Upconverting dvd players

[fathered5]

Is anybody using an upconverting dvd player? I want to know if it is worth it and if really works.

[sethhobrin]

I'd say if you have a wide screen hdtv 36" or larger the answer is a resounding YES!!! 100000x YES. The best upconverting DVD players are the OPPO players. You can buy them on amazon.com Search for OPPO. They have the furujda(spelling?) scaler chip which is like the best scaling chip out there. There is 2 models one for 149 for 720p/1080i and a 239 black model for 1080p upscaling. the difference on my 60" sony xbr2 from a regular dvd player to the 149 oppo is night and day. I only wish I would have sprung for the 239 model.

You might not have heard of OPPO but they are by far an amazing company with one of the best upscaling dvd players out there. Won tons of awards. FANTASTIC CUSTOMER SERVICE. Do some searches. Check AVS forums for confirmation.

Make sure to use component or hdmi cables for the connection.

[JJkizak]

Yes, they work, and very well except for dvd's that have been recorded with high film grain or are of reduced quality or exceptionally noisy. You can't make great looking video with garbage going in.

JJK

[Jerry22m]

Recently purchased the OPPO DV-981HD possibility the best buy on the planet at $229 will upconvert to 1080p via HDMI and do it very well. The 981hd does not provide upconverting via component cable.

[gibbie]

During the calibration of my 60" XBR2, the calibrator and I found the color and black levels to actually be better using the 480p setting on my Oppo 981 than the 1080 settings (using HDMI). The person doing the calibration suggested this may be due to the quality of the XBR2. I'm tempted to hook my Panasonic RP91 up again to see how it compares to the Oppo even though it only has component connections.

[Cal Blacksmith]

The difference between HDMI, DVI and component is very small indeed. Go ahead and hook up the Pani and check things out. I had asked a very reputable (sp?) installer about the differences and it was explained to me that "Yes, if you switch between the inputs quickly you MIGHT see a slightly better image with HDMI or DVI but if you went out of the room to take a leak and someone had changed the inputs while you were gone, you would NEVER be able to tell it.

[cyclonecj]

I also recommend the OPPO 981. Great deal for the price.

[TauRus]

I am very happy with the picture my Denon 2930ci produces, SD DVDs look pretty darn close to HD cable although of course not as good as true HD quality vieo like Blu-Ray discs.

Btw, there is no such thing as an "upconverting dvd player", the correct term to use is "upscaling". Some receivers do upconversion, that is take a composite video signal and upconvert it to component or even HDMI. Upscaling DVD players scale the original 480P to 720P or 1080P.

[MatrixDweller]

The Denon 2930ci is fantastic and even better is the 3930ci. Of course they are 5X the price as OPPO. I have a Samsung HD841 upscalling DVD player. It kind of sucks in comparison to the other but it can upscale to 1080i over component (with remote hack). I find the picture is slightly better. but nothing to brag about. A lot of it does depend on the quality of the original image.

[strutter]

Is anybody using an upconverting dvd player? I want to know if it is worth it and if really works.

i own the oppo 981 its a fantastic unit for the price. is it worth it?. it depends. if you aren't ready to go BD or HD DVD then yes. if you own a lot of SD DVD's then yes. if you have a large tv that isn't capable of doing a good job with scaling and deinterlacing then yes. if you expect it to do miracles and have an HD like PQ then no. any upscaling player can only do so much with a 480 source. however i found the oppo to suffer from less macroblock enhancement and less jaggies than my old Denon 900. heres a link to oppo for more info http://www.oppodigital.com PS you will find the same price everywhere online and they dont sell in stores.

[Guest BobG]

Keep in mind that not all upconversion is of equal quality. There are at least 3 different types that I know of and within each type a lot of quality variation. Line Doubling, Line Averaging and Motion Adaptive upconversion. Newer, more expensive DVD players have Motion Adaptive as I understand but there are big differences in chip sets and implementation.

[fathered5]

I get all samsung equipment at cost. Does anyone have any info about the DVD-HD1080P7? Does it compare to the OPPO? And yes I can not wait until the new FP-T6374 hits the stores. It is very high on my list.

[wuzzzer]

Watched the animated movie Open Season a couple nights ago and even though the movie sucked it looked unbelievable on the Oppo DV-981 that I have. I've been very pleased with the player and actually am using it as my CD player as well.

[WMcD]

I too wonder if it is worth it.

Right now I have an old Sony DVD player. The s-video output is of course analog. Then the HP 37 inch LCD 720 line screen upverts. It must do a lot of conversion, interpolating, processing, particularly on the zoom setting, and I presume it is displaying a prog type of image rather than interlaced.

Therefore, the upverting DVD players may have some merit by avoiding a conversion to analog and back and then letting the display device do the processing after re-conversion from analog. It makes sense.

But where and how to spend money?

I was at BB today. The rock bottom Toshiba HD-DVD player is about $400 and a cheaper model must be on the horizon.. These will upvert ordinary DVD and of course you've also got HD-DVD. The upvert DVD players were about $150.

It seems to me that if you byy a $150 DVD player with upvert, you're throwing away the option of buying a $250 add on which gets you HD-DVD. Not a good way of spending money in my view.

Gil

'

[JJkizak]

Gil:

Ditto.

JJK

[mas]

I disagree. [] (Not really, but gee, I have always wanted to be able to say that to Gil! But seldom ever can!!!!! [] [] )

What one must also consider is the rest of the necessary investment and the time it will take for all of he complimentary technologies to become manifest before you can indeed have a complete system that communicates and supports all of the various technologies! And that is not to even consider the lost opportunity costs if you choose to view it from an economic point of view.

And by the time these technologies do come to market in mature form, the cost will have to be reduced to a commodity price, otherwise those technologies will remain a niche product.

So, the value of buying a DVD player that upscales effectively for around $225 (only ~$80 more than a basic no frills model) and can provide significant improvements over standard 540 line DVDs while also functioning as a CD player, is a great buy. And it can even provide for the viable extension of the effective lifecycle of your existing technology at a much reduced cost compared to HD recorded content and the exorbitant prices now being encounters.

So let's see, ~$80 on the one hand, versus how much (ouch!!!) for an HD player, and AACS/HDCP display capable of actually displaying 1080p and compliant with either HDMI and or the new DisplayPort and HDMI audio 1.3, etc....or did you spend all of that money as an early adopter for a system that does not even yet support the protocols that are defined for it and which will be effectively obsolete in 6 months (Display port is the new standard supplanting HDMI) as well as watching the prices fall an average of 33% per year (per iSuppli) as you watch the obsolescence factor increase???

Sounds remarkably like an overpriced ticket to 6Flags only to stand in line after line for the majority of the time waiting for the promised great rides, doesn't it!

So you can make an exorbitant investment now, only to repeat it in short order, or you
can spend the money on a relatively low/reasonably priced Oppo DVD
player (~$225) now and have essentially ~80+% of the high end
functionality for as long as it takes for the other HD platform
components and standards to coalesce.

A nice upscaling DVD player and a good 720p TV make allot more sense to me! ...And they will continue to be for at least several more years.

[sethhobrin]

HDDVD is going bye bye pretty much at the end of this year so why worry about HDDVD add ons?

[mas]

HDDVD is going bye bye pretty much at the end of this year so why worry about HDDVD add ons?

nonsense []

[WMcD]

I can see Mark's point of view.

It may be similar to home computers. I know that if I wait a year, prices are going to be better. Also, it better to buy a complete system at that time with matched technology from a hardware and software standpoint.

It seems a waste to, say, spend even $100 to upgrade any component in the system presently unless it is absolutely necessary. Heck, it seemed unwise to buy more memory for my four-year old laptop when a new budget laptop could be had for $450 and had other advances.

Some decades ago, the economics of car ownership reportedly showed that you were better off trading in after two or three years. That is when depreciation and cost of repairs went over the line. Things may have changed. Cost of money and general overhead (gas) may dilute some factor.

The whole upgrade thing, or initial purchase, is a merry-go-round. It is tough to judge when to jump on. The choice can be made easier if it somewhat certain that a watershed event is coming up. Then the value of waiting becomes more certain. With this wait, though, come some delay in utilizing some feature which you may or may not enjoy. There is some value to not waiting.

It is my thought that the $400 HD-DVD player may be (or is) a good investment if we assume you already have technology on hand to use some of its important features . . . not necessarily all of them. The alternate purchase of an upverting DVD player assumes that you have a 720 line set with HDMI inputs. Therefore, that assumption must be made in evaluating the choice.

Basically, we have to look at what can be done with the HD-DVD player in the intervening year or two until the market gets technology integrated and prices come down.

Some reviews state that HD-DVD does look very good on a 720 line set and that using a 1080 set does not show a marked improvement. Maybe there can be a shoot-out with upverted DVD on a 720 display versus 1080 downverted. My guess is that people who want to get into HD-DVD will be biased in terms of making the $250 differential investment. This is regardless of what some reviews say. If some movies which I like came out on HD DVD, I might jump.

- - - - -

FWIIW, even CPAs looking at the value of a business will tell you that there are imponderables. The value of trademark's good will, the cost of money in the future, value of employee loyalty, whether the value of stock on- hand (maybe upverting DVD players - smile) will hold steady. It becomes an eductated guess. This is not to say it is all loosy goosey. However, is pretty clear that one can not speak in certainties about value of investment unless benfits in the interval, and the future event changing the value, can be quantified with confidence. Obviously difficult.

= = = = =

Let me point out that the "game" of decision making is somewhat different if we contemplate that people do not have just one car, computer, or TV system. Rather, there is the second car, home computer, bedroom/kids TV. We typically give ourselves hand-me-downs which are not expected to have all the highest features. It alters the "wait for the watershed" test. This is because there is salvage value to things on the wrong side of the watershed.

This came up in my decision to buy a lower priced LCD screen TV. It was my thought that a budget set will eventually be moved to the bedroom. For me it has future value despite the fact that it is on the wrong side of future watershed technology.

Perhaps this is true with buying the $400 HD DVD. But it is up to you.

Best,

Gil

- - - -

[mas]

Some very good points!

I guess the easiest way for me to put it is trying to figure out if you are on the low end of growing into something that is future oriented, or if you are on the high end of growing out of something rather quickly.

With all of the transitional flux in the market, with relatively high prices, I think most high end purchases are the later, and I agree with Gil, that buying something that is sufficient now, and that can be used in a secondary role in the future, instead of going all out and buying above your grasp on technology that will shortly need to be replaced for the sake of functional compatibility, is not a good deal.

And the Oppo for ~$249 is a pretty good deal! You can easily spend far more and not get as good!

But it is up to you! []