Upscaling DVD player?

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:28 pm

My new TV arrives in about 2 weeks and I know our old DVD player does not upscale and since it only connects via component and I need those 2 inputs for a Wii and 360, can someone direct me to a low cost DVD player that will upscale and uses HDMI as its output?

Thank you!

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:33 pm

MizzouRah wrote:My new TV arrives in about 2 weeks and I know our old DVD player does not upscale and since it only connects via component and I need those 2 inputs for a Wii and 360, can someone direct me to a low cost DVD player that will upscale and uses HDMI as its output?

Thank you!

I wouldn't spend too much money on it. Depending on viewing distance & overall viewing conditions you'll barely notice a difference (if any).

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:47 pm

greggsand wrote:
MizzouRah wrote:My new TV arrives in about 2 weeks and I know our old DVD player does not upscale and since it only connects via component and I need those 2 inputs for a Wii and 360, can someone direct me to a low cost DVD player that will upscale and uses HDMI as its output?

Thank you!
I wouldn't spend too much money on it. Depending on viewing distance & overall viewing conditions you'll barely notice a difference (if any).

So, would a normal DVD player with an HDMI connection be fine picture wise?

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:50 pm

There is no magic inside the box of an up-scaling DVD player. In fact, these players are completely worthless to a large number of HDTV owners.

Why?

All an upscaling player does is take the 480 lines of resolution stored on a standard DVD and 'scale' it up to 720 or 1080 (in addition to frame rate fixes like 3:2 pulldown etc.). That's nice, but most digital televisions utilize fixed pixel technology (LCD, Plasma, DLP, LCoS) and can ONLY display at their native resolution (720, 1080 etc.). So, the makers of these sets MUST include scaling technology in the TV's they sell.

Some use great scalers, some use crap; the better the TV the more likely it is to have a good scaler. A $99 upscaling DVD player probably has a much worse chip/software scaling solution inside than the $5,000 TV it's connected to. My Sony set does an incredible job with the color and sharpness of my composite (low-res) connected Wii, and 480i SD TV broadcasts.

So, If you're getting a good TV, I would suggest saving the money unless you really need a new DVD player. Saving that cash toward a Blu-Ray player (PS3!) is much better investment.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:09 am

A good upscaling DVD player will actually make a HUGE difference. I have one, an Oppo.

I also have two HD DVD players that also upscale very very well, even better than the Oppo. The Toshiba A3 can be had for around $99 and you get 7 free HD DVD's with it. Pretty much a no brainer there. The 1080 output from it is outstanding, even with standard def DVD's on a 110" projector screen.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:11 am

Sport73 wrote:A $99 upscaling DVD player probably has a much worse chip/software scaling solution inside than the $5,000 TV it's connected to.

An Oppo upconverting DVD player OR a Toshiba HD DVD player will smoke pretty much 99% of the scalers inside HDTV's.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:30 am

Like I said, depending on how large the screen vs. how far u sit from it, it's a waste of money. There's only so much info on a SD DVD.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:33 am

jondiehl wrote:A good upscaling DVD player will actually make a HUGE difference. I have one, an Oppo.

I also have two HD DVD players that also upscale very very well, even better than the Oppo. The Toshiba A3 can be had for around $99 and you get 7 free HD DVD's with it. Pretty much a no brainer there. The 1080 output from it is outstanding, even with standard def DVD's on a 110" projector screen.

Interesting. I'm getting a Sony 46" Bravia (KDL-46V3000), so would the Toshiba A3 be a wise choice? If so, where do I get one?

Thank you!

PantherFan · Post by **PantherFan** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:34 am

www.oppodigital.com

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:30 pm

PantherFan wrote:www.oppodigital.com

Thanks, I have a friend who says the Toshibas are comparable and cheaper. They have a Toshiba HD-DVD that upconverts at Best Buy and also comes with 7 HD-DVD movies for like $100. I know HD-DVD is going away, but it upconverts as well.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:33 pm

greggsand wrote:Like I said, depending on how large the screen vs. how far u sit from it, it's a waste of money. There's only so much info on a SD DVD.

I agree. I have a HTPC that allows you to tweak literally every facet of upscaling (not just DVD, but any video source). For DVDs, there is a mild improvement but it isn't really worth to get a DVD player just to do it.

If anything, I recommend getting a PS3. It has DVD upscaling and of course, Bluray for true HD movies.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:42 pm

I recently got an HD-A3, before the full collapse of HD-DVD, and though I am disappointed in the death of that format, I have to say the machine does a much better job of decoding standard DVDs than my previous Toshiba DVD player, which I keep around for the DVD-Audio and SACD capabilities.

To my eyes on my display, I don't know if there is a difference for SD DVDs in 480p output vs. 1080i output from the A3, but there is a huge difference from 480p output on the older DVD player compared to 480p on the A3.

I guess what I am saying is that I'm not sure I really believe that there are any benefits of the A3's upscaling of SD DVDs to 1080i, at least with my non-1080p display, but I know the A3 makes a much better picture from an SD DVD than my old DVD player.

Considering how cheap A3s are becoming now, it sure seems to me like a great value for a very good SD DVD player that has an HDMI output, and as a bonus you also get the available library of HD-DVDs. In a year or two, I know I will want a BD player for new releases, but i don't regret having purchased the A3, especially considering that by the end of my Amazon price matching adventure, it was much, much cheaper than the 360 add-on, for example. I'm sure every retailer will be trying to unload their stock of Toshiba HD-DVD players in the coming months, as well as Toshiba themselves dropping the MSRP, so it may be a good bet for a quality DVD player with HDMI.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:19 pm

MS dropped the price of the HD add-on to $50. It will upscale dvds when connected though HDMI or VGA. Thats pretty cheap and the ebay prices should fall through the basement LOL. Just a thought!

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:25 pm

Thanks for all the respones!!

I'll hold out for a bit longer as prices continue to drop.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:33 pm

I just checked ebay, players alone are going for 40 bux or so and some with as many as 11 HD DVD's are anywhere from 70-100 bux. Thats dirt cheap for a player that will continue to play HD movies too. I know its a dead format, but I HOPE to scoop up some cheap movies soon. I am sure I am not alone thought LOL.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:04 am

My Oppo Digital upconverting DVD player that I have connected to a 42" LCD does a fantastic job. I previously had it connected to a 56" DLP and it looked on that too.

Since November, I have purchased two Toshiba HD DVD players for dirt cheap.

The A3 for $169 w/ 10 free HD DVD's (back in Nov). And then A30 for $169 w/ 9 free HD DVD's (back in Dec).

Even though the format is dead, I still got a helluva deal and both the A3 and A30 (that also does 1080p upconversion) they do at least as good as my critically acclaimed OPPO player, if not better (for less money). Throw in that they'll also play HD DVD's (which there's a huge library of those movies, it just won't be growing too much) and it's pretty much a no brainer.

Before I added the A30, I had the A3 connected to my front projector (110"). Now I put the A30 there and the A3 is on my 56" DLP.

No matter the size (42/56/110), the upconversion makes a significant difference compared to outputting from a 480p SD DVD player (even my very good Panasonic RP-91 which does very well at 480p only).

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:08 am

MizzouRah wrote: If so, where do I get one?

Both my A3 and A30 I got when they retailed for $199 @ Best Buy, but I used a coupon to get them cheaper. Both come with 300 and Bourne Identity in the box. I sold both (from the A30) on half.com for $15 each.

Both have mail in rebates for 5 free.

The A3 I got with a special where you got 3 off the shelf for free ($35 or under, no box sets). The A30 I got when it was an offer for 2 extra.

In both cases, I got new release stuff that was retailing $30-35 at the time... so those 5 HD-DVD's were actual value $150+ The 10 free from rebate are bargain bin movies though, stuff you'll watch once or maybe try a no-receipt return at Walmart.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:08 pm

Thank you all!!

Heading to Best Buy later this week or next to see if they have any A3's.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 5:44 pm

Picked up the last (store display) Toshiba A3 they had for $79. I figured better do it now.

Can't wait to hook it up next week when my TV arrives!! Appreciate all the help!

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:19 am

Just watched Transformers in HD and was AMAZED at the picture.. boy they are cheap right now.

Then we watched I am Legend and I'm VERY impressed at what this A3 can do to a normal DVD, again VERY crisp, vivid, and clean looking!

skinsfan · Post by **skinsfan** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:56 am

I have an A2 and it is great for SD-DVD.The higher end XA2 units are supposed to be even better at upscaling,but cost a whole lot more.
For under a hundred bucks,these Toshibas are a good buy.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:48 am

My wife wants to start watching some British stuff that is not going to work on our DVD player. Anyone have a suggestion for a multi region DVD player that also upscales?

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Upscaling DVD player?

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