What I'm going to ask is why you want a DVD player with HDMI? Read what I said above. Unless you get a really decent one (Oppo) the picture usually looks worse when upscaling.

If it does tune ATSC and output HD though, it sounds great!

Good question, OTAHD. I don't necessarily want a DVD player with HDMI, but I do want to deliver HD content collected via an ATSC tuner to the TV in 720p or 1080i.

Panasonic has a similar model, the DMR-EZ17K, that sells for $50 less than the EZ27K. The 17 doesn't have an HDMI port, and only outputs 480i and 480p through the component outputs. At least, that's what their documentation seems to indicate.

That means HD content tuned with the built-in ATSC tuner would be downconverted to 480p before being delivered to the TV. Hey, if I can get free 720p content for $50 more, I'm going to go for it!

So yeah, after more reading about HDMI/component comparisons, I still believe the DMR-EZ27K is the way to go. If the EZ27K built-in upconverting reduces the PQ of a DVD, I could connect the component outputs from the DMR-EZ27K to the HDTV and deliver DVD in native 480i/p.

Ugh, I dunno if all of this is worth it, especially since I now have to find a HDMI cable, but I really want to take advantage of the free HD content and HD-ready status of my TV.

Okay, I found another DVD player/recorder with ATSC tuner.

Samsung's DVD-AR650 seems to be pretty identical to the Panasonic DMR-EZ27K, although it doesn't do 1080p. It has an ATSC tuner, has an HDMI output. Samsung very clearly spells out that the HDMI outputs toggle between 480p, 720p, and 1080i, while the component outputs are 480i or 480p.

What's not completely clear is if the DVD-AR650 upconverts a DVD from 480i/p to higher 720p/1080i. I think it does based on ad copy, and I believe this is the same way the Panasonic unit works, but this is not clearly spelled out in the documentation from either group.

[Link: vanns.com]

Both units appear to have similar functionality:

-DVD upconversion via HDMI output (720p, 1080i, 1080p on Panasonic)
-HD content feedthru from ATSC tuner via HDMI output
-480i, 480p output from DVD or ATSC tuner via composite outputs
-DVD recording capability

So if the DVD upconversion does mess up the PQ when using the HDMI output, you can always use the component outputs with native 480i or 480p.

Seems like a perfect solution. I just don't know what I'm going to do with the recording capability. Hahah, I'm buying a DVD recorder for every reason except it's ability to record!

I use my DVD recorder religiously. I originally bought it to preserve all of the VHS home videos (much quicker to do than transferring to PC), then started recording shows to DVD. With blank media so cheap, I can't justify getting a DVR when a DVD recorder works just as well (I think Panasonic even has a few models that can play while recording, although mine doesn't).

Aw crap, a bunch of people at Amazon indicate the tuner only outputs at 480p. I'm in the process of interrogating them on whether they were using HDMI cables or component video cables. Does anyone here have one of these yet?

Link: [Link: amazon.com]

Ugh, I'm disgusted. Apparently the Panasonic unit collects HD content with the ATSC tuner, downconverts it to 480p for the DVD recording function, then upconverts that (or a DVD which is playing) up to 720p, 1080i, 1080p for output on the HDMI cables.

So you can't get real HD content off the airwaves.

Crap!

I'm buying the Samsung DTB-H260F instead.

Will

wsitch,

You have hit it on the head. I was also very dissapointed to find that "All" the ATSC DVD recorders do not pass HD directly to your HD tv.

I even wrote LG several times trying to confirm that it did or didn't . The LG rep told me that it would pass HD on HDMI only and upconverted on Component.

But people who have bought the LG say it does upconvert on Component and HDMI.

Allmost every company has some glaring manufactureing error. The latest I learned about was with the Panasonics. I am told that if your digital signal breaksup the DVD stops recording. Here is the quite from avsforum site:

"I noticed the recording would stop and the recorder would actually turn itself off. A few seconds later, the recorder would turn itself back on and resume recording. This off/on sequence left a lot longer gap in my recording than it would have if the recorder had just kept recording through the temporary signal loss (I'm subject to some minor multipath signal loss in my location when it's windy or rainy). I subsequently verified what was happening by pulling off the antenna connection during a recording."

-DonB2

I've been doing some research of my own, and there appears that NONE of the DVD Recorders out there with ATSC tuner can pass-through off-the-air HD signal to a TV via any port (HDMI, Component, etc.). They all take the 1080i/720p off-the-air content, downgrade it to 480p and then upconvert it back to 1080i/720p via HDMI. This has been a major dissapointment for me as the only option seems to be getting a standalone ATSC tuner that does the job right, or make sure not to buy the so-called "HD-Ready" monitors again.

I can understand that regular DVDs cannot record native HD content so they downconvert the signal, but why handicap these tuner's outputs when you are paying for the ATSC tuner built-in?

Probably saves the manufacturer money, and that's all they really care about.

Can you tell me how to transfer 8mm sound tapes into DVD's. I would really appreciate it !

8mm tapes, as in the kind that come from the camcorder, or 8mm film, as in the kind you run through the projector?

Are they just sound? Or are they actual movies. Are they on reels? Or are they called Video 8.
Most of the Video 8 tapes I have seen have also been done on DVD. You might want to buy the DVD (for better quality) rather than transfer your tapes to DVD.
It would be cheaper than buying this:
[Link: tinyurl.com]
If they are 8mm reels I can't help.

I think they may be reels (I mentioned them in this thread, and I certainly can help), but there's way too many 8mm formats. There's Digital 8, Hi 8, and Video 8 camcorder tapes. Then there's 8mm and Super 8 films. Then, in Super 8 films with sound, there's one type that has all the sound recorded on a magnetic strip on the film, another that syncs with a cassette tape for sound.