DVDs look terrible on new 4K TV

[Emmett Brown]

Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new to this site. I just recently bought a new 4K TV. The UHD series 6 (6270) samsung TV 50". I've been using a PS3 to play my DVDs and Blu-Rays for years. Although since I got this TV a month ago my DVDs look terrible. I've constantly tried to adjust the settings. I've gone through the Pixar menu calibration setup and my Blu-Rays look exceptional.

Is there something that I can do? No youtube video explaining how to adjust the settings has worked. I know that the image is being stretched based on the size of the TV so that it will pixelate the image. Could it be my player? I have been thinking about getting an all region Blu-Ray player. Would this upscale the DVD transfer? Any model suggestions?

I still watch a lot of DVDs and I just can't accept that they will always look bad. There must be a way!

Thanks

[imsounoriginal]

If your DVDs are stretching then you have to go into your player settings and set the aspect ratio (I think it should be set to 16:9, but it might be Auto... I can't remember). As for why they don't look good -- I'm not sure if the PS3 is properly upscaling. DVDs will always look relatively weak on a 4K, but I've played some DVDs on my Samsung 4K player and they look fine. Definitely not very pixelated or anything. If you're looking to get a new player, just get a 4K player and the right HDMI cable.

[chip75]

There are 4 upscaling options with the PS3:

BD / DVD - Upscaler
Adjust settings for upscaled output when playing a BD or a DVD. Upscaling is a technique that can be used to enable video content to be converted to display in higher resolution than the original. By enabling upscaled output, video content can be played in higher resolution.

Off
Set to disable upscaled output.
Double Scale
Set to upscale and display with double horizontal and vertical dimensions.
Normal
Set to upscale and display at a size that matches the screen size.
Full Screen
Set to upscale and display at full screen by stretching the image.

Make sure it's not set to Full Screen (switch between Normal and Off to see if your TV or PS3 upscale better), but it might be worth getting a cheap standalone player as the PS3 crops DVDs regardless of settings. Also make sure your TV is set to Cinema, Warm 2 and the sharpness is turned off.

[kansashoops]

Reminds me of the time way back when, when I got my first HDTV, and all my VHS tapes looked absolutely terrible on it.

Scaling things up by 2x (e.g. from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160) is fine. Scaling up by 5.3x (from 720x480 to 3840x2160) is bound to look kind of fuzzy, no matter how good the scaling algorithm. There's just not enough information to work with.

[Geoff D]

Depends on the DVD. Some will look like shit because they are shit, but a well mastered 16:9 anamorphic disc looks absolutely fine upscaled on my 55" 4K. And, as I just said in another thread, I've got sharpening at the correct level and all other added processing turned off because that stuff just clouds the issue.

[ray0414]

DVDs will likely look best on a Sony tv too. Better processing.

[elwaylite]

Whats a DVD?

[Heavytoka]

Originally Posted by elwaylite

Whats a DVD?

A thing you throw at your friends like ninja stars when you're drunk.

[elwaylite]

Originally Posted by Heavytoka

A thing you throw at your friends like ninja stars when you're drunk.

[sukraj]

shit is shit innit.

[Tru-way]

Anyone know about a good VHS player that could upscale to 4k?

[DavePS3]

No VHS player could upscale even to 1080i. At one point, there was the HD VHS but that died a fast death when Laserdisc overtook the market at the time. LD had already been out for when they tried the pumped up VHS concept but the main reason it died... rewinding the tapes and the fact that tape still got caught in the mechanisms.

[DavePS3]

The main reason why DVD and VHS look like Hell on newer sets... the higher resolution, while taking advantage of that realm also shows off the imperfections of the old interlaced low rez stuff many grew up on.

[Leterface]

Well I have barely seen some 10-20 DVD's in the last 10 years or so on my former Sony HDTV and this year on my Samsung SUHD TV and I have been amazed how good they can scale with the Sammy UHD TV and player. Example The Tale of the Princess Kaguya DVD (had to buy on DVD as in my country no BD is available with local languge for kid) - both me and my son could barely see difference to BD at 3 meters distance from the 65" TV (though getting to 2 meters or less would show it is a not on par with BD's).

[AaronY]

Originally Posted by Tru-way

Anyone know about a good VHS player that could upscale to 4k?

Lol.

[Trekkie313]

Originally Posted by DavePS3

No VHS player could upscale even to 1080i. .

This picture disagrees.

[Show spoiler]

The player upscales both DVD and VHS through an HDMI cable.

[DavePS3]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

This picture disagrees.

[Show spoiler]

The player upscales both DVD and VHS through an HDMI cable.

As I recall, The older JVC rep we had back then stated that although the unit allowed the original VHS rez' to pass through the HDMI output, the resolution stayed where it was. The unit was really doing semi-upconversion on the DVD output but even if you used the DVD recording end of it, you were still getting the original rez' on the recording. In other words, the DVD recording was still in VHS resolution. Proof of that either way, was typically in the hard stats if you brought up the source info on your display.

[countryknight]

What is the model of the JVC unit?

[x5gb]

Originally Posted by DavePS3

No VHS player could upscale even to 1080i. At one point, there was the HD VHS but that died a fast death when Laserdisc overtook the market at the time. LD had already been out for when they tried the pumped up VHS concept but the main reason it died... rewinding the tapes and the fact that tape still got caught in the mechanisms.

Wrong, HD VHS (D-VHS as it was known) didn't arrive until 1998 (3 years after DVD) and laserdisc (introduced in 1978 and became popular in the 80's to early 90's and slowly died after 1995 after DVD arrived) had nothing to do with it's fast death. D-VHS remained a niche and died a death due to its high cost and the arrival of HD-DVD and Bluray (similar to laserdisc which remained a niche especially in Europe throughout it's life).

[Trekkie313]

Originally Posted by countryknight

what is the model of the jvc unit?

dr-mv7

The player does upscale through the HDMI output, you have to select it manually though.