DVD Player 1080i Suggestions

[janmike]

Anyone have any good suggestions for a decent DVD Player with 1080i upconverting capabilities. I currently have a Panasonic RP56 (very good machine for the $) and with the recent purchase of my Panasonic Plasma the one thing that needs to be updated is the DVD Player. I am not sure if Panasonic has any decent players out there. This will be used strickly for movies. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Folks.

[JimBRICK]

pm sent

[dragon1952]

I just got an Oppo 971H and it is quite awesome as far as PQ goes. The new ones of course are the 970 and 981 and you get SACD and DVD-A to boot. As far as PQ though yours scores pretty high.

[polkatese]

pstt, Michael......OPPO!

[janmike]

I take it the 981 would not be any option (waste of $) for me as my plasma only goes to 1080i. Hell I can't tell the difference from 12.5 ft. away.

[engtaz]

Dang OPPO Some say YEA and Some say Nay.
What is the issues everyone having that makes them polar oposite?????

[Sherardp]

why not go with a Toshiba XA1 and enjoy HD DVD at the same time for a tad more than the Oppo

[Sami]

why not go with a Toshiba XA1 and enjoy HD DVD at the same time for a tad more than the Oppo

Absolutely. HD format gives much better results than any upconverting player, and I think the HD-DVD players also upconvert your existing discs. I wouldn't waste money on upconverting player at this point.

[MikeC78]

why not go with a Toshiba XA1 and enjoy HD DVD at the same time for a tad more than the Oppo

+1!!!!

Actually, I believe the XA1 does a better job of upconverting and plays HD DVD's to boot.

[ViperZ]

Oppo 971, then Samsung DVD-HD941 (cheaper!).

[AndyGwis]

I bought two HD-DVD players (XA1 and A2) replacing two upconverting players of equal cost. Nice upgrade, especially for the prices on these Toshiba machines.

The 5 free HD-DVD rebate is a nice bonus as well.

Think of it as a very good upconverting player that plays HD-DVDs.

[dragon1952]

Dang OPPO Some say YEA and Some say Nay.
What is the issues everyone having that makes them polar oposite?????

The only negative I've seen on the Oppo's is on the 971H and the only issue there is that it doesn't upconvert except through the DVI connection.
Here's a link to a Progressive Scan shootout
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...deInt=0&mpeg=0
It's a couple years old but some may find it interesting. What it does tell you is that, as far as PQ only, cost means little.

[wingnut4772]

why not go with a Toshiba XA1 and enjoy HD DVD at the same time for a tad more than the Oppo

+2:D

[janmike]

You folks are making a Toshiba XA1 man out of me. Now, to find a good deal.

Just one thing. I do not have a HDMI port on my Proceed processor. Currently the audio is connected via digital and I let the Proceed do the audio processing. Works great.

[Sherardp]

You can use the analog outs on the Toshiba XA1 and enjoy True HD audio over LPCM. Once you experience it, your ears will appreciate the upgrade. Check out Amazon, Onecall, Butterfly Photo for excellent prices, you may even score a new unit on Ebay. Ebay has new units there listed, homework already done for you. All thats left is for you to buy it and enjoy.

[janmike]

Thanks, I have seen a few on eBay and am awaiting shipping costs from a few sellers. I am not sure how much better than sound will get from my Proceed AVP currently doing the processing.

[AndyGwis]

valueelectronics and 6thavenue both had them for $349. Actually, Value had that price and 6th met it for me.

Good luck! There are some used one on Audiogon / videogon from time to time. Probably get one there for $250 or so.

[krabby5]

Absolutely. HD format gives much better results than any upconverting player, and I think the HD-DVD players also upconvert your existing discs. I wouldn't waste money on upconverting player at this point.

I wouldn't waste money on an HD DVD or Blu-ray player until I can walk into a Blockbuster and rent ANY movie I want in HD

[Sami]

I wouldn't waste money on an HD DVD or Blu-ray player until I can walk into a Blockbuster and rent ANY movie I want in HD

What I'm saying is if the choice is between a cheap $30-50 player, a $200 upconverting player, or a $300 HD player, the one in the middle shouldn't even be an option. Unless it's acting also as a SACD/DVD-A player, then maybe.

Rent ANY movie you want in HD, won't happen. You can't even rent any DVD you want.

[krabby5]

What I'm saying is if the choice is between a cheap $30-50 player, a $200 upconverting player, or a $300 HD player, the one in the middle shouldn't even be an option. Unless it's acting also as a SACD/DVD-A player, then maybe.

Rent ANY movie you want in HD, won't happen. You can't even rent any DVD you want.

I can rent any movie I want in DVD...in fact, I don't have a choice..I don't see VHS anywhere..unless you are talking about older movies that haven't been digitally remastered yet..

I just fear HD DVD and or Blu-ray may both lose...will they ever become as popular as regular DVD's? Or will they go the route of SACD/DVD-A

[Sherardp]

I wouldn't waste money on an HD DVD or Blu-ray player until I can walk into a Blockbuster and rent ANY movie I want in HD

Seems like you wont be getting into HD DVD or Blu Ray for a long time my friend. Pitty

[janmike]

I would rather spend a few extra dollars now and go for the unit that plays HD as well as upconverts standard formatting. I hate pouring money into temporary fixes.

[krabby5]

Seems like you wont be getting into HD DVD or Blu Ray for a long time my friend. Pitty

probably not..I'm not one to buy dvds...I just rent them as they come out..

[Sami]

I can rent any movie I want in DVD...in fact, I don't have a choice..I don't see VHS anywhere..unless you are talking about older movies that haven't been digitally remastered yet..

A lot of movies are not available in DVD. You might be able to rent all DVD's you want but that's individual to everyone as a lot of movies are not available in DVD either.

I just fear HD DVD and or Blu-ray may both lose...will they ever become as popular as regular DVD's? Or will they go the route of SACD/DVD-A

HD video is quite a lot of different than HD audio. Everyone will see a difference but many will not hear it. Even if they did, they don't have the hardware to reproduce it, whereas HD tv's are becoming a standard. Apples and oranges.

Even if HD-DVD will disappear in a year or two, what's the point of getting a upconverting player when the difference in price is not that great?

[krabby5]

A lot of movies are not available in DVD. You might be able to rent all DVD's you want but that's individual to everyone as a lot of movies are not available in DVD either.

HD video is quite a lot of different than HD audio. Everyone will see a difference but many will not hear it. Even if they did, they don't have the hardware to reproduce it, whereas HD tv's are becoming a standard. Apples and oranges.

Even if HD-DVD will disappear in a year or two, what's the point of getting a upconverting player when the difference in price is not that great?

Oh..I wasn't arguing about whether to get a HD DVD player or a similar priced upconverting dvd player..

In fact, I just got a Sony Bravia S2010 (768p) LCD a month ago and decided to upgrade from a 3 year-old Sony non-progressive DVD player to the Denon 1730..

I was underwhelmed with the Denon via HDMI to 720p..it's solid, but I can't tell if there was any difference from the Sony DVD player..

So I go to the store again and get the 1930ci with the Faroudja chip..

This time I hook the old DVD player directly into the component on the tv and hook up the 1930ci via HDMI on another input..I calibrate both inputs with the Avia disk and proceed to watch Deja-vu and Star Wars Clones back and forth between both players..

I can tell ZERO difference...In fact I am trying to tell myself that the $350 player is better than the $90 Sony..but I can't...

Call me surprised..it's not like the Sony S2010 is high-end or anything...but it's upconversion was just as good as the Denon's..

[Sherardp]

probably not..I'm not one to buy dvds...I just rent them as they come out..

Actually Krabby, you can rent HD DVD and Blu Ray via Netflix. Not sure about your local Blockbuster, but netflix seems to be like a solution for you if were to ever decide to buy into. I tell you that once you've seen HD DVD or Blu Ray on a proper setup, you wouldnt go back to SD DVD

Krabby I would seriously consider taking the Denon back, kill two birds with one stone buddy and go HD DVD with that amount of cash. The Tosh players are excellent upconverting players.

[Polk & H/K]

Get the SonyDVP-NS90V you can get it for $170.

[Lasareath]

I have one of these and it works pretty well: http://www.neodigits.com/?gclid=CLD-...FSQsFQodiDF4VQ

[krabby5]

Actually Krabby, you can rent HD DVD and Blu Ray via Netflix. Not sure about your local Blockbuster, but netflix seems to be like a solution for you if were to ever decide to buy into. I tell you that once you've seen HD DVD or Blu Ray on a proper setup, you wouldnt go back to SD DVD

Krabby I would seriously consider taking the Denon back, kill two birds with one stone buddy and go HD DVD with that amount of cash. The Tosh players are excellent upconverting players.

the 1930ci IS going back...

[janmike]

I see Toshiba has a number of players.

HD-A2
HD-XA1
HD-XA2
HD-D1

Are these just different generations of players?