HD DVD player or HDMI cable bad?

[utgunslinger13]

I have a sony HD DVD player and seem to be having trouble with it.  Its plugged to the tv using a 4 or 6 ft HDMI cable, and sometimes the TV won't sense that there is a DVD player plugged in.  There are 4 HDMI inputs on the TV and it doesn't matter which one its plugged into, the TV does not see anything there.  This has happened in the past, and I was able to unplug everything for 30 seconds (tv, and DVD player) and when I started it again it would work.  I tried to watch a DVD over the weekend and even after resetting everything 5 times and even waiting 20 minutes with it unplugged the TV would not see the DVD playing.  I moved the DVD to my PS2 and it played right away.  Unfortunately, I do not have another HDMI cord to test, or another device that used HDMI.  Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Nick

[annguyen1981]

Chances are, the DVD player is shot.  Cables don't go bad all of a sudden (unless there's an animal chewing on it).

[yamahonkawazuki]

are there other ways to plug in said dvd player? ( rca or component or coax or anythign OTHER than hdmi?)

[burnymcstalls]

could be a bad cable, but cables honestly dont go bad, as previously stated. most likely dvd player.

[natedawg120]

Chances are, the DVD player is shot.  Cables don't go bad all of a sudden (unless there's an animal chewing on it).

+1, I agree with An.  Critter or Unless the cable is in a place where it could be smashed but you should be able to visually see any damage and I am assuming there isn't any.

[utgunslinger13]

No damage to the cable, it has plenty of room behind the tv so its not bent at sharp angles or anything.  We've only had this for 2.5 years, I can't believe its would just stop working after barely being used!

[jeremy_nash]

try a different output, like RGB component. do you have another device with hdmi out, such as an xbox 360?  or go to walmart and buy a new cable, and if that doesn't fix it, return it.  unlikely to be the cable though

[utgunslinger13]

I do not have another HDMI device, and I'm not even sure what other cables I have to see about hooking it up with.  Sort of upsets me I spend the extra money for an HD DVD player and its going to crap out like this!

[XealotX]

Last time I went to Harbor Freight they had 6 foot HDMI cables for $5. If you buy a new cable at least you can rule that out and chances are good you will buy something in the future that uses HDMI. I agree that cables do not "usually" fail but stranger things have happened. Since HDMI uses all digital transmission any break in the thin internal wiring will cause instant video loss.

[bassmechanicsz]

I agree to try hooking up the HD DVD player with another cable configuration but even if that works it may still be the port on the back of the dvd player as i had a cable box where the hdmi stopped working but when i plugged in using component cables it worked fine and it ended up being the hdmi port on the back of the cable box and not the whole box itself.

[Toogoofy317]

Do they even sell HD disc anymore? Thought it lost out to Blu-ray. If that's the case just buy a PS3 got mine around Christmas time for $275 and the Blu-ray on it is awesome. Not to mention it is a good gaming platform.

Mary

[bassmechanicsz]

HD did lose out to Blu-ray but seeing as he said it was a sony i either assumed he meant a blu-ray player or an upconverting DVD player cause i don't believe sony ever made an actual HD DVD player as they were always 100% connected with Blu-ray.

[utgunslinger13]

Sorry if the terminology was incorrect, its a DVD player that plays at 1080 and not an "HD DVD Player" or Blu-ray player.

[Toogoofy317]

Ahh, no probs guess I should have realized too that he said Sony! Sounds like the HDMI port to me as well.

PS3s are still awesome!

Mary

[utgunslinger13]

PS3 would be a waste for me.  I don't play videogames, and I will never buy a blueray movie.  I just don't want to watch a movie at 480 when I have a 1080i or 1080p (can't remember which, oh well) television. lol

[Toogoofy317]

Never bought a blu-ray either but in the redbox rentals they are the same price as regular DVDs to rent. But, I don't think you can get full 1080P through a traditional DVD player. It only upconverts to 720 or that is what my surrond sound does.

Mary

[Gisser]

I just don't want to watch a movie at 480 when I have a 1080i or 1080p (can't remember which, oh well) television. lol

Upconverting DVD players convert 480 into a 1080i output  Your digital HDTV will take either signal and display 1080p  

What's the diff

[Toogoofy317]

got this off CNET:
. "Your TV already converts your DVD to the native resolution of your screen. Some TVs do it very well and others do not. Depending on the scaler in your TV, an upconverting DVD player may look better or worse than a standard DVD player. Most people admit that they see little or no improvement. With BD, you will be feeding your TV a 1080p signal and if you have a 1080p set, it will look lots better than any upconverted DVD"

Kinda like taking a 720 pixel pic and blowing it up to 1080. Will be bigger but may be grainer. Also, with BD it depends on how the movie was made like old movies will not look as good as new movies shot with an HD camera. Oh yeah the sound is also much better on BD

Mary

[XealotX]

Kinda like taking a 720 pixel pic and blowing it up to 1080. Will be bigger but may be grainer.

This depends on several factors...screen size...viewing distance...quality of the source material...

If gunslinger is watching a 19" HD TV from 20 feet away he will not be able to tell the difference between 720 and 1080 lines of resolution. To address the CNET article about the video looking "lots better than any upconverted DVD"...lots better to whom? If gunslinger is perfectly happy with his current setup and has a decent up converting DVD player then why should he worry about it?

I have 2 1080p HDTV's in the house..one connected to a blu ray player and one to an up converting DVD player. I can tell the difference between the video from these tv's while watching identical movies. When Mrs. XealotX watches them she can't tell the difference...doesn't care...and wishes I would stop bothering her about it.

Also, with BD it depends on how the movie was made like old movies will not look as good as new movies shot with an HD camera.

35mm film has more visual data than an HD camera.

If the studio that released the old movie had spent the time and money to clean up the film the resulting display would look just as good as any movie shot on an HD camera. Unfortunately, the cost of remastering an old Alfred Hitchcock movie will not be recovered by the blu ray movie sales so it isn't worth the investment by the studio.

Oh yeah the sound is also much better on BD

Better than what? If gunslinger is watching the movie through his TV's speakers then he isn't going to notice any difference and the added expense of a blu ray player would be a complete waste. Now...if he has McIntosh amplifiers driving a 7.1 Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series speaker setup then he might notice a difference...and I might rob his house when he leaves for work...

Without getting into room size...speaker placement...your room's acoustic environment, etc...If you believe you can tell the difference between normal DVD and Blu Ray audio using a standard 5.1 surround system bought from Wal-Mart for $199 then you are kidding yourself.

It would be easier for gunslinger to make a new user name and start posting as a girl for a few weeks. Then he could simply ask for a PS3 and some lonely GStwinner would send him one...

[utgunslinger13]

HAHAH I'm on it, just call me GUNSLINGETTE!  I'll be hot and everyone will want to see me naked and give me stuff.  Why didn't I think of this before!  Your the man X!