Are some brands of DVD players better than others for interlaced TVs?? (1 Viewer)

[jack x]

Are some brands of DVD players better than others for interlaced TVs??
Hi,
I am in the market for my first DVD player and a new CD player. I have a regular (interlaced?) TV with no inputs other than a single coaxial/tuner. I do plan to upgrade in 2-3 years to a digital TV – quite possibly a plasma unit (which the wife wants), but definitely not a huge rear projection TV.
My question is: are certain brands or types of DVD players that are more suited for use with non-digital televisions? It seems that most DVD players have progressive scan nowadays, which I understand my TV cannot take advantage of. I went to a store and indicated that I was interested in the Toshiba 4700 or 5700 and was advised that a Sony “715” would provide a better picture on an interlaced TV. (My understanding is that the Sony is a less expensive unit – and has been out a while.)
Also notable, I was planning to get either a DVD-A player or an SACD since the prices are so low nowadays, but was advised against DVD-A. I thought that if a DVD player could handle DVD-audio, it would also be great sounding for CD playback too. This bring up another need - my wife wants us to have a changer unit for CD playback. However, the salesperson indicated that different lasers are used in the DVD player for reading DVDs and CDs. So I should not figure that a DVD-A player should thus sound great for CD playback.
The salesperson suggested going with a Sony SACD 5-disc changer (for the wife) (755es? @ $199) and a single tray Sony DVD player (“715”), which would be quieter than a DVD unit with a changer.
I guess it is now up to me to try to decide if I really need/want either DVD audio or SACD. I don’t expect to buy too many at $20-25 a pop.
Lastly, it is notable that I only have 1 set of multichannel inputs.
However, any insight on these topics would be greatly appreciate. If anyone has any good links to SACD/DVD-A info, that they think might be helpful, it would be greatly appreciated!!!!1
Thanks!
jack

 

[JasonWW]

^

 

[BobJ]

but was advised against DVD-A

The jury is still out on both DVD-A/SACD. The 82 does a nice job playing CDs and has an upsampling feature if your equipment can handle it.

I would recommend against a changer as they introduce a mechanical element that is often prone to early failure.

 

[ThomasL]

Jack, sounds like that shop was trying to sell you Sony equipment
I also have an analog 4:3 set with hopes someday of getting a HDTV-ready set and currently own a Toshiba SD2700 dvd player - which I'd like to upgrade in order to move it to another room. Essentially what both of us are looking for is the best interlaced and 4:3 downconversion player. Others here have said that Sony indeed does the best with letterbox downconversion. I am not sure what I'm going to get yet.
As for a 5 dvd changer to use also as your cd player, I opted to just get a 5 cd changer - the Marantz CC3000/4000 are nice budget units - and to stick with a single disc dedicated dvd player. Partly this was because I figured that a cd player will handle CDs better than a similarly priced dvd player and that changers are more likely to break due to their mechanical nature. I figured the less the dvd player has to do the more time it'll last. of course, with the pace of technology these days and the low prices, I'm not sure my logic makes as much sense as it used to. I will probably be upgrading the dvd player to a HD-dvd player before it ever reaches the end of its life cycle
As for dvd-audio and SACD, the jury is still out and it seems to be very little material one can actually buy in these formats. Also, for me, I question whether 5.1 channel audio will ever become mainstream if there isn't a movie/video also playing along side of it. Personally, when I listen to music, I tend to like the option of moving around in the room.
cheers,
--tom

 

[JasonWW]

I just got a Sony KV-27FV17 for 500 bucks, so I'm going to be sticking with it for a few years. This model is NON-HD but had the "poor mans HD" feature of the enhanced 16/9 mode. A progressive scan DVD player would be fine but isn't essential.
I want top notch interlaced output. No one seems to talk about the interlaced output on the new models. I've heard the Panasonic RP-82 $230 allows you to tweak the MPG decoder settings for a better picture while using the interlaced output. Not positive about this, though. Also heard the Panasonic RP-91 $600 and the Toshiba SD-4800 $200 put out the best interlaced output of the current crop of DVD players out right now. Again, not sure.

Is it that the interlaced output is so low quality that almost all the DVD players provide similar image quality?

Anyone seen any reviews that rate the interlaced output quality?

Does the chroma bug only effect the progressive outputs?

 

[Jack Briggs]

I'm concerned more about the old television which you indicate only has an RF coax input. You will need to purchase an RF demodulator in order to connect a DVD player to the set. This means you might not realize any significant improvement in picture quality with DVDs.

You could purchase a quite nice interim 27-inch display for less than $400 that incorporates component-video inputs (a Toshiba 27A41). Is that an option for you?

 

[Kieran Coghlan]

For a great, very inexpensive, single disc, interlaced dvd-v player (no dvd-a) check out the Panasonic DVD-RV32. It's a great buy, especially for someone looking for an interlaced only player. (It also does mp3 playback)
If you want all the features you mentioned, i.e. changer, dvd-a, dvd-v, cd; and some that you didn't, i.e. prog-scan, mp3 playback, check out the Panasonic DVD-CP72.
Link Removed

 

[BobJ]

For a great, very inexpensive, single disc, interlaced dvd-v player (no dvd-a) check out the Panasonic DVD-RV32.

I've owned both a RV-32 and a RP-82 and the interlaced output on the 82 is light years better than the 32. Much better mpeg decoder.

 

[Adil M]

Ooh, that's intriguing, Bob. Need to verify and spread the word.

 

[BobJ]

Ooh, that's intriguing, Bob. Need to verify and spread the word.

The 82 contains the mpeg decoder from the RP-91.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=157626
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=159074