[soni]

Please, Please, Please, can somebody explain in SIMPLE TERMS the following.

I am quite new to the HD world. It seems like only yesterday, i was faced with the decision of flat screen/100hz, but now i want upgrade my tv and dvd, its gone HD crazy!

I want to upgrade my tv to a DLP Rear Projection. I am considering the Sagem 50", but i've been reading through the threads and understand its not HDMI compatible. I was of the understanding that its HD ready, but apparently its not HDMI but the Optoma is. What is HDMI if its not HD, and if it is HD, then how can it be HD ready but not HDMI - i hope this doesn't sound to confusing.

Secondly, i've been considering the Panasonic DVDS97EBS, of which i list the following spec:-

DVD Audio/Video Player

• Remote Control

• High Definition Multi-Media Interface

• PAL Progressive Scan

• Dolby Digital & Dolby Pro-Logic II

• Advanced Progressive Scan (NTSC)

• DVD-Video/Audio (5.1ch), DVD-RAM, DVD-R, CD-R/RW, JPEG, MP3, WMA & MPEG 4 Playback Formats

• Multi- Re-Master

• Depth Enhancer

• One Touch AV Enhancer

• RGB Out Via SCART Terminal

• Region 2 Playback

Now, although it has a High Definition Multi-Media Interface, which i assume will connect into the back of a Sagem?????????, a local specialist AV supplier has told me that if i put a DVD in that machine, and connect using the HD Multi-Media Interface, i'll get a better picture but it won't be HI-DEF? But i don't understand this. If its going from hi-def to hi-def, then why won't it be hi-def?

If anyone can explain the above in simple terms i would appreciate it, as i don't want to fork out for the Panasonic just for the hi-def, if its not hi-def, i would rather buy a Denon player without Hi-Def to work in conjunction with my Denon 3802 Amp.

[soni]

Sorry, One Other Question:- Will Both The Sagem & Optoma Be Able To Receive Hd Sky When Broadcasted? I.e., Will There Be The Correct Connections Available?

[vonhosen]

Hi Def is going to be in relation to pixel count. The screens you are taking about are 1280x720 I believe, which is high def resolution.

HDMI is a a means of connection (it doesn't have to be carrying a Hi Def signal).
Hi Def doesn't have to be carried over HDMI , it can be carried over a DVI connection for instance (although if you use DVI you would have to use an audio connection as well, where as HDMI will carry video & audio)

The Panasonic DVD player you are talking about may have an HDMI connection but it will still be playing Standard Def material. DVD won't support more than 720x576 for PAL or 720x480 for NTSC.

You could of course use a scaler to scale the Standard Def material upto 1280x720 (but the screen will do that anyway , although maybe not as well as a dedicated deinterlacer/scaler)

To summarise
Hi def relates to pixel count of material
HDMI is merely a connecton to carry video & audio.

They don't have to be used exclusively together to obtain Hi Def playback

[vonhosen]

Originally Posted by soni

Sorry, One Other Question:- Will Both The Sagem & Optoma Be Able To Receive Hd Sky When Broadcasted? I.e., Will There Be The Correct Connections Available?

The screens should be able to display Hi Def Sky when it arrives , as because I have said your screen will be able to deal with the pixel count & it doesn't have to have a HDMI connection in order to do it (unless Sky releases boxes with only HDMI connections, but I doubt that will be the case & you could always use a HDMI to DVI cable if they did. I haven't checked the specs of your screens but they have DVI in don't they ?)

[soni]

Thanks for your reply Vonhoson.

That makes things a lot clearer. I've got one more question.

If its not playing hi def material, am i correct in thinking that theres little point purchasing a unit with HDMI connection?

Would it be better to purchase one of the Denon players around £400.00 which do not have HDMI, but i imagine would produce a better picture?

Lastly, should i get a DVD player with Progressive Scan, if i were to purchase the Sagem or Optoma DLP?

Thanks for your assistance.

[soni]

Originally Posted by vonhosen

The screens should be able to display Hi Def Sky when it arrives , as because I have said your screen will be able to deal with the pixel count & it doesn't have to have a HDMI connection in order to do it (unless Sky releases boxes with only HDMI connections, but I doubt that will be the case & you could always use a HDMI to DVI cable if they did. I haven't checked the specs of your screens but they have DVI in don't they ?)

Yes the Sagem does have the DVI port!

[vonhosen]

Originally Posted by soni

Thanks for your reply Vonhoson.

That makes things a lot clearer. I've got one more question.

If its not playing hi def material, am i correct in thinking that theres little point purchasing a unit with HDMI connection?

Would it be better to purchase one of the Denon players around £400.00 which do not have HDMI, but i imagine would produce a better picture?

Lastly, should i get a DVD player with Progressive Scan, if i were to purchase the Sagem or Optoma DLP?

Thanks for your assistance.

HDMI is the new thing connection wise. It will feature on more & more products as time goes by so having items with it is a bit of future proofing. Why it is good is that it will be a single cable carrying your video & audio between player & amplifier (no more spaghetti out the back just one cable).
It has copy protection & providing you have the right version, copy protected material such as high def DVD-Audio can be passed over it without the need for 6 analogue connections.)
Be careful at present though because some HDMI outputs are only version 1.0 (which will only support video & stereo audio ) & some are version 1.1 (which will support video & multi cahnnel audio.)

Which is the best player to buy only you can decide by viewing on a rig as close to what you will have as possible.

As for progressive scan:-
If the DVD player isn't deinterlacing the material the screen will anyway. So you will be getting progressive output. The real question is , is the DVD player going to do it better than the screens processing ? If it is get the DVD to do it, if it isn't feed the screen interlaced & let it do it. Again which is the better only you can decide. As with most things in this game you are going to be paying for deinterlacing chips in both the DVD player & the screen but only using one of them anyway

[MarkE19]

I think the confusion here is working out what HDMI actually stands for. In the feature list for the DVD player it is listed as being 'High Definition Multi-Media Interface ' but IIRC this is actually incorrect as it stands for 'High-bandwidth Digital Multi-media Interface'. Not everything in AV that contains the letters 'HD' is 'High Definition' (like this lark isn't confusing enough already ).
In the not too distant future we will start to see AV receivers & processors that have the fully functioning HDMI inputs/outputs so as vonhosen has said we will only need a single HDMI lead to the AV and then one on to the screen - no more cabling mess
DVI is basically the same as HDMI except it does not carry any audio. Therefore you can have a HDMI output going to a screen with a DVI input and they will work together.

Hope this helps to clear things up at least a little.

Mark.

[soni]

Thanks Vonhosen and MarkE19!

I've never used a Forum before, but its great having non biased technical and product information just a keyboard touch away! - Especially the speed at which technology has progressed over the last 5 years - I feel like i've been asleep all that time!

I think i've now grasped the idea, that its merely a connection as opposed to a processing method, and I will almost certainly go for the Sagem or Optoma, although i would like to wait for the Toshiba to be released prior to making that final dicision. I'm not in to much of a hurry, as i've got lots of decorating to sought out first!

Have any of you heard of a release date for the Toshiba or Sagem 46" or is it a 42"? I've heard rumours that the Tosh is to be released this month, as Home Cinema had it listed in their product news section last month (September) and they said it was due for release this month (October), but theres not much of October left! I phoned Tosh, and the guy didn't even know anything about it at all, and said that it could be possibly put back. Of what i have heard, the small Sagem screen size is actually going to be more expensive than the 50" - although i can understand it slightly as the design is completely different, if i didn't know better i would have said it was the Samsung that i was looking at from the picture - Very Similar Indeed!