Hello,
I know this is a very basic question but here goes.What is the advantage of buying an upconverting DVD player?Aren't all HDTV's capable of taking the 480P output and using their own scaler to do the same thing?I would think/hope that the scaler inside an expensive HDTV would be better than the chip inside a $50 upconverting DVD player............
Richard, I was about to ask the question, "has the standard preference for external processing changed as TV technology has progressed", when I saw this post. I was not surprised by your answer, but was taken aback by it's absolute nature. You seem to be saying that external processing is superior whether we're talking about a Pioneer TV combo'd with a bottom of the line DVD player or a Polaroid TV combo'd with a $300 player. Is this correct?
The Oppo review is a perfect example of top notch scaling of original 16:9 SD DVD content to for about $250. The Tivo Series 3 we use on our Samsung 720p DLP RP while not the best it is at least decent and far superior to the one in the TV. The limitation is 720p and 1080i/p. An external scaler is going to do better with an oddball pixel matrix such as 1366X768 and some others. In the Oppo review I did point out it's limitations where an external scaler may be preferred.
Scaling consists of two performance points. The first relates even to the mass market which is errors of omission rather than commission are greatly preferred; it may not be right but it isn't inducing objectionable artifacts. The next performance point is typically videophile territory; the least amount of errors to come as close as possible to matching the original.
Internal scaling for displays certainly has improved enough that the mass market is satisfied and if good enough even tolerable for videophiles.
Hi Richard,
Great review of the Oppo DV-981HD.My situation is I'm about to return my 32" 720P"S" Series Bravia to get a 40" 1080P W Bravia.I have a Sony DVP-NS72HP upscaling player.I like to watch my DVD SD collection which has a lot of titles,documentaries,etc. which I doubt will ever get made on Blu-Ray or HD-DVD.I'm not overly happy with the performance I'm getting with this player/TV combo.The TV itself is GREAT with HD Broadcasts.I will eventually get into one the of the HD Formats when the dust settles.I don't play video games so I would not get the PS3.I was wondering if you think the Oppo with the 1080P Bravia will be a significant improvement watching SD DVD's,or by waiting for the next series of HD Players, they will have the SAME performance handling SD DVD's as the Oppo.
Thanks ,ButchieK
An Oppo and 1080p native display is a great combo yet if the display is not setup right you would not gain much of anything and this may very well be the problem with your current one.
To tell you about performance requires a product review. A Toshiba HDA30 HD DVD player is on the list...
If you are looking for the best without breaking the bank the Oppo has been leading for quite some time but the limitations have been pointed out in the review. I would not expect HD disc players to spend much capitol on the SD DVD side of performance - they want you on the HD disc side. Their goal is more about decent quality rather than best based on what I have seen so far.
If you want the most out of every single bit of content in your SD DVD library an external scaler would be the better route for handling content that was not mastered natively to 16:9.
Hi guys.
I'm on the verge of buying a 768 Panasonic 42in Plasma, but there's 2 models, one has 1080p signal processing, and the other cheaper one doesn't.......my question is, if I mainly want to watch DVD's, will a non-upscaling DVD player connected to the non-1080p processing panasonic plasma perform well, or it is essential to get a 1080p HDMI DVD player and the 1080p** signal processor plasma?
**
Both 42's are 768 models, the only difference is the 1080p signal processing chip.
FYI, I do have a HDTV feed, but don't watch it that much.
I don't see why you'd need the 1080p chip in the TV if it's just going to scale it back to 768p. I think you'd be better off with the cheaper TV and feed it a 720P signal from an upconverting DVD player or HD DVD/Blu-Ray player. That should be cheaper overall and should look just as good unless I'm missing something with the 1080p signal that would make it better.
They make a 1080p TV and it has a scaler to upconvert everything to that. Appears they have two scaler designs in their basket of widgets creating a step up model that uses the same scaling as their 1080p product and then downscales to the pixel matrix of the display. The claimed benefit here would be that the 1080p scaler works with more pixels creating less errors on the way up and when down scaled to 768. There may be something to it and would not know without testing.
Cost....1080p chip TV is approx $130-$150 more.
By the sounds of it, an upscaling DVD player is superior to a non-upscaler even if feed to the non-1080p chip TV...?
The processor converts SD and HD video signals from DTV
broadcasting and DVD players to 1080p without loss of image
details. It also applies progressive conversion to upgrade 1080i highdefinition
video signals to 1080p signals. This allows Viera to render
pictures that are more beautiful than the original.
==================
This is what Panasonic claim the 1080p "chip" will do.....
It could go either way and differences likely subtle. It's a good argument based on technicalities but from experience questionable as to how much real world difference it would make.
If you are really concerned about this the correct answer is get a native 1280x720 or 1920X1080.
The processor converts SD and HD video signals from DTV
broadcasting and DVD players to 1080p without loss of image
details. It also applies progressive conversion to upgrade 1080i highdefinition
video signals to 1080p signals. This allows Viera to render
pictures that are more beautiful than the original.
The processor converts SD and HD video signals from DTV
broadcasting and DVD players to 1080p without loss of image
details. It also applies progressive conversion to upgrade 1080i highdefinition
video signals to 1080p signals. This allows Viera to render
pictures that are more beautiful than the original.
people get paid a lot for stuff like that
the public just eats it up
Give the public a break mate, being gullible is what we do, LOL.
Now theoretically, that should mean the upscale DVD players are all hype as well, especially on a 42inch screen....?
Based on some reading I did elsewhere, it seems that the effectiveness of the upscale part of the DVD is in doubt{DVD players costing between $100-$130US}, but newer technology and the all digital chain of HDMI-HDMI might make it worth it, ie, you can set the upscale DVD player to output @480p/567p, and let the HDTV do the upscale.
It's all about bypassing the internal scaler of the display and these days a native 480p is no longer out there. That was the realm of CRT...
There is no doubt based on imaging science. The necessity is relative though and as always related to your expectations and most importantly viewing distance.
Sony's new HDMI DVD Player now comes with 720p/1080i/1080p Upscaling!
HDMI incorporates all uncompressed digital video and audio signals through one cable. HDMI makes connecting cables simple with no reduction in quality, ensuring the best picture and sound quality.
720p/1080i/1080p Upscaling allows video signal output in the 720p, 1080i or 1080p format giving you higher resolution, increased detail and colour you didn't think were possible to experience from a DVD player.
Simply connect the DVPNS78H to your favourite BRAVIA Flat Panel LCD TV * via HDMI connection. One cable for Visual and Audio connection and now with BRAVIA Theatre Sync you can enjoy optimal picture and sound quality as well as easy set up and simple, seamless playback.
================
This one costs about $150AUD, so I'll probably get it and fiddle with the various outputs, ie, 576p/720/1080i/p and see what the best result is.
Hi David,
I have a Bravia 40" 1080P and in my experience if your looking to make your SD 480P DVD's look HALFWAY decent on your set it is going to come down to what de-interlace Chip Set the DVD player uses.I bought a Sony upscaler for $99,used it,was not happy,returned it,found the Oppo HD981 which uses the Faroudja DcDi Chip set,BINGO!,what a difference!Go on Amazon and read the reviews,they are accurate in my opinion.Some of the better Onkyo recievers are starting to use this chip set and the Silicon Optix Chip Set.There is a reason for this!
people get paid a lot for stuff like that 
the public just eats it up 