I have Pioneer DV 525. It is so old that it does not even do progressive output as far as I know. Most things that I have played on my Daewoo DSJ-4710CRA look quite good. Is it worth it to get an upconverting DVD player or should I stick with my DV 525? The TV does not have HDMI/DVI so I am stuck with componet imputs. I was going to get Oppo 970, but now they are gone.

I have Pioneer DV 525. It is so old that it does not even do progressive output as far as I know. Most things that I have played on my Daewoo DSJ-4710CRA look quite good. Is it worth it to get an upconverting DVD player or should I stick with my DV 525? The TV does not have HDMI/DVI so I am stuck with componet imputs. I was going to get Oppo 970, but now they are gone.

"Worth" is a subjective issue. I replaced my 1999-era Toshiba (which like yours, was 480i component) with a newer machine and was pleased with the improvement. But if you are looking for a night and day change you may be disappointed. I've also noticed that CRT owners are a bit more ambivalent about the value of upscaled SD-DVD.

The Oppo 980 has both HDMI and component. Component output is limited to 480i and 480p for CSS-protected discs.

-Bill

Thanks for the imput Bill. I have a soft modded XBOX that will upconvert. I guess I could try watching a movie through that to see if it is worth the investment. I am sure it is not the best player though.
I like the idea of being able to bring downloaded content to the DVD player and watch it on a big screen. The Oppo 980s seem to be one of the better players under 200. Any chances of the 980s being hacked to allow upconversion? I guess I could always RIP DVDs to a DVR and remove the CSS protection but I doubt I would go through the trouble. It would probably just degrade picture quality more that it would be worth.

Any chances of the 980s being hacked to allow upconversion?

I'm told "no, that's unlikely".

Oppo has a 30-day return if you want to try the 980. I suspect you have to pay return shipping.

I guess I could always RIP DVDs to a DVR and remove the CSS protection but I doubt I would go through the trouble. It would probably just degrade picture quality more that it would be worth.

DVDs can be ripped without loss of quality. It's still illegal, though commonly done.

-Bill

Found the 970HD available from hkflix.com. I went ahead and ordered one.

It is here and hooked up. Updated to modified firmware. Looks pretty good. I only watched a couple of scenes from The Incredibles and my super bit version of The Fifth Element.