PS3: Does it upconvert DVDs or not?

ricleo2

Golden Member
Feb 18, 2004
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I tried to research this question, but I am reading different information. Anybody here know for a fact that the PS3 upconverts DVDs for a better picture quality? Thanks.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
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It didn't at initial release but an early on firmware update added it I believe.
 

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
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If it was in a firmware update I didn't get it. It still outputs DVDs at 480p for me.
 

erwos

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2005
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Originally posted by: Kev
If it was in a firmware update I didn't get it. It still outputs DVDs at 480p for me.
Are you connecting via component? If so, there you go - no DVD player is supposed to upscale via analog, including the PS3 and 360. Otherwise, you may have to delve into the settings to make sure upscaling is enabled.
 

Baked

Lifer
Dec 28, 2004
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Yes, it does. And the only way to proof that for yourself is to take a DVD to a friend w/ PS3, or buy a PS3 yourself. Use HDMI cable.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
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You have to use a hdmi cable for it to upconvert, otherwise it plays at standard resolutin.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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Yes over HDMI at 1080p, and it does a very nice job of it. At least as good as my Samsung 1080p upscaling player does (also via HDMI).

It also sets the proper aspect ratio automatically, and remembers your place in a movie if you eject the disc to play a game.
 

BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Yes, it's not only decent, its actually quite excellent for the purpose. Toms hardware did a comparison a while ago against an htpcs with Ati and nvidia, and a professional hardware upconvertor, and it came out just behind the professional rig.

Just dont expect too much, "upconversion" is overrated, basically just a resize with a little sharpening added - it won't look all too much better than plugging in a progressive scan dvd player and letting your TV do the upconvert, and won't be anywhere near blu-ray.
 

citan x

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Oct 6, 2005
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What do people mean by upconverting?

Is that just taking the source 480p DVD and outputting 720p to your TV? I hooked up my PS3 with component cables and my projector says it is getting a 720p signal. Does that mean my PS3 upconverted it or does upconversion mean when some fancy processing is done to the picture to try to fill in the missing data?
 

pennylane

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2002
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Originally posted by: citan x
What do people mean by upconverting?

Is that just taking the source 480p DVD and outputting 720p to your TV? I hooked up my PS3 with component cables and my projector says it is getting a 720p signal. Does that mean my PS3 upconverted it or does upconversion mean when some fancy processing is done to the picture to try to fill in the missing data?

I think upconverting refers to scaling a lower res source (ie, a 480i DVD) to a higher res source (ie, a 720p TV), regardless of quality. Thus there are good upconverters and bad upconverters. Of course, if you have a 480i DVD and a 720p TV, the scaling has to be done SOMEWHERE (either the DVD player, TV, or external scaler), otherwise the image just won't fill up the screen. Upconverting DVD players are generally better upconverters than TV's (that could just be my impression), though not always.

And good upconversion does mean that there is fancy processing done to try to fill in the missing data. A good upconverted picture tends to look clean and natural, but softer than HD. Still, there should be nothing obviously wrong with the image quality. (qualifier: HD looks a lot better of course)

Correct me if I'm wrong.
 

BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: fanerman91
Originally posted by: citan x
What do people mean by upconverting?

Is that just taking the source 480p DVD and outputting 720p to your TV? I hooked up my PS3 with component cables and my projector says it is getting a 720p signal. Does that mean my PS3 upconverted it or does upconversion mean when some fancy processing is done to the picture to try to fill in the missing data?

I think upconverting refers to scaling a lower res source (ie, a 480i DVD) to a higher res source (ie, a 720p TV), regardless of quality. Thus there are good upconverters and bad upconverters. Of course, if you have a 480i DVD and a 720p TV, the scaling has to be done SOMEWHERE (either the DVD player, TV, or external scaler), otherwise the image just won't fill up the screen. Upconverting DVD players are generally better upconverters than TV's (that could just be my impression), though not always.

And good upconversion does mean that there is fancy processing done to try to fill in the missing data. A good upconverted picture tends to look clean and natural, but softer than HD. Still, there should be nothing obviously wrong with the image quality. (qualifier: HD looks a lot better of course)

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Upscaling and upconversion are essentially synonymous, although upconversion implies that its doing more than just scaling the image, it's processing it to "convert" it to HD quality in addition to scaling it.

Like you said, the average upconverting DVD player is probably a bit better than the average HDTV. But thats not a given. On the disc, the data is in 480i. The upconversion can happen equally well at the source DVD player, the receiver, or the TV, although generally the sooner in the chain it happens, the better. Still, I'd trust an expensive TV or receiver to do a better job than a cheapo upconverting DVD, although I still think we're splitting hairs here - the fanciest processing still isnt going to come close to blu-ray, and *any* processing has the potential to do more harm than good.

I'd wager most people would have an extremely difficult time distinguishing upconversion by the player from upconversion by the HDTV, but as I said before, the PS3 is probably as good an upconverter as you can expect, so you're all good.
 

Shadow Conception

Golden Member
Mar 19, 2006
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Some of the movies upconverted on the PS3 look damn near HD-quality. Of course, it looks nothing like a true HD source (Blu-Ray discs, PS3 games), but wow, it still looks good. And, it definitely looks worlds better than the upscaling done by the TV (Sony 46" 1080p).
 

techwanabe

Diamond Member
May 24, 2000
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I agree with others. My PS3 upscales pretty good to my 1080P Sammy 46-inch LN46A650. I find that a well upscaled DVD movie looks almost as good as some of the mediocre Bluray movies. The biggest difference is the CG Bluray movies look amazingly detailed and crisp.

PS3 does a good job and makes DVD's very watchable though. Night and day from my old standard Progressive Scan DVD player which looked pretty crude and fuzzy.
 

nealh

Diamond Member
Nov 21, 1999
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upscales to 1080i as well...it does a very nice job with almost all the movies
From looking at AVSforum...there a few very high-end Blu-ray players that do a better job but the PS3 is very good for this