Any suggestions on relatively inexpensive yet decent upconvert DVD players? Not sure what to go with, but I don't see any reason to sink a ton of cash in a blu-ray player right now, especially since I don't own any blu-ray discs and don't plan on upgrading my DVD collection (200+ DVD's) any time soon.

Any suggestions on relatively inexpensive yet decent upconvert DVD players? Not sure what to go with, but I don't see any reason to sink a ton of cash in a blu-ray player right now, especially since I don't own any blu-ray discs and don't plan on upgrading my DVD collection (200+ DVD's) any time soon.

Price range? Any need for PAL playback? You have HDMI on your display?

-Bill

Price range, I'd prefer under $100 but I could always go a little more if necessary. HDMI yes, and no need for PAL (although if it didn't cost a whole lot more I wouldn't mind it).

Price range, I'd prefer under $100 but I could always go a little more if necessary. HDMI yes, and no need for PAL (although if it didn't cost a whole lot more I wouldn't mind it).

Try and at least look at the Oppo DV-980H you will never go wrong with this player!

Price range, I'd prefer under $100 but I could always go a little more if necessary. HDMI yes, and no need for PAL (although if it didn't cost a whole lot more I wouldn't mind it).
Sony DVP NS77H is under $100 and does a great job.

On the very low end ($80 or less) the Phillips DVP5982, Pioneer DV-400, and as HDMI guy mentioned the Sony DVP-NS77/700 SD-DVD players are popular. The $169 Oppo 980H that RapalloAV recommended is a step up and you will see less video artifacts at 1080P with that SD-DVD player which is also a universal player that can be made region free easily. (note the Oppo comes with a free HDMI cable). Of course you can always get a cheap HDMI cable for the other players at Fry's or Monoprice.com.

There is also the Panasonic S53/S54 for < $100.

+1 on the Oppo 980H

the extra dollars on the Oppo 980H are more than worth it!

While I'm not saying the Pioneer players are the same as an OPPO 980, apparently both use mediatek for their chipsets.

The Oppo 980 uses a custom Mediatek chip. The only difference I know between this and the standard chip was a vertical compression problem when upscaling.

-Bill

I wouldn't rule out even a 480P upconvert player, they can be picked up used on ebay, etc, for cheap.

I'm using a Pioneer DV-578A-S and honestly it looks great. I've only had my Panasonic 50PZ85U for a couple weeks now and have not even calibrated the DVD player yet and still there are no issues with poor picture quality.

At first I was going to upgrade to a HDMI player but now I might concentrate on calibrating the DVD player this coming long weekend and stick with this until BLU RAY players come down in price.

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DV-578A-S-Player-DVD-Audio-SACD/dp/B0002ERY6W

I sent my nephew out to Best Buy for a Tosiba SD-6100 (about $70). We connected to his new 1080p Sony TV through a generic HDMI cable. It makes surprising good pictures and should serve well until he goes Blu ray in another year or two.

--- CHAS

For under $100 I would go for the Pioneer Dv400, as mentioned above 480i thru hdmi, good upconversion, nice menu layout, has many picture adjustments, divx playback, usb, can be made region free easily, and I like that it has more player controls on the front of the unit. You can get this player for under 70.00 shipped.

Like you, I was looking for a relatively inexpensive yet decent upconverting DVD player. In my case, I'm waiting for Blue Ray to mature a bit more before jumping aboard. Meanwhile, I'm using this DVD player with a Samsung LN40A650, and the PQ can be quite good. With the best DVD media, it isn't quite up to the HD level, but it's pretty darned good.

It might be worth an audition, and if you don't like it, you can always return it. I got my unit at Best Buy for $80.

you can get a Philips DVP-5982/37 from frys right now! for $27.99!!! :eek:

For a little more money, it looks like the OPPO players get high marks around the web.