DVD Player with Upconverting - Worth it?

[JasonHoodenpyle]

I just returned my standard DVD player that had progressive scan. Now I am looking for another dvd player. I now see that there are DVD players with upconverting. Is this the next step up before blu-ray? I have read good reviews about the Sony DVPNS70 but looks like the DVPNS75 is going to be it's replacement. So I was thinking about getting that for $130. It has HDMI connectivity.

What do you guys suggest? Should I get one with up-converting or stay with a standard progressive scan and wait a year or two until blu-ray is cheap enough to buy. Also my tv does not do 1080p only up to 1080i.

Thanks,

Jason.

 

[charper1]

If you have no decent progressive scan DVD now, sure an upconvert player is a good investment. Check these out. LG DVB-418 and LG LDA-511.

 

[VIPERS-PIT]

I bought a cyberhome from wal-mart for around 70 bucks and it has a great picture thru HDMI at 1080I. Cant go wrong for the price.

 

[cebbigh]

I have an OPPO OPDV971H and really like it. Amazon has it for 199.00 with free shipping. The picture is great. Good reviews on Amazon.

 

[sstang7]

I too am thinking about the up-convert DVD player. Since I only have 1 HDMI port on my TV, I need an HDMI switcher. Does the switcher still provide good pq? Where can I get one for a decent price? Best Buy had one for $130.

 

[jdmart]

I too am thinking about the up-convert DVD player. Since I only have 1 HDMI port on my TV, I need an HDMI switcher. Does the switcher still provide good pq? Where can I get one for a decent price? Best Buy had one for $130.

monoprice.com has them starting at under $100. Ordered cables from them several times with great results.

 

[Digital Dude]

The OPPO is pretty much the class leader in upconverting DVD players up to $500.
Interesting you should post this as I just got a budget upconverting player for review, it's really cheap and surprisingly good so far. Give me til friday night to post it since I have another funeral to go to.

 

[charper1]

For those looking at new players: visit www.videohelp.com in addition to what info you get here. It has a comprehensive real world listing and reviews of most players:

1. Recordable media supported / not supported and work / doesn't work
2. Remote "keys" to enable component up-conversion @ 720P / 1080i
3. Built-in PAL conversion
4. Region free to play discs from around the world
5. Playable formats
6. Media card multi-readers on-board (one of my favs)

Be careful of boxes sold at retail outlets as many of these features can be blocked via hard coding. Everything above is LEGAL. Just do some research and shop wisely.

EXAMPLE: LG DVB418 $100 - $150

reported January 13, 2006:
Built-in multi format card reader
CDR
CDRW
DVD-R
DVD-RW
DVD-R DL report?
DVD+R
DVD+RW
DVD+R DL
VCD
XVCD report?
XSVCD report?
SVCD
SVCDSubs report?
SVCDTracks report?
MP3
320kbit/s
WMA
CVD?
JPG/JPEG
DVD-JPG
DVD-MP3
MP3 long filename
MP3 ID3 TAG
DivX
XviD
MPEGISO
DVD-MPEGISO
DVD-RAM

Comments:
What else can you want from a $100 DVD Player. Plays everything. Everything that you throw into it. The best part is you can select between bitstream or MPEG audio so you never get any audio problems.

Plays all sorts of DivX and XVids nicely. Just put any darn MP1, MP2, MP3, MP4 file on a CD or DVD with .avi, .divX, or .mpeg, .mpg, .mp3 extension and this guy will just play it. Also Jpegs and other picture formats.

 

[Ilya]

I am getting a new upconverting player from Toshiba next week: HD-A1. It's kind of expensive ($499), but as an added bonus it plays HD DVD disks too!

 

[charper1]

Be sure to give a truthfull review, I am too nervous to BUY a 1st gen player regarless of maker.