Ok. Just read Bob's newbie guide sticky, and it was great, but after reading through the replies, I'm still a little confused.

I just bought a Vizio 50" plasma, 720p (1080i) tv. I have an old, really cheap dvd player (480i, Apex). I realize from the article that all dvd's are encoded at 480i, and I think I'm correct in thinking that my tv upconverts the signal to a 720p signal, therefore inventing content to fill up the screen. I don't really watch that many movies, but I do like the action movies with fast motion.

My question is, is it worth buying an upconverting dvd player at all? I understand that if I pay a couple hundred bucks for a really good one, it may be better at upconverting than my tv is, but I'd rather buy a HD DVD player. So if I bought one of the $100 upconverting players ($120 for one that also burns discs) will I see a similar, better, or worse picture from most stand def dvd's? If better, will it be good enough to justify the $100 now? I know I'll eventually get a HD DVD or Blu Ray in the future, but not until the prices come down.

Thanks!

I cannot give you advise as I do not know anything about Visio HDTV set, but I can share my opinion.
The answer on your question, I believe, depends on TV you have. If your TV does good up-scaling and de-interlacing job by itself then you do not need DVD Player with up-converter and even using such can result in image quality degradation.

In the end, you'll have to trust your eyes. I like the philips 5982. It has great features like USB support, and only costs about $75 (less on a good day). Pick it up locally, get an HDMI from monoprice, and give it a shot. If it doesn't look better to your eyes, take it back.

Even if it makes an improvement, unless your current player is seriously shoddy, it won't be a night and day difference if you are currently using component cables.

In the end, you'll have to trust your eyes. I like the philips 5982. It has great features like USB support, and only costs about $75 (less on a good day). Pick it up locally, get an HDMI from monoprice, and give it a shot. If it doesn't look better to your eyes, take it back.

Even if it makes an improvement, unless your current player is seriously shoddy, it won't be a night and day difference if you are currently using component cables.

But what if I go to an HDMI cable, will it make a much more noticeable difference, do you think? I am using component cables now, and like I said, the player I have now isn't even a progressive scan. I think the picture looks pretty good, but I know it could be better.

Going to HDMI on your player, or even going to HDMI on most players/sets will not make a difference.

As said, I would try the Phillips. If you are interested in HDDVD, then any of the Toshibas would be a good match for your TV. They do a great job upconverting DVDs. Check out the HDDVD forum for more info.

-Evan

But what if I go to an HDMI cable, will it make a much more noticeable difference, do you think? I am using component cables now, and like I said, the player I have now isn't even a progressive scan. I think the picture looks pretty good, but I know it could be better.

Not to self promote (well, okay, yes I am), you should give my podcast a listen. Episode 14 has my take on upconverting dvd players, episode 3 talks about last years Philips 5960, and episode 1 talks about cable differences.

Not to self promote (well, okay, yes I am), you should give my podcast a listen. Episode 14 has my take on upconverting dvd players, episode 3 talks about last years Philips 5960, and episode 1 talks about cable differences.

I don't care if you self promote yourself or not, as long as you're helpful!:)

Thanks!

I am also having this issue - my non-AV eyes (if there is such a thing) cannot tell any differences between my upscaled SD-DVDs played on my Pioneer DV400 and an old portable Philips DVP320/69.

LCD : Sammy LA40R81BX
DVD players : (1) Philips DVP320 with composite video output and (2) Pio DV400 with composite and HDMI (tried 720p/1080i)

TBH I can't see much differences. Something wrong with my eyes? :confused:

General rules of thumb about up-conversion DVD players...

Decent quality up-conversion players can make a noticeable difference on fixed pixel displays like LCD, plasma, DLP, LCoS, etc. Especially larger displays. The size of the screen, it's native resolution and your typical viewing distance are all key factors.

The all digital video connection (DVI or HDMI) bypasses the digital-to-analog-to-digital processes required with DVD players using component video connections to digital fixed pixel displays. This alone can make a visible difference. Plus, the digital scaling and de-interlacing processing in most good up-conversion players is often superior to many HDTV's built in processors.

With a 720p 50" plasma, I would say a good up-conversion DVD player would provide a visible improvement in picture detail and sharpness for you (unless you typically sit more than 10 ft from the TV... too far to see any difference). If you are considering an HD DVD or Blu-ray player, know that they are all pretty decent up-conversion players (some are reference quality).

CRT direct view and CRT RPTV sets don't seem to benefit at all from up-conversion players. That's been pretty well discussed here and elsewhere.

CRT direct view and CRT RPTV sets don't seem to benefit at all from up-conversion players. That's been pretty well discussed here and elsewhere.

But they will benefit from other feature of a good player, noise reduction, proper 3:2 pulldown, and the like. The Oppo 981 made a noticable difference over my philips, but it also cost 3x as much.

to moi666 - if you like the way it looks, don't worry about it. For a lesson on what to look for though, go to http://www.hqv.com/technology.cfm.

...With a 720p 50" plasma, I would say a good up-conversion DVD player would provide a visible improvement in picture detail and sharpness for you .

It is unnoticeable when you playing back good quality DVD-Video. Every DVD player with up-converter that I have had a chance to test did not show even a bit of improvement in picture quality when I was switching from 480i to 720p and to 1080i. Bad / low quality become more worse with every next upscale mode. DVD players literally intensifies artifacts and block noise. My experience showed that if HDTV set has its own good upscaler and de-interlacer then using any DVD player with upconverter will distort and degrade picture quality. Will simply make picture quality worse. With all my respect but I, personally, do not believe that all "good" or"bad" (whatever how and who classifying them) DVD players have better or superior up-conversion processing over nowadays today' day generation HDTV sets. IMHO

CRT direct view and CRT RPTV sets don't seem to benefit at all from up-conversion players. That's been pretty well discussed here and elsewhere.

I really disagree with this. My old Momitsu V880 made my old CRT direct view really shine with it's upconversion. Before the Momitsu, I was using a panny RP-82.

Ok. Just read Bob's newbie guide sticky, and it was great, but after reading through the replies, I'm still a little confused.

I just bought a Vizio 50" plasma, 720p (1080i) tv. I have an old, really cheap dvd player (480i, Apex). I realize from the article that all dvd's are encoded at 480i, and I think I'm correct in thinking that my tv upconverts the signal to a 720p signal, therefore inventing content to fill up the screen. I don't really watch that many movies, but I do like the action movies with fast motion.

My question is, is it worth buying an upconverting dvd player at all? I understand that if I pay a couple hundred bucks for a really good one, it may be better at upconverting than my tv is, but I'd rather buy a HD DVD player. So if I bought one of the $100 upconverting players ($120 for one that also burns discs) will I see a similar, better, or worse picture from most stand def dvd's? If better, will it be good enough to justify the $100 now? I know I'll eventually get a HD DVD or Blu Ray in the future, but not until the prices come down.

Thanks!
I bought the Sony NS75H and it did a nice job upconverting on my Panasonic plasma. I only had it a month and then the HD A2 dropped to $250 so I picked that up. The Sony got moved to the bedroom with my POS Westinghouse LCD. I don't really see a noticeable difference in the upconversions between the two players but for the price you can get an A2 or even an A20, I'd recommend going that way. That's just my opinion of course.

General rules of thumb about up-conversion DVD players...

Decent quality up-conversion players can make a noticeable difference on fixed pixel displays like LCD, plasma, DLP, LCoS, etc. Especially larger displays. The size of the screen, it's native resolution and your typical viewing distance are all key factors.

The all digital video connection (DVI or HDMI) bypasses the digital-to-analog-to-digital processes required with DVD players using component video connections to digital fixed pixel displays. This alone can make a visible difference. Plus, the digital scaling and de-interlacing processing in most good up-conversion players is often superior to many HDTV's built in processors.

With a 720p 50" plasma, I would say a good up-conversion DVD player would provide a visible improvement in picture detail and sharpness for you (unless you typically sit more than 10 ft from the TV... too far to see any difference). If you are considering an HD DVD or Blu-ray player, know that they are all pretty decent up-conversion players (some are reference quality).

CRT direct view and CRT RPTV sets don't seem to benefit at all from up-conversion players. That's been pretty well discussed here and elsewhere.
Here is my personal experience with an upconverting dvd player.

I bought a Samsung HL-T6187 LED DLP which is considered one of the better sets out there...and purchased the most current Sony upscaling DVD players... DVPNS77. Also purchased a HDmi cable to have pure digital signals transmitted from the player to TV.

Watching dvds was painful. Colors were off. Grainy picuture. Flat looking picture. All from a setup that should have been pretty darn good. I switched back to my Panasonic 480p with component video cables...and much better.

From what I can gather from my posting at another avsforum....basically it is a case that the dvd player isn't matching up to the abilities of the Samsung. And he Samsung is upconverting what signals it is getting...and basically goes along with the concept of 'garbage in garbage out'.

My thoughts is that I will stick with my 480p panasonic and keep on my search for another dvd player. I believe I will try a Panasonic upscaling dvd player perhaps. Until then...I will stick with my current 480p Panasonic until the HD player format shake out.

Here is my personal experience with an upconverting dvd player.

I bought a Samsung HL-T6187 LED DLP which is considered one of the better sets out there...and purchased the most current Sony upscaling DVD players... DVPNS77. Also purchased a HDmi cable to have pure digital signals transmitted from the player to TV.

Watching dvds was painful. Colors were off. Grainy picuture. Flat looking picture. All from a setup that should have been pretty darn good. I switched back to my Panasonic 480p with component video cables...and much better.

From what I can gather from my posting at another avsforum....basically it is a case that the dvd player isn't matching up to the abilities of the Samsung. And he Samsung is upconverting what signals it is getting...and basically goes along with the concept of 'garbage in garbage out'.

My thoughts is that I will stick with my 480p panasonic and keep on my search for another dvd player. I believe I will try a Panasonic upscaling dvd player perhaps. Until then...I will stick with my current 480p Panasonic until the HD player format shake out.
Your experience is not normal. You probably had either a bad unit or there was something wrong in your setup. Did you try exchanging your Sony?

Your experience is not normal. You probably had either a bad unit or there was something wrong in your setup. Did you try exchanging your Sony?
I returned the Sony without exchanging after I tried a bunch of reconfigs of my settings. Also...I know my hdmi cable is good as I hooked it up to my cable box with no issues.

Do you have any suggested configurations?

I am going to rebuy the Sony to give it another shot...especially since I saw it on sale at Fry's for $79. I can always return again.

I bought what I remember being touted as the first HDMI compatable DVD player, the Panasonic S97S.

DVD's always looked great on it but I never updated the firmware, am I missing a lot?

As for upconversion it seems to me at least that if you have a really good DVD it looks amazing "7" comes to mind and if the dvd transfer isn't that good it still looks like crap. I also have A20 and PS3 (connected w/HDMI to a 60A2020 LCD) and to my eyes the Toshiba A20 looks a little cleaner than the PS3 on SD-DVD'S (firmware is up to date on both HD players).

So in summation to me good and great DVD will be upgraded to great and near hi-def in some scenes, and crappy dvd's wind up looking worse than bad vhs tapes on a budget tv (or maybe it's just that you're spoiled by the new tech?).

Let me add this, I think that a lot SD-DVD's overall will look BETTER ON A TUBE tv. Some of these dvd's scene by scene vary wildly, meaning you might enjoy a consistently pretty good picture rather than going from really nice to fuzzy and hazy on the next scene.

Going to HDMI on your player, or even going to HDMI on most players/sets will not make a difference.

As said, I would try the Phillips. If you are interested in HDDVD, then any of the Toshibas would be a good match for your TV. They do a great job upconverting DVDs. Check out the HDDVD forum for more info.

-Evan
I tried the Bravo D1 with component and with HDMI on my Optoma HD70 projector. Both were at 720P (The onscreen read 720P with the component hookup and 1280X720 with the HDMI.)

The component image was soft. The HDMI was sharp. I wouldn't use the component connection with this particular TV/DVD player combo.

I also use the Philips 5982, but it will not upscale through component so I didn't compare the two. I do like the 5982 via HDMI. It is not as good (PQ-wise) as the Bravo D1 but it plays almost any disc I try.

The 5982 is a great machine, but read the 5982 thread for possible concerns. I like it!

Well if it's any help to anyone...

I have a Sony 46E2000 connected via component to a rather old Sony DVP-S400D. I decided to get a Sony DVP-NS78H via HDMI today just to see if there was any difference. I actually expected to see an improvement, but I didn't see a bit of difference.

I guess in this case the TV does a good job of upscaling itself. Surprising to me.

You guys should try an Oppo 980 or 981 to see the true effects of upscaling,the Oppo's have many adjustments so you can customize the picture for your TV.If you have more money to spare I recommend a Toshiba A20/A30.

You guys should try an Oppo 980 or 981 to see the true effects of upscaling,the Oppo's have many adjustments so you can customize the picture for your TV.If you have more money to spare I recommend a Toshiba A20/A30.


Thanks, but I have returned so much stuff in the past I would not like the idea of buying mail order from Oppo and going through the pains of returning the player to them when it doesn't satisfy my expectations. ;)

I think I'll just wait until I get a PS3.

Well, when I tried to get the CC staff to show me the difference, the department manager told me that you have to have an upscaling dvd player because the tv can't upscale anything, which after reading so many posts on here (and the tv box saying that it has a farjaudia (sp?) upscaler on it) I didn't trust him.

I personally believe that my crappy dvd player does a pretty good job, but I'm just wondering if I should go ahead and buy the upscaling dvd now until Blu-ray or HD DVD comes out on top and then buy one of those.

I just wish Transformers the movie was available in either format!

I returned the Sony without exchanging after I tried a bunch of reconfigs of my settings. Also...I know my hdmi cable is good as I hooked it up to my cable box with no issues.

Do you have any suggested configurations?

I am going to rebuy the Sony to give it another shot...especially since I saw it on sale at Fry's for $79. I can always return again.
Ok...I got my second Sony S77 upconverting dvd player for $79. First one stunk and returned it for a refund and about to give up. But I bought another as I wanted to figure out what I was missing.

Second one works and picture looks good. Does it look amazingly better than my 480p Panasonic with component video cables? Perhaps slightly...but not extremely better. I guess that the Samsung HLT6187 HDTV does a great job at upscaling the 480p without upconverting.

But...thinking it further...the new Sony S77 does provide some additional benefits. One is that it does feed the HDTV with a 1080p video source...which then allows me some additional features on the HDTV. Such as the ability to use the "justscan" picture format that fills out the screen.

Another benefit is that I can use a HDMI cable...which sends a digital source (I know some think that HDMI is hype...but I was able to buy two 10' cables at overstock.com for $20...cheap).

Third benefit is that I can use an optical audio cable on the new dvd player to feed into my audio system.

So...after I got my second upconverting player....I changed my mind. It is worth getting one for the ability to obtain additional features not found on other players. Not going to get a blueray or other full hd player until more titles and the format war is over.

^I'm glad it worked out for you the second time around, La Costa. Happy viewing.

Well if it's any help to anyone...

I have a Sony 46E2000 connected via component to a rather old Sony DVP-S400D. I decided to get a Sony DVP-NS78H via HDMI today just to see if there was any difference. I actually expected to see an improvement, but I didn't see a bit of difference.

I guess in this case the TV does a good job of upscaling itself. Surprising to me.

I'm in the same boat, I have the same Sony TV with my DVD's running on an older Pioneer DV-260 player (component video out) and the picture is absolutely fantastic. I set my display using THX Optimizer and then walking it in manually from there.

I just set up my father's Panasonic TH-50PX75U 50" 720p Plasma HDTV connected to a Sony DAV-HDX500 all-in-one tuner/DVD (tried both component and HDMI, did not notice a real difference) and there is only one area where his set shines above mine; the blend between sharp and smooth.

I don't really think that an upconverting DVD player will do me much good, but I might try one out (an Oppo 980H over HDMI) just to see. I don't want the picture to be worse, but in the off chance that my picture can get better, it might be worth the gamble. I guess I can always return it.

Believe it or not, but at a 10' viewing distance from my 37" Panny (50U generation) I get a 'magical' picture quality using an old Pioneer 525 payer and letting the Panny do the scaling of course, beings this is a 480i player. I've tried a couple 'upconverters' in the past via HDMI and have always come back to this combo. Don't really know why, but this just 'works'. Some of my reference DVDs are VERY hard to tell from a good OTA HD signal. I know my distance to screen ratio is definately helping create a sharp image, but still, all things being equal from that same distance it provides a better pic than the upconverters I've tried ( albeit earlier models). Question is however, i'm seriously thinking of going with 50" plasma in my home theater rm. and using 37 up stairs in living rm. for general tv watching. With (larger screen) and viewing distance ( again 10') will I start to see bennefits of a better upscaling player such as the Oppo line? I will probably stay with Panny as far as the plasma line, because at the time I bought this set, they were considerably better (at internally scaling DVDs) than anything else I had auditioned, and that was quite a few sets in ALL price ranges.

I really disagree with this. My old Momitsu V880 made my old CRT direct view really shine with it's upconversion. Before the Momitsu, I was using a panny RP-82.

+1. Still using my V880 on a 32" Hitachi HDTV CRT.

Well, I had a Denon 1600 dvd player and then got the oppo 981. Have to say that the denon was a flat looking picture on a piano 3200 projector. Just got a new projector but haven't tested the denon it yet but the oppo looks great. I am now unfortunately, thinking about upgrading to high def dvd because no matter what it will not beat high definition, no matter what standard def player you have. High def with my projector looks amazing!

say you have a 1080p dvdplayer and a 1080p lcd... how do you control which device is doing the upconversion when you're watching a DVD?

say you have a 1080p dvdplayer and a 1080p lcd... how do you control which device is doing the upconversion when you're watching a DVD?

The display scales only when the input signal is not it's native resolution. If it is a 1080 display and you give it a 1080 signal, the display will not do any additional scaling. So it is the setting of the DVD player that determines who does what.

NOTE: the above applies only when the display is using a 1:1 pixel mapping mode. There have been instances of undefeatable overscan where the display enlarges the image so it can chop off the edges. See: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10228310&&#post10228310

-Bill

The display scales only when the input signal is not it's native resolution. If it is a 1080 display and you give it a 1080 signal, the display will not do any additional scaling. So it is the setting of the DVD player that determines who does what.

NOTE: the above applies only when the display is using a 1:1 pixel mapping mode. There have been instances of undefeatable overscan where the display enlarges the image so it can chop off the edges. See: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10228310&&#post10228310

-Bill


ah so the matter is to go into the Setup menu of the DVD player, tell it to output for standard dvd at 480i fr ex, if i have a standard dvd i wish to watch...

then my 1080p lcd will upconvert, not the dvd player.

then observing how the movie looks...

i can stop it, go back into the DVD player's setup menu, set output for 1080P, play it... and this time my LCD will not do upconversion, just show what the dvdplayer can do.

ah so the matter is to go into the Setup menu of the DVD player, tell it to output for standard dvd at 480i fr ex, if i have a standard dvd i wish to watch...

then my 1080p lcd will upconvert, not the dvd player.

then observing how the movie looks...

i can stop it, go back into the DVD player's setup menu, set output for 1080P, play it... and this time my LCD will not do upconversion, just show what the dvdplayer can do.

Correct. It is worth trying all the combinations to see which you like the best. There is no firm rule: it depends on the gear and your viewing preferences.

-Bill

I have a S97 and a Panny plasma. I think the benefit of an upscaling player really only applies to cheaper generic/no-name type displays and then you would want a good quality upscaling player too, with like a Faroudja or HQV de-interlacing/scaling chip. Because my panny plasma has poor jaggie reduction I feed the plasma a 480p/576p signal, letting the S97 deinterlace as the Faroudja has better jaggie reduction and let the plasma do the rest.

So in the end, it really depends on the quality of the scaling of the display.

I bought my first HDTV last October and I was appauled by how bad DVD looked on it. My player was a Toshiba progressive scan unit that had component only out. I bought a Pio Elite 79avi and used its upconverter and also tried with it leaving the feed untouched and I thought that was unimpressive too. I didn't have high hopes when the PS3 upconversion patch was released, but it exceeded my expectations by alot. Even now, I prefer the picture on it over what my receiver and new dvd player can do.

Is it worth upconverting?

Well NO if you have an old CRT TV or a flat panel that does not support 720 or 1080. But if you have a nice new flat panel thats 1080P.....damn right upconverting works! But you HAVE to hook up both units (dvd player and tv) with an HDMI cable, NOT component cables.

OH and forget about game consoles for upconverting and watching movies, I know i'll get alot of flak here, just get a nice DVD player that upconverts for about $100 to $150. And remember HDMI cables only!

I just picked up a sony ns77 have it set for 1080i for upconverting and have it hooked up to a hitachi P42H401 via HDMI and it looks great allot better then my old 480i player did. Of course I had to adjust the HDMI input on the tv to get the best picture along with the sony.

But you HAVE to hook up both units (dvd player and tv) with an HDMI cable, NOT component cables.

Recommended reading: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/dvihdmicomponent.htm

-Bill

Is it worth upconverting?

Well NO if you have an old CRT TV or a flat panel that does not support 720 or 1080. But if you have a nice new flat panel thats 1080P.....damn right upconverting works! But you HAVE to hook up both units (dvd player and tv) with an HDMI cable, NOT component cables.

OH and forget about game consoles for upconverting and watching movies, I know i'll get alot of flak here, just get a nice DVD player that upconverts for about $100 to $150. And remember HDMI cables only!
btw...you know why you typically need HDMI cables to get the advantages of a upconverting unit?

Reason is that most players only transmit the 1080 upconverted feeds through the HDMI.

Those that are hooking it with component cables will probably say it isn't worth it....and the reason is because the tv isn't getting upconverted feeds!

Buy your hdmi through monoprice.com. Bought some from them and they work just fine. $5 for a 10' 28 gauge hdmi cable....$20 for a 24 gauge. How can you beat that! And get the Sony NS77 from fry's for $79. Less than $100 all in cost for all you need to get upconverted.

..Those that are hooking it with component cables will probably say it isn't worth it....and the reason is because the tv isn't getting upconverted feeds!....

Or, because the TV does much better job itself with up-scaling and de-interlacing than any DVD players with their mysterious up-converters. ;)

being somewhat out of touch with reality,i just today discovered that 'upconverting' dvd players exist
i've spent much of the day surfing for info on these upconverters and joined this forum just to ask Q's of folks much more knowledgeable than i
i got a lcdhd tv last feb for a price a single parent could afford
$ in this household is always an issue
polaroid 37in lcd flm-3732 720p/1080i
i view from 7ft away
i used the component cables that comcast gave me for the old toshiba dvd player i have,bought hdmi cable for the cable box to the tv
compared to the regular tv i had for years the picture is awesome in HD and generally better on most non hd channels
dvd however,while looking better than reg tv,was a bit of a disappointment
i somehow expected better
so many pros and cons here my head is ready to explode
with my lower end setup,do you folks think an upconverter(and i'm looking most closely at the oppo dv-970 for 150) would actually make a discernable viewing difference
thanks

edit:
how do i find out how much my tv upconverts on it's own?

a) ymmv. a decent upconverter may help a bit. hard to say without trying. you can always get one from a bestbuy (or someplace like that) that has a 30 day return policy so you can find out. keep in mind that you need to use hdmi for it to upconvert.

b) your television will always convert to it's native resolution if it isn't getting it from the source.

Or, because the TV does much better job itself with up-scaling and de-interlacing than any DVD players with their mysterious up-converters. ;)
Actually that is incorrect. If you open up the manual to the upconverting dvd players...it will clearly state that upconverted signals only through hdmi. If you use component cables....non-upconverting signals.

The point I was making is that those that are not using HDMI cables...will not be receiving upconverted signals from the dvd player. In that case...they are defeating the intention of receiving hidef signals.

The key...read the manual

ur all insane theres no difference between 480p with progressive using components and 1080P upconversion with Hdmi. Upconversion is just straight garbage. But, they are pretty much the only thing out now unless u want one of those 40 buck last a month dvd players

ur all insane theres no difference between 480p with progressive using components and 1080P upconversion with Hdmi. Upconversion is just straight garbage. But, they are pretty much the only thing out now unless u want one of those 40 buck last a month dvd players

Do you have any more data regarding the assertion that it is "straight garbage"?

Do you have any more data regarding the assertion that it is "straight garbage"?
Just ignore the ravings of a lunatic.

ur all insane theres no difference between 480p with progressive using components and 1080P upconversion with Hdmi. Upconversion is just straight garbage. But, they are pretty much the only thing out now unless u want one of those 40 buck last a month dvd players

now THIS is the kind of insight that i come to avs for... :rolleyes:

there's no difference between 480p with progressive using components and 1080P upconversion with Hdmi.

That may depend on the up-scaler in the TV set, whether or not it upscales component. Otherwise there is a very big difference between component and hdmi when it comes to watching 480p over hdmi and 1080i over hdmi.

I have a Panasonic VHS/DVD Recorder through HDMI set up to output 720p and it is inferior to my Oppo 981.

I set up a friend's Sharp 52" Aquos and she was using a Sony DVD player with RCA cables. I had to at least get her up to component cables before I thought it was acceptable. But even then, using DVE I could see its limitations, to the point that when she gets another player I will have to re-calibrate her set. She doesn't notice it now because she still has analogue cable. She will be getting an HD cable box. And yes, she's eying my Oppo although she may go with a $75 up-converting DVD player instead.

well,read many posts and links here and was going to shop this weekend
most all articles re:upconverting say tv should support HDCP or it won't work
called my tv tech support 800# this am to inquire about HDCP(high def copyright protection)
took them 15 minutes to look it up and discover my tv does not support this
all these hrs of research down the tube
thanks to all who advised

My experience:
I was using a HTIB Pioneer 5 Disc DVD player with a Sansui 27" CRT for a long time. I decided to make the jump to HD and I ordered an Oppo DV-980H and a Samsung LN-T4661. The Oppo upconverting player arrived first and I promply hooked it up to the Sansui using the yellow composite video connection, I immediately knoticed an inprovement in picture quality over the HTIB. The sound was also much fuller and well defined. I finally got the new 1080P set installed and tryed standard def. DVDs on both the old and the new player and the Oppo again showed up the standard. I feel that it is worth it, however, with the price of the HD-DVD players dropping you may be better served by buying a HD player and having standard def. up-convert not being quite as good.

If audio is a concern the Oppo does an amazing job as a SACD and DVD-Audio disc player, I have never had better sound before.

My experience:
I was using a HTIB Pioneer 5 Disc DVD player with a Sansui 27" CRT for a long time. I decided to make the jump to HD and I ordered an Oppo DV-980H and a Samsung LN-T4661. The Oppo upconverting player arrived first and I promply hooked it up to the Sansui using the yellow composite video connection, I immediately knoticed an inprovement in picture quality over the HTIB. The sound was also much fuller and well defined. I finally got the new 1080P set installed and tryed standard def. DVDs on both the old and the new player and the Oppo again showed up the standard. I feel that it is worth it, however, with the price of the HD-DVD players dropping you may be better served by buying a HD player and having standard def. up-convert not being quite as good.

If audio is a concern the Oppo does an amazing job as a SACD and DVD-Audio disc player, I have never had better sound before.

This is an excellent anecdote that shows that upconverting is not the only way to get a better picture. A better player, regardless of the resolution can make a better picture. In this case, upconverting had nothing to do with the improvement.

I recently bought a 46" Samsung 1080p LCD TV(LA46M81B). My current DVD player supports only component video output. I am wondering whether it is worth buying a upconverting DVD player from Samsung(DVD 1080) or Sony(DVP-NS78H)? Some forum threads suggests that TV upscaling is better than DVD upscaling and using an uncoverting DVD player may produce worse results. Please advice.

I recently bought a 46" Samsung 1080p LCD TV(LA46M81B). My current DVD player supports only component video output. I am wondering whether it is worth buying a upconverting DVD player from Samsung(DVD 1080) or Sony(DVP-NS78H)? Some forum threads suggests that TV upscaling is better than DVD upscaling and using an uncoverting DVD player may produce worse results. Please advice.

There is no fixed rule. It depends on the combination of gear and your viewing habits.

For some reason, Samsung DVD players do not get a lot of respect around here. I've never had one, so I don't know if that's fair.

In any case, upgrading your DVD player is not likely to make a night and day difference in image quality. But if you are trying to squeeze that last few percent out of SD-DVD, this is the sort of thing you have to do.

Whatever you do, for best results use a calibration disc. Brief comments here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9889995&&#post9889995

-Bill

I recently bought a 46" Samsung 1080p LCD TV(LA46M81B). My current DVD player supports only component video output. I am wondering whether it is worth buying a upconverting DVD player from Samsung(DVD 1080) or Sony(DVP-NS78H)? Some forum threads suggests that TV upscaling is better than DVD upscaling and using an uncoverting DVD player may produce worse results. Please advice.

What model is your current DVD player?

If you feel you must upgrade, I'm not sure what prices you're getting on the Sony and Samsung, but I'd consider spending a little more to get an Oppo 981. It's going to seem like a lot of money, but if you still watch a lot of SD dvds, and aren't planning on investing in an HD-Disc layer with REON technology, the oppo is the best SD picture you can get for ~$200.

I always thought that the benefits of the Oppo might be in my head. Depite the picture looking better to my ears (cleaner, smoother motion, more detail), I always figured that was me just wanting to believe that my $200 was not wasted. At the time, I didn't have anything else to comare it to.

Recently I purchased a Toshiba HD-A2 and ran the HQV test disk through both it and the Oppo. The Toshiba was jaggy city with SD material. I thought it might be because my TV is only 1080i, but nope, ran the same test with the oppo, and all those jaggies were gone.

I'd stick with what you have, unless you're really unhappy, but if you're going to invest in a new player over $100, I'd bite the bullet and spend more for a player that is a great performer to last you as long as you'll continue to watch SD discs (which, trust me, despite all this talk of the next-gen HD format, will be a looooong time.)

-Marshall

I bought the Sony upscaling dvd player. As I mentioned in a previous post...the main advantage is that it provided me more options on my Samsung LCD LED. Options such as the screen format which I find to be of great value. Picture also looks slightly better than my 2 yr old Panasonic...but that also may be because dvd internal electronics are getting better each day.

So if anything...getting a recently released dvd player in itself may improve picture quality. And getting more options to select from your TV is the biggest benefit I received.