Mar
31
Upconversion
Filed Under Terminology
A lot has been said about upconversion and I’m sure a lot remains to be said. Personally I find it to be of little benefit, at least as it’s typically utilized in low-end to mid-range consumer electronics. There are some great examples of pro-broadcast upconverison but that’s of little use to the enthusiast.
Upconversion can be found in several different forms, DVD players can up-convert standard definition DVD’s to output at resolutions of 720p, 1080i, or even 1080p, but just keep in mind that resampled pixels are no substitute for more “real” pixels. Upconversion can also be found (increasingly) in surround receivers. This is a broader catch-all approach and obviously offers you the ability to upconvert video signals that otherwise would be passed on in standard definition.
The third most common form of upconversion is one that anyone with a digital display has the ability to use right now. It’s called turning on the television and watching anything with a different resolution than the displays native rate. Ok sorry for the sarcastic example but it’s true. All digital displays upconvert to some degree or another, if they didn’t you’d see 480i/p and 720p as a (postage stamp) “window” inside 1080p displays. You’ve seen that very thing you say? In all likelihood that was improperly flagged video or double pillar boxed (both vertically and horizontally) by the broadcaster.
Sure upconversion has its uses and I’m not trying to portray it as completely useless, but in a home theater setting where screen sizes can easily exceed 42″ we want true high definition whenever we can get it. Upconverting SD images to simulated HD before they enter your display, may offer some improvement but this often pales by comparison to the real (HD) thing.
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