Best Upscaling HD DVD Player?

[MadFerIt]

Hey guys I was wondering what the best upscaling dvd player would be. I've heard some suggestions about Toshiba, Samsung as the top quality brands. I'm not looking for something too expensive, but at least something that will give me a boost in quality over my current setup.

Right now I'm using an xbox (modded) with XBMC or Avalaunch DVD player that upscales to 720p, however this is obviously not the same as a dvd player, not to mention it uses Component video (and I've come to notice especially with xbox360 how inferior component video truly is). I'm looking for something HDMI since my set supports it.

Price wise I'm not 100% sure.. The 850 (I believe it's 850) Samsung model costs approx $150 CAD at the moment, which is roughly around $99 US. Hopefully nothing beyond $199, since that's a bit too much.. But any suggestion is welcome.

[f0rbez]

I have the 850. Got it for $130 US. Looks nice, but its my first HD upconvert player so I have nothing to compare it to. The main reason I decided on the Samsung is because it includes the HDMI cable. So if your trying to save some money, you might want to go with that. The HDMI cable itself costs over 100 bucks if you get a good one.

[AndyD]

I hear this is the one to get...

http://www.oppodigital.com/

Anyone here have this dvd player? I'm thinking about getting one myself when I buy my LCD.

[Veedems Veteran]

The Oppo is a very feature rich unit which is definitely worth a look. I also like the Samsung HD950 and the Sony DVPNS70H. The HD850 from Sammy is ok but there have been known issues with the software both this year and last.

[b@nned]

The only thing holding me back from the oppo is the DVI output. When they release their next model with a HDMI I will buy it.

[AndyD]

The only thing holding me back from the oppo is the DVI output. When they release their next model with a HDMI I will buy it.

Why not just use hdmi converter?

[Veedems Veteran]

Why not just use hdmi converter?

He'd still have to run audio cables. Seems as though Oppo haven't updated their unit in a while. Then, you also have to realize, older connection means older HDCP revision which may cause some issues along the line.

[Dazog]

He'd still have to run audio cables. Seems as though Oppo haven't updated their unit in a while. Then, you also have to realize, older connection means older HDCP revision which may cause some issues along the line.

OPPO doesn't have HDCP

so i dunno what u are talking about? :blink:

[Veedems Veteran]

OPPO doesn't have HDCP

so i dunno what u are talking about? :blink:

Well, my bad. That could prove to be a problem in and of itself, though. Content protection is going to start appearing more and more as digital devices and connections become the norm.

[Dazog]

If it Lacks HDCP you can't mess it up HDCP inputs.

It doesn't look for it and crap out the player, what isn't there can't be turned on ;)

If you are talking HD-DVD or blueray, then you will need a new player anyway.

[S.MULLA]

i've read good things about teh SnaZio HD player.. about ?250 in the UK

http://www.snazio.com/Links/Net%20DVD%20Cinema(new).htm

[ctebah]

what kind of tv are you getting. if 1080i is the highest resolution of your tv then go for the samsung one, i've heard good things about the sammy upconverting dvd player.

if your resolution is maxed at 1080p then you might have to look for a 1080p upconverting dvd player.

[MadFerIt]

The Oppo is a very feature rich unit which is definitely worth a look. I also like the Samsung HD950 and the Sony DVPNS70H. The HD850 from Sammy is ok but there have been known issues with the software both this year and last.

What kind of software issues? See I can't find the 950 from both Future Shop and Best Buy, so I'll have to find a store that sells that model. I am steering towards a Samsung model more then others, though I'm still searching obviously. WOuldn't mind that Anynet integration ^_^ lol.

what kind of tv are you getting. if 1080i is the highest resolution of your tv then go for the samsung one, i've heard good things about the sammy upconverting dvd player.

if your resolution is maxed at 1080p then you might have to look for a 1080p upconverting dvd player.

I have the Samsung LN-R268W LCD HDTV (720p/1080i). If you've seen the Xbox360 Kiosk Demo unit that's the tv I have, just the 26" larger version. Though it uses a component connection (which looks like crap compared to the VGA cables).

So anyway, obviously 1080p isn't a concern for me.

[Dazog]

I would get the OPPO first, then the Panasonic S77.

The OPPO is by far the best Upscaling player using the faroudja 2310 chip.

It has a ton of support, new firmware every month.

I own a S97 which is right up there with the OPPO, the S77 is the new model from this year.

I wouldnt touch the other models they have huge problems and are very expensive for there downfalls.

[MadFerIt]

I would get the OPPO first, then the Panasonic S77.

The OPPO is by far the best Upscaling player using the faroudja 2310 chip.

It has a ton of support, new firmware every month.

I own a S97 which is right up there with the OPPO, the S77 is the new model from this year.

I wouldnt touch the other models they have huge problems and are very expensive for there downfalls.

I'll consider it, however chances are this "Oppo" dvd player is going to be hard as hell to find here in Ontario, Canada. Lol!

[Dazog]

http://www.onlybestrated.com/oppo-opdv971h...utput-p-45.html

Official canadian reseller From oppo's website.

:)

[slomo]

http://www.onlybestrated.com/oppo-opdv971h...utput-p-45.html

According to a user review in June 2005 in that site, this DVD player upscales to DVI only and not to component. Has that been fixed with firmware upgrade now? Can it be? There could be a hardware limitation. I noticed other players such as the LG upscales to both HDMI and component.

[Veedems Veteran]

I don't think any player I've seen upscale on the analog component connections. What LG model are you looking at?

[slomo]

I don't think any player I've seen upscale on the analog component connections. What LG model are you looking at?

The LDA-531.

I got that information from the same site that sold Oppo in Canada. Here is the page.

LG Canada website also has that in the specification.

I have not read and still looking for the manual, just to confirm. I tried downloading it from LG Canada website, but when I click on the link it pops up a message window saying I was not authorized because the request did not come from the LG sites or the request information is empty. :wacko:

This player is available from Futureshop, but it is out of stock at the moment. Probably due to boxing week.

Actually, knowing you work for an electronics retailer, I was surprised you have not seen a player that upscales over analog. :yes: It suggests that there are probably not many players that do, and it just starting to appear now for component. There are a number of HDTV's without any DVI or HDMI connector out there. For example, the Panasonic models smaller than 26" only have up to component input. Those who have these models will be quite upset if they know that they can only upscale DVD via a connector that their TV's do not have.

Edited January 2, 2006 by slomo

[Dazzeh]

I got a New HDTV + HD DVD player thats supposed to convert old style dvds to the new hd format....

Its This one Here..

The HD 850 features HD Up-conversion which is an all-digital process that takes a DVD signal and converts it to match your HDTV's native resolution. This conversion eliminates video distortion and provides a great picture.

Picture does look very nice =D

I did have to buy a cable for it though, My Tv did have the input the dvd wanted so had to buy a transformer...

Not sure if its any use to you, only around ?80 though

[MadFerIt]

I don't think any player I've seen upscale on the analog component connections. What LG model are you looking at?

The xbox does (modded of course). Then again it's not a dedicated dvd player (thus quality isn't as good as a good brandname upscale dvd player).

[Veedems Veteran]

The LDA-531.

I got that information from the same site that sold Oppo in Canada. Here is the page.

LG Canada website also has that in the specification.

I have not read and still looking for the manual, just to confirm. I tried downloading it from LG Canada website, but when I click on the link it pops up a message window saying I was not authorized because the request did not come from the LG sites or the request information is empty. :wacko:

This player is available from Futureshop, but it is out of stock at the moment. Probably due to boxing week.

Actually, knowing you work for an electronics retailer, I was surprised you have not seen a player that upscales over analog. :yes: It suggests that there are probably not many players that do, and it just starting to appear now for component. There are a number of HDTV's without any DVI or HDMI connector out there. For example, the Panasonic models smaller than 26" only have up to component input. Those who have these models will be quite upset if they know that they can only upscale DVD via a connector that their TV's do not have.

I was talkign about this with some fellow best buy associates from around the country today and one guy mentioned how, in the manual, it states it only does upconversion over component video for DVD-R. While this sounds a little bogus, it may be something to keep in mind.

[slomo]

I was talkign about this with some fellow best buy associates from around the country today and one guy mentioned how, in the manual, it states it only does upconversion over component video for DVD-R. While this sounds a little bogus, it may be something to keep in mind.

I found a site with several user reviews that mentioned that also: upconversion over component only if you backup the original (silver, pressed) DVD-ROM, i.e. backup copy upconverts over component, original upconverts over HDMI. I was not quite sure what to make of that. What I think was maybe: 1. because of a bug, or 2. because LG or the upconversion chipset maker does not want to upconvert content protected DVD-ROM over component (analog). I was leaning towards #2 because I thought a bug this big is not likely to pass through QA and now you wrote that it is stated in the manual, so that 'feature' was intentional.

Note that an original DVD-ROM is encrypted and if I burn a backup copy of it with DVD Shrink, DVD Fab, etc. it is decrypted and is no longer a content protected material. The only way for a DVD player to know whether a DVD is content protected is through whether it is encrypted. So I think this is their way to let you to be able to upconverts home made movies on DVD and at the same time honour content protection. :yes:

[AndyD]

According to a user review in June 2005 in that site, this DVD player upscales to DVI only and not to component. Has that been fixed with firmware upgrade now? Can it be? There could be a hardware limitation. I noticed other players such as the LG upscales to both HDMI and component.

I'm pretty sure you can still do upscaling if you use the dvi to hdmi converter which Oppo includes with the dvd player. Or am I wrong to assume this?

[slomo]

I'm pretty sure you can still do upscaling if you use the dvi to hdmi converter which Oppo includes with the dvd player. Or am I wrong to assume this?

I am sure it would upscale. However, what I want to do is upscale over component, not DVI or HDMI. This is to give an option for some smaller screen HDTV's which only have component (no DVI nor HDMI). There was a user review in the site that said that the Oppo does not upscale over component.

Another option is perhaps a DVI or HDMI converter to component, but is there such a device and is the quality better than if the DVD player upscales to component directly?