Upconverting with Sony BDP-S1

[josh1233]

I have a Sony BDP-S1 running to a Mitsubishi WD-57831 via HDMI. With the coax running to my pre-amp for audio. My question is about the upconverting of the S1 when playing a DVD. What should I have the output of the S1 set to for "video format"? Auto or Direct? When the S1 is set to direct with a DVD, the display shows 480/60i, so does this mean I am not using the upconverting on the S1. Do I need to change the output to Auto, which then shows 1080/60i with DVD's?

It's hard to tell which looks better, since when I play a DVD on auto (1080/60i) the brightness and contrast is way off as well as the saturation.

[Amon37]

If it's 480 then it's not upconverting.

[Kierre]

I show 480i as the input, and 1080i for the output. I had to manually set this however with the video format button on the remote. I need to spend some more time with it though, because as I was going through the settings I was actually beginning to favor the 720p converted image over the 1080i.

[Kierre]

Originally Posted by Kierre

I show 480i as the input, and 1080i for the output.

BTW my display device's max resolution supported is 1080i. I'm taking advantage of all the great prices of the pre-Full-HD products, and ridding my household of old-school CRT televisions... and I only have 1 to go!

[josh1233]

OK, I'm an idiot. I got it figured out with the help of someone on another forum. I set the player to auto, which will up convert the signal to the TV's highest resolution setting. In my case 1080p. If you want to find out what resolution looks best with your player and TV, pop in the AVIA calibration disc and go the the 100 & 200 TVL tests and moving zone plate test. Watch each one and try them with all the available resolutions of the player to see what is the best setting for watching DVD's on your set. For me the difference between 480 (direct) and 1080 was significant.

You will most likely have to readjust the hue, saturation, white level, and black level if you end up using a different resolution than what you originally calibrated your TV with.