

 

[Maestro]

Make sure that your DVD player upconverts. Then set it's upconversion to 720p. I'd recommend an HDMI cable because I think it gives a clearer picture and better sound.

Note, however, that Battlestar Galactica was intended to be viewed as a documentary, so it will look grainy no matter what you do (although I don't know how the Blu-Ray discs look).

 

[melancholymecha]

the dvd player wasnt originally mine though I do have the manual- it says it has "progressive scan" and "HD upscale". Im using the component cables. I currently have it set up for the progressive scan but some of the dvds look good & some look grainy.

 

[BigFoot]

How about you tell us which DVDs look grainy? We might be able to tell you whether or not that's normal (which it probably is).

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

It doesn't matter if you have an upconverting player. Most decent HDTVs will have a better upconverter than the player would.

This is true. Only expensive DVD players (with expensive upscaling chips like the Faroudja) are better at upscaling then the most TV's are. But then, good upscale players start at a high price range, and what you get in return is marginal. Even upscaled, a DVD is still a DVD. The picture won't suddenly get more details; it simply doesn't have them. You don't need a special "upscaling" dvd player.

Make sure that your DVD player upconverts. Then set it's upconversion to 720p. I'd recommend an HDMI cable because I think it gives a clearer picture and better sound.

Nonsense. A DVI cable is a digital signal, without any loss. A HDMI cable is a digital signal, without any loss. The only difference is that HDMI incorporates audio into the cable, so you only need one cable instead of two (in theory). But again, these cables are quite expensive for little gain. If you already have a DVI cable, you don't need a HDMI one.

Some DVD's are grainy because they are simply of low quality. Some Bluray movies are just as grainy, or just as low on details. It all depends on how the movie was shot, edited and transfered to the disc. Nothin' you can do 'bout that.

 

[Scout101]

If they are expensive, you aren't doing it right. Go to some place like Monoprice.com, very cheap, very high quality HDMI cables. I did my entire home theater setup, including running a ton of cables through 35' of wall and ceiling, and still only spent about $100, less than the cost of ONE 6' HDMI Monster Cable from the electronics stores!

 

[Mr. B]

also whats the dfference b/w hdmi & dvi cables? I was reading through my manual trying to understand it all and its really confusing!

HDMI is a one-cable solution for audio and video whereas DVI is just what it stands for, Digital Video Interface. Picture quality should be identical between the two. HDMI is largely a product of convenience with the ability to run 1080p video and 8 channel audio though a single interface. Being new and increasingly ubiquitous, it is very much the preferred means of cabling.

 

[Amaris]

Plus, you can get a nice 6 ft HDMI cable for about $5 at Amazon.com

J.

 

[melancholymecha]

How about you tell us which DVDs look grainy? We might be able to tell you whether or not that's normal (which it probably is).

ok, since I bought this tv only about a month ago I havent had a chance to see a whole lot of dvds so I just checked
through a whole bunch of dvds I have today. The quality seems to vary a lot, some look great, some look ok, & some
look awful:

I actually have the 2 different dvd versions of Disney's Mulan and the older release is cloudy & grainy while the more recent one is clearer.

True Blood dvd 1, Disney's Cars, Enchanted & The Emperor's New Groove look great.

Jurassic Park 3 & Harry Potter 3 and 5 look ok(a bit grainy but not too bad.)

AI: Artifical Intelligence was the worst, it looked like it was filmed through a dirty glass window! Disney's Hercules looks terrible too.

another thing Ive noticed is no matter how clear the picture is water(like a vast ocean glittering in the sun), cgi fur and glass windows on a
building at night always seem to look bad.


So I guess it does depend on how the film was shot or transfered to dvd. Which kinda sucks doesnt it?

So I doubt an HDMI cable would improve the way these lesser looking dvds look huh? Maybe Ill buy one if I can find it cheap...

 

[Maestro]

Make sure that your DVD player upconverts. Then set it's upconversion to 720p. I'd recommend an HDMI cable because I think it gives a clearer picture and better sound.

Nonsense. A DVI cable is a digital signal, without any loss. A HDMI cable is a digital signal, without any loss. The only difference is that HDMI incorporates audio into the cable, so you only need one cable instead of two (in theory). But again, these cables are quite expensive for little gain. If you already have a DVI cable, you don't need a HDMI one.

Some DVD's are grainy because they are simply of low quality. Some Bluray movies are just as grainy, or just as low on details. It all depends on how the movie was shot, edited and transfered to the disc. Nothin' you can do 'bout that.

My opinion on the matter is nonsense? Really? What's wrong with you?

 

[BigFoot]

How about you tell us which DVDs look grainy? We might be able to tell you whether or not that's normal (which it probably is).

ok, since I bought this tv only about a month ago I havent had a chance to see a whole lot of dvds so I just checked
through a whole bunch of dvds I have today. The quality seems to vary a lot, some look great, some look ok, & some
look awful:

I actually have the 2 different dvd versions of Disney's Mulan and the older release is cloudy & grainy while the more recent one is clearer.

True Blood dvd 1, Disney's Cars, Enchanted & The Emperor's New Groove look great.

Jurassic Park 3 & Harry Potter 3 and 5 look ok(a bit grainy but not too bad.)

AI: Artifical Intelligence was the worst, it looked like it was filmed through a dirty glass window! Disney's Hercules looks terrible too.

another thing Ive noticed is no matter how clear the picture is water(like a vast ocean glittering in the sun), cgi fur and glass windows on a
building at night always seem to look bad.


So I guess it does depend on how the film was shot or transfered to dvd. Which kinda sucks doesnt it?

So I doubt an HDMI cable would improve the way these lesser looking dvds look huh? Maybe Ill buy one if I can find it cheap...

Yeah I really think the lower quality DVDs are to blame.

Btw, you could try turning upscaling on/off on your DVD and comparing what looks better.

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

My opinion on the matter is nonsense? Really? What's wrong with you?

I stated that your opinion -- that a HDMI cable gives a better picture then a dvi cable -- is indeed nonsense, as it's not based on fact. You might believe a HDMI cable gives better image, but it does not. You're entitled to your opinion, but that does not make the facts any less untrue. As such, I explained why it is so. If someone already has a DVI cable, a HDMI cable won't make the picture quality any better, since both are digital signals to begin with. DVI also has more then enough bandwidth throughput for DVD's. And the only way the audio might be better through a HDMI cable is if someone uses analog audio cables instead of, for example, a digital TOS cable for audio. But such cables can be bought seperately.

And upscaling is overrated; if it's on a bargain DVD player, it's nice, but it's certainly not a feature to get an entirely new DVD player for; it does not give you more detail, it simply tries to make up more detail, which has only limited results. DVD's won't suddenly look as detailed as Bluray, simply because they don't have the resolution. Upscaling won't help with any of that.

The topicstarter asks for options on how to make some of his DVD's look better. When I scroll through the replies in this thread, it looks as if buying a new DVD player with upscaling and buying a new (HDMI) cable would do the trick. But alas, unfortunately, it does not. I sure won't be the one to advise the TS on spending money on new equipment that won't change the quality of his DVD's.

Some DVD's simply are of low quality. Usually, these are either very old DVD's, DVD's from very old (animated) movies that haven't been remastered or DVD's that have simply been transferred wrong. You can't do much about that, except buy the "remastered version" in some cases, or complain to the company in the other cases.

 

[Scout101]

^pretty much nailed the different points. Pretty much, you get used to the fantastic picture on this TV by watching HD programming and movies. They look great in large sizes, so it's all good.

Going to SD after that, not so much. Just not enough detail, and too large a viewing size. Between the DVD player and the TV, they try to 'fill in the blanks' a bit, but there's just not enough there. Most DVDs are at least watchable, but some are shittier quality than others. And after seeing such great picture watching regular TV, it spoils you a bit. Try zooming in on a photo on your pc that looks fine. Unless you took really high resolution pictures, the photo that looks ok small really starts to lose it as you get closer. Since the LCDs are almost always much larger than the TV you used to watch them on, you're getting the same effect.

 

[Saturn0660]

My opinion on the matter is nonsense? Really? What's wrong with you?

I stated that your opinion -- that a HDMI cable gives a better picture then a dvi cable -- is indeed nonsense, as it's not based on fact. You might believe a HDMI cable gives better image, but it does not. You're entitled to your opinion, but that does not make the facts any less untrue. As such, I explained why it is so. If someone already has a DVI cable, a HDMI cable won't make the picture quality any better, since both are digital signals to begin with. DVI also has more then enough bandwidth throughput for DVD's. And the only way the audio might be better through a HDMI cable is if someone uses analog audio cables instead of, for example, a digital TOS cable for audio. But such cables can be bought seperately.

And upscaling is overrated; if it's on a bargain DVD player, it's nice, but it's certainly not a feature to get an entirely new DVD player for; it does not give you more detail, it simply tries to make up more detail, which has only limited results. DVD's won't suddenly look as detailed as Bluray, simply because they don't have the resolution. Upscaling won't help with any of that.

The topicstarter asks for options on how to make some of his DVD's look better. When I scroll through the replies in this thread, it looks as if buying a new DVD player with upscaling and buying a new (HDMI) cable would do the trick. But alas, unfortunately, it does not. I sure won't be the one to advise the TS on spending money on new equipment that won't change the quality of his DVD's.

Some DVD's simply are of low quality. Usually, these are either very old DVD's, DVD's from very old (animated) movies that haven't been remastered or DVD's that have simply been transferred wrong. You can't do much about that, except buy the "remastered version" in some cases, or complain to the company in the other cases.

Interesting. However, you'd be wrong in some areas. Sound is WAY better with HDMI then it could ever be with TOS.
1. Remember TOS can't carry DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD.
2. Also, remember HDMI does all of the Aspect ratio for you. You don't need to tell your TV to goto 16:9 or 4:3.. It's all done thought the HDMI tech..
3. HDMI 1.4 when it comes out will add Ethernet into the cable as well as Bi-directional audio.

So yes my friend, HDMI is vastly better then DVI.

 

[Scout101]

Of course, none of those things address the picture quality, which was the question being asked and answered

Additionally, it was about regular DVDs, so none of the HD audio standards would apply. And would require adding a Surround system into the conversation as well, which isn't part of this. I guess some people still play with aspect ratio, but i haven't changed mine since i got the TV, staying at 16:9 seems to work fine, and just putting the vertical bars up on the 4:3 programming. Looks shitty stretched anyway.

A side issue is a programming one, about how much is blocked with respect to HD audio between devices. Seems that the studios are concerned about making hi-def copies of the discs, and limit what kinds of audio are carried over which formats/conversions.

I look forward to the stuff mentioned in HDMI 1.4, however...