dvd upconversion

brahn · 01-21-2007, 12:14 PM

Will some of the new dvd players upconvert from 480? My yamaha reciever has the ability to upconvert using Faroudja's DCDi Processing but it will not convert a dvd due to copyright laws. I would hate to go buy a new dvd player and have the same issue

Arthur S · 01-21-2007, 12:59 PM

Hi Ron

If I were you, I would forget about all this upconversion stuff, it doesn't make that much difference...I think a Sony 400 disc Megachanger will make so much more of a difference in your viewing experience that I wouldn't consider ANY single disc DVD player...people are turning in their expensive Denon single disc DVD players for the Sony 400 disc DVD Megachanger that is available for about $300.

The difference is in the convenience and pleasure of choosing from a bunch of DVDs, rather than very very small differences in picture quality.

Happy New Year

ChrisWiggles · 01-21-2007, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brahn

Will some of the new dvd players upconvert from 480? My yamaha reciever has the ability to upconvert using Faroudja's DCDi Processing but it will not convert a dvd due to copyright laws. I would hate to go buy a new dvd player and have the same issue

Most players will not upconvert over analog component out for copyright restricted DVDs (most DVDs). Some, like the Oppo and others will. If you can use HDMI/DVI then you can upconvert, if you're limited to analog component you'll want to look into the few that do upconvert over component or perhaps look into a standalone video processor.

And needless to say I disagree that quality scaling does not help with the image quality, good scaling when upscaling is very important and upscaling does provide benefits. If your TV already upscales to it's native resolution, then it's mainly a difference in scaling quality which may or may not be significant.

Arthur S · 01-21-2007, 02:11 PM

Hi Chris Wiggles

Thank you for explaining a little bit about upscaling...I have a Toshiba progressive scan DVD single disc player that I paid $55 for and how much visible difference is there between what I have and the best of the OPPOs...

Thanks in advance.

ChrisWiggles · 01-21-2007, 02:18 PM

The oppos are very good at their price and overall, and should walk all over a cheapie-cheapie DVD player. And they also upscale.

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ChrisClearman · 01-22-2007, 05:15 PM

I disagree that it will "walk over" a cheapier.

The difference betwen an ATI and Faroudja chipset is pretty dang minor when it comes to what you visably see. The tests that these place do to rank the players have some extremely obscure tests of things that don't occur often, and if they do you probably don't even notice them. Seriously, go look at them.

On one of them the difference is the shading/straightness of the lines in the Toy Story logo. Others are the straightness of a building edge during a pan by. You probably don't even notice this anyways.

As long as you are currently sending your DVD source to your HD TV/Monitor using Component or better (DVI/HDMI, RGB) I don't think you will be happy in spending the extra money for one of these players.

Now, if you need a new player anyways, sure, get a good one.

ChrisWiggles · 01-22-2007, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisClearman

I disagree that it will "walk over" a cheapier.

The difference betwen an ATI and Faroudja chipset is pretty dang minor when it comes to what you visably see. The tests that these place do to rank the players have some extremely obscure tests of things that don't occur often, and if they do you probably don't even notice them. Seriously, go look at them.

On one of them the difference is the shading/straightness of the lines in the Toy Story logo. Others are the straightness of a building edge during a pan by. You probably don't even notice this anyways.

As long as you are currently sending your DVD source to your HD TV/Monitor using Component or better (DVI/HDMI, RGB) I don't think you will be happy in spending the extra money for one of these players.

Now, if you need a new player anyways, sure, get a good one.

Are you asserting that there are no differences among DVD players with regards to playback quality? My statement was referring to playback quality as a whole, not just specifically upscaling capabilities.

Your statements regarding CUE as being minor and unimportant are also quite off the mark for a lot of people who have large-format displays. CUE is actually quite nasty in that kind of environment.

As someone who's done a lot of testing of DVD players, I can very easily tell you that many of the "obscure" tests are actually extremely relevant and has very significant impact on quality. The difference between a poor DVD player and an excellent one is quite significant. There are some tests which are far less important than others. But things like cadence detection and MPEG decoding are pretty important, as well as CUE. Thankfully, DVD player performance has vastly improved over the years and very good players can be had for very reasonable prices.

Arthur S · 01-22-2007, 08:47 PM

Hi Chris Wiggles

With all due respect...I completely agree with ChrisClearman...he is talking about ordinary viewing...not hyper-critical testing situations on 110 inch front projection systems...if anyone really wants the best DVD viewing experience an HD DVD set-up or Blu Ray set-up will blow away any SD DVD player regardless of upscaling or anything else...I would much rather have the Sony 400 disc DVD Megachanger...would you mind testing the Sony 955 megachanger?

Thanks In Advance

ChrisWiggles · 01-22-2007, 09:18 PM

Well, what do you mean by ordinary viewing? If you mean a 27inch 480i display, then sure differences are not so significant. But other than that...

gene c · 01-22-2007, 09:54 PM

Sorry Arthur, but I have to agree with C Wiggles. There can be a difference in video quality between players. It may be noticable, slight or insignificant, but it's there. We all have our own priorities but to me, picture and sound (and certain features) are more important than convenience, remotes or manuals. I don't think I'll be getting another one any time soon, but when the time comes, OPPO will be first on my list to look at.