HD1000 and upconverting DVD player ?

I am using the Oppo 971 player with mine. Does an excellent upconverting job, and is good enough that I have stopped using the PC I used to use for same purpose. I have experimented with upconverting to 720p or 1080i, couldn't detect any difference so am sticking with 720p for now.

You can't go wrong with an Oppo 971, they're fantastic.

Will this enhance the PQ of my HD1000 from Comcast ?? or does it only improve DVD's

I just bought the Oppo 981 to use with mine. I see a huge improvement over my non-upconverting player. I couldn't be happier.

You see a huge improvement on your Comcast (or whatever) signal as well ??? Or just DVD's

The Oppo is a DVD player only!! It has nothing to do with your Comcast signal. You are married to the scaler in your PJ for cable unless you invest in a stand alone external scaler which would surely cost as much or more than your projector.

I hope this helps.

Yes ...that helps & thank you. I think I will hold off on the scaler. I need a switcher & a DVD player. Most HD programs look great now. Its the SD stuff that sux. I find myself looking to see whats on HD & seldom watch anything else. With Discovery HD & HD football....(& a cold beer) I'm fine.

Ummmmmmmm......beer. I'm "Brewed" for a reason and it's not coffee.

Not to hype another PJ on this thread, I pulled the trigger on the Panny Ax100 because one of the reviews noted that it hanclled SD material quite well. I find most of the Comcast SD stuff quite "watchable" if I leave it at 4:3. It's plenty big and being displayed as it was broadcast. Not bad at all.

according to the reviews...the scaler and deinterlacer are the hd1000u's weekest point and one of the few advantages the hd70 has over it. they gotta cut the corners somewhere...its all a matter of where.

The deinterlacer is simply average, but I can assure you that the scaler is superb. 480p material scaled up to 720p via component is extremely smooth, detailed and film-like. I could not imagine much better scaling in the price range.

Material downscaled from 1080i is virtually indistinguishable from 720p native.

Jim McC, $35 Bravo D1 via DVI and custom resolution at 1280X720X59.94 is great using DVI->HDMI cable from Monoprice. It's better than my HTPC at same resolution using Radeon 9800Pro, Dscaler video/audio codecs, and FFDSHOW. Of course you have to do some modding like caps change, IDE cable change, possibly IDE DVD-ROM change which should still be under your $100 cut off.

For out of box experience, I'd suggest the Sylvania DVL-1000F for $80 new (does not pass DTS via SPDIF and uses Faroudja which is fine with my HD1000u--I use Samsung HD941 which has DCDi). The Panny S52S (Sylvania DVL-1000G is a cheaper clone minus DTS passage) for less than $100 is pretty good. Avoid Zenith DVB-612 as Zoran 888 is not as sharp at 720p or 1080i.

Huey,

Can you explain how the D1 is so much better than the faroudja based DVD players?

I would also like to know more about the D1. I know about the D1 problems and fixes, and I have no problems doing the mods if needed. I guess my main D1 ? is what is the picture like at 1280x720 for my HD1000U. The D1 is so cheap at NEWEGG it's hard not to buy it. And the OPPO 971 is 5 times the price of the D1.
Would the 971 image be WOW better than the D1.

I received a Bravo D1 yesterday hooked it up to my hd1000u and I was really impressed, the picture quality is fantastic, out of the box it betters the picture quality of my panasonic s97@720p, Denon DVD-1920 @720p, and the zenith dvb-318 @1080i, then I started playing with custom resolutions, I tried 1280x720 @ 59.94hz and 1280x720 @47.95hz they both look great but I give the edge to 47.95hz even though the projector shows 50hz in the display I can hear the color wheel slowing down, so it must be doing something, anyways it looks great. I will be doing the cap mod today to ensure reliability. I am very happy with my purchase, I am thinking of buying two more units.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, this is a no brainer.
I recommend the Bravo d1 to anyone who owns a hd1000u

It's all about pixel mapping and lack of noise. Bravo does not add EE, sharper, more neutral colors, and less noise on dark scenes (mild macroblocking) than the Zenith DVB318 (DCDi deinterlacer, unknown MPEG decoder) via 1080i component (its DVI is too bright and 720p is softer due to YC mismatch) or HD941 (DCDi deinterlacer/Zoran MPEG decoder) at 720p HDMI (1080i is same).

Heck HTPC is well touted as the best and with appropriate muscle power, software tweaking it probably is. My HTPC is an average performer and Bravo D1 beats it without hassle (once you've modded it). I've been HTPC fanboy for years (6 years usage). I do use the average but adequate gear (Radeon 9800pro, Dscaler codecs, FFDSHOW with 2X resize, unsharpen sharpening filter, 3D denoise, and bicubic with chroma/luma sharpening at 1.3). I still use the HTPC for WMV (HD), SDTV (using Dscaler4 and Svideo capture from SVHS tuner/VHS tapes), MP3, gaming, and *.ts files.

I've tried LiteON LVD-2001 (sigma 8500 like the Bravo D1 except no DVI--component sucks on D1 too but better than LiteON LVD-2001) at 1080i component, Neuneo HVD-108 (AMLogic chipset) at 1080i component or XGA via VGA, Zenith DVB612 (Zoran 888) via 720p HDMI, and Sylvania DVL-1000G (nonDCDi, Panny deinterlacer and MPEG decoder--Panny S52S clone minus the DTS output via SPDIF), Panny RP62 (DCDi but 480p component only), Sharp DV-S25U (DCDI 480p component), and Samsung HD755 at 720p HDMI (Zoran 778--fails blacker than black on PLUGE test) with HD1000u.

Bravo D1 is best of these players. I wish I have the Oppo 970HD or 971/981 to try but I don't want to spend more right now (eventually the curiosity bug will get me)

holy crap the Bravo D1 is back at Newegg. It was gone for about a week and I was getting worried because I could not find one. I might get 2 now. ha.

How does the Bravo compare to the Oppo 971?

Huey,

Can you please explain what's involved with modding the D1 and why it needs to be done?

TIA!

Does anyone know how the Bravo compares with the Toshiba A1 HD-DVD player with SD DVD's?
I have the A1 and it is much better than my old Oppo 970HD.

Wet1, Cavu and others started this with their SP4805: 1) capacitor c1022 for $1.60 at Ratshack needs replacing (see Cavu's guide with very clear photos in the mega 4805 and Bravo thread in this forum--desoldering the old and soldering in the new), 2) new IDE cable (change from 40 pin cable to 80 pin with Gladiator 12" ATA133 being best of the best for $10), 3) possibly swapping out the Fuss(y) IDE DVD-ROM loader with LiteON DVD-ROM (only do it if first 2 mods don't help reliability of loading discs). You may wait until it craps out to do the mods but if the bad cap. leak it could cause more damage on the power supply board.

I don't know how Oppo 981 or Tosh A1/A2 HD-DVD as I don't have these. I suspect they should do very well with HD1000u, but Bravo D1 is just dirt cheap

Jim McC, yes for under $100, avail. at CC/BB, and NEW, Panny S52S is your best bet. Its clone is the Sylvania DVL-1000G which uses Panny MPEG and deinterlacer but does not pass DTS via SPDIF (to avoid paying DTS licensing fee and allow cheaper production). The Sylvania DVL-1000F uses Panny MPEG decoder and DCDi deinterlacer and also does NOT pass DTS for same reasons.

For refurbs, LG DVB-418 with DCDi deinterlacer/scaler and unknown MPEG decoder for around $80 shipped from Epay would be your best bet.

Thanks Huey. Sounds like a PITA... If I read your post correctly, these mods are only necessary it the player won't load discs? Otherwise it's a good player? If that's the case I might pick one up and toss it if it craps out...

Also, it does do DD and DTS, correct?

Every dvd player I've tested, upconverted to 720p and connected the hd1000 looked better than the hd1000 doing the scaling or deinterlacing by itself.

Deinterlacer and scaler are the weak point of this projector, if you are going to use it to display dvd material buy a good upconverting player, I've used the Panasonic S97, Bravo D1, Toshiba HD-A2 all upconverted to 720p and they look great with the HD-1000

Yes, it does pass DD and DTS

Some Bravo D1 owners have no trouble with stock D1. Most however do with unreliable, sluggish DVD loader (sometimes plain unresponsive or even dead) and need to do the mods. I modded mine because I like to tinker even though mine worked fine out-of-the-box. At $35 it's close enough to "disposable" so you could buy 3 and still be cost-effective over a $100 Panny S52S.

On the other hand, buying an Oppo 981 for $229 may be better (I don'k know as I don't have one) but will cost you more.