Please help with quick question on oppo upconversion
 

I am interested in buying the Oppo upconvering dvd player that has the dvi to hdmi input and costs $199.

I'd have ordered it now, but I am confused about one thing.

My HDTV has only 1 hdmi input. That would be easily taken care of by getting a splitter that makes it into two inputs. Whichever device is coming into the splitter, my HDTV cable or the Oppo, will be the one that comes through the splitter. I've got that correct so far, right?

But with HDMI from my cable box it handles BOTH sound and picture, as it is supposed to do.

So, if I am playing my Oppo I will always will be using my sound system. So, will the HDMI still bring audio to the television's speakers, so I would have to turn them all the way down when watching a dvd? Or will it automatically detect that I'm using a sound system and only give me the picture? Does anyone understand my question?

Because this Oppo has a DVI input, which is only for video, should I get a splitter that makes my HDTV's 1 HMDI input into 1 HMDI (HD cable box) and 1 DVI for the Oppo and not worry about the sound coming out of my television and my sound system when watching a dvd?

Of course, if I have any of this straight, if I get the HMD-DVI splitter on the rare occasion that I might want to watch a dvd and not use my Home theater system, I won't be able to get sound. So would I be better off just getting the HDMI splitter and turning my tv volume down or off when watching a dvd?

I hope that I made sense and would appreciate any help with my question.

Thanks.

PS-I can't afford to go HD-DVD right now and this player seems to be getting a lot of great feedback. I am NOT a huge audio or videophile, so, from those who have this or have seen it, for a regular consumer, does it really provide a picture that passes for HD quality? In other words, while it isn't HD-DVD, is it still a very good upgrade in picture that will make someone who isn't overly picky very satisfied.

Sorry for the extra question and thank again.

You don't have anything to worry about. DVI does not carry sound. Even using a HDMI to DVI cable will not introduce sound into your TV because the DVI from the Oppo is outputting only video.

Welcome to the wild and wacky world of trying to decipher connections and standards for simply watching a movie! :)

And the manufacturers wonder why they cannot get faster acceptance of new products! :brickwl2:

Thanks, but what about if I choose to get the one with HDMI-HDMI?

If that does introduce sound, what do most people do...simply turn their tv speakers off or down? Or is there a way it sets up where it knows your using a home theater system and the audio shuts of automatically?

I think I'm gonna end up getting the one without the DVI. It seems like most of the players do the HDMI-HDMI and the rumored new Oppo will have that too.

I've also read that the pic quality is based on how good your tv scaler is and the Oppo site said something about making sure that your dvd player did all the work.

Is that something it will do automatically or do I need to adjust my HD-TV to allow the dvd player to do the scaling and give me the the best picture possible?

Thanks.

I'm not positive, but I think that I heard the new Oppo let's you turn out the sound output over HDMI. You'll have to consult the AVS thread for confirmation.

I do not believe that you can "turn off" the internal scaler of your HDTV. Upconverting DVD players are really to allow you to display the content at your display's native resolution, which in essense means that your display's scaler isn't doing anything.