HDMI Output Does Look Better Than Component Video Output

Since my new Philips DVP5996k player supports HDMI output, I had to test and determine for myself if indeed HDMI upscaling to 1080p results to clearer video. From what the Link Worth projector sales man told me, my Mitsubishi home theater projector can display up to 1080i using component video. So I've always assumed that HDMI output would not be that much different if your player is not really running in Blu Ray format. After all, the scanlines produced by standard DVD discs are way below even the "regular" HD of 720p. So software interpolation to increase the number of lines to 1080p is not that big a deal.

Well, after staring at the screen for several minutes watching my downloaded Heroes Season 3 divx files, I can say that there is indeed a difference! Its not exactly as evident as moving from the world of VHS to DVD, but it is noticeable. The HDMI output is slightly much better than the component video output.

What I did was connect the Philips DVP5996k to our Samsung Series 5 LCD TV via both HDMI and component video. Then while the movie was playing, I would freeze a scene; toggle between HDMI and component video source; and try to detect the difference. I asked Cols to also make a comment without telling her what I'm experimenting on, and she also noted that the HDMI version had a bit more detail than the component video one.

I also read some time ago that HDMI only carry video signals. I guess that must have been an old spec of HDMI, as the one that came with my player already carried audio as well. At first, I didn't know what it meant when it asked me on the setup screen of Philips whether I want to enable audio on the HDMI. So I chose 'yes'. Then for some time, I couldn't figure out why the audio of the shows I was watching seem to have an echo. Later, I realized it was because the audio was being sent to the Samsung LCD TV and playing on its built-in speakers, while at the same time, the Yamaha A/V Receiver was also playing back the same audio. So the speakers at close proximity to each other caused the really weird sound effect. I disabled audio on the HDMI so that it will just pass video signals to the LCD TV and play its audio via digital coaxial cable to the Yamaha receiver and everything was good.

Unlocking Region Code with Philips DVD Player

Cols has been telling me the past couple of days that our brand new Philips DVP5996k player does not play our original DVD's. I didn't get to test it until today. I popped in my X-Men Trilogy original DVD and, indeed, it complained of incompatible region. Seems that this unit is region-locked. Very strange since practically no DVD player sold today still follow the antiquated copyright-protection of DVD players based on "regions".

I called Western Appliance Greenhills and talked to their Philips guy. He walked me through the process of removing the region lock by hitting some secret buttons. I don't know if this will work for all Philips DVD players, but this was the sequence for my DVP5996k:

1. Open the tray
2. Click the setup button on the remote control
3. Go to preferences
4. Type 138931 on the keypad (The screen displays the current region where the player is locked)
5. Use the up/down arrow key to select Region 0 to open it for all regions

That's it! After that, it happily played all my original Region 1 discs.

Really Cheap HDMI Cables from CD-R King

We recently deployed a digital signage at our store using a Sharp 32" LCD and my old Philips DVP-5166k DVD player. I used the DVP-5166k because it supports USB video playback and has a feature to infinitely loop a file or folder. Since the signage needs to keep repeating a video clip throughout the day, I did not want to use a regular DVD disc and risk wearing out the spinning mechanism. At least with USB, there are no moving parts to wear-and-tear.

So our master bedroom has been without a DVD player for more than a week. I had to contend plugging our Sony portable DVD player via regular composite video to the Samsung LCD, and well, its not really a fantastic solution. I decided to go to Western Appliance Greenhills today to get a new player -- the DVP-5996K. Its an "upgrade" from the old 5166k and has the ff. new features:

• HDMI output with 1080p upscaling
• Support for Microsoft Windows Media WMA/WMV formats
• Ripping of audio CD to MP3

I don't really care much about the latter 2 features. Its more of the HDMI output that I've been intrigued with. Since our Samsung is Full HD 1080p capable, I felt that I wasn't maximizing it with a low-end player connected via standard component video. Granted that even though this is not a Blu-ray player, I thought the HDMI upscaling would at least result to better output than regular component connections.

Since the player did not come with HDMI cables, I went to nearby Virra Mall's CD-R king to get one. Original Sony HDMI cables at appliance stores run for around Php3k. Amazingly, the 3 meter HDMI cable at CD-R only costs Php300. I did some Google research prior to buying it and nobody seem to have any complaints about it. (I was actually looking for just 2 meters, but there were no stocks available.)

When I plugged the player at home and connected it to the Samsung using the el-cheapo CD-R King HDMI cable, it worked perfectly fine. I played the Pixar Shorts for the kids and it looked pretty sharp. Although to be honest, I really cannot tell much the difference between upscaled 1080p vs. progressive scan on regular component video connectors.