Upscaling versus blu ray and hd-dvd

Upscaling players generally do a better job scaling than displays (otherwise, there would be no market for upscaling players). Given that, if you want a single player that upscales SD well and plays high def discs, at a reasonable price, the Tosh A2 is your only choice currently (the PS3 does not upscale, and the stand-alone BD players are a lot pricier, as is the Tosh AX2).

Get the PS3 since it'll eventually upscale (likely within a month according to reports). Then you have the best of both worlds, saving you money over the long term by buying only one machine. Blu-ray has the most consumer momentum and support from movie studios right now, so you can't go wrong.

I bought my 60" SXRD XBR HDTV last spring along with a $60 upconverting DVD player as I waited for the PS3's fall release. I can tell you that the quality of a DVD with an excellent transfer that's upconverted is outstanding. Star Wars Ep. II is so sharp, vibrant, and clear that I wondered if Blu-ray could SIGNIFICANTLY possibly pass up the quality... so far with 12 Blu-ray movies on my shelf I feel comfortable in saying that any improvements to the visuals is not easily noticed.

However, with that said, most DVDs I've watched upconverted don't reach this level of clarity. I watched an upconverted Spiderman DVD and noticed all kinds of patchiness and blockiness in the picture that I just don't see even in "average" quality Blu-ray movies. Plus the details just weren't sharp enough in general for me.

Lastly, the soundtracks of DVDs aren't at the level of Blu-ray movies either in most cases, provided you have the equipment for improved audio. So all in all, I think you'd be wise to just get a PS3 since that appears to be your main Blu-ray option.

Cheap upscaling players are a waste of time. Get the A2. Excellent upscaler plus an HD DVD player. Then the PS3.

Sony themselves said. There was a Japanese article which talked to the team responsible for the BR/DVD/SACD stuff and they said they were going to add upscaling, along with 24p BR output and other stuff (YCbCr color space was one that was mentioned in the article and they added that already). The inclusion of upscaling is likely going to hit on March 23rd update (to coincide with the PS3 Euro launch).

The DVD playback on PS3 is actually rather high quality, it just doesn't upscale at the moment, but it's one of the better DVD players (for quality output at 480p) that I've seen and reading various other user reports and some reviews they seem to agree. Judging by the rest of the media playback on the PS3, I imagine the upscaling on DVD will be pretty fantastic when it's implemented. In the mean time, I think the quality 480p DVD output + the scaling on your TV should provide you with a good enough solution for a month or two while waiting. 360's DVD output is rather crumby -- it's okay, but it's not as good as PS3s.

Going with a PS3 is probably the best decision. BR is looking like the smart decision anyways. And since you have a 360, I imagine you like games, to some extent -- having access to the exclusive PS3 games wouldn't hurt either.

It better happen. Sony better come through with a firmware update.

Before you worry too much about up-scalers/upconverting DVD players
be SURE the ones you already have in your HDTV are not working well enough.

I made the mistake of thinking I needed an Up-Converting player
for my new PDP-5070HD Plasma, so I got a Pioneer DV-490V up-converter

Shortly after I got a PS3 and an XBOX 360 w/HD DVD add-on..

I was very surprised to find my Pioneer Plasma,
when fed SD DVD 480p via HDMI from my PS3
...was the next best thing to HD/BD quality.

The internal scalers in a $3k display "should" be better than a sub $200 player
and in my case they certainly are. YMMV

KK SD DVD upconverted via DV-490v @ 1080i


PS3 playing the SD DVD @ 480p (totally up-scaled by the 5070 to 768p)


KK HD DVD @ 1080i via XBOX 360 add-on


SD DVD upconverted to output 1080i (DV490V Player) to TV, final dispay 768p


SD DVD output 480p (PS3) to TV, final dispay 768p


Blu Ray output 1080i (PS3) to TV, final display 768p


Underworld Evolution SD DVD @ 480p via PS3


Underworld Evolution Blu Ray @ 1080i via PS3

It's all in the details - like eyes, eyebrows, and lashes. Nice comparison.

Not to mention, paused pictures don't ever do the image justice.

The HD A1 is really cheap right now and you'll get an HD DVD player and an upscaling DVD player in one (Long load times on HD DVD discs and boot times) then get a PS3.

Format neutrality is the way to go

I conducted my own experiment: Upscaling vs Blu Ray. The results were very interesting. First I watched the Standard Definition DVD Underworld Evolution thru my Oppo 971H Upscaling DVD player outputting 720P thru HDMI into my Optoma HD72 Front Projector. I then compared it to the Blu-Ray Underworld Evolution on my PS3 set to output at 1080P thru HDMI. The Optoma HD72 projector accepts 1080P thru HDMI but compresses it to 720P. I also used my same setup for the Standard Definition DVD Black Hawk Down and the Blu-Ray version as well.

My unprofessional conclusion: The Oppo upconverting DVD player does a VERY respectable job at presenting quality video. But the Blu-Ray video was just plain awesome. What struck me as amazing was the perceived level of depth in the Blu-Ray Video. Example: In Black Hawk Down you can look at the various amount of debris in the streets and get a sense of true distance between it and the soldiers. The upconverted video made it much more difficult to judge that perceived distance. This was just one example of the Power of the Blu-Ray Format.

I only own a few Blu-Ray discs, but I am ruined. I don't think I can ever go back to DVD now that I have experienced Blu-Ray.

Yup.

My XBR2 does an excellent job upscaling, specially when feeding it SD through HDMI from the PS3. And there are cheap decent upconverting players in case whatever they implement on the PS3 is not good enough.

Upscaled DVDS are like putting new tires and a new paint job on a pinto and calling it a mercades. Anyone who thinks that upscaling is in the same league as BD and HD doesnt have there players hooked up right or needs glasses.

Well, I would say a DVD player with excellent decoding, de-interlacing and other core performance is more like putting a sports suspension on a Honda Civic. The Civic still won't beat many Ferarri's but it will be a lot more fun to drive -- and you can take it a lot more places than the Ferarri:-)

Also a good example. Im just tired of hearing that upscaling is comparable to BD and HD and people dont need a new format because there old ones look just as good.

I actually have not read that anywhere, and wouldn't trust anyone who wrote it! Although IMO my upscaled PQ looks fantastic with my Denon 3910, of course it is not true high def and does not look as good as my A2 playing HD-DVDs.

This pretty much sums up why the realy winner of the format war, for many years to come, is SD DVD, despite all the chest pounding of both BD and HD fanboys. Until HD or BD puts out a player for <$200, most will opt for upscaling players like this Sony or an Oppo, etc, etc. And there will be no BD vs HD winner for many years to come, when J6P enters the fray and decides the war.

Actually I haven't read that anywhere. The claim that the upconverted pictures are "respectable", yes. Regardless, should I personally meet anybody who claims that upconverted video bears no difference than true HD, I'll poke their eyes out!

The PS3 is a game console, so it will last a long time because of new firmware, so I would get that.

I agree 100%...even the PS2 is still going strong VS the PS3. It will be a long time before HD DVD and BD catch on fully...if it even does.

hmm...
Make sure to compare to your existing DVD player & see how it really improves the picture....

Two things that will Make you think how good up-converted DVDs are:
1. DVD transfer quality:
What you don't realize is that transfer plays a big roll even in DVD, you will get some great pics on some, however, many are not as good.

2. Size of TV & resolution of TV

Smaller the TV, more you will be AMAZED how good up-convert looks.
Lower the resolution, more you will be AMAZED how good up-convert looks.

Why bother having a great TV. A blu-ray would really make that TV shine.

I saw the Sony BD player playing a disney movie (I think it was called the wild) in BB on a similar 70" sony set. WOW best picture I have ever seen.

I'm sure PS3 would have been just as good.

Blu-ray (or HD-DVD for that matter) is definitely better than any HD you get over cable, sat or air. Mainly no motion artifacts.

IMHO, spending $120 on a Sony upscaling DVD player is a waste of money. Why? for $380 you can get a far better upscaling unit which happens to play HD DVD. Don't even bother buying any HD DVD movie if you want to wait out the war.

To me it's either buy a "proper" DVD player (which happens to play HD DVD) or just get a $50 Pioneer but nothing in between.

JMO, of course.