Philips DVD 963SA vs Panasonic RP 91--scaling/zooming ability (1 Viewer)

[Grant H]

This issue recurrs in other, very long threads, so I thought I'd give it its own.

Anyone who knows anyting about the issue at hand knows the Panasonic RP91 is seemingly unmatched when it comes to scaling and zooming, qualities that are very important to those of us with 16:9 HDTV's that "lock" into "Full" mode when they receive a Progressive scan signal, meaning the set automatically stretches the image horizontally, whether or nor an anamorphic disc is playing.
This means to watch 4:3 DVD's or any letterboxed, non-anamorphic WS DVD's, we must take the player out of Progressive scan, losing the best possible picture quality.
We can zoom letterboxed pics, but the non-progressive image isn't so great, and we're also stuck with interlaced for true 4:3 unless we want to alter geometry.
Can the new Philips player do everything the RP91 can regarding scaling? It has a 4:3 piller box feature which sounds like it's right for 4:3 on 16:9 tv's, but it's unclear whether you can properly zoon nom-anamorphic WS discs from that 4:3 mode, preserving the proper aspect ratio and progressive scan.
The RP91 can do both, but has issues with Video-based Progressive Scan material. Many of us are crossing our fingers in hopes that the new Faroujda-chipped Philips will bring the best of both worlds.
Anyone who can disclose the full capabilities of this player in these regards, please do so as soon as possible. As the player is now available in the USA, the information is much appreciated.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

OneCall.com apparently has it in stock(!) already for $500. So who's gonna take the plunge first and report back to us?
I definitely have the urge to go do it, but would still like a couple issues confirmed first, including remote hackability for all-region PAL->NTSC playback. Also, I wouldn't be able to compare it to the RP91 myself.
_Man_

 

[Grant H]

If hacking's your game hop on the avsforum.com. The one thread is full of hacks, albeit most are probably for non-U.S. versions of the player

 

[Han]

I agree. That one huge thread about the 963 is full of hack-n-schmack stuff. I simply stopped bothering to follow it, because everytime someone asks a question about aspect ratio control or scaling, it fell on deaf ears. Not even a "we don't know yet" or "I haven't tried a non-anamorphic DVD" type reply, from what I remember.