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X360 vs. PS3: Which one is better at DVD-upscaling?

elkataselkatas Registered User regular
Okay. Situation is this. I'm in the need of new upscaling DVD-player, and I just remembered that I could buy HD-console to do the job. So... how well they do their job? Which one is better value? Remember that I'm not that interested about games, only media capabilities. Furthermore, Blu-Ray isn't deciding factor, as I think I will start to buy them in 2-3 years or so. Mainly because BR-movies are still tad too expensive, and bargain bins are lacking. And please, only serious, technical answers.

Hypnotically inclined.
elkatas on

Posts

  • Xenogears of BoreXenogears of Bore Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Used to be they both sucked, now both are pretty good. I believe the various AV forums prefer the Triple.

    Or you could just save yourself a few hundred bucks and get a good dedicated DVD upscaler.

    Xenogears of Bore on
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  • GreenleafGreenleaf Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    PS3.
    I don't think Xbox upscales.

    Greenleaf on
  • elkataselkatas Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Greenleaf wrote: »
    I don't think Xbox upscales.

    Oh it certainly does, that is sure. But I need comparision here.
    Or you could just save yourself a few hundred bucks and get a good dedicated DVD upscaler.

    The problem is that good upscaling, HDMI equipped DVD-players are quite expensive here. HD-consoles, in the other hand, are relatively inexpensive.

    elkatas on
    Hypnotically inclined.
  • McClyMcCly Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    The 360 only upscales if it's through HDMI, right?

    McCly on
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  • ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Mine upscales over VGA and looks decent. Probably better then my PC or MAc if I'm honest.

    ben0207 on
  • McClyMcCly Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    DVDs look good on my HDTV through it, but I can't tell if they're upscaled or not. I'm using component cables.

    McCly on
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  • DaedalusDaedalus Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Your PC will probably upscale better than either, with the proper software.

    Daedalus on
  • UselesswarriorUselesswarrior Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    McCly wrote: »
    DVDs look good on my HDTV through it, but I can't tell if they're upscaled or not. I'm using component cables.

    Trust me when I say, after personal experience with the 360 over component (not upscaled) and the PS3 (upscaled), that the PS3 looks waaaay better.

    I honestly didn't believe in upscaling until I saw it in action, because I believed you couldn't magically make low res images look better. But I was completely wrong, it makes a world of difference. I can still tell the difference between upscaled versus blu-ray in most case, but the gap narrows by alot when you switch to an upscale player.

    Also, blu-ray really should be a deciding factor man, it looks amazing. I rent them over netflix mostly, but the once and while when I pick up a movie (wall-e, dark knight), I pick it up on blu-ray. On amazon, the prices are quite reasonable for a superior looking movie. If you interested in a system for movie playback, I couldn't understand not taking blu-ray into account.

    Uselesswarrior on
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  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Depending on your TV and connection method, the PS3 might just throw up whenever you try to play a DVD. I can play Blu-Rays fine but I have to use my 360 for DVDs.

    Willeth on
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  • FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited November 2008
    There's no reason to get a 360 or PS3 for upscaling if you don't want the games. An upscaling DVD player will be much better at the job. Also, you'll need a Bluetooth remote for the PS3. 360, you might get lucky with RCA codes on a universal remote.

    It'll also have a much smaller form factor.

    FyreWulff on
  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    A middle of the road BluRay player sounds like your best bet, I think. It'll work just like a DVD player and when Blu-Rays start to become available at the right price for you you'll already have the device.

    Willeth on
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  • kpeezykpeezy Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I guess you guys missed his most recent post.

    Anyways, my PS3 looks great with DVDs. I'll compare it to my 360 when I get home.

    kpeezy on
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  • DjeetDjeet Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Willeth wrote: »
    Depending on your TV and connection method, the PS3 might just throw up whenever you try to play a DVD. I can play Blu-Rays fine but I have to use my 360 for DVDs.

    Really? When does this happen?

    My PS3 plays any dvd I throw at it, even ones that won't play in my computer or my (abandoned) set-top dvd player.

    Djeet on
  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Oh it's very rare. It's a display thing. I have my output set to 720p and pipe it through component, convert it into VGA, and display on my monitor. I'm not sure where in the chain the error occurs but even though my monitor displays anything else I throw at it, whenever the PS3 plays a DVD I see it for a split-second and then my monitor says it's out of range. It happens on some Blu-Rays as well but it's inconsequential - the first trailer on the Terminator 2 Blu-Ray is just a black screen for me, but the film plays fine.

    Willeth on
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  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited November 2008
    Where is "here", Mr. OP? Because stateside, pretty much every DVD player upscales, and a competent one is about $70 or so. Versus $400 for a PS3 or $200 for a 360.

    If your choice is definitely between a PS3 and 360 and your only concern is quality, go with the PS3. I've used them both, and the PS3 looked far better to me. Here's the dirty little secret of upscaling, though: every HDTV has a built-in upscaler. It has to. All upscaling is is a component saying, "I have this 480p image, and I need to display it on a non-480p TV. Let's make it bigger." If your DVD player doesn't do it, then your TV has to. And it's not always the case that your DVD player will be able to upscale better than your TV. With my current TV-DVD set up (a Sony Bravia LCoS TV and a PS3), I can't tell the difference between the PS3s upscaling feature turned on or off, which means the upscaler in the TV is about as good.

    For starters, see if you can find some information about your TV's upscaler before you drop hundreds of dollars on something you might not need. If you do feel you need it, and if it's really the case that $70 DVD players are more expensive than $400 game consoles in whatever crazy country you're in, then go with the PS3. Unless someone who's done the 360/PS3 comparison in the last 6 months wants to vouch for the 360's quality - when last I used mine, I was dissatisfied with it, upscaling or no.

    ElJeffe on
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  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    Here's the dirty little secret of upscaling, though: every HDTV has a built-in upscaler. It has to. All upscaling is is a component saying, "I have this 480p image, and I need to display it on a non-480p TV. Let's make it bigger." If your DVD player doesn't do it, then your TV has to. And it's not always the case that your DVD player will be able to upscale better than your TV.

    This is probably why my monitor chokes.

    Willeth on
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  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited November 2008
    Willeth wrote: »
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    Here's the dirty little secret of upscaling, though: every HDTV has a built-in upscaler. It has to. All upscaling is is a component saying, "I have this 480p image, and I need to display it on a non-480p TV. Let's make it bigger." If your DVD player doesn't do it, then your TV has to. And it's not always the case that your DVD player will be able to upscale better than your TV.

    This is probably why my monitor chokes.

    Your problem actually sounds like a DHCP handshaking problem. If you're exporting via component and trying to do upscaling, it likely won't work - upscaling generally requires an HDMI or VGA connection. It notices that your connection is component, and kills it after a split second.

    ElJeffe on
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  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    DHCP doesn't apply to non-digital formats, though.

    Willeth on
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  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited November 2008
    I would like to know where I can buy these analog DVDs of yours.

    ElJeffe on
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  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Component is an analog signal.

    Willeth on
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  • BarrakkethBarrakketh Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    I would like to know where I can buy these analog DVDs of yours.
    I would like to know when a network protocol suddenly got involved with content protection over HDMI.
    I think you meant HDCP :P DHCP what computers use to be able to automatically get an IP address and DNS server list from a router.

    Barrakketh on
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  • elkataselkatas Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    Where is "here", Mr. OP? Because stateside, pretty much every DVD player upscales, and a competent one is about $70 or so. Versus $400 for a PS3 or $200 for a 360.

    I live in Finland. We don't really get those budget range models here, only better ones. When you add 22 percent VAT, it is not really that surprising that HDMI-equipped DVD-player typically costs around 120-150 euros. Which is only 30 euros less than X360 arcade pack. Sure, I could import budget model from bigger markets, but after shipping, custom duties and VAT, it wouldn't be that budget anymore. If I purchase console, there is fair chance that I will buy at least one or two games for it, which makes it relatively better investment. Not to mention that I could easily get rid off current bundled games, and save even more money. With PS3, I could get dirt cheap blu-ray player in addition solid upscaling DVD-player.
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    For starters, see if you can find some information about your TV's upscaler before you drop hundreds of dollars on something you might not need.

    Oh, my Toshiba has very good upscaler (it was main reason why I bought it), but I want even better* scaling for DVDs. I'm currently using Xbox Media Center for upscaling, and it does do good job. But I would still like to have upscaling player with HDMI, because Regza handles those sources lil' better than component. I'm just little knitpicky on these matters.

    * For 480p games, it is more than enough.

    EDIT: Clarified what I meant

    elkatas on
    Hypnotically inclined.
  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited November 2008
    Willeth wrote: »
    Component is an analog signal.

    There is a requirement - god knows why - that upscaling not be allowed over non-HDCP (thanks, Barrakketh) compliant connections, such as component. Most devices will not allow an upscaled signal to be transmitted over component, even if they transmit other signals in HD just fine. Your PS3 can probably send out 1080p signals from games just fine, but it's likely refusing to send over an upscaled DVD signal. To upscale, you need to use the HDMI output.

    Have you tried turning off upscaling? If you do that, and you can suddenly start watching DVDs, then it was an HDCP handshaking issue. If not, then it was something else that just has identical symptoms to an HDCP handshaking issue. I had such a problem myself earlier with a different device, which is why I know what it looks like.

    ElJeffe on
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  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    No display when upscaling is turned off, either.

    Willeth on
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  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited November 2008
    Well, then. Nevermind.

    ElJeffe on
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