Rage420,

"component, dvi, and hdmi will play progressive scan as long as your tv accepts it."

it excepts it. some older tvs only had one component input that would playback either 480p or 1080i. LIKE MINE! This is a nice tv. you shouldn't have any problems.

I also have the 51" Toshiba RP CRT. I love this TV! The native resolution is 1080i, which I think a couple of people have already explained.

I am using the HDMI input from an HDMI compatible DVD player (also Toshiba). The DVD player upconverts DVDs from 480p to 1080i. The picture quality is amazing. Certainly not HD, but as close as you'll probably get before the real HD DVD players finally hit the market.

If you own Pirates of the Caribbean or Finding Nemo or any other THX DVD (Star Wars), run the THX Optimizer to calibrate your video settings. Almost all rear-projection TVs are delivered with their contrast and brightness settings set WAY too high. This is so the TVs look good on the showroom floor (flourescent lights), but it washes out the colors and it shortens the life of your TV. The THX Optimizer will take you through the calibration procedure and will ensure your settings are low enough to preserve the life of your TV and give you an excellent picture.

I recall reading a statistic that said something like 85% of the people who own HD TVs don't have them calibrated properly and are just looking at a bigger picture, not a better one (than their old TVs). Calibration is key.

Also, if you have surround sound, be sure to disable the speakers on the TV itself and run a seperate audio cable to your surround reciever (Digital Coax is the best). Using HDMI for video and Digital Coax for audio will give you a completely digital signal to your home theater. Bliss!

Wap

bravo! i new the subject of surround sound was gonna come in to play. IT"S A MUST! 60-70% of the dvd enjoying experience.;)

hi guys i would like to join in your debate about hd dvd--- i recently bought a samsung 43" rear projector, its native resolution is 1080i, but it only has a component input on the back of the set, i have seen the dvd player, earlier described by someone, it says it produces 1080i through component. is this the only player on the market or are there more to be found? i currently use a cheap dvd player with progressive scan picture not bad but striving for near hd if possible, please could someone assist me?

At the moment, no DVD player you can buy will play a pure 1080i signal because that's defined as "high definition," and HD hasn't been introduced to the market yet.

However, there are a number of DVD players that will upconvert (upscale) an ordinary 480-pixil signal to 720 or 1080 lines, but they do it by line doubling and other methods to fake a better (and usually better looking) signal to a television capable of reproducing a 1080 picture.

John

bryanp2509,
John is right. The 1080i is more simulated hd than anything else. But you have the same problem I have with my old 46" mitshubishi. NO HDMI OR DVI HOOK UPS!
The hdmi or dvi have hd copy protection allowing you to upconvert to 1080i. I'm sure those jerks have a reason for that but I don't know why. But bottom line, you can't upconvert copy protected dvds through component. News flash... all dvds have copy protection! I don't know if the above dvd player has found a way around this but not to my knowledge. i have an lg upconverter that looks great in progressive mode. I have yet to find out about the upconverter. But atleast I had already intended on getting a new and bigger tv when I bought it. maybe (hopefully) a projector.

Hey rage420,

what did you end up getting? how does it look? Just curious.

Thanks for all the input fellas, I was gone for a while and now I'm back.

(WapCaplet)
"run the THX Optimizer to calibrate your video settings"

What do I use to run this?

"Almost all rear-projection TVs are delivered with their contrast and brightness settings set WAY too high. This is so the TVs look good on the showroom floor (flourescent lights), but it washes out the colors and it shortens the life of your TV."

I toned my contrast way down, it was set at 100 and now it's at 50 or 55.

"I recall reading a statistic that said something like 85% of the people who own HD TVs don't have them calibrated properly and are just looking at a bigger picture, not a better one (than their old TVs). Calibration is key."

Any suggestions on how I should calibrate mine?

(indian)
"what did you end up getting? how does it look? Just curious."

Haven't gotten one yet, might not until Christmas if at all... might wait for the HD DVD players to come out but it depends on how expensive they'll be.

indian and john.
thanks for your replies, i havent yet decided what to do as regards to buying a dvd upscaler, i think i will find out a little bit moe about compatabilities i suppose if i could get a trial period to see how it looks or go to a store and get a demo that maybe the answer. also i will try the earlier suggestion of calibration first to see if i can improve the picture with progressive scan. thanks again and i will keep looking here for new info on this subject.

thx optimizer is a little program on some dvds. You can find them on dvds where it has the "thx" logo with thx optimizer underneath the logo. Then it's usually found in the options menu of the movie. it's pretty self explanitory and walks you through both audio & video calibrations. again, not all dvds have this option.

good luck and happy hunting on the dvd player.

Okay, I saw it on one of my older DVDs... never noticed those tests before but I went threw it and I pretty much had my picture set right except making it a little bit sharper and the speakers seemed to be in order although I don't have surround sound, just the normal TV speakers that are good enough for now.

LoL, at one point during the speaker test I was starting to get p*ssed off because I skipped threw the intro on one test that put each speaker in and out of phase and since I skipped over the intro I though my left speaker was jacked up and I was going back threw the wiring and plug-ins and couldn't figure it out but then repeated the test where I missed it saying that all speakers will go in and out a phase.