I just placed my order to Oppo Digital for the Oppo DV-981HD, which I should receive within a week, and I was wondering in which resolution would be the best setting to output - 720p or 1080i? My Sony VPL-HS10 front projector has a resolution of 1366x768 and can only accept DVI and not HDMI (so I will need a HDMI-DVI adapter), but can accept either 720p or 1080i signals and which it would scale to 1366x768.

Basically the dilemma is whether to let the Oppo do the deinterlacing with 720p, and output at a lower resolution or to output at a higher resolution at 1080i, but otherwise let my HS10's questionable on-board processor doing the deinterlacing?

For those wondering, I'm mainly buying the DV-981HD to have an affordable SACD and DVD-A player, as my PS3 doesn't have 5.1 analog connections and doesn't support DVD-A anyway, while my 4 year-old Denon receiver doesn't support HDMI. And I chose the 981 over the 970 or 971 as I would like to be future-proofed with 1080p HDMI as I intend to upgrade to one of the newer 1080p projectors soon.

So in the meantime, I still want to check out what all the fuss is about with regards to upscaled DVDs, and knowing which resolution to pair with my HS10 would definitely help.

Thanks very much in advance for your help.

Use what looks best. 720p and 1080i output will require scaling twice (and other things for 1080i). 480p will only require scaling once.

larry

Yes of course I will use the setting that looks best. My DV-981HD just got shipped yesterday, so I'm eagerly awaiting it and I will obviously try all the different settings to see which one I like better. But out of curiosity, I was just wondering theorectically which should be the better setting.

Anyone have experience with the Oppo and a 1366x768 display?

720p would be the best setting for your display, otherwise just buy any cheap 480p player. The whole purpose of an upconverting player is to get 720p, 1080i, or 1080p out of your DVD player to minimize scaling by your display. 720p is the best match for your 768p display. Bravo D1, Momitsu v880/888, and HTPC can do custom resolutions to match your 768p perfectly, but 720p is the next best thing. On some displays, 1080i/p works better than 720p even for a 1280X720 or 1366X768 because downscaling will look better than 720p with upscaling from 480i/p being the worst.

Yes, it seems the 720p is the best option as it would allow the Oppo to do the interlacing rather than my Sony HS10 projector. However, both 720p and 1080i options would still require my HS10 to do some scaling. I'm just wondering if the additional "information" of 1080i would be advantageous to the 720p setting? Or if it's a mute point since the original source is 480i anyway and is just being upscaled?

Yes, it seems the 720p is the best option as it would allow the Oppo to do the interlacing rather than my Sony HS10 projector. However, both 720p and 1080i options would still require my HS10 to do some scaling. I'm just wondering if the additional "information" of 1080i would be advantageous to the 720p setting? Or if it's a mute point since the original source is 480i anyway and is just being upscaled?

You haven't got it yet. Let your eyes decide.

You haven't got it yet. Let your eyes decide.

Yes, let my eyes decide when I haven't received the player yet. Brilliant observation from the peanut gallery! :rolleyes:

Just received my Oppo DV-981HD in the mail and I'm happy to confirm that 720p is the best setting for my Sony HS10 1366x768 front projector. It is presents a more solid picture than in the 1080i setting. I can only guess that it's because the Oppo has a better deinterlacer than my Sony HS10. Thanks anyway for all the feedback!

BTW, what an amazing picture for DVD! It's seriously made me re-think giving up DVD altogether and just playing HD-DVDs and Blu-rays. Though obviously not as good, but the difference isn't as wide anymore, and more importantly, the quality isn't what I considered "unwatchable" previously using 480p over component cable.

Watched "The Fifth Element" last night and certain scenes almost had an HD quality, and overall just wasn't loose as it previously looked on my non-upscaling non-HDMI Denon DVD player.