Anyone have a upconverting DVD player? How do you like it?

Question

Just got a 42 inch 1080i flat screen and thinking of an upconverting DVD player. Anyone have one and how do you like it? How much did you pay?

Answer 1

My HD-DVD player is great for upconverting. It's hard to tell difference between HD and upconvert DVD.  So, good enough I can wait a couple years before blowing any money on BR and BR discs - it's all overpriced junk still considering you need to update software for every new movie that comes out, and profile 3 BRD isn't even out yet.

Answer 2

I have had three (an Oppo 971 and two HD DVD players).

I bought the Oppo ($200, and generally considered one of the best upconverters) and loved the picture, but about 6 months ago I decided to try an HD DVD player to see if HD disks were worth the extra cost. On my HD projector (1440x1050) and 110" screen there was only a marginal improvement from HD DVD disks in comparison to upconverted DVDs. So, I decided NOT to buy HD disks except for exceptional tiltes that justify the extra picture quality (e.g. Planet Earth) and to continue using mainly DVDs on the HD DVD player.

I sold the Oppo to my brother (since I wanted to still be able to access the several HD DVD disks I do have), and bought a second HD DVD player for $80 when Blu-ray "won" the HD format war.

So, do I recommend upconversion ... yes (with a couple of caveats).

Upconversion can't make DVDs look quite as good as true HD disks, and not all upconverting players work the same.

The results are determined by the quality of the video processing chip(s) built into the player. Generally speaking a sub-$100 player probably won't do as good a job as an Oppo or other quality player (That's why the HD DVD players are such a bargain).

Owners of 720p HDTVs are good candidates for upconverters, while 1080p owners WHO SIT CLOSE ENOUGH TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE may be better off getting a Blu-ray player.

Answer 3

The real short answer.. is yes buy one... Get one of the really reduced Toshiba HD DVD players on sale for about 89$

http://www.compusa.com/applications/Sear...

they work excellent... you can get HD DVD disks now for half price at Virgin Megastores... and the up conversion chips in the player is excellent... TRUST ME  and this will last you until the price comes down drastically by 2010.