A dvd player that upconverts to 1080p? | FerrariChat

A dvd player that upconverts to 1080p?

Discussion in 'Technology' started by masterflex164, Nov 10, 2007.

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  1. masterflex164

    masterflex164 Formula Junior

    Oct 17, 2004
    630
    New England
    I'm getting my 1st 1080p LCD in a couple weeks, probably a Sony Bravia 40inch, and it looks like a good chance to get rid of my trusty 30$ Apex, I've been using for years.
    I've been tons of players that upconvert, but what's a good one?
    I would want to:

    1. be able to upconvert to 1080p
    2. play DIVX, Xvid, mp4, mp3, etc (for my Top Gear episodes) <---------- Very important!
    3. HDMI out
    4. and a USB port, so I can plug in an external hard drive, with all my top gear episodes and watch them through the player

    I've been looking at a Philips DVP5982/37 because it will be on sale for 49.99 on Black Friday, but does recommend anything elsE?
     
  2. nopassn

    nopassn Formula 3

    Nov 19, 2003
    1,959
    Kansas City
    Full Name:
    Roy
  3. James in Denver

    James in Denver Formula 3

    May 23, 2006
    2,136
    Centennial Colorado
    Full Name:
    James in Denver
    I just bought the HD-A30, its a great machine so far. I lucked out. I have a 1080i TV and Best Buy was having a sale on the HD-A3 (the 1080i model) but they mis-filled my online order with the A30. I got the better model for the "on sale" price of the lower model.

    The A3 is (was?) onsale at best buy for $199.

    James in Denver
     
  4. Gonzalo92

    Gonzalo92 Formula Junior

    Dec 30, 2006
    546
    Houston
    yea I'v got that Toshiba and it looks great, also have the a sony on another TV and it looks a lot better than the sony
     
  5. masterflex164

    masterflex164 Formula Junior

    Oct 17, 2004
    630
    New England
    thanks, but I'm not gonna go with HD DVD. I'm more of a Blu-Ray person, and with this new TV, I will have a reason to actually buy a PS3.

    Thanks anyway, but right now, all I need is a normal dvd player that upconverts SD DVDs to 1080p
     
  6. Townshend

    Townshend F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 20, 2005
    6,677
    Chicago
    Full Name:
    Walter
    Ive got this exact model and so far so good. Main reason I got it was so I can also play all regions.
     
  7. tl731

    tl731 Formula Junior

    Oct 13, 2004
    640
    Staten Island , NY
    Full Name:
    Thomas L.
    I have an OPPO dv-hd981, it upconverts standard dvd's to 1080p via hdmi (which is supplied with the unit).
    It does a decent job, my movies def look better than with the 70 dollar dvd player i had, but it does not even compare to the bluray 1080p quality i get from my PS3.
    The Oppo was 219 from what i remember... You can get a decent 1080p upconverting form Best Buy for 100-130, Samsung i think
     
  8. wingfeather

    wingfeather F1 Rookie

    Feb 1, 2007
    3,653
    rock bottom
    I'm using a $199 home theatre system from Target.

    It upconverts to 1080p via HDMI!!! Yeah :)

    IMHO the upconverting is a nice extra, but I wouldn't be a sucker & pay over $150 for a player that upconverts. Because... drum roll... You're not getting true 1080p. Duh! You're still seeing the same amount of image information.

    At that point, go Blue Ray or HD-DVD. Then you're actually seeing something with those extra pixels!
     
  9. miketuason

    miketuason F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Feb 24, 2006
    15,810
    Cerritos, CA.
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    Mike
  10. KTG

    KTG Formula Junior

    May 16, 2005
    820
    Chicago,IL
    Does upconverting look better? Its still just interlacing info isn't it?
     
  11. GhostRider

    GhostRider Formula Junior

    Dec 20, 2002
    999
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    Matt
    Junk in=junk out. You cannot improve image quality by upconverting.
     
  12. Prova7

    Prova7 Formula Junior

    Nov 17, 2003
    257
    Dallas, TX
    Full Name:
    DamonB
    Yep. The hdtv already has to upconvert to its native resolution. You won't gain anything from an upconverting dvd player unless your hdtv is of poorer quality. Even with an upconverting player the tv most likely still must upconvert to its native resolution. Doing it twice= lesser quality output. Get a decent hdtv and let it do all the work.
     
  13. masterflex164

    masterflex164 Formula Junior

    Oct 17, 2004
    630
    New England
    exactly! The TV, i've decided on is a Sony KDL40W3000 for 1399$ at Sears on Black Friday. It does 1080p, and only difference between the 1000$ more XBR is that the W series doesn't support 120hz. It displays everything in 1080p, but I'm still going to get a upconverting DVD player for my crappy-res. DIVX files.
     
  14. Prova7

    Prova7 Formula Junior

    Nov 17, 2003
    257
    Dallas, TX
    Full Name:
    DamonB
    As GhostRider pointed out crappy-res equals crappy-res no matter how you try and upconvert it. I can take a digital photo at 100 dpi with my camera and then later open that 100 dpi file and save it at 1200 dpi. The image will appear exactly the same in both cases. You can't add resolution that didn't exist to begin with, you can only lose it.
     
  15. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    18,044
    USA
    From what I have read, there is a difference amongst the upconverting dvd players, so you should do some research. As has been stated, none of them upconvert to a true HD quality picture. From what I have read (and seen with my own Sony) is that they upconvert to about a 480 HD quality, not 720 or 1080. And it will vary based on the quality of the DVD.
     
  16. Ike

    Ike F1 Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    3,543
    I just got a sony bravia 50" a series LCD Projection. I also got a Sony upconverting DVD player, don't remember the model. I'll look on it later. It says 1080 output. I really don't think the DVDs look any better. The movies play in a small center of the screen and when I change the zoom setting on the tv things are distorted.
     
  17. GrigioGuy

    GrigioGuy Splenda Daddy
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 26, 2001
    33,121
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    Snike Fingersmith
    Now that Toshiba's giving up on the HD-DVD players, you should be able to pick them up cheap Real Soon Now. The HDDVD unit is a great upconverting DVD player
     
  18. GordonF355

    GordonF355 Formula 3

    Aug 13, 2005
    1,017
    Cincinnati, Ohio
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    Gordon
    quit playing around and go out and buy a sony bdp s-500 blue ray dvd player. It upconverts and does blue ray like no other! You won't be disappointed !!!
    gordon
     
  19. JazzyO

    JazzyO F1 World Champ

    Jan 14, 2007
    12,156
    The Netherlands
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    Onno
    Upconverting, when done by a proper DVD player (e.g. Denon's 3930, which I have), does not just increase the number of pixels. It increases sharpness around edges, leading to better definition, increases the smoothness of colour blends and also has complex motion algorithm's that improve panning scenes. If you watch the same movie on low res and high res, you WILL see a difference. The quality of this upconverting is generally much better in dedicated DVD players than in an HD tv.


    Onno
     
  20. coverland

    coverland Formula 3

    Apr 22, 2007
    1,013
    Seattle
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    Colin
    ...not trying to contradict, just curious... but if this is the case, then how can a movie like Hoosiers or Rocky be broadcasted in HD, and actually look better than the DVD versions I have at home?

    (ex. Comcast is broadcasting HD Hoosiers On-Demand right now)
     
  21. coverland

    coverland Formula 3

    Apr 22, 2007
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    Colin
    +1 (from what I've seen)
     
  22. atomstrange

    atomstrange Formula Junior

    Jun 3, 2005
    856
    Lenexa KS
    Full Name:
    Nathan
    Because original movies when shot are captured in 1080p(ie. panavision cameras). We are just now seeing a consumer medium that can capture the true full aspect ratio and resolution of movies. All the old dvd's and movies were always downconverted to a lesser format. Until cable lines were upgraded a few years ago, the bandwidth was not there to transfer that much data on one channel. I believe (and I could be wrong) that one hd channel takes up as much bandwidth as 1000 channels of 480i(which is the old cable broadcast resolution). In my opinion, any kind of upconverting will never be worthy of a true 1080p source. Although the hd-dvd player for the 360 does very nicely.
     
  23. coverland

    coverland Formula 3

    Apr 22, 2007
    1,013
    Seattle
    Full Name:
    Colin
    ...that's actually what I thought, but I just wasn't sure.

    I love the HD-DVD on the 360. I haven't had any success with quality upconverting though. Everything is still output through 480p? How come it won't upconvert to 1080 at all?

    -Colin
     

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