i have panasonic 720p plasma. should i get hd dvd player, or player with hd upconversion? will there be too much of a difference since my 720p wont be able to benefit hd dvd player. thanks all

i have panasonic 720p plasma. should i get hd dvd player, or player with hd upconversion? will there be too much of a difference since my 720p wont be able to benefit hd dvd player. thanks allRead the link in my sig.

I think your post belongs in the HD-DVD section.

Anyways, if your torn between a upconverting DVD player and an HD-DVD player.
Go for the HD-DVD player all the way. Even my old A1 does an excellent job at upconverting, and with the recent price drops and various promotions for HD-DVD players, the price difference is minimal.

And dont sell your 720p plasma short. I have a 720p projector downstairs, and HD-DVD looks much better on it that upconverted SD.

Definitely an HD DVD player. You can get them now for $250 from Amazon/Costco/Sam's Club, and 5 Free HD DVDs from Toshiba. It's a no brainer. :)

provided you are connecting via HDMI - you can have both. several of the HD-DVD players are excellent upconverters. i have both an upconverting dvd player and a HD-DVD player, and the upconverting is better on the toshiba. (HD player) also, my display is XGA projector, and you will definately see an improvement with hi-def content. you don't need a true 1080 display to appreciate the difference.

Despite all the frenzy I can tell you that in my experience DVD upconversion of the Toshiba A2 is nowhere better than Snazio SZ-1350 (networked HD multiformat DVD player w/ upconversion) and it's the same with A1.
The only exception if you buy the XA2 which has a vastly superior scaler chip from SiliconOptix.
I can't speak for Blu-Ray though as I never had a chance to compare them on the same display but it did not seem to me much better on store display.

If you're currently looking at some of the expensive upscalers like an oppo then you might as well get the HD-A2 HD DVD player.

If you're currently looking at some of the expensive upscalers like an oppo then you might as well get the HD-A2 HD DVD player.

...and lose region-free, DVD-ROM/Divx/Xvid/WMV/HD/TS-compatible, network-enabled (wiFi and/or ethernet) playback, lose your CSS-disabled DVD upconversion via analog outputs, lose discrete analog multichannel outputs etc but gain HD-DVD playback only, right.

...and lose region-free, DVD-ROM/Divx/Xvid/WMV/HD/TS-compatible, network-enabled (wiFi and/or ethernet) playback, lose your CSS-disabled DVD upconversion via analog outputs, lose discrete analog multichannel outputs etc but gain HD-DVD playback only, right.

Everything you listed up until, maybe the the discrete multichannel analog audio outputs is pretty enthusiast oriented. I'm not saying those aren't great perks, but if you're asking a question like "what do I do???" you probably don't rip and burn your own DVDs/Divx/Xvid movies and even though you may have the files on your computer, you likely won't bother streaming WMA or TS.

I'd personally look hard at the XA2 from Toshiba. It isn't cheap at about $600, that's true, but it has very solid standard-definition DVD scaling courtesy of Silicon Optix, which I assure you will be noticeable (I have yet to find a single person who has been able to tell consistently the difference between my Denon DVD-5910CI playing the DVD of Batman Begins and the same film on HD-DVD through my Xbox 360 and the Denon has Silicon Optix's higher end scaler), and it has discrete 5.1 analog audio outputs.

The XA2 was rated very highly as just a plain-ol' DVD player, in fact, by Secrets of Home Theater and Hi-Fi, which is a significant endorsement because there are standard definition players in their tests that cost a good bit more than the XA2 and performed worse with DVDs, and that's even before you consider the benefit of playing HD-DVDs.

As much as it pains me, the PS3 isn't a bad option if you're looking to get into high-def discs. The Xbox 360 with HD-DVD drive is fine, too, but it lacks the ability to pass next-generation high-definition audio formats via HDMI, which the PS3 can send to an HDMI 1.3 receiver for decoding (of course, you would need to buy said receiver as well).

I guess the point of my post is that there are a couple of options that will get you BOTH upscaled DVDs and HD-DVDs or Blu-Ray discs for relatively little cash. I'd bet good money that the Reon chip in the XA2 from Toshiba produces upscaled images that could fairly compete with those from my DVD-5910, and my DVD-5910 cost thousands more and doesn't know the first thing about what to do with an HD-DVD.

i have panasonic 720p plasma. should i get hd dvd player, or player with hd upconversion? will there be too much of a difference since my 720p wont be able to benefit hd dvd player. thanks all

By hd dvd player do you mean a HD-DVD player or or HD type player ??. Looking at curent trends i would stay away fron HD-DVD myself. I would do a $100.00 upscaling DVD player or a Blu-Ray player.

i have panasonic 720p plasma. should i get hd dvd player, or player with hd upconversion? will there be too much of a difference since my 720p wont be able to benefit hd dvd player. thanks all

You can get a cheap $50 upconverting DVD player, or spend $250 on a HD-DVD player with 5 free movies. Chances are the HD DVD player will upscale a lot better than a $50 upconverting DVD player. HD-DVD players also support HD Audio formats which makes them a very good price option.

In my opinion, there is a really mixed bag about the Blu Ray market. I'd wait to hear what the PS3 price drop is; if it's really $100 or not. The Sammy 1200 is a good Blu Ray for a decent price. The cheaper Sony is also good. BUT, Blu Ray does have some problems with their BD-Java support, uniform functionality across all players. I've also heard of people having issues with playback because of firmware updates.

Either way, read the owners thread in the various sections here. You will get 90% BS whether its fud, or just other crap, but you can glean some really good info with some indepth reading. It just takes some time.

I'd consider my budget. If you only have $100, don't jump into a new format at all. If you're finicky about the HD debacle, then stick with the upscaling DVD player. If you want to get into HDM for a low cost, try the Toshiba with the 5 free HD-DVDs. Or if you want to go big, spend the $$$ on a Blu Ray player and watch for the buy one get 2 free deals that come from time to time on them.

Anyway you cut it, your HD or BD purchase will look fantastic on your 720p TV. Scalers try to create information to expand a 480i image to your resolution. Getting a 1080p source down rezed to 720p is going to look a helluva lot better than trying to uprez a 480i source.

Good luck in your purchase and enjoy it. Personally, my TV has a great scaler in it so I don't really want to spend anymore on a new DVD player. My wife won't let me spend anything on a new DVD player (HD or otherwise) until my 8 year old Sammy breaks down (still look great progressivly though!)