One of the nice things about being an owner of a brand-new Samsung Blu-ray player that is compatible with standard DVDs is that now I don't have to panic over the new format, especially when Blu-ray players come down in price and supplant DVD players in the same way that DVD players eclipsed the videocassette recorder/player a decade ago.
Now, if you have a digital TV and want the very best performance from your Blu-ray player, be sure that it comes with an HDMI cable; some models do, but some are packaged with RCA cables instead.
If you have the RCA cables, the discs will play and nicely, but not at hi-def. The resolution of a standard DVD is no better than that of a standard, non-HD channel if you don't have an HDMI connection.
However, once you get an HDMI cable and connect the Blu-ray player via the HDMI port, you'll get true HD resolution from Blu-rays and DVDs will upconvert to at least 480i level. It's not hard to do, either, unless you've set your TV in a cluttered media center and have too many things hooked up to it already!
Last edited by Fardreamer; 12-19-2008 at 01:11 PM.
In order to get the best video and audio you need to use HDMI cables. (This is assuming you have an HDTV.) Component cables can take you up to 1080i, but you need HDMI to make it to 1080p. The difference here is minor.
I like my HDMI cable! Wow, does it ever make my Blu-ray and DVD discs play back better. You'd think that the manufacturers would include HDMI cables with all their players, but apparently the cost to them is what drives them to ship their Blu-ray players with the older RCA component cables. Oh well. At least I bought a HDMI cable for $6.00 on eBay!
__________________
Want more info on movies and electronics? Check out my page at Viewpoints!
HDMI cables a must if you have a Blu-ray player
Linear Mode
