Since I'm now sporting a 32 inch LCD TV on my desk I've decided to keep plugging away at the upgrade-itis. I'll be hooking up via HDMI. Can anyone give me some models I should look for? I'm replacing a cheapo Toshiba SD-5000. Not really a bad player, but seems cheaply made and I've read some poor reviews online.

I'm thinking about a Denon, possibly a DVD-1940ci, but I've read a few bad comments about its upscaling prowess. I'm open to suggestions; I plan on keeping the cost of the player reasonable, if that were not the case I would likely throw many hundreds at a higher end Denon.:)

Since I have hundreds of standard DVDs in the collection upscaling will be pretty important to me. Thanks in advance!

Lou

Get a used Samsung HD841 and a DVI adaptor, this player also will allow you to make copies of DVD, the "Industry" fought to stop production of this model due to the glitch, I have 2 for that reason and they work well plus do DVDA and SACD.

how about this Oppo?It also plays DVD-A and SACD.I own another Oppo,and I really like it.And this model has gotten really good reviews.
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv980h/default.asp

Jimmy

Walmart has a Sony for about $75. Good consumer reviews. I got one for $45 because of a gift card. And a 2nd one off Craigslist for $40, nearly new. One is connected via hdmi and the other via component cables. I've really liked them so far. I haven't tried one on my Emerson tv yet.

I will say that the Sony is very thin, so I don't know how durable it will be yet.

I was planning on going with one of the Oppos until I decided to get a Blu-Ray player.

Oppo. Costs a bit more than your typical entry level DVD player, but not too much and always top rated, afaik.

Walmart has a Sony for about $75. Good consumer reviews. I got one for $45 because of a gift card. And a 2nd one off Craigslist for $40, nearly new. One is connected via hdmi and the other via component cables. I've really liked them so far. I haven't tried one on my Emerson tv yet.

I will say that the Sony is very thin, so I don't know how durable it will be yet.


I have three Sony's - one in my son's room, one in my bedroom and one in the living room - and they've been real work horses over the years. IMO can't beat 'em for a solid durable player. Just think I might want to go a new route and see if I've been missing something, plus those Sonys aren't connected to an LCD set.

Get a used Samsung HD841 and a DVI adaptor, this player also will allow you to make copies of DVD, the "Industry" fought to stop production of this model due to the glitch, I have 2 for that reason and they work well plus do DVDA and SACD.

I had a Samsung HD841 a while back. Had a great picture but gave me problems, would freeze up after it had been on for a while. The problem got worse so it went to the landfill!

Looks like a Marantz DV-4001 can be had for as little as $70 from Amazon these days. I jumped on one. Beefy build, high marks for their video and audio DACs here, plays multi region and a 3 year warranty? Sold!

Another vote for the Oppo DV 980H. Mine is used mainly for HT, upscales nicely to 1080p.I rent NetFlix movies all the time & I can't remember the last time I had a playback issue. The audio is very good,too.

I don't think Upscaling is is worth it. Hold out a year or two, and make the next format jump.

Upscaling is just a stop gap technology, and most displays that support hd, have there own upscaling built in. Don't wast your money on upscalling. In my opinion, its not worth it.

I don't think Upscaling is is worth it. Hold out a year or two, and make the next format jump.

Upscaling is just a stop gap technology, and most displays that support hd, have there own upscaling built in. Don't wast your money on upscalling. In my opinion, its not worth it.


It is on an Oppo!

Another recommendation for the Oppo 980H...it's a very good looking machine with a great feature set, and even sounds pretty darn respectable as a CD and SACD player! I picked one up a few weeks ago and have been VERY satisfied with it.

I don't think Upscaling is is worth it. Hold out a year or two, and make the next format jump.

Upscaling is just a stop gap technology, and most displays that support hd, have there own upscaling built in. Don't wast your money on upscalling. In my opinion, its not worth it.


I may hold out a lot longer than that. IMO standard DVD does a pretty good job with a quality standard DVD player, and I've got loads of DVDs to choose from.

My problem isn't necessarily with current Blu-ray player prices, its more with the discs themselves. The industry knows the market isn't there yet and is still catering to standard DVD buyers - and you can pick up used standard discs for a song these days.

Yeah, but I'm sure you know that a BD player plays regular DVDs too. Probably as good as, maybe better, than a regular DVD player.

I know my Panasonic BD player looks much better than my previous Pioneer. However, I do have to say the Pioneer was not an upscaling player.

Sony PS3 , my regular dvd`s never looked better .And so much more than a dvd player . Highly recommended !

I don't think Upscaling is is worth it. Hold out a year or two, and make the next format jump.

Upscaling is just a stop gap technology, and most displays that support hd, have there own upscaling built in. Don't wast your money on upscalling. In my opinion, its not worth it.

That would depend on whether you have a large collection of DVD's as I do. I have both an Oppo upscaling player and a Panasonic BD player, both cost exactly the same and the Panasonic eats the Oppo for lunch relative to upscaling...just a fabulous upscaling player...highly recommended.

I've read that HD DVD players did an excellent job upscaling dvds. A lot of people kept their's just for that reason. You can probably pick one up pretty cheap on CL.

About all HD tvs built in the past couple of years, upscale to their native resolution. I've also read that they do a better job than most upscaling dvd players. Probably not enough difference to warrant spending the money on a new player........ just my $.02. :)

Sony PS3 , my regular dvd`s never looked better .And so much more than a dvd player . Highly recommended !

Absolutely! The best upscaling is done with a Blue Ray player, even better than an upscaling DVD player. That said, BR players priced above $300 (CAN) are the best at upscaling. So either buy the PS3 or save up for a good Blue Ray and you will be good for all formats and truly enjoy your existing DVD's. :thmbsp:

I just got a Philips 5992 player because of all the tweakers and hackers out there that have written some good firmware for it.

Great picture, and lots of cool extra features....

Plug in an external USB drive, and watch digital movies (mpg,avi, etc) Listen to your Mp3's on it too...

Got mine on the bay for $50 shipped. Yes, it's a referb, but no problems so far..

OH.. also very easy to set up for multi-region playback if you have that need.

I got the PS3 also, and I'm not going to promote its upscaling capabilites, if it even exists.

I got a samsung upscaling dvd player, My opinion, is that upscaling is worthless. It's like an expander... Your trying to make something, out of nothing.

My advice is to, just hold out.

You know my DVD player is starting to act up, Ive seen these Blu Ray Players for $150-300 and at that price as long as it play DVDs, and SACDs too, why not go ahead and make the jump?

That way you can just about literly play every freggin format know to the CD world.

Ill tell you what about a year ago I would of said Blu Ray anit worth it, but I seen Iron Man, and Transformers in BRD O...M...G!

With Blu Ray, I dont see how things could get clearer, I mean its almost impossible to the human eye.

My Marantz DV4001 arrived today. Made an ENORMOUS difference in my standard definition DVD experience. Images are sharp and clean, well detailed with wonderful color in 1080i. This thing blows the doors off of the Toshiba upscaling player I had been using.

Upscaling may be a stopgap technology, but its like this for me, fellas..... When DVD hit the market, I broke down and replaced my VHS library. And at 1500 discs and growing, I do mean library. I have NO intentions on turning around and buying the same movies over and over again. Does Blu-ray look better? Sure does. Is it enough better to convince me to go down format change lane again, less than 10 years after just doing so? Count me out. When I DO make the switch to Blu-ray I'll be picking up titles I don't already own and continue watching the investment I've already made. This economy is no longer prime for throwing money at four or more releases of "T2" or "Army Of Darkness".


For $70, I think the Marantz would be a hard player to beat unless a fella is going to Blu-ray.

I've yet to try it out as a CDP but I've hooked it into my stereo setup so I can give it some audition time in the next few days.

This is a model I' d love to have at home:

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=113

I picked up one of these (pretty much) universal players about a month ago and so far, no complaints at all, particularly for the price.

http://www.6ave.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=DENDVD1940CI

When I DO make the switch to Blu-ray I'll be picking up titles I don't already own and continue watching the investment I've already made.I have a PS3 and I mainly rent BD movies from Netflix. With the few movies that I would watch numerous times (Casablanca, Godfather, Planet Earth, etc...), I will buy those.

I would get a BD player with upscaling capabilities if I were in the market. The main consideration for deciding on a BD player is whether you have a receiver that can support HDMI or 5.1 component inputs for surround. The PS3 only puts out DTS HD and newer audio formats out over HDMI.

I also have an Oppo 980H, but mainly use it for audio, so I can't really comment on how it compares to the PS3 for upscaling video.

Sorry, I am a bit confused. Some of you are saying that the new TV's automatically upscale to their native resolution be it 720 or 1080p. Does this mean that if I connect my older progressive scan DVD player that does not have upscaling and I watch a regular DVD which is 480p the TV automatically upscales to 1080p? Also what if I connect this same older DVDP to a projector that is 720p. Will the projector scale it upwards to 720p. So when will an upscaling DVDP be useful?

Nash

Ive got a toshiba upconverting dvd plater that i got at a cc during their closeout sale. It looks incredible. I would have bought a refurb blu ray player on ebay but college bank account cant afford it right now. Upconverted dvds look incredible in my opinion..so much that im not sure if blu ray is worth it for me right now.

My Marantz DV4001 arrived today. Made an ENORMOUS difference in my standard definition DVD experience.

Good choice with the Marantz! I have a DV9600 and it has performed excellent in both audio and DVD playback. I think you will love the DV4001 with your CD's as well!

Regards,
TB

[QUOTEI don't think Upscaling is is worth it. Hold out a year or two, and make the next format jump.

Upscaling is just a stop gap technology, and most displays that support hd, have there own upscaling built in. Don't wast your money on upscalling. In my opinion, its not worth it.[/QUOTE]
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while upscaling is important it's the DEINTERLACING that really makes the big difference. d'lacing reduces jaggies (ie, smoothes out diagonal lines) and other artifacts.
the better the d'lacer, the better/sharper the image will look. good ones are faroudja, abt, reon, realta, gennum, etc.
you may have to research which d'lacer a given player has.

some displays/tvs have better d'lacer/scaler chips than some players. again, do the research.

also, the larger the screen, the more artifacts you'll see.

Sorry, I am a bit confused. Some of you are saying that the new TV's automatically upscale to their native resolution be it 720 or 1080p. Does this mean that if I connect my older progressive scan DVD player that does not have upscaling and I watch a regular DVD which is 480p the TV automatically upscales to 1080p? Also what if I connect this same older DVDP to a projector that is 720p. Will the projector scale it upwards to 720p. So when will an upscaling DVDP be useful?

Nash
Not sure about the projector.............
If it's a newer tv, it should upconvert to it's native resolution. Read the owner's manual for the settings to use. Upconverting to 1080p, isn't the real 1080p you get from blu ray. Even though the upconverted signal looks very good, if you see it side by side with a blu ray movie, the blu ray will look better. The BD is real 1080p. Upconverted is software interpolated, so it's close, but not quite the real thing.
Good luck!

Not sure about the projector.............
If it's a newer tv, it should upconvert to it's native resolution. Read the owner's manual for the settings to use. Upconverting to 1080p, isn't the real 1080p you get from blu ray. Even though the upconverted signal looks very good, if you see it side by side with a blu ray movie, the blu ray will look better. The BD is real 1080p. Upconverted is software interpolated, so it's close, but not quite the real thing.
Good luck!
+1

as i understand it, if it's a fixed pixel display/pj it automatically up/downscales source to the displays own native resolution.

Not sure about the projector.............
If it's a newer tv, it should upconvert to it's native resolution. Read the owner's manual for the settings to use. Upconverting to 1080p, isn't the real 1080p you get from blu ray. Even though the upconverted signal looks very good, if you see it side by side with a blu ray movie, the blu ray will look better. The BD is real 1080p. Upconverted is software interpolated, so it's close, but not quite the real thing.
Good luck!
You need the upscaling dvd player to watch an upscaled movie. Everything happens before the signal hits the hdmi cable. If TVs had upscaling technology then there would be no need. TVs will up the resolution as to make the smaller resolution fit the higher res screen but it doesn't improve the picture. If this was the case you would be able to watch standard definition TV on your HDTV and it would look like HD..we know that this doesn't happen.

[QUOTE=You need the upscaling dvd player to watch an upscaled movie. Everything happens before the signal hits the hdmi cable. If TVs had upscaling technology then there would be no need. TVs will up the resolution as to make the smaller resolution fit the higher res screen but it doesn't improve the picture. If this was the case you would be able to watch standard definition TV on your HDTV and it would look like HD..we know that this doesn't happen.[/QUOTE]
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some newer hdtvs have better deinterlacing/scaling than some players and will improve the picture better than the player.
but all fixed pixel tvs/displays/projectors scale to their native resolution, for better or worse.

Go with oppo

http://www.oppodigital.com/?partner=101

Best rated upconverting DVD player on the planet next to a Denon $4500.00 machine. I know because I own one.

Now,

go to ebay and find a good used one. Might as well save a few more bucks!

later,
ken99

Since I'm now sporting a 32 inch LCD TV on my desk I've decided to keep plugging away at the upgrade-itis. I'll be hooking up via HDMI. Can anyone give me some models I should look for?

Sony PS3, and it plays BlueRay too!

I was watching The Shining last night on upconverted DVD (remastered) and I swear there were times when I thought that a blu-ray could not look any better.

I was watching The Shining last night on upconverted DVD (remastered) and I swear there were times when I thought that a blu-ray could not look any better.

i see a lot of that on my system. not that i'm complaining.
just lucky i guess.
actually, good players and a calibrated projector help make sd dvds look good. but hd dvd and blu ray do look better.

edit-for 1st 4 years i had the pj, i used a panasonic s-77 dvd player with hdmi and it was great!
now for dvds i use a onkyo hd-805 hd dvd player with a reon video processor. it makes for stunning dvds not to mention hd dvds.
and my samsuck bdp1400 makes for great looking blu ray images.

As much as I would love a BD player and know all of the benefits..I can't bring myself to buy one when I'm so happy with upconversion. I guess I'd rather wow'd by a good upconverted DVD than be disappointed by a mediocre BD.. as I have been on my roommates PS3.

Good choice with the Marantz! I have a DV9600 and it has performed excellent in both audio and DVD playback. I think you will love the DV4001 with your CD's as well!

Regards,
TB


You called it correctly TB!

I LOVE the DV4001. I've never seen my standard DVDs look so good - which gives me another reason to wait until I see a killer deal on a BD player down the road. I've yet to try the 4001 with redbooks CDs at this point but I did go to the trouble of wiring audio both to my LCD set as well as my Technics SU-8088 amp. I did give a listen to my SNL 25 Years Of Music DVD box set last week and was very impressed with how good it sounds. I can only imagine how well that DV9600 performs!

As much as I would love a BD player and know all of the benefits..I can't bring myself to buy one when I'm so happy with upconversion. I guess I'd rather wow'd by a good upconverted DVD than be disappointed by a mediocre BD.. as I have been on my roommates PS3.

To me, the BD player is the best of both worlds. They have great up converting on DVDs plus you can play BDs if/when you want to.

Not that you've said it, but I've seen several times mentioned about not getting a BD player because of yet another format change. Well, IMO, it's not like VHS to DVD, because BD player is backward compatible with DVD.

Just twiddlin' my oppossible thumbs, keeping my Cizeks warm holding out for the next Oppo, universal upscaler flagship: the 'BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player'
http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/

Bring it on, git er dun!

New to AK Forum... want to add, See: http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_t17/blu-ray-disc-player.html