thunderclap

DVD Player Recommendation

Now that I've made the plunge into HD (got myself a 42" 1080p television) I want to upgrade my DVD player so it can upconvert to HD quality. I don't want to buy into either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD yet as it seems the format wars will be going on a bit longer so, for me, DVD will have to suffice.

What is a good budget DVD player that handles the upconversion well?

Marc B.

Dan Driscoll

Re: DVD Player Recommendation

What's your current DVD player? If it's half-way decent and you plan to get a high defintition player at some point, I would just wait. By Xmas I think there will be quite a bit of shake-out in the format war.

OTOH, if you need a new DVD player now, but don't need SACD, DVD-Audio or analog outputs, I'd go with the Toshiba HD-A2. Not because I prefer HD-DVD over Blu-Ray, but because the HD-A2 has an excellent up-converter and you can get the player for under $250 right now, with 8 HD-DVD movies, from Amazon (please use the forum link). At that price, with the 8 movies, the unit can be considered a throwaway piece if HD-DVD loses.

If you want/need 1080p and/or 5.1 analog audio outputs you'll need to go with the HD-AX2, but it runs $570, quite an investment for most people in the event the HD-DVD consortium loses.

Dan

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
--Benjamin Franklin

thunderclap

Re: DVD Player Recommendation

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Driscoll What's your current DVD player? If it's half-way decent and you plan to get a high defintition player at some point, I would just wait.

I currently have a Sony DVPNS715P which came out in 2002. I currently have it hooked up via component and optical cables. While the image looks extremely good I think it could look better with a budget DVD player (via the HDMI up-conversion) for $70-$100. I may be wrong though.

I thought turning the progressive mode on on the DVD player would help but, honestly, I can tell a difference between the interlace and progressive modes. I want to up the quality as best I can until there is a winner between the HD optical formats.

Marc B.

John Garcia

Re: DVD Player Recommendation

www.oppodigital.com The 980 or 981 will do what you need very well and neither costs a bundle while the war is going on. I have the 980 and I am very pleased with it. Upscaling players will NOT give you the same quality level as a well done HD disc of either format, but it does improve DVDs noticeably. I wasn't really impressed with Sony's midrange progressive players.

"The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so." - Mark Twain

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 monoblocks x 2, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Denon 2900, Oppo 980H, Toshiba HD-A2, RC2000MkII remote, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, Slim PS2, PS3 60G + 320G USB

Bedroom: Marantz PM-7200 Integrated, GR Research A/V-1s, Sony 222ES SACD, RC3200 remote, Panamax M8EX

Audio: Audioquest * Video: Bluejeans

My DVDs My HT

Colin Dunn

Re: DVD Player Recommendation

I second John Garcia's and Dan Driscoll's recommendations.

A Toshiba HD-A2 (720p/1080i) or HD-XA2 (1080p) are the best reasonably-priced upconverting DVD players available now. The Silicon Optix Reon chipset does state-of-the-art DVD upconversion. Avoid the HD-A20; though it is 1080p-capable, its upconversion is not as good as the HD-XA2.

If you don't want to jump into HD-DVD, check out the Oppo 981HD ($230) or the 980HD ($170). These are both multi-region, universal DVD/SACD/DVD-A players.

The 981HD, owing to its Faroudja DCDi chipset, will have the better video quality of these two models, unless you are using a DLP display. (DLPs are vulnerable to macroblocking artifacts when paired with DCDi.)

The 980H's video quality is almost as good, unless you are doing PAL->NTSC conversion. The chipset in the 980H has flawed deinterlacing of PAL material. But the 980H allows you to output SACD (DSD) audio or high-resolution DVD-audio tracks in digital form over HDMI.

Another alternative for a universal DVD player, albiet at the high end of the price scale ($1,500 MSRP), is the Denon 3930CI. This player will give you Silicon Optix Reon upconversion in conjunction with a high-end analog section. If you are using multi-channel analog inputs for SACD or DVD-Audio, this player is a better choice than the Oppos for sound quality. But this is definitely not a "budget" priced player.

There are third-party modifications that improve the analog electronics in the Oppo DVD players, but they are expensive (about $800 and up) and will put you close to the Denon 3930CI's price point.

Colin Dunn

John Garcia

Re: DVD Player Recommendation

You can find the 3930 for less than that and if you don't mind used, you can find them for even less. For multichannel SACD and DVD-A I use my Denon 2900, but I bought the 980 because the upscaled picture quality easily bests the Denon.

"The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so." - Mark Twain

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 monoblocks x 2, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Denon 2900, Oppo 980H, Toshiba HD-A2, RC2000MkII remote, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, Slim PS2, PS3 60G + 320G USB

Bedroom: Marantz PM-7200 Integrated, GR Research A/V-1s, Sony 222ES SACD, RC3200 remote, Panamax M8EX

Audio: Audioquest * Video: Bluejeans

My DVDs My HT