HD-DVD 1080p player played through non-1080p TV/projector?
 

I am quite sure there has been a thread on this before but I wasn't sure how to search for it so if someone wants to just "lrn2search nub!" me and link to the thread I am cool with that.

I have a Panny AE700 PJ, which is an older model and is not 1080p, playing DVDs through one of upconverting DVD players. Well, that player is about to die so I thought I would go ahead and replace with an HD-DVD player so I can start to enjoy those discs as well.

I was leaning towards a Toshiba HD-A30. Can these 1080p players send a signal that 720p/1080i devices display properly? If so, how will the quality of a 1080p disc played through a non-1080p display compare with a 480p DVD upconverted?

Thanks in advance for any info. I have been pretty much ignoring the whole HD-DVD/Blu-ray stuff so I am trying to catch up.

It should play right. The HD-DVD player should have settings to change the output to 720p or 1080i, whatever resolution is your projector.

Raul is right. You set the player's output to match your projector's native resolution, which in this case would be 720p.

You might want to double check, but sure you will be fine. I just hooked up an A3 to my HD70 which is 720p. Great Picture...(now the A3 is 1080i).

Yeah, but sometimes matching the display isn't the best choice. With 1080p material, either the player or the display is going to have to convert it to 720p. Early on, the Toshiba players did a poor job of this, so for a while 1080i looked better on many 720p displays. They addressed this in firmware though, and I assume the A30 does a fine job with the conversion.

So, the choice will come down to whatever does the better job of converting to 720p. Often it's the player, but not always. Try both and see.

Thanks all. Much appreciated.

Actually, the successor to your PJ (AE900) accepts a 1080p24 signal. Does yours?