# What decodes the video, the player or tv?



## newguy1 (May 3, 2010)

Question: What decodes the video, the player or the tv? Is there an option to choose?

EDIT: Via HDMI.....


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Both, depending on what decoding you are talking about. Decoding from VC1 H.264, or MPEG2 to component is done in the player. Decoding to RGB from color difference signals is usually done in the display. Theoretically, it is possible to do color decoding in the source and transfer RGB over HDMI, but in consumer products this is usually not the case. Upconversion can usually be selected to be done in the player or the display.


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## newguy1 (May 3, 2010)

Thanks, that's kind of what I figured, for layman's terms that equals, the player decodes the disc and sends out the RGB signal, the tv interprets the RGB signal and makes a picture.

End of the day, a cheap bluray player is a bad idea because it sends out a video stream. The audio doesn't really make a difference because the amp changes the 1's and 0's to audio. The video is changed from 1's to 0's by the bluray player, not the tv.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Actually, the player takes bits encoded in one form and converts them to another, color difference signals that the color decoder in the display can then convert to RGB and output to the panel, still digital. Even a cheap blu ray player can look quite good. I use a Panasonic unit costing under $100 and it has as good a pix as any I have seen.

An amplifier takes the digital signal and converts it to analog to drive the speakers. There is much more to mess up in that process than in a blu ray player.

Nothing changes 1s to 0s, really. There are many conversions in digital processing, and many alterations to the signal in analog parts of a system.


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