To Upconvert or Not to Upconvert... HDMI vs. S-video vs. component (1 Viewer)

So I'm starting to take my HT to the next level. I just bought a 42" Panasonic plasma TV, and right now I have it hooked up to my DVD player using and S-video cable. (The same cable I had used for my old 25" CRT TV.)

Now, my question is how much of a difference would I see if I bought a DVD player that upconverts and hooked that up to my plasma using an HDMI cable? The DVD player I have now doesn't have an HDMI output, but I could do is buy a set of component cables and hook the player to the plasma that way.

My DVD player isn't dead... just senile. (It locks up every once in awhile and will jump chapters if I try to fast forward sometimes, but it works.) But it does seem like I could get a new player that upconverts for around $100. So is it worth it to upgrade? Should I stick with what I have? Or maybe just buy a component cable? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Seth

Hi Seth - S-Video is limited to displaying 480i. You will certainly achive much better picture quality by purchasing a component cable, which is capable of displaying 480p.

Personally I have found that $100 Progressive Scan DVD players (without upconversion) are for the most part more capable than $100 DVD players capable of HDMI Upconversion. At the $100 mark you're not likely to get a very strong upconversion chip. There are many good upconverting players at $100-$150, and strong upconverting players from Denon or Oppo are many times more expensive ($300-$2,000).

While I don’t know your budget, if you are in the process of upgrading your system and are considering a new, up-converting DVD player, why not buy the Toshiba HD_DVD player.

This is a very fine up-converting unit (I don’t have it myself, but I have seen it and the reviews and comments in HTF have placed it among the very best).

So for $500 (or less) you can get a great up-converting DVD player, that also happens to play HD-DVD disks.

Yeah, I'm not looking to plunk down $500 or so for a HD-DVD player. I was looking for something around $200.

So is there a good player with HDMI upconversion for around $200? From browsing through different forums, I know people like Denon, but I'm pretty sure they're over my price range.

I would rather just get a new player, honestly, rather than go for the component cables now and then a year down the road then switch to a new player and HDMI (because I can't see my current player lasting more than a year). And I would need the HDMI cable to get the full 780p that my plasma can display, right?

Alon, Lew, thanks for the advice.

Seth

Yes! Get yourself an Oppo 971

http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h.html

If I could borrow your thread for a second.

I had a question regarding this........

I just bought a Optoma H27 projector.....

The specs read like this:

Native 480p and (854x480) and maximum SXGA+ (1400x1050) resolution
High Definition clarity with HDTV compatibility at 720p/1080i through DVI-I w/HDCP or HDMI

Right now I'm running component cables & progressive scan off a $30 Cyberhome DVD player.
I 'think' it says 720x480 when it detects the signal.

Would an upcoverting DVD player do anything for me?

I need a new DVD player as I think I used up the $30 worth of my current player

Thanks.

Thanks for the advice. It seems like everyone one loves the Oppo. I think I might go with the 970HD. Another possibility is a Sony DVP-NS75H, I've seen some good things said about that. There's also the Denon 1730, but I haven't found any reviews of it online. I know their higher-end players are really good, but I don't know about this one (which I think is fairly new).

Seth