Can someone confirm if i can watch HD-DVDs (High Definition DVDs) if my DVD player has HDMI output connected by a HDMI wire to a HD Ready TV (of course the TV accepts HDMI input?

Thanks

Just out of curiosity, what is the brand and model number of your DVD player? As DVD and HD DVD are incompatible with each other, even if you have a HD upscaling DVD player, HDMI, DVI or component leads to your TV and a HD-Ready, the player will not recognise a HD DVD disc.

As far as I'm aware of, RCA and Toshiba are the only two companies that have any HD DVD players on the market. Toshiba's models include the HD-A1 and HD-XA1 and RCA's model is the HDV5000.

Thanks for your reply. The model of my DVD recorder is LG RH7900 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...60798&v=glance) I couldnt find the link which listed the specs in depth on LG's website. Any further information on this model and HD-DVD would be most welcome. I was under the impression HDMI was suitable for HD-DVD until recently when new stories have come out.

Thanks

I can confirm that LG do not have any HD DVD players out on the market, at least from what I have heard. Basically, the purpose of the HDMI port on your player is to allow the player to send the video directly to a HDMI-compatible display (such as your HD ready TV) without converting the video to analogue along the path. When you play a DVD, your DVD player first upscales the standard defintion picture on your DVD to a high definition resolution (much like resizing an image in a photo editing suite) and sends it to your TV. The purpose behind this is to have the picture scaled such that it matches pixel per pixel on your TV. For example, if your TV has a native resolution of 1280x720 (720p), then 720p would be the ideal output mode to set on your player.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to upgrade a DVD player to support HD DVD since DVD and HD DVD are incompatible with each other. For example, trying to play a HD DVD in your LG player would be like trying to play a DVD in a CD-ROM drive. The PC and monitor may both be more than capable of playing and showing DVD content, however if the PC has only a CD-ROM drive, it is virtually impossible to physically play the DVD in the PC. Have a look at this article for a comparison of Blu-ray and HD DVD, as well as how it compares with the existing DVD format.

Komplett UK gives a fairly detailed listing of the specs. Here are the list of formats your player is capable of handling:

Playback: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD, CD, Video CD
Recording: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R

Finally, if you are still on the look out for a HD DVD player, have a good look at the player's capabilities just to make sure it can indeed play HD DVD media. Some HD upscaling DVD players are often advertised or improperly labelled as 'HD DVD players'. For example, the following information plate on my NeoDigits HD upscaling player shows a clear example of how one could be confused into thinking a player on display is capable of playing HD DVD discs:



The NeoDigits player will play high definition HVD discs (a next generation DVD format competing on the Chinese market), but definitely not blue laser HD DVD discs.

HDMI connectors are more and more common in newer standalones, but that has absolutely nothing to do with their media replay capabilities...