Question about Upconverting DVDs?

Question

I'm a cinematography buff and junkie. Love lots of movies, especially old ones. The older DVDs (pre 1995) are really hard to get looking decent even upconverted. I have replaced as many as I can with newer DVD (and sometimes BLURAY) releases but theres too many movies that are just old and classic. Is there any programs out there for say boosting an old DVD if you re-burn it? Or somehow boosting the standard Upconverting process? Thanks.

1st- I am not an HD rookie. I know High Def and how it works.

2nd- I'm using a Samsung 1080P player on a Samsung 32" HD LCD with 5000:1 contrast. Please dont tell me about basic equipment.

Thanks.

Answer 1

you might want to get a better scaler. Oppo digitals make fantastic upscaling dvd players. Check the link below for the dvd shootout.

you might be having problems as videos with flaws are become more apparent after getting a higher resolution tv. stuff you wouldn't have normally seen are sticking out.

If the old dvd is a dvd9 then reburning it would only be an option if you can do it w/o recompressing it. no use in taking a 7gb dvd file, ripping it, compress to 4.4gb as you just made it look worse.

a lot of the time it's the quality of the scaler that makes or breaks the PQ.

taking an anolog signal and running it into some LCD look like t**d. you see all the flaws

Answer 2

You probably need a true video processor ... not just a better upconverting DVD player ... an outboard dedicated video processor. BUT, prices are high .. typically over $2000.

Lumagen, DVDO (Anchor Bay), Vantage (Calibre), Crystallio are all brands to look into.

See the links for sources/info ... and the last one for a thread on a comparison of several.

I'd also suggest AVS Forum (US) or AV Forum (UK) as a point to research the best answer to your needs.