A little something about upconvert DVD players

So I’ve been begging Grace for an upconvert DVD player and I was about to buy one and she told me to wait until xmas. I waited and I got one. yay! It was the first thing I opened and the first thing I played with. I hooked it up to my TV over the component cables and got 480p, so I pressed “resolution” on the remote and switched it to 720p and put in Casino Royale … and it switched back to 480p. I tried it again, and read the manual, and tried a firmware update. Still … 480p.

There is a little paragraph in the manual that states upconvert will only work on non copyright protected DVDs over component. I must use HDMI to view copyright protected DVDs. All DVDs are copyright protected unless you burn them yourself.

I searched across a lot of forums and then decided to familiarize myself with HDMI. I wanted to find out if an HDMI to DVI cable would work on my TV. No, my TV doesn’t support HD over DVI because it was made in 2003. Yes, only 4 years ago.

The reason upconvert is only allowed over component is because you can only protect a DVD over HDMI. HDMI has HDCP built in which was developed by Intel to secure DVD’s from being copied. the movie industry put a lot of pressure on manufacturers which in turned caused them to build DVD players that only convert over the HDMI connection. Which my TV does not support, it doesn’t even support HDCP. (HDMI also carries the digital audio signal as well.)

So if you’re thinking about getting an upconvert DVD player for your HDTV, make sure you have HDMI support with HDCP. Jut because you have a DVI connection or HDMI does not mean you can support it. Or find an old DVD player that still converts over component.

I got a Zenith DVB712 by the way. My TV is a GTW-P42M102 (Gateway 42″ Plasma).

If you can find one you can buy a DVB318 and downgrade the firmware and it will convert over component. But you have to find one. And most of you probably have newer nicer TV’s that support HDCP and HDMI.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.