Do I need to upgrade my A3?

[redryder]

I bought an A3 and about 30 HD-DVDs on a clearance sale. Back then my TV was still a 1080i 32", and I didn't have a surround system.

I'm going to get a 50" 1080p TV soon, along with a 7.1 receiver, and was wondering if I need to upgrade to a better HD-DVD player? Since both the receiver and the TV can upscale to 1080p, do I really a 1080p HD-DVD player? Will it make a significant difference from the 1080i A3? Since I haven't bought a blu-ray player yet, I'm hesistant to get another HD-DVD player.

[themiz69]

i think cnet has some in depth reviews about these 2 units if im not mistaken.

[redryder]

What I'm really asking is there any difference between sending the 1080i output from the A3 to a 1080p upscaling receiver, vs a true 1080p HD-DVD player?

[Rich86]

Originally Posted by redryder

What I'm really asking is there any difference between sending the 1080i output from the A3 to a 1080p upscaling receiver, vs a true 1080p HD-DVD player?

The issue here may actually be more related to whether or not your receiver and TV support and handle 1080p video at 24 frames per second. If they do, then a HD-A30 or HD-A35 might be worthwhile in order to feed the native 1080p/24fps video off your hd-dvd's unscathed to your tv for display.

If not, you should probably try your A3 before proceeding. If your Receiver and/or new TV do a good job of de-interlacing (converting your 1080i signal to progressive) you should be in good shape.

However, if you come across a good deal on an A35 - I'd think about it as you would get audio bit streaming and full audio output connectors in addition to 1080p/24fps output.

I expect others in the forums here are more knowledgeable technically than I am so more comments and advice may show up.

[mmmmDoNut]

Rich hit all the technical aspects. I think for the money to get a 1080p hd dvd player is money you could be putting towards a BD player.

[Rich86]

Originally Posted by mmmmDoNut

Rich hit all the technical aspects. I think for the money to get a 1080p hd dvd player is money you could be putting towards a BD player.

I probably agree - depending on how many HD-DVD's he has and intends to keep. With a large collection, I would think he would want to get the best pq/aq out of them for as long as possible.

[DoubleJ]

I would think that you'll be very pleased with the picture on the TV. Like others will tell you, most sets have good de-interlacing capability.

The thing is that if you have a TV that's 50 inches and under, the difference between 720p and 1080p is not really something that you'll be able to notice.

You'll be pleased with your setup.