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Unread 24 Aug 2007, 02:47   #1
volatile
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LCD monitor dilemmas :(

Hi there guys, Sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place but I really need some of my questions answered.

Basically I have just bought a Samsung 245b 24" monitor and as well as using it as my monitor I will also want to sit back a little and watch my divx/avi/mpg etc media through this without having the PC on.

I dont want a multimedia player instead I was thinking of a DVD Divx player that has a USB connection where I can hook up my 500GB external HD and watch content straight off that without having my PC on.

Now the DVD player I have bought only upscales to 720p (not 1080p) I was wondering if:

1. Is it possible to watch my Divx/AVI/MPEG content at 720p, let alone 1080p? If so then I should send back my DVD player and consider one that upscales to 1080p?

2. Even if the upscalling of 1080p only applys to legitimate DVD disks do you think it would still be wise to purchase one for the occasional times I watch legitimate DVDs or is it better to just wait for blu ray disks to drop in price or perhaps get a PS3?

3. Is this monitor HD compatiable, and also compatible with when everything goes to digital next year (Sky, cable etc). Surely it is as it can display resolutions higher then 1080p, it only has a VGA and DVI output but I think this can be resolved.

If I were for example to plug in a Blu Ray player (with a HDMI - DVI converter so it plugs into the monitor) would my monitor display the Blu Ray content at true 1080p HD resolution?

4. Is it possible to connect a freeview box to my LCD monitor (HDMI - DVI again) (and no I dont want to use a freeview TV card in my PC as I want to watch TV out of my monitor without the PC on)

5. Finally, is digital optical output better sound quality than digital coaxial output, if so then I should look for a DVD player that supports digital optical out?

Many thanks really appreicate this, really hope you can help me with this.

Mark

Last edited by volatile; 24 Aug 2007 at 09:29.
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Unread 29 Aug 2007, 11:15   #2
djbass
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Re: LCD monitor dilemmas :(

Quote:
Originally Posted by volatile
I dont want a multimedia player instead I was thinking of a DVD Divx player that has a USB connection where I can hook up my 500GB external HD and watch content straight off that without having my PC on.
That would by definition essentially be a MM player, once you cross that boundry of playing more than just a DVD you more or less have a media centre.

I say just get a multimedia player and be done with it.

Quote:
Now the DVD player I have bought only upscales to 720p (not 1080p) I was wondering if:

1. Is it possible to watch my Divx/AVI/MPEG content at 720p, let alone 1080p? If so then I should send back my DVD player and consider one that upscales to 1080p?

2. Even if the upscalling of 1080p only applys to legitimate DVD disks do you think it would still be wise to purchase one for the occasional times I watch legitimate DVDs or is it better to just wait for blu ray disks to drop in price or perhaps get a PS3?
That may be entirely dependant on the DVD player and how it handles non DVD media. 720p & 1080p are only video standards for the display of high definition video.

Divx is more than capable of supporting HD formats. AVI is only a container (that is it does not define a video format directly, but it can contain video in any number of formats such as Divx, xvid etc). MPEG/MPEG2 do not natively support HD resolutions, hence why DVDs which are in MPEG2 format need to be upscaled to 720/1080p.

If the DVD player downscales Divx content to match MPEG2 format, then no. If it processes them however seperate to its DVD decoder then yes.

As for Blue-Ray, personally I feel its a little too early to be jumping on that bandwagon. It is still undecided whether Blue-Ray (expensive) or HD DVD (cheap) will win out the battle. My money though is on history repeating itself and HD DVD becoming the new standard (that and I generally hate the present day Sony).

Quote:
3. Is this monitor HD compatiable, and also compatible with when everything goes to digital next year (Sky, cable etc). Surely it is as it can display resolutions higher then 1080p, it only has a VGA and DVI output but I think this can be resolved.

If I were for example to plug in a Blu Ray player (with a HDMI - DVI converter so it plugs into the monitor) would my monitor display the Blu Ray content at true 1080p HD resolution?

4. Is it possible to connect a freeview box to my LCD monitor (HDMI - DVI again) (and no I dont want to use a freeview TV card in my PC as I want to watch TV out of my monitor without the PC on)
Yes your monitor supports both HD resolutions (and indeed higher).

HDMI & DVI are for the most part exactly identical. The only difference is that unlike DVI, HDMI carries both a video and audio signal on the one plug. This means that no conversion is necessary and your HD content will be perfectly preserved.

Quote:
5. Finally, is digital optical output better sound quality than digital coaxial output, if so then I should look for a DVD player that supports digital optical out?

Many thanks really appreicate this, really hope you can help me with this.

Mark
That's the beauty of digital.. its well.. digital!

This means that anything transmitted over a purely digital signal will be lossless and wont suffer from any quality degradation.

The only difference between the optical and coaxial interface is the way they connect. Just go with whichever is the easiest solution for you and you'll do fine.
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