Recommendations for upscaling DVD player

gmcman

I'm looking for an upscaling DVD player for standard 480P dvd's to 1080P. As far as budget....I would like a player under $200 but would also like some input on a higher end player under $800 that I could search the classifieds for later on.

This will be going into a Panny VT60 plasma....I have too many older dvd's I would like to watch but in 1080P format.

pitdogg2

Denon 3930 might be a little more than 200 but damn fine player. Also plays sacd, DVD-Audio

gmcman

I have the sacd part covered, but not dvd audio. I found a few $50-75 players, unsure of their performance.

I will check into the 3930.

ZLTFUL

Any BDP should upscale...

thsmith

Pioneer Elite

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pioneer-Elite-DV-79AVi-DVD-Player-/252536288475?hash=item3acc55f4db:g:o-gAAOSwMgdX1p3x

gmcman

ZLTFUL wrote: »

Any BDP should upscale...

I have two Sony's, BDP-1100 & 1700. I guess they are OK, I don't know how well they compare to other players. I didn't think about them upscaling, I played one reg DVD so far on the 1700 and the pic was decent but by no means blu ray quality....I don't expect it to be but overall the pic was very slightly soft/fuzzy.

Emlyn

The VT60 already upscales a 480P signal to 1080P internally. That's its native display resolution. Some TV sets, including this one, just don't do an excellent job at doing it. A more recent basic Blu Ray player would most likely upscale video with slightly better results, but I wouldn't expect miracles. Even with an Oppo 105D, upscaled DVD is nowhere close to Blu Ray video quality. I still have a lot of DVDs too, some of which are unlikely to come out on Blu Ray. On the plus side though, a lot of Blu Ray movies are now down around $5 each.

The two Sony BDP players also upscale 480P to 1080P if set on auto or set to 1080P. Sony generally does an excellent job on the video side. I suspect you wouldn't do much better if any with a different player.

gmcman

Ok, I'll give the set a try at upscaling, only used the blu ray player so far. I agree it won't be blu ray quality, but even through the player the standard dvd still looked pretty good....I'm just always looking to improve I suppose.

Nightfall

You could replace a whole lot of DVD's with Blurays for $200, then sell the DVD's.

pkquat

I assume your BDP or TV is not cutting it for upscaling. If available, have you tried using the component (3 cables) or S-video connections. Double check the output and input settings on each unit. Generally I try and have only one unit do the processing. Possibly try outputting at 480i (let the TV do the work), 480p, or 720p. At best it will look a little soft and maybe fuzzy, but not blocky and grainy.

You may be able to find a used Denon or other brand with the DCDi Faroudja algorithms. Those algorithms tended to do a better job at upscaling and de-interlacing, however as I recall licensing got fragmented so there were different versions of the processing with varying results. Some were more tailored to 3:2 pulldown correction even though the play said it was an upscaling player. I had an old Epson (only 720p) projector with the Faroudja chip that frankly could make even standard VHS look pretty good. It wasn't crisp, but the added artificial detail was very smooth and consistent. I heard the 1080p version did just as well.

I have a Denon 1910 (out of service) with a Faroudja chip. The Epson did a better job of upscaling and overall IMO. The output from the Denon is DVI-D. I would try it with my current TV, but I don't have an adapter. If get the time I could try the composite signal.

The later replacement Epson projector (also 720p) with its own algorithms did an adequate job at upscaling analog signals, but it was not as good as the one with the Faroudja chip. As I recall the digital upscaling was good, but again not as good as the previous model.