28 replies to this topic

[sharp_1]

Hey Aussies.

I'm looking to buy a DVD upconverter for my room since I'm moving the old 32" HD TV in there. I see no point in forking out for another blu-ray player because I know for a fact I wont bother watching Blu-Rays on it anymore since I use my 55" LED for Blu-Ray in the lounge, so I want DVD to look as good as it can on the 32" with a upscaler. I already have a DVD/VCR combo, but it obviously lacks a HDMI input.

Can anyone recommend me a good brand DVD upconverter I can buy?

[cwt]

sharp_1, on 14 April 2012 - 03:04 PM, said:

Hey Aussies.

I'm looking to buy a DVD upconverter for my room since I'm moving the old 32" HD TV in there. I see no point in forking out for another blu-ray player because I know for a fact I wont bother watching Blu-Rays on it anymore since I use my 55" LED for Blu-Ray in the lounge, so I want DVD to look as good as it can on the 32" with a upscaler. I already have a DVD/VCR combo, but it obviously lacks a HDMI input.

Can anyone recommend me a good brand DVD upconverter I can buy?

Since its for a sd source the earlier dvdo's would suit lonewolf has one here ;hopefully your all in one has component out for best results ..

http://www.dtvforum....dpost&p=1727307

[sharp_1]

Thanks but I'm not looking for anything super expensive like that! lol, something around the $100 mark which I know for a fact that DVD upconverters cost these days (although unless it doesn't come with a HDMI cable, I might have to buy another one separately. but that's no problem.)

the reason I want a upnverter is because I know it will make DVD at least bearable because using traditional cables for a DVD player to a 32" HD TV makes DVD look pretty poor.

So do you have any advice on a good brand player model around that mark?

[jliang70]

sharp_1, on 14 April 2012 - 07:29 PM, said:

Thanks but I'm not looking for anything super expensive like that! lol, something around the $100 mark which I know for a fact that DVD upconverters cost these days (although unless it doesn't come with a HDMI cable, I might have to buy another one separately. but that's no problem.)

the reason I want a upnverter is because I know it will make DVD at least bearable because using traditional cables for a DVD player to a 32" HD TV makes DVD look pretty poor.

So do you have any advice on a good brand player model around that mark?

You will be much better served by buying a bluray player for about $75.  There is no point wasting on an video processing unit less than $100 you are wasting your money as unit at that price are often no better in upscaling/processing than a bluray player.  A video processor that does good job in processing/upscaling will not come at the sort of price you are looking for.  A high end unit like DVDO DUO is about $1000.  Second hand unit like DVDO VP30 or VP50 can be bought from $300.  Another thing to remember is even top end video processor won't polish turd.

Edited by jliang70, 14 April 2012 - 09:59 PM.

[alanh]

Sharp1,
You say that your DVD/Video player does not have an HDMI input. Don't you mean output? Does the TV have an HDMI input? If so you are better off just buying an DVD player with an HDMI output and connecting it directly to the TV. This will give component digital connection and the TV can do the upscaling as usual.

AlanH

[sharp_1]

alanh, on 15 April 2012 - 12:23 AM, said:

Sharp1,
You say that your DVD/Video player does not have an HDMI input. Don't you mean output? Does the TV have an HDMI input? If so you are better off just buying an DVD player with an HDMI output and connecting it directly to the TV. This will give component digital connection and the TV can do the upscaling as usual.

AlanH

Sorry yes that's what I mean, output, I confused the words together. Yes obviously my 32" HD TV does have a HDMI input. Also, you say I'll be better off buying a DVD player with a HDMI output, isn't that basically a DVD upconverting player since it includes a HDMI option unlike regular cheap DVD players?

[sharp_1]

jliang70, on 14 April 2012 - 09:26 PM, said:

You will be much better served by buying a bluray player for about $75.  There is no point wasting on an video processing unit less than $100 you are wasting your money as unit at that price are often no better in upscaling/processing than a bluray player.  A video processor that does good job in processing/upscaling will not come at the sort of price you are looking for.  A high end unit like DVDO DUO is about $1000.  Second hand unit like DVDO VP30 or VP50 can be bought from $300.  Another thing to remember is even top end video processor won't polish turd.

Like I said in my OP, I see no use in buying another blu-ray player because I wont be using this TV for watching blu-ray (I use to before I upgraded to a 55") and whist it looked good, I dont see a point in buying a blu-ray player for this TV anymore and I dont see them around for that price anyway. I rather just go with a DVD upconverting player that obviously hooked up with a HDMI cable, will make DVD look better on my 32" HD TV then my current DVD/VCR combo will since that lacks a HDMI output.

surely there is some recommended decent DVD upconverting players/players that offer a HDMI output for around that price ($100-150), that will give me a better picture over my current set up, no?

thanks again for the help everyone

Edited by sharp_1, 15 April 2012 - 02:09 PM.

[Quark]

Perhaps a used Toshiba XE1 - while HD DVD has died, they were always good for upscaling DVDs.

[sharp_1]

Quark, on 15 April 2012 - 07:14 PM, said:

Perhaps a used Toshiba XE1 - while HD DVD has died, they were always good for upscaling DVDs.

Obviously haven't seen them in stores for obvious reasons, and can't find one on eBay within Australia. Any other recommendations? To clarify; I'm not looking for anything perfect, but a solid upconverting DVD player with a HDMI output so the picture will look better when playing DVDs on my 32" HD TV, rather then using my combo unit for DVD playback via the traditional cables. I plan on only using the DVD side on my combo for region free playback ONLY, as I have quite a few region free discs. So the upconverting DVD player doesn't necessarily have to be region free.

Edited by sharp_1, 15 April 2012 - 11:07 PM.

[alanh]

Look at the quality of an SD broadcast. The TV has upconverted it to the display resolution.
The question is whether any external upconverter will do a better job. The biggest improvement is to use HDMI from the DVD player to the TV. DVD players are at nearly "give away" prices.

AlanH

[Robbks]

I have a Denon DVD2930
it's upscaling to 1080P (native resolution of my Pana plasma)
and the difference between letting the Plasma upscale compared with the Denon is night and day.
Denon wins hands down.
i've run it back to back with a cheapo samsung blu-ray player ($250 at the time, back in 09), same movie, both on HDMI inputs, same display settings, etc
and the Denon was a more lifelike picture to watch. the Sammy BR seemed to have more "pop", it didn't handle long panning shots as well and was very blocky in the colour (DNR settings made it no better)

and the Denon unit doubles as a proper HiFi CD (and SACD) player. great on-board DAC's, completely separate Audio and Video circuitry, Pure Direct analogue outs (where every single unused bit gets turned off, including all front panel lighting)

it may not fit your bill, but at the time I needed both a new DVD player and a good CD player.
just an option

[sharp_1]

Hey guys, I'm having a close  at the Pioneer DV-3022V which includes a HDMI output. I found it in JB HI FI for a very cheap price too. Has anybody had experience with this player or have any knowledge about it? The specs looks decent on paper, can anyone tell me more about it? Or maybe there are better DVD upconverting players out there? Can someone help me out..? thanks..

[sharp_1]

I'm also looking at the Sumsung D530 and the Sony DVP-NS728H which both obviously also have a HDMI output as well. Any opinions on these 2 players as well would be handy. Thanks guys..

Edited by sharp_1, 24 April 2012 - 10:49 PM.

[cwt]

sharp_1, on 24 April 2012 - 10:35 PM, said:

I'm also looking at the Sumsung D530 and the Sony DVP-NS728H which both obviously also have a HDMI output as well. Any opinions on these 2 players as well would be handy. Thanks guys..

Neither would match the faroudja chip in this  oppo ;not to mention its a universal ; samsung/sony/pioneer dont usually specify what chipset they use for cheaper lines ;dearer players they tend to ; good pointer maybe

http://www.ebay.com....9571#vi-content

http://www.oppodigit...81hd_review.asp

Edited by cwt, 25 April 2012 - 05:23 AM.

[sharp_1]

cwt, on 25 April 2012 - 05:12 AM, said:

Neither would match the faroudja chip in this  oppo ;not to mention its a universal ; samsung/sony/pioneer dont usually specify what chipset they use for cheaper lines ;dearer players they tend to ; good pointer maybe

http://www.ebay.com....9571#vi-content

http://www.oppodigit...81hd_review.asp

Thank you for your reply, I might keep a close eye on that unit, but I'm not one for actual eBay bids, but it does sound good. However, in the case of the Sony DVP-NS728H; I have read many good reviews about the unit in terms of its upscaling quality for modern HD TVS.

http://www.testfreak...h/user-reviews/

obviously I use the 'translate to english' button so I could read the actual individual reviews, but most seem pretty positive, even though like you said, they don't specify the chipset used. But anyway, would you say this is a good sign in terms of this Sony player being a good deal?

Edit: Have been reading even more reviews of that oppo player you suggested and damn, it sounds more impressive then I thought. So I guess what you are saying is that the oppo will give me better results then the Sony/Samsung/Pioneer models I previously posted? So it doesnt mean they are bad, its just the oppo is better, am I correct?

Edited by sharp_1, 25 April 2012 - 11:47 AM.

[cwt]

sharp_1, on 25 April 2012 - 11:36 AM, said:

Edit: Have been reading even more reviews of that oppo player you suggested and damn, it sounds more impressive then I thought. So I guess what you are saying is that the oppo will give me better results then the Sony/Samsung/Pioneer models I previously posted? So it doesnt mean they are bad, its just the oppo is better, am I correct?

This really depends if your susceptible to artifacts and anomalies like frame rate conversion ;macroblocking etc that better chips can handle [especially if your streaming video files]. Many are perfectly happy even though it doesnt measure well on a test bench . If you cant find an oppo [a 983 would be even better] have a look at panasonic .They have a uniphier chip that is very good and was good in a dmr x300 I used many moons ago..

http://panasonic.com...-S48GN/Overview

[sharp_1]

cwt, on 25 April 2012 - 08:37 PM, said:

This really depends if your susceptible to artifacts and anomalies like frame rate conversion ;macroblocking etc that better chips can handle [especially if your streaming video files]. Many are perfectly happy even though it doesnt measure well on a test bench . If you cant find an oppo [a 983 would be even better] have a look at panasonic .They have a uniphier chip that is very good and was good in a dmr x300 I used many moons ago..

http://panasonic.com...-S48GN/Overview

Just a question about that Panasonic model you linked me to, that doesn't seem to be a upconvertion player with a HDMI output though, its just a "Progressive scan" player. isn't the point of getting the best out of DVD is buying a player with a HDMI output connection?

also, I'll be using the player for DVD only, not much into video files and all the rest of it.. I just want a player that will boost slightly better results then my current set-up. I don't nit pick the details much because I know DVD as a format in itself has limitations accorss the board in terms of picture quality. So I'll be content with something that will give me value with better picture quality then what I am getting RIGHT AT THE MOMENT.

Edited by sharp_1, 26 April 2012 - 09:27 PM.

[cwt]

sharp_1, on 26 April 2012 - 09:24 PM, said:

Just a question about that Panasonic model you linked me to, that doesn't seem to be a upconvertion player with a HDMI output though, its just a "Progressive scan" player. isn't the point of getting the best out of DVD is buying a player with a HDMI output connection?

Yeah pointed too the 30 buck cheaper version sorry ;this is the  one ;

http://panasonic.com...VD-S68/Overview

Practically most of these players have lan dnla etc  playback these days ; its hard to avoid as value adding occurs each year ..

[sharp_1]

cwt, on 27 April 2012 - 05:06 AM, said:

Yeah pointed too the 30 buck cheaper version sorry ;this is the  one ;

http://panasonic.com...VD-S68/Overview

Practically most of these players have lan dnla etc  playback these days ; its hard to avoid as value adding occurs each year ..

Ahh well thank you very much for that. So what you are saying is that the Panasonic DVD-S68 upconverting DVD player that you linked me to will give me fairly good results because it comes with a good quality chipset unlike other upconverting DVD players from Sony/Pioneer/Samusng that I've been looking at as mentioned previously in this thread? I've done some searching and it goes for about the $117-$123 price range here in Australia which was a bit more then I expected, but if its worth the price in terms of value for quality, then I will definitely consider it, if its as good as you say anyway.

I assume its still not quite as good as the highly regarded Oppo model though? but the pana is still better then most, am I right in assuming that?

[cwt]

sharp_1, on 27 April 2012 - 12:42 PM, said:

I assume its still not quite as good as the highly regarded Oppo model though? but the pana is still better then most, am I right in assuming that?

The pana chip is more refined with each new generation [its not bought oem like the others] ;matsushita the parent co makes its own chips The oppo uses chipsets from co's that specialise in vp chips.. Everyone has there favourites when the chips score very high benchmark results ;say no more..

Its a shame that the audioholics secrets benchmark tests -which used to be comprehensive - arent as prevalent anymore . The pana chip was very good last test with the following criteria vvv ; a good [pal] test disc will show the inadequacies  of the deinterlacing/scaling .  I like the speers/munsil disc that came with my oppp but hqv is another good one

http://www.audioholi...-testing-part-1

[sharp_1]

Well once again thank you for your help cwt, you have been great in assisting me. Just one final one though; I am now nailing it down to either a used Oppo DV-981HD bid on eBay (that you gave me the link to ), or that  Panasonic DVD-S68 which is a 'Buy It Now' price for a grand total of just about $128 including postage. In your opinion; which do you think I should target first and fore most?  Going by the level of praise for both these players, I'd be happy with either one, but in your recommendation, since both these players are available at the same time on eBay, which do you think I should target first?

cheers

Edited by sharp_1, 28 April 2012 - 11:45 AM.

[cwt]

sharp_1, on 28 April 2012 - 11:45 AM, said:

Well once again thank you for your help cwt, you have been great in assisting me. Just one final one though; I am now nailing it down to either a used Oppo DV-981HD bid on eBay (that you gave me the link to ), or that  Panasonic DVD-S68 which is a 'Buy It Now' price for a grand total of just about $128 including postage. In your opinion; which do you think I should target first and fore most?  Going by the level of praise for both these players, I'd be happy with either one, but in your recommendation, since both these players are available at the same time on eBay, which do you think I should target first?

cheers

Have a look here and you will know my stance   http://www.oppodigit...81hd_review.asp but as your not interested in sacd/dvd-a playback  I would go the pana 1st . Its a newer player too so may be more reliable being 2nd hand and all ? Good luck either way

[beejay76]

sharp_1, on 14 April 2012 - 07:29 PM, said:

....something around the $100 mark which I know for a fact that DVD upconverters cost these days....

Oh, the title of your thread threw me a bit there. High-end DVD upconverters are way more expensive than $100! So in terms of high end, the best DVD upconverter is any version of the Lumagen Radiance series.

[wheelz]

I tthink his description is worded wrong,all he wants is a dvd player that upscales and has HDMI.Which most of them do these days,tho as mentioned i'd get a cheap blu ray player as it covers both formats whether he uses it or not at least the choice is there.

[sharp_1]

wheelz, on 01 May 2012 - 05:47 PM, said:

I tthink his description is worded wrong,all he wants is a dvd player that upscales and has HDMI.Which most of them do these days,tho as mentioned i'd get a cheap blu ray player as it covers both formats whether he uses it or not at least the choice is there.

The reason I dont want to go down that path is because I know for a fact I will never want to watch Blu-Rays on my 32" HD TV anymore since I know I'll be missing out on screen size and quality with my primly 55" Full-HD LED TV just sitting there (that is what I use for Blu-Ray.). So I only plan to use the 32" for DVD playback and since the Panasonic DVD-S68  recommended to me by  cwt and also has good reviews for its upscaling quality of DVDs, I plan to buy that because it will at least do a better job then a cheap no-name Blu-Ray player at upconverting DVDs which is the ONLY thing I plan to use it for. So basically I'll be getting better quality out of my DVD deck when hooked up to my 32" at a affordable price.