Denon DVD-1930 vs. DVD-2930ci for 1080i

I currently own a Denon DVD-1930 which I am using with a Denon AVR-3808ci and a Sony KD-34XBR970 (1080i CRT display). All are connected via HDMI.


I am considering replacing the DVD-1930 with the DVD-2930ci. My sole interest is increased picture quality. Since I am connecting everything via HDMI, DACs are not a concern. The main difference would be the DVD-1930 using a Faroudja chip for deinterlacing and scaling vs. the DVD-2930ci using the Reon chip for deinterlacing and scaling.


When I compare upsampling to 720p vs. 1080i on the DVD-1930 (and on my Xbox 360 Elite) I notice that there is less combing and artifacts at 720p vs. 1080i. I believe, but do not know for sure, that this is because the 480i signal from the DVD is getting deinterlaced and then upsampled when outputting at 720p, but is not getting deinterlaced and then upsampled when outputting at 1080i.


The end result is images are smoother and have no visible combing and artifacting at 720p but are somewhat soft. At 1080i, some DVDs have visible combing and artifacting but the image is sharper. I am hoping to have my cake and eat it, too. The last is9sues is I have noticed the Macro-Block Enhance issue on some movies (dark scenes in Batman Begins, for example).


Does anyone know which is better at upsampling DVD to 1080i, the Faroudja or Reon?


Do you think the Reon will look noticably better or worse than the Faroudja?


Thanks,


Abe Hayhurst