DVD upscaling – the emperor’s new clothes, or hidden HD hero?

HD is the future, we’re told. Spend your money on Blu-Ray players and swanky new discs, we hear. But there’s another technology vying for your eyeballs that promises to squeeze HD-quality pictures from existing DVDs. HD upscaling sounds too good to be true. Can it live up to the hype?

Luckily, the answer is yes, at least in part. HD upscaling works by not just stretching a DVD picture to fill the larger resolutions offered by high definition screens, but by filling in the picture’s details using fancy algorithms and digital processing.

A good upscaling DVD player can deliver impressive results, and means an existing DVD collection needn’t be consigned to the dustbin, or replaced with pricier Blu-Ray versions.

Which all begs the question: if you’ve got a good upscaler, do you even need Blu-Ray? Why bother with any of the expense, if DVDs can be made to perform almost as well?

For video purists and film fans, there’s no question: Blu-Ray is the way to go. That’s because upscaling isn’t, and never can be, as good as a true HD source.

It’s because the information needed to produce a high definition image simply isn’t there. The upscaling process essentially ‘fakes’ the data it needs to beef up a picture, and while advanced players do a good job of guessing the correct data, they’re not infallible.

If you’ve invested in a full HD telly and surround sound, you’ll want Blu-Ray to make the most of it. Sure, an upscaling DVD player will dodge the expense of replacing an entire DVD collection, but the future of your video library shouldn’t contain anything but top-quality discs.

And then there’s the extras. Blu-Ray brings proper interactive games, picture-in-picture and internet connectivity. If you’d rather miss out on all the bonus goodies on offer, stay with DVD and its upscaling half-measures, but you’ll regret it in the long run.

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