[pedro s]

Hi all,


I just purchased the Sony XBR910, and picked up the 725p along with it. It appears that I can use with the DVD's or TV's de-interlacer, and I was just wondering which would be the better one for me to use?


I read a a review on CNET that stated that the 725p's progressive scan output was lackluster, so can I simply use the TV one and not have to worry, or should I just pick up a new DVD player?


I don't really have the eyes to see the difference between the two.

I also have access to my girlfriend's Panasonic DVPS55, which is supposed to have excellent image quality for the price.


In general what is the better option? Would this mean that I could theoretically use a non progressive component DVD player and use the TV's de-interlacer to the same effect?


thanks in advance,

-pedro

 

[ThumperBoy]

If you activate progressive mode on the DVD player the Sony TV's de-interlacer will be bypassed, its used only in interlaced mode. The progressive mode is better since the processing is being done in digital mode in the player, not after conversion to analog and back to digital via interlaced. The Panasonic S55 has a poor cheaper de-interlacer, their models from 1-2 years ago were far superior, so with that model you may not see much difference between progressive and interlaced. You need a more advanced de-interlacer in the DVD player to really see the difference with video material - like the models with the Faroudja chipset. The Sony and new Panasonics do not have it - try a Denon DVD-1600.

 

[pedro s]

Looking at the Denon, I am impressed, and many people really seem to like it. It only has optical out, however, not coaxial, which is a (small) minus in my book.

Looking at this vs. that, Faroudja vs. non Faroudja, new players vs. old players is giving me a headache!

I don't really care much about SACD or DVD-Audio, I'm just looking for the DVD player that will give me the best picture, period.



Last night I queued up several DVDs with the Sony, specifically looking for jagged lines between light and dark lines and was very dismayed.


In gladiator, the scene in the afterlife with the white wall had plenty of stairsteps, and in SW Episode II on Obi-wan's starfighter coming out of hyperspace, the cockpit had a very discernible stairstep. Jodi Foster's spaghetti strap tank top in the Superbit Panic Room also clearly showed this.

Running through the 910's de-interlacer, these were reduced greatly. Is this because the image was "softer" because it was converted several times? I'm wondering if this is endemic to the DVD or to the player.


I'm quite interested in the 1600, but are there others I should be considering if I'm not interested in having a "combo"player?


...also, should I be looking at the newer Denons, such as the 910?


There is a surprising lack of newer DVD player reviews out there, although you all here at avsforum certainly make up for that.


Hopefully I'm not "reinventing the same darn questions" with these. I see that the merits of the 1600 have been debated quite a bit. I'm just interested to see if its really the best player and player alone, but please free to point me back into the message boards if this has been covered ad nauseam.

 

[ThumperBoy]

The jaggies you are describing is indicative of a poor de-interlacer that is probably only using one field (there are 2 fields per frame) reducing vertical resolution to 1/2 or with excessive vertical filtering. The Faroudja-based players are especially good at eliminating the "jaggies" they even have a unique feature called DVDi that eliminates jaggies on diagonals - no other deinterlacer can do it as well. I really recommend you try a model like the Denon DVD-1600 for comparison on Gladiator in progressive mode. The newer Denons like the DVD-910 also have Faroudja but have slightly less picture quality due to softer image (lower high frequency response) - they are still better than the Sony however. With the discount on the DVD-1600 many places right now there isn't a huge price difference between them its worth it to go for the 1600 if possible. There is a cheaper Faroudja-based model for $250 at Tweeter stores, the Mitsubishi DD-8040, thats basically the same as the more expensive Denon DVD-910 or 1200 too, if you need to save a little money.