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Does the tv upconvert?
- Thread starter sidefx
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The aTV can output at 480p, 720p, or 1080i. Technically, since DVDs are all 480i, Handbrake would be doing the de-interlacing step. Most folks use Handbrake to generate a 480p file (I know I do).
So depending on what you have the aTV set to output, then yeah, the aTV can upconvert (from 480p to 720p or 1080i).
As for whether your DVD player would do a better job than the aTV, that's a question with too many variables to answer. Depends on the quality of the Handbrake file, the quality of your DVD player, etc.
It's a bit more complicated than that. Many (most) film-based DVDs store their content in a progressive format (effectively 24fps 480p). It's then up to the DVD player to convert that data into a format that can be displayed on the output device. Thus, if you are connecting the DVD player to a 60 field-per-second, standard definition TV the DVD player has to output 480i (NTSC). This is the reason why when you rip a DVD the resultant file will usually be a 24fps progressive MPEG2 movie (even without performing a de-interlacing operation). This is also why you very often don't need to enable de-interlacing when you play a DVD on your Mac/PC -- since the computer display is by its very nature progressive and the DVD disc itself contains progressive content.
However, if the DVD is based upon video content (old TV shows, etc.) then the content will be stored on the DVD in an interlaced format and that will have to be de-interlaced to produce a progressive output.
The Apple TV can also output 1080p. However, the highest resolution source (video/movie file) that the Apple TV can decode is 24fps 720p (1280x720). All other HD outputs are upconverted/scaled to the required resolution and frame rates. Here is Apple's official statement on the Apple TV's output formats:
if your concerned about ripped file size and your trying to keep your volume down - then yes you will see lower quality - as for a higher quality rip your file size will be larger - once I upgraded my external storage option I started using Handbreak - Universal - file size is larger (esp when compared to my original rips from couple of years back) - but file quality is much better -
Actually, the ATV can handle 25fps 720p since I record a lot of stuff off HD broadcasts here in NZ which are 50Hz and the converted version for ATV is 720p25 which works fine. Unfortunately, it won't handle 720p30 which is why broadcast 720p at 60Hz can't be encoded without dropping the resolution. Mind you, a smart encoder should be able to retrieve the 24fps source from a 60Hz broadcast because 720p30 from a 60Hz source would judder like mad.
I didn't know this. Great info. I stand corrected.
Is this new? I remember the original specs for the aTV had the output resolution at 480p/720p/1080i. I don't recall ever seeing 1080p on the original specs.
This is a good tip. Thanks. I've recently ripped some old TV shows, using the Apple TV preset, and I didn't know to check the de-interlacing. I'm not worried about file size, so I may well go back and do them again.
1080p output was added in one of the updates to the Apple TV software (maybe in v2.X).