Emergency Upscaling DVD Recomendation System - Page 2

Um.. lets see all 3 of my Sony's . A 5 disk changer (2yrs old) , GX300 (1yr old)recorder & DVP-NS70H(new) Up converting player will play store bought dvd's, Recorded DVD +- RW+- as well as any video I have created on my computer.
Also I have some very old S/VCD's that I bought from Japan yep they all play them!
Also some nasty old VCD's recorded on my old TERAPIN VCD recorder.
They all will also play Mp3 disk and Picture cd's.
Don't know about the other formats as I only usually do those on my computer then convert them to DVD anyway.
I also have 3 apex's in the house from 5years old to 1 and they have on occasion choked on my recorded VCD's and DVD's as well as a Samsung that I took back.
So go a little easier on the "NASTY OLD REPUTATION and maybe relegate it to "TO YOUR EXPEREANCE"

Probably i should rephrase that to ...THEY DONT PLAY PAL, let's say ive heard it from alot of friends with the "major" brands that ive given dvd's too, aww it didnt work or said No disc found!
Possibly Sony got there act together 2-3 yrs ago, panasonic is still living in the past

I would agree, my 4 year old Sony 5-disc changer has (so far) played practically anything I've thrown at it. On my 60" SXRD, I really wonder whether there is any advantage to even having an upconverting DVD player. I watched "Robots" with the kids a few days ago, and it was stunning with the Sony's 480p output... I guess I'll have to do some in-store testing to find out if the XBR's internal scaler is just as good as any player. My Dad has a Panasonic plasma (500U?) and he swears by the Sony upconverting player he just bought (he tried the low-end Denon and Panasonic S97, but didn't like them due to MB).

What model Sony DVD player did he buy?

I had the later model of Sony 5 disk player and I agree it produced awesome pictures but.... I did replace it with a Sony DVP NS70H up converting player, probably what your Dad got if he didn't pay over $200 for it!
I also have a Panasonic 50in Dlp and the results are stuning!
I have to admit there is a noticeable difference in the pictures!
The Sony DVP NS70H has a stunningly clear and bright picture! As well as better color than my Sony 5 disk player and it was very good!
It will not make every DVD look stunning if the DVD was recorded in a low bit rate on a crappy DVD then it will help a little.
I have some old VCD's that I recorded on my old Terapin recorder on very cheap cdr media at the lowest bit rate it had for some old TV shows and popped one of those in and it looked ok, it seemed to smooth the video out a little made it a little less painful to watch.
Now on a high quality DVD recorded at high bit rates such as any of the last three Star WA** they look jaw dropping!
So was it worth it? Well for $139.00 on sale at CC I would say yes it does over all make most DVD's look better than my old Sony did.
If you have a high Def TV with HDMI input (required for up conversion at 720 or 1080) then go for it!, you won't be sorry.
If you have a standard def or a High def TV with out an HDMI port then stick with the old Sony it will be fine.

I think it was the 90, but I'll have to check...

Yes, it was the 90...

I just gotta keep digging for opinions with this, so forgive me if this same post pops up all over the place...

Has anyone tried the Denons with a Panasonic TH42PX50U or similar? I've waded through many long pages trying to find an ideal match for my new display and have determined that there isn't one. Granted, my needs are pretty darn specific: I'm looking for a universal DVD/audio player (DVD-A & SACD) with a great picture quality, great sound quality, and that isn't insanely expensive or gigantic (preferably below $800 and shorter than shorter than 4 1/4"). The Denon 2910 and 1920 are at the top of my list but I'm concerned about macroblocking with the Faroujda processing (heard this one before?).

I'm leaning toward the 1920 just because the 2910 seems to have a lot of possible problems for a ~$700 piece of equipment, although what I may have to do is buy from a dealer with a liberal return policy and give it a whirl. The Pioneer Elite models people have suggested as an alternative are hard to find (buying from eBay voids the warranty) and the Onkyo DV-SP800 is nearly impossible to find. Reviews of the Samsung and Toshiba players have not impressed me. So it's pretty much a matter of waiting to see if new products come out or testing the Denons to see if they'll work for me.

Spending more (3910, 5910, SP1000) or getting separate DVD and SACD players aren't an option at this point. Sony doesn't do DVD-A, Panasonic doesn't do SACD, so those guys are out. I don't have any brand-phobias in general, but I prefer to buy things where I don't have to make an appointment just to look at it.

Any thoughts, experience, or alternative suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

For the record, I have a Pioneer DV-563-a-s. It looked pretty good on my old Sony Trinitron but blown up I'm having some detail and color issues. I've done some calibrating with DVE but since I have old firmware on the Pioneer, it rejects many DVD-A discs and I'd rather just get a whole new machine (if it will result in PQ improvment).

Long-winded much? Sorry, I've been reading AVS for awhile and only just registered today, so I've got a lot on my mind.

Welcome to the forums.

My Dad tried the Denon 1920 and the Panasonic S97 with the 500U, and couldn't stand either due to the Faroudja chip's macroblocking. I think I've heard of people having more success with the 2910 and the Panasonic plasmas, but I honestly have no direct experience myself. Good luck.

Someone else on the forum said they had good luck with this display and the 1920, so I may just give it a try and see what happens. I figure if I'm going to have a troublesome DVD player, it might as well cost $300 less than an equally troublesome unit.

Hopefully the NeuNeo HVD208/2085 DVD player outperforms the HVD108, which received a rather poor DVD Benchmark result by hometheaterhifi.com

I totally agree with you, i owned many players and the only ones i will buy are the "play it all" variety, if it wont play xvid burned on a dvd-r as a avi-dvd-iso doesnt do me anygood.

The 511 is wayy underated here, if it boasted a Faroudja chip it would be the hit of the neighborhood here, there is NO macroblocking on my Panny PM50 from this player, i like also the 7:1 card reader feature, the slot load isnt my fav by it's really untested how long it will last.

I love the many zoom levels this player has as i can perfectly fit a 2:35:1 movie as a 1:78:1 and has no cropped edges.

My only gripe is a 1/2" black bar on top,using 720p or 1080i, my plaz has a underscan problem that probably the reason so many Sony's N70's are being reported.
Also the ability to play 480i thru HDMI and Component is nice, i dont wanna hear it wont play copy protected thru component but 99.9% of my dvd's aren't anyway.

Does anyone know if the LG LDA-511 DVD Player up converts via component? Anyone have any experience with this model. The wife bought it for me for Christmas.

Kurt

I have found no reports of any hacks to enable upscaling over component with that model. As far as I know, the last LG models that would are the Zenith DVB318/LG7832.

Chris

The manual states that it upconverts via component to 720p and 1080i only if the disk is not copy protected. If it is copy protected, it is displayed in 480p. Is that the same for the Samsung, NeoNeu, and Momitsu Models that upconvert via component? Do they only upconvert on non-copy protected discs? I thought most if not all discs are copy protected.

Please help.

Thanks

Kurt

Most of the Samsungs do with the hack, and I know the Momitsu does.

Clay

I don't understand. Most of the Samsungs and Momitsu's upconvert via component for non copy protected DVD's? Will they upconvert (via component) copy protected DVD's as well?

Kurt

I'm reading that the LDA-511 literally EATS double-sided DVD's. Since my collection started way back in the late 90's, I have many of those.

Shame. That's the player I was looking at getting and have to bypass on it now. I like slot-loading players, but not if the eat/scratch up double-sided DVD's.

-Larry

Yes, they will upconvert commercial, copy protected DVD's over component when the HDCP free hack is applied. That's the purpose of HDCP free hack.

1-If one has a display with DVI/HDMI input, is there still any advantage for having a player that upconverts through component?
2- Is there a hack for the Oppo to upconvert through component?

Thanks, Ramin

The LGA-511 does have a farjouda genesis chip in it-same as the 418 and the Zenith 318, and as previously stated it will upscale xvid/divx avi and unprotected dvd through the componet output. I own one and have never had a dvd "eaten up", I use my other players for "flipper" discs. ALSO-it doesn't overscan avi xvid/divx anime off the edges of the screen like every other player I've tested-no more cutoff subtitles!! And you don't have to screw around with the horizontial and vertical adjustments on your tv. The upscaling through the componet output is important to me cause' my hdtv doesn't have either a dvi or hdmi input.

I believe that with a little patience you can buy a leftover Pio 59avi from a genuine Pioneer dealer with full warranty for ~$700 or even less. Also, if you don't mind buying used merchandise, there are several mint used ones available on Audiogon that can probably be had for less than $600. In addition to possessing all the capabilities you mentioned, the 59avi has the added ability to put out 480i over HDMI, which is needed if you will ever want to add an external scaler. (I'm talking myself into buying one, too.)

See my previous post, for most of your needs the LDA-511 should meet your needs quite nicely. I think it's a fantastic player, for an anime fanatic like myself it's a dream come true.

Chris Gerhard: Thanks for your insights on upconverting players over component earlier in this thread. I chose the Samsung 941 at 720p and am very happy with the results!

Has anyone heard of any new upscaling DVD players released at 2006 CES yet? Looks like I might have to go with the Oppo if nothing new comes out. The one thing I wish the Oppo had was SACD but I guess I'll have to skip that.

By the way, from what I've read on the net, the non-HDCP Oppo should have no problem upconverting DVDs via it's DVI conntection to an HDCP HDMI reciever and an HDCP HDMI TV? Can anyone confirm this? I haven't been able to find out what type of difference a copy protected vs non-copy protected DVD will make.

Thanks

does anyone have any experience with the LG LDA-511?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1107957009599

You would think over time this is an area that would have cleaned itself up. No so. 2 years ago I picked up a 2nd generation Samsung upconverting player (DVI output), well it is very slow on startup but I never experienced the red push I was warned about and got a picture ont of my Infocus 7200 that was 95% of a HD image. At $175 I was very happy. Thursday, I picked up a Pioneer 4214 plasma @ Costco and the Costco upconvert Toshiba DVD player. Granted the DVD was only $75 but the picture looked like it was coming out of the composite RCA not the HDMI. It is going back tomorrow. I don't know what I will get maybe the Pioneer DV-59AVI but I really didn't want to spend that much. You would think we could get a decent HDMI player for under $250 but who knows.

There are two under $200 Sony models being talked about here. One has the number 90 in it, the other has the number 70 in it. Does anyone know the difference between the two?

Thanks,

Rod W.