Blu-Ray Vs. Upconversion for 1080p

Use upconversion to play a standard-definition DVD at near-high-definition quality.

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The transition from standard DVDs to high-definition Blu-ray does not require you to purchase a Blu-ray version of every DVD you own. Most Blu-ray players offer a feature called “upconversion,” through which the player will digitally display your standard-definition DVD in near-high-definition quality. Some people may immediately notice a difference in video quality between a Blu-ray disc and an upconverted standard-definition disc, but others may not detect a difference.

Related Searches: 1080p

The term 1080p describes the resolution of a high-definition television; the full resolution is 1,920 vertical pixels by 1,080 horizontal pixels. While it is not the newest technology on the market — 3-D television claims that title — 1080p is currently the highest resolution available. It is unlikely, even in the future, that technology will evolve beyond the 1080p resolution because the human eye is incapable of distinguishing between 1080p and anything higher; technological advances instead will likely focus on other elements of the viewing experience, such as 3-D.

Blu-Ray

Blu-ray is a specific type of high-definition video disc that is designed to display at a resolution of 1080p. Additionally, many Blu-ray players feature a connection to the Internet. Blu-ray discs often capitalize on that Internet connection by offering bonus content — deleted and extended scenes, games, commentaries and more in a feature called Blu-ray Live — that you can only access through your Blu-ray player’s link to the Internet.

Upconversion

All Blu-ray players allow you to play your standard-definition DVDs, and most players offer an upconversion feature. While upconversion will not display a standard-definition DVD at 1080p, the quality is high enough that some people will not distinguish a difference between upconversion and Blu-ray. The exception is with TVs that are larger than 50 inches; larger TVs deliver greater detail in each image, making the difference between Blu-ray and upconversion more noticeable. Also, upconverted standard-definition discs do not always have access to the same bonus content that is featured on their Blu-ray counterparts.

Considerations

When purchasing a new movie, you often have a choice between a standard-definition DVD and Blu-ray disc. If the features on each are the same, you may want to save some money and purchase the standard DVD. If the Blu-ray has more desirable extras, you may wish to invest the extra money in the Blu-ray. The same factors come into play if you are considering updating titles in your current collection of standard-definition DVDs to Blu-ray.

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What Is Upconversion Blu-Ray?

Blu-ray upconversion gives higher quality when playing DVD discs.

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Upconversion on a Blu-ray player is a process where standard-definition DVD video discs are converted to high-definition quality for playback on an HDTV. This is convenient for movie fanatics who already own movies on DVD that they don't want to purchase again on Blu-ray. However, while the quality will appear better than playing a DVD in standard-definition, it doesn't match the video quality of a Blu-ray Disc.

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DVD video discs are encoded in standard-definition at 720-by-480 resolution and the video is interlaced. This means that each frame of the video is divided into half-frames that are later assembled by a TV to create a full picture. However, Blu-ray Discs display video at up to 1,920-by-1,080 resolution and the picture quality is progressive scan, meaning that each frame of video is displayed as a full image and doesn't require a TV to assemble into a full image.

Upconversion

Because Blu-ray players are backward-compatible with DVD video discs, any DVD can be played in a Blu-ray player. However, to make the difference in video quality between DVD and Blu-ray video discs less noticeable, Blu-ray players will stretch the video resolution of a DVD to HD quality. Also, the interlaced frames will be converted to progressive scan through a process called interpolation, which improves the sharpness of the video. All Blu-ray players have an upconversion feature, though you may need to turn it on through the Settings or Preferences menu.

Quality

Even though upconversion on a Blu-ray player will greatly improve the quality of a DVD video disc played on an HDTV, it won't make the DVD video quality on par with that of a Blu-ray video disc. Even though most DVDs are authored from HD masters, the conversion to standard-definition makes it impossible to gain the same resolution as the native HD video from a Blu-ray. However, it will still appear higher quality than if a DVD player were playing the same video at standard-definition and with interlaced video.

Other Information

You must use an HDMI video and audio cable connection for upconversion to work on your Blu-ray player. The improved quality from using upconversion won't be viewable and Blu-ray Discs will be displayed as lower standard-definition video with any other video cable. While higher definition comes from watching video directly from a HD quality Blu-ray Disc, some lower-budget movies and TV shows were produced on standard-definition video and can't be properly mastered for Blu-ray. In this case, an upconverted DVD is a good option for HDTV viewing.

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