OK, I have been doing a TON of reading in the Video Processors section of the forum over the past few days. I am so impressed with all of you here, and the forums themselves, that I immediately signed up for the Lifetime Gold Club Membership before I even made my first post.

So now that I have buttered you all up with praise, here is my situation and my hopefully not-so-crazy questions:

I am purchasing a new Sony 60" SXRD XBR2 set very soon (KDS-R60XBR2). I will be sticking with my almost 10 year-old B&K Comp Pre-Amp and Amplifiers for audio, because they are still more than doing a great job for me in that department.

But the pre-amp does not even have component video handling, let alone HD capabilities. So I will need at least a video switcher to handle that side of things, and here is where I am coming up with some different options.

1. I have read several reviews of the SXRD XBR2 sets that say they have great upscaling capabilities built-in. I know the word "great" is very subjective, but one of the reviewers is a professional ISF tech that probably knows what truly great looks like. I am sure that any onboard scaling in a "consumer" set like this will not be as good as the dedicated video processors such as those from DVDO et al, but would the built in chips in this set be "good enough" for scaling Digital Cable (pretty clean...Time Warner) and 480 DVDs?

2. I have also been reading reviews on the Denon upscaling DVD players (the 2930CI and 3930CI), and they have been universally praised -- even on very large screens. So to get the most out of my existing SD DVD library, should I consider going this route instead of an external video processor? The downside here is that the DVD player would do nothing to improve my other sources like Cable and Terr. HDTV.

So I could go the cheapest route, which would be to just spend the $500-$800 on a good HDMI switcher, and stick with my existing DVD player.

The next price bump would be to invest in one of the Denon Upscaling DVD players, and still just get an HDMI switcher. That would be $500-$800 for the switcher, and then either $800 for the 2930 or $1500 for the 3930. So total range would be $1300 to $2300.

And that brings me to my actual thought about all of this: Wouldn't it be better to invest in a good VP, like a DVDO VP30/ABT102 or a VP50, and just stick with existing DVD player? There is a killer AVS deal right now on the VP30 that ends today, so that is what got me all wrapped in this. For $1100, I could buy the VP30. I think I would also want to add the ABT102 card, correct? If so, that is about $1600 total. That works out to be the same or less money compared to a good switcher with the same ports in and out plus a really good upscaling DVD player.

So am I thinking correctly here, and would the combination of a VP30/ABT102 and a decent 480 DVD player give me video results as good or better than buying a switch and a Denon 2930 or 3930? What I don't want to do is invest up to $800 in a switch that could better be applied to a VP that would give me dual benefit.

Thanks in Advance,
Troy

If I were in your shoes, I would stay status quo and use the multiple inputs (HDMI, component etc) on your TV as your switcher and see how you like that perfomance wise. If you are happy great, if not then .....

I would not rush into something because it's a good deal. The VP30 won't help too much when you when processing HD. Another deal will come along and you will be more experienced when making a decision at that time. Sometimes the best deal is the one you never make. At this time, I would not consider investing in another SD DVD player unless you have a really bad one. This will also depend on the size of your SD DVD library. Another consideration is getting an HD DVD player like the Toshiba that reportedly plays SD DVDs very well.

EC,

Thanks for your input...I am going to take the cautious approach. The one thing that is a real issue for me is the distance from my gear to my RPTV. Unlike your theater (I looked at the pics...nice job!), my gear is all in a dedicated AV room in the back right corner of the room. This the opposite end from my RPTV. So I have custom wiring in the walls to the RPTV and speakers, but when I did the wiring 5+ years ago there was no such thing as HDMI.

So now I have to run HDMI, and I would like to run just one quality HDMI cable to the set, and use a switcher in the closet.

I think for now I will go back to some small, black adjustable shelves that I can place on the sides of the RPTV. I will hook up my gear directly for now to see how everything looks, and then make some decisions on what to do permanently later after I have a real feel for the system and what I need.

Thanks again,
Troy

BTW - I would still love to hear other peoples' opinions on all of this, even if they are for the "long term solution".

I had similar thoughts last Fall. I purchased a Denon 3930 for 1080P and later a Radiient 4x1 switcher (about $300). I previously installed a Sony Ruby projector and Screen Research acoustically transparent screen.

The end result is the switcher works as advertised and SD DVD looks better than I thought was possible. And the Denon sounds far better on CDs than I expected, in fact very good on an absolute basis.

I chose to wait for a Video Processor until some of them get past the perpetual beta stage. Even then it will be more for improvement of [H]DTV than expected improvement of SD DVD. I have serious doubts that HD or BD movies are going to get beyond a niche product. Ever. Given that, present information indicates their catalog will not be significant to me before 2008 in any event.

Note that the Radiient supports 50 ft HDMI in and 50 ft HDMI out.