Or at least tied for that spot. I derived #6 by the fact that some same models were above the Pannys using different video modes. These players were released about 5 years ago and you are telling me they are still in the top ten of DVD players? I have a Panny XP-30 and agree it is great, but you are telling me it beats current HDMI upconvert players and HD-DVD/BR players? I am not trying to be controversial but sounds rather incredible. Is it that Secrets has not been able to test all the models out there or has Secrets become anachronistic? Or neither.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all

Or at least tied for that spot. I derived #6 by the fact that some same models were above the Pannys using different video modes. These players were released about 5 years ago and you are telling me they are still in the top ten of DVD players? I have a Panny XP-30 and agree it is great, but you are telling me it beats current HDMI upconvert players and HD-DVD/BR players? I am not trying to be controversial but sounds rather incredible. Is it that Secrets has not been able to test all the models out there or has Secrets become anachronistic? Or neither.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all

The Shootout is mainly about deinterlacing performance, that is: 480i->480p. I don't know of objective tests for scaling ability or how you would score that. So apparently progress is deinterlacing 480i is slow, or perhaps there is not much more improvement to be made?

Scores for HDMI/HDCP standards compliance and correct color space selection would be welcome. I don't know if it is possible to score macroblocking enhancement because it seems display-related.

Kris Deering has said that manufacturers are reluctant to submit players because they don't like the results.

-Bill

For SD DVD, I would think that the Silicon Optix and ABT deinterlacers are the "end of the road". However, I don't know how much "better" either of these new deinterlacers are with the majority of film based DVDs compared to the Faroudja and the Silicon Image 504. Actually the Faroudja was better at video and the SI better at film. The newer deinterlacers showing up in some players and video processors handle torture tests and strange cadences much better than the previous generation. Kris had mentioned putting in more difficult deinterlacer tests. However, he wouldn't be able to go back and do all other players. :)

larry

If you have an ED display, that generation of players is at the top. If you have a 1920 x 1080 display....different story.

That being said, the Toshiba HD- XA2 is actually the real deal as far as upscaling IMHO and obviously plays HD-DVDs as well.

Anyway, that whole cauldron of super players ( XP-50, Xp-30, RP-82, Denon 1600) was followed by quite the drop off in quality as the manufacturers realized that they were priced too low relative to their qualities. It was hurting higher priced player sales.

I have watched the various testing done, and in fact, had it done on one of my XP-30s. That player really does well... it isnt just a deinterlacing test by any means. The only knock on it is that the layer changes are a little slow ( which is true).

If you have a 1920 x 1080 display....different story. Only if it has a crappy scaler, which suprises me because scaling isn't the hard part, deinterlacing is. The big issue with the older players is that they are analog output. Doing analog well is not emphasized in today's digital TVs.

larry

But for quite awhile, the digital players really werent stacking up very well, even on digital displays. Just read some of the reviews. Awful. DVI and HDMI connections werent doing as well as component. Also, until recently almost all of the material we were seeing in DVDs was actually recorded using component cabling.

Stuff like the Incredibles and Finding Nemo is a different bag than film based movies however. Still, this lot of players render excellent PQ even on truely digital DVDs.