Question:
Dear Big Picture Big Sound,
I have an X-1 Infocus Projector that's connected by component cables to my Toshiba DVD player. I have a Dish Network HD Satellite Box that also has a component connection to the project which delivers a wonderful clean crisp picture.
I read one of your postings about the Helios H2000 HD Up scaling DVD Player stating that this unit can produce 1080i over component cables. The Helios web site stated they are currently out of them. I found at company in Canada that states they have them.
Do you think I will have a region issue and do you think this unit will make a difference in the picture quality via DVD?
-Sidney G.
Answer:
Hello, Sidney,
US and Canada share the same DVD region code (region 1), so that should not be an issue. We have not specifically reviewed the HELIOS player nor the X-1 projector so I can't tell you which is better at upconverting DVDs to high definition resolution, but considering the fact that the X1 projector's native resolution is 800x600 pixels, I doubt you would see any improvements using the HELIOS player over any good standard DVD player on your specific projector.
A regular (non-upconverting) DVD player will send a 480p or 480i signal over component video which will then be upscaled (and de-interlaced if you use 480i output from the DVD player) by the projector to its internal resolution of 800x600 pixels. The Helios player would upscale regular 480p DVDs to 1080i or 720p resolution only to have the projector down-convert this resolution to the native panel resolution of 800x600. Each step in the upconversion/downconversion process could introduce artifacts so picture quality benefits, if any, are likely to be subtle at best.
Where you will see a marked improvement is if you upgrade to a Blu-ray Disc player and start buying/renting Blu-ray Discs instead of regular DVDs. Blu-ray Discs have a native resolution of 1080p or 1080i and a greater color palette than standard def DVD so playing these back using the Blu-ray Disc player's output set to 1080i or 720p over component video will create a much better image than standard DVDs on your projector.
Hope that helps.
-Chris
Keep those cards and letters coming... if you have a question for one of our home theater experts, shoot us an e-mail to "
Ask The Expert." We'll select among these for future installments in this column. Sorry but, due to the volume of requests we receive, we cannot reply to each question personally.
