DL.TV

episode 184 (1x184)

Air date: Jul 19, 2007

STUFF • Viewer Pics: Raj shows off a server farm built almost entirely of recycled Mac desktop machine down under in Australia. • Brian has an HDTV with no HDMI inputs. Can he send upscaled video from a DVD over his component inputs? Short version: Robert says, "no." • Now, if your current DVD player is SD (no HDMI or progressive output via component), he suggests you use an S-Video cable and enable the processing features on the TV (most every progressive scan TV has a film-mode setting, and some provide advanced picture enhancement features that may be worth trying). • If your current DVD player has component video output (and the TV has the input), use that connection. If it is a progressive scan player (480p), it *may* do a better job at deinterlacing the video than the TV will (***that is where the HQV DVD Benchmark Disks are really handy***). Regardless if it is 480i or 480p output, the TV will then scale the video to fill the screen. • Upconverting DVD video to HD resolutions via component video output is not permitted with legit players (those that properly process Macrovision protection schemes). If the DVD video is *not* macrovision protected, I believe most upconverting players allow HD output of this content via component - but how many people watch "home movies" they have burned to DVD. • Mike's 52 inch Sony rear projection LCD? Has DVI inputs, but no HDMI inputs. Can he use a HDMI to DVI adapter to connect an HDMI DVD player or a PS3 to his HDTV? Will it look worse for the conversion? Robert says, "No, the quality should be exactly the same. DVI is a subset of the HDMI spec so no actual conversion takes place." Mike, you will miss the audio signal carried over HDMI. You'll have to make use of the DVD player's SPDIF or Coax connector to a A/V receiver or use a pair of stereo RCA plugs to connect to his TV. One caveat, if you want to play HDCP protected viddy over your DVI (like an HD DVD, Blu-ray or PS3 game), you'd beetter hope you ha