Tom Adams Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I'm not wanting to buy a Blu-Ray player right now mostly due to moola, so I've been thinking about an up-converting DVD player. In looking around, the prices seem to be all over the place any where from about $50 from Wal Mart to $399 from Oppo Digital. Anybody have one of the lesser priced offerings from Sony, Pansonic, Samsung, etc. around the $50 to $80 price range?? And if you do, would you mind sharing your experience? TIA Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest srobak Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Toshiba HD-A2 or A3 can be had for that price... does a great job at upscaling - better than the top Oppo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brac Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 That's good advise on the toshiba unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 do thses players have hdmi? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdaddy Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Yes find a Toshiba HD-A2 or A3. They are great upconverting players. I've had upconverting dvd players that are on the cheaper side and they just don't work all that well. I would put the Toshiba on par or close to the Oppo. I owned a 970(I think that was the model number) and it was pretty nice. The HD DVD worked just as well. Yes they do have HDMI and component. Although they limit component to 480p on sd discs. If you hook them up over HDMI they will output 1080i. The higher end Toshibas will do 1080p but most wouldn't notice the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 heres a question, are there any blu-ray dvd's out now, that have the 7.1 sound? if not then, if you can buy an upconversion dvd player, that will play regular dvds at the same quality that a blu-ray can, what is the purpose of having a blu-ray? being that it's an hd player, will it still play the regular dvds? is there any other brand out now that does a great job? like the toshiba upconversion dvd player at best buy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HatTrick66 Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I was happy enough with my Sony to buy another one. It only goes to 720p/1080i though. I really like the multi disc aspect as well as the picture and sound. It holds 5 discs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 does anyone have experience with this onkyo player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Just a quick reply to say thanks for the replies and info - as well as some good follow-on questions from inventor. The comment about the up-conversion to 1080i only through the HDMI interface was a good one in that I've typically just used component cables since I've not noticed any improvement using them over HDMI when going from my Denon 3910 DVD player to my former TV. However, I recently purchased a Samsung 61" LED DLP and read in the manual that there may be picture quality issues with an HDMI 1.1 input which is what my 3910 is. Hence the quest for an up-converter at this time and a Blu-Ray at a later date. Kinda irritates me that there isn't a HDMI firmware update for my 3910 (at least that I'm aware of). I paid ALOT of moola for it and it's one helluva transport with excellent audio. (sigh....). Anyway - thanks again. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 heres a question, are there any blu-ray dvd's out now, that have the 7.1 sound? if not then, if you can buy an upconversion dvd player, that will play regular dvds at the same quality that a blu-ray can, what is the purpose of having a blu-ray? being that it's an hd player, will it still play the regular dvds? is there any other brand out now that does a great job? like the toshiba upconversion dvd player at best buy? A DVD disc being played in a blueray player simply can't match the picture or sound of a blueray disc in a blueray player. There is more storage capacity for more information on a blueray disc than a standard DVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brac Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Right upconversion is better, in some players much better, but it is NOT HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwillwalk Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 tigerdirect.com toshiba hd-dvd-69.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 i understand that the blu-ray disk has more capasity. i am just wondering what the actual difference is. if the disk is in 7.1 then it's worth it. i will have a 720p tv so the video should be very close, as long as i get a good up converter. so far the suggestion is the toshiba hd-a3 player. it might be a good cheap method untill blu-ray gets cheaper or even better....they just changed and now people that have blu-rays may go out and buy another. luck are those with ps3's.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdaddy Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 My personal experience has been that audio is about the same quality. Video is better but not by a wide margin. On some particular scenes it is more noticeable. I didn't buy my Toshibas for the HD capability though. I bought them for their superior upconversion at the low price point. The only HD movies I have are the free ones they offered with the purchase of a player and I did buy 2 disks when I got the player. Otherwise I'm quite satisfied with the quality of movies on SD DVDs upconverted. Compared to what we had just 15 years ago it's incredible. I am like others and will wait for the format to get cheaper or see what else they come up with. They are now experimenting with resolutions higher than 1080p and who knows we may see another format come into play before it's all over and done with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 My personal experience has been that audio is about the same quality. That's almost the opposite of what I've experienced. I went HD mostly for the picture quality. The first time I heard the lossless audio, I was absolutely floored. To me, the difference was like going from 8 track to cassette! (Yes, I'm that old). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 LOL! are you sure at your age you can see and hear the difference? just kidding....lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 i didn't see it at tigerdirect for 69, but 79 and you get 4 free movies. so in a nut shell this is like a blu-ray player, same concept different format, and would be better than a regular upconversion dvd player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 i didn't see it at tigerdirect for 69, but 79 and you get 4 free movies. so in a nut shell this is like a blu-ray player, same concept different format, and would be better than a regular upconversion dvd player? I have a Toshiba HD-A30, which can upcovert to full 1080p/24. My own TV does not support it (my own can only do upto 1080i), but after trying it on one of my friends brand-new Sony Bravia, which can support 1080p/24, the picture was just absolutly stunning! The picture was even more incredible when I played an actual HD-DVD movie (Shrek 3), which was encoded to play at 1080p/24. It had to be seen to be believed! Yes, the Toshiba is a full-on high-def DVD player. It suppors the HD-DVD format, which was the competing format for Sony's Blu-Ray. Unfortunatly, by the end of February, Toshiba decided to pull out. This was due because a few movie studies that were producing both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray decided to only produce Blu-Ray DVDs. Shortly after that, Netflix and Blockbuster decided to only rent out Blu-Ray DVDs. It was not long after that when Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart and others decided to only carry Blu-Ray and stop marketing HD-DVDs. Really is a shame as I personally thought HD-DVD was a more mature format, with good solid players available, compared to the, at least what I hear, the still somewhat flaky and more expensive Blu-Ray format (if you want to get a Blu-Ray player, nearly everyone that I've talked to said to just get a PS/3) . That is why you are seeing the Toshiba players going for so cheap. However, as was said, they do make for awesome upconverting DVD players, even if you don't watch a single HD-DVD on it - and if you can score one for $70 to $80, hey, go for it - expecially if they are giving away some free movies with it. As for the Blu-Ray thing myself, I think I am going to just get a PS/3 myself and wait until decent recordable Blu-Ray players become available, as it would be nice to be able to record the occasional thing off my satellite HD DVR (assuming they don't cripple the hell out of it with crappy DRM and other such nonsense). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 alright, i am going cheap and getting the toshiba hd-a3. you are right, i can still watch some hd movies, but i basically only will get regular dvds from blockbuster, so it's not a waist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I guess it's only $80, so why not? I just don't see much point in investing money into something that supports a dead format, and buying one just for the upscaling is definitely a waste of money because even with the upscaling, even the very best Hi Def players don't deliver as good a picture with standard DVDs as regular DVD players do. Before laying down your cash, it's worth taking the time to read through a handful of reviews at this site. http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cd-dvd-player-product-reviews/dvd-players/ The Sony PS3, though rated pretty high as Blu-ray player, is rated the lowest as a DVD player for standard DVD playback. All of the reputable sites recommend standard DVD players over Hi Def machines for anyone looking for the best in standard DVD playback. I can attest to this since my Sony 9100ES running at 480p has a slightly better picture than my new Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-ray player with standard DVDs (being upscaled to 1080p no less). In the case of the Toshiba recommendation, I would say hold off and put the money back and save for an Oppo DV-983H ($400) -- which is the best direction to go in if you are sticking with standard DVDs for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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