HDMI related question to hifi gurus

[balajeem]

Hi All,

Sorry for this lengthy one.

Please find my quesiton below:

1. You have a LCD TV that is fully HD - By this it's meant that the Video will be upscaled by LCD TV and doesn't depend on upscaling DVD, etc?

2. You have a HDMI DVD player - By this it's meant that you have HDMI output from the DVD Player - Is this right ?

3. You have upscaling HDMI DVD Player - By this, it's meant that the DVD player has an option to turn on/off the upscaling functionality - Is this right ?

case 1:
If one turns off the upscaling functionality of DVD player and connect the HDMI out to HDMI in of TV, the LCD TV takes care of upscaling the video signals - Is my understanding correct ?

case 2:
If one turns on the upscaling functionality of DVD player and connect the HDMI out to HDMI in of TV, the LCD takes care of upscaled video signals - Is my understanding correct ?

case 3:

if I connect Tata sky to HD TV, if the signals are not HD does i tmake any difference ?

What's the difference between case 1 and 2 ?

Scenario 1:
With full HD lcd tv, HDMI DVD player, AVR without HDMI:

The connection can be : HDMI out of DVD to HDMI in of TV, audio from DVD via optical or coax to AVR and from AVR to 5.1 surround. You need to mute the TV to enjoy HD video, audio will be taken care by AVR.

Scenario 2:
With Full HD lcd TV, hdmi DVD player, AVR with HDMI:
Does this mean AVR such as for ex: Denon 1610 and above models that support HDMI does video upscaling as well ?

The connection can be: HDMI out of DVD to HDMI in of avr and from AVR HDMI out to TV ? - What's the advantage of this connection over scenario 1?

Scenario 3:
STB - SunHD Direct - you can directly connect to LCD that supports full HD ? or via AVR that has HDMI and then to TV ? which is better ?

If Scenario 1 is fine to get HD quality why AVR supports HDMI ? what's the advantage in buying a AVR that supports HDMI ?

scenario 4:

Full HD tv, blue ray player, avr without HDMI:

connection can be: hdmi out of blue ray to full hd, audio using avr via coax ?

scenario 5:
full HD tv, blue ray player, avr with hdmi :

connection can be : hdmi out of blue ray player to avr and then to TV ? what's the advantage in hooking up to TV via AVR over scenario 4 ?

General question:

if you have this combo: full hd tv, hdmi dvd player, avr without hdmi
Is there some sequence to be followed while switching on for ex: first dvd then avr then tv ? I read somewhere , hence asking this question.

What's the advantage of AVR that supports HDMI vs one that does not ?

 

[Tracer29]

@Balajee: Will try to explain as simply as possible

HDTV: Full HD means the TV has the capability of displaying HD content and it will not upscale any content.

2)Upscaling DVD or AV receiver: A dvd player or receiver with capabilites of upscaling SD to HD will only be able to project a better picture but still it would be not be comparable to HD content.

3)TATA sky STB: It gives you only SD content as of now and even if you watch it on a HDTV the content is still SD but with a better picture quality.

Coming to your various scenarios:

By connecting a tata sky or playing a regular DVD in an upscaled player or through a AV receiver on a HD TV will not give you HD content but it would just have a better quality then the regular stuff.

For enjoying Full high def which is presently through a blu ray disc or Sun HD you can watch HD content on your HD TV.

In summary you need to have both HD hardware which is (HDTV,Blu ray player) and HD software(Blu ray disc or HD service provider like Sun HD) to watch complete HD experience.Hope this helps in answering some of your queries if not all.

The below link would help you in detail:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdmi4.htm

 

[cmsajith]

@Balajee, Your understanding is correct.

Upscaling in DVDP/AVR for Stan. Def. : It depends on the scaler in your TV. In my case, the scaler in TV is far better than the DVDP and AVR. For DTH, its better use an stb with component out, i am using BigTV which is better in PQ, the rest will be taken care by the TV scaler.
Note: Any fixed resolution TV will have a scaler (either upscaler \ DownScaler) and will do the scaling to its native panel resolution irrespective of the incoming resolution.

- An HD AVR (not HDMI pass through) is required to decode the HD Audio which will be far better than the normal BluRay players, "scenario 5", which is far better than "scenario 4"

 

[KonfuSed]

1. No
2. Yes
3. Yes
Case 1: No
Case 2:Yes
Case 3: No, Tata Sky SD won't look good in your FullHD LCD. An upscaler like 1910 will come in handy here but even that's also not a great solution. You are still stuck with SD even if upscaled.
Case 2 will look better as the DVD player will upscale the DVD to 1080p.(but it depends on the source material and DVD player's capability)

Scene 1: Will work perfectly.
Scene 2: Adv is that you can do away just one HDMI cable. You don't need the optical cable as in Scene 1.
Scene 3: The AVR basically work as a multiplexer/switcher. You've 3-4 different HDMi capable devices and all those will go IN to the AVR and the output will be a single HDMI for video to your TV. Saves you from switching your TV's AV button all the time. Also saves you from buying loads of optical cables. And if the AVR has good upscaling capability even from Analog signal(like 1910) then that's an added bonus. Also if you have HD audio capable player such as a Blu-ray player then it will decode your HD audio also. Optical cables can't carry HD audio due to bandwidth limitation.

Scene 4: You really need a HDMI capable with HD audio decoder AVR. Or your BD payer should be able to decode the signal and send it out via it's 7.1/5.1 analog audio out. Otherwise you'll miss on HD-audio.
Scene 5. Same adv as Scene 3.

Hope this helps.

 

[cmsajith]

Any fixed resolution panel will have an inbuilt scaler (either upscaler or downscaler) to convert to its native panel resolution. The PQ depends on the quality of the scaler used in a DVDP/BDP/AVR/TV. In most of the cases, for SD, the scaler in TV will be better unless we use some good DVDPs like oppo / some high end AVRs.

 

[balajeem]

An HD AVR (not HDMI pass through) is required to decode the HD Audio which will be far better than the normal BluRay players, "scenario 5", which is far better than "scenario 4"[/QUOTE]

Denon 1610 is what HD AVR ? Can you please clarify ?

@Balajee, Your understanding is correct.

Upscaling in DVDP/AVR for Stan. Def. : It depends on the scaler in your TV. In my case, the scaler in TV is far better than the DVDP and AVR. For DTH, its better use an stb with component out, i am using BigTV which is better in PQ, the rest will be taken care by the TV scaler.
Note: Any fixed resolution TV will have a scaler (either upscaler \ DownScaler) and will do the scaling to its native panel resolution irrespective of the incoming resolution.

- An HD AVR (not HDMI pass through) is required to decode the HD Audio which will be far better than the normal BluRay players, "scenario 5", which is far better than "scenario 4"

 

[KonfuSed]

Yes, 1610 can decode HD audio.