DVD upconversion player for L300U (1 Viewer)

[Chet Wilson]

Does anyone know offhand which of the new upconversion DVD players will work (compatible) with the Panasonic L300U and its DVI input?

Thanks

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

None of the newest batch will. The only ones compatible are the Bravo D1, D2, and Momitsu V880 and V880N. I'm using a D1 with mine and the PQ is great but the player itself is kinda quirky and not built that well. I'm going to replace it when I get a HDCP compatible projector.

There's a new upconverting player from Oppo that is HDCP free, but I don't think it's able to do the custom resolutions and timings neccesary to work with the L300U.

 

[Chet Wilson]

Stephen , thanks. Did it work out of the box or did you have to do any firmware updates? Is the PQ worth the expenditure? I have 800 hours on my L300u and intend to keep it probably another year before converting to the Panny 700. I watch DVDs exclusively.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

I received the unit with the latest firmware but i did have to set the resolution and timing settings. The settings are available on the Vinc website. I would still reccomend staying away from these players though because they have alot of reliability issues. You might want to consider a Zenith DVB 318 which can scale to 1080i over component video (1080i is much more easily scaled to 540p as opposed to 480p to 540p). When my D1 appeared to have died for the second time this was my plan. Luckily my D1 came back from the dead after being unplugged for a few days.

 

[Chet Wilson]

Stephen, Thanks

I order a Zenith DVB318 and should have it in a couple of days. I also have downloaded the firmware that re-enables the component 1080i output, should my player's build date be beyond July of 2004.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Hey Chet, where did you order your 318 from? My 300U is mated with a panny xp-30, do you guys think I will see an improvement if I went with the 318?

 

[Chet Wilson]

Drew, everything I have read (from actual users) indicates that there will be a definite improvement over progressive scan. I will know more tomorrow and will report back. I ordered the player thru a vendor on yahoo shopping. The prices ranged from 160 to 179. Even Bestbuy dropped their price this week. Over the weekend it was 249 and it is now 179 but they charge sales tax for internet sales.

I have downloaded the firmware to enable the 1080i over component, so I am ready to go.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Chet, I will be interested to hear your findings. What dvd player are you currently using?

 

[Chet Wilson]

Ok got my player in. The build date was October of 2004 so I knew I would have to reload the original firmware. That was really easy to do. I burned the bin file to a data CD put it in the player and powered on and off. The player automatically loaded the new version.

Next I cycled thru the conversion level 420p, 720p, and 1080i. Each time I checked the L300U projector to see what mode it was in. For 420p it said 525p and for the 1080i it showed HDTV60. Which according to the manual is the best resolution input for the projector.

I next ensured that the projector was at its best focus. I actually used a novel approach because my eyes aren't like the used to be. Using binoculars at the projector I could see a extreme closeup of the pixels on the screen. I simply adjusted the focus until the pixels were at their sharpest.

Wanting to get definitive proof I set up my digital camera on a tripod next to the screen. I captured a photo of 420p, 720p and 1080i, I used the intro screen displayed by the player as the base. I tried to capture the exact position for each sample pic.

In the attached photo the far left is 420p and the far right is 1080i. 720p is in the middle. As you can see there is a difference in the sharpness. I guess ideally I would test against my old progressive scan but this is what I have time for.

I will have to say the picture for 1080i is very nice. I am pleased with the purchase. Everything is sharper and the colors seem to be more vibrant. Hope this helps.

If you can zoom into the photo and you can see the differences better.

sample 420p 720p and 1080i image displayed on panny L300u

 

[Drew Bethel]

 

[Chet Wilson]

Drew I was using a Sony NS700P progressive which was bought 4 or so years ago.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Chet, any updates o your experience with this player? Thanks.

 

[Chet Wilson]

Drew, I have watched at least 4 movies since switching to the DVB318. I am completely satisfied. I had planned to keep the Panny L300u at least another year. I believe with this player I have achieved about as best an image possible from DVD without spending a bunch of money. When I buy a new projector I will use this player or look at what is available that may be better.

I had hoped to take some more pics but haven't got around to it. I think the sample pics I provided above do show a difference in the 480p and 1080i picture quality, worth considering.

sample from Zenith DVB318 420p, 720p, and 1080i respectively