My TV isn't full HD, but only HD ready. Does anyone know if it would be better to set the upscaling dvd output to 1280x720p as opposed to 1920x1080i?

Quoting cvermeylen:

Quote:
My TV isn't full HD, but only HD ready. Does anyone know if it would be better to set the upscaling dvd output to 1280x720p as opposed to 1920x1080i?

I've always preferred 720p to 1080i in all the displays I've seen.

But try both and see which one you like the most 

Quoting Rifter:

Quote:
Quoting Skywatcher:

Quote:
Quoting cvermeylen:

Quote:
My TV isn't full HD, but only HD ready. Does anyone know if it would be better to set the upscaling dvd output to 1280x720p as opposed to 1920x1080i?

I've always preferred 720p to 1080i in all the displays I've seen.

But try both and see which one you like the most 

Actually, according to what I've been told by manufacturers reps and dealers, and what I've read, you should allow the player to auto select which one to use, based on how it syncs up with your TV.

The Pioneer DV-400V does not have an auto setting. I currently set it to 720p. I will watch some movies, then test the 1080i setting as Skywatcher suggested. Thanks for all the tips anyway 

Quoting Rifter:

Quote:
Here's another one that has gotten little notice but is a superb piece of gear for a great price:

I was looking real hard at Oppo's 971, because it was a perfect fit for the feature set of my Sharp LCD Widescreen.  But, I couldn't find any place that had new ones, and only a few that had some factory refurbished for sale.  I checked with Oppo US, finally, and was told the 971 has been discontinued.

So, I started my search again.  I looked at nearly a dozen and a half different makes and models ranging in price from about $70 to well over $300.  I finally narrowed it down to two, a Sony 5-hole carousel model and a one-holer from Toshiba.  I finally settled on the Sony because of the carousel.  It's a Model DVP-NC85H/B and sells most places for $129.99.  Bought it on-line through Best Buy for an in-store pickup.

It does NOT come with an HDMI cable (the Oppo did, but I'm sure that raised the price as well) so don't forget to get one.  [NOTE:  Don't let the sales rep talk you into spending $75 on an HDMI cable either.  Sony makes a very nice 5' unit - DLCHN15 - for $25.00]  The player is supplied with a standard RCA type red/white/yellow audio/video cable, a very detailed manual, and batteries for the remote.  The remote is well laid out and very easy and intuitive to operate with one hand in a darkened room.

I threw everything I could think of that had intense action and detailed graphics (both live and CGI) at this little jewel and it passed everything with flying colors.  King Kong, Aeonflux, Master and Commander, Pearl Harbor, and several others all played superbly, with no artifacting at all, and it was as if I was seeing them fresh the first time.  Bright, vivid colors, and deep, solid blacks, exquisite tiny details, etc.  I was also able to utilize the optical audio connection on my AV receiver because the Sony has an SPDIF optical output.  Now, I get automatic 5.1 DTS recognition, and the sound is better than ever.  Now that I am using HDMI on the TV, I get automatic format adjustment with anamorphic DVDs, and that too is dead-on accurate.

So, if you want a great player with lots of features at a very good price, check out this Sony.  I am very pleased with its performance, and watching DVDs is now "gee whiz" fun again like it was in the beginning!

Final Note:  Don't know if this is Region 1 only.  I couldn't find any logos on the manual, the box, or the unit itself.

Thanks for the infor Rifter.  I am in the market for an upconvert DVD player.  Don't know that I want a 5-disc changer...I guess it would be cool for films like the extended LotR sets.  The price is nice so I will have to take a look at it.

Hi,

Upscaling DVD players are popular. However, your image quality is only as good as the built-in scaler. Some scalers can scale to 1080p but still don't do the job (you get a lot of artifacts during scenes with a lot of action or during quick scene changes). I highly recommend adding a good quality scaler to your system instead of upgrading your DVD player. DVDO makes a line of great scalers that provide superb picture quality regardless of the input.  I have a DVDO HDplus scaler and watch all my movies (regardless of the source resolution) at a flawless 1080p with absolutely NO artifacts EVER.

Stevizard
PS. I'm a home theater professional

Another new Oppo fan here (Oppo 981HD).  I just got it and my favorite SD movies really came to life.  Not only is it a really, really good upscaler (blows the Sony I was using before away), but it's region free (whoo hoo!).

This really helps me sit out the HD vs. Blu-Ray war and still enjoy the huge investment I've made in my collection.  Almost all of the Oppo reviews are highly favorable - which pushed me to buy it.  Now that I have, I'm blown away.  I couldn't imagine anything else better to use with my SDTV DVDs.

Quoting dugn:

Quote:
Another new Oppo fan here (Oppo 981HD).  I just got it and my favorite SD movies really came to life.  Not only is it a really, really good upscaler (blows the Sony I was using before away), but it's region free (whoo hoo!).

This really helps me sit out the HD vs. Blu-Ray war and still enjoy the huge investment I've made in my collection.  Almost all of the Oppo reviews are highly favorable - which pushed me to buy it.  Now that I have, I'm blown away.  I couldn't imagine anything else better to use with my SDTV DVDs.

Congratulations! There's no question in my mind that the Oppo players are the best bang for the buck out there 

Quoting cvermeylen:

Quote:
My TV isn't full HD, but only HD ready. Does anyone know if it would be better to set the upscaling dvd output to 1280x720p as opposed to 1920x1080i?

HD Ready just means there's no built in HD Tuner!!! It's still a HDTV.  My HDTV is also HD Ready.  Plug in a HD Cable Box, a HD Satellite Receiver, a HD Tuner, a HD Game Console, and you'll get HD!!!

What type of HD Ready TV do you have?  What's the Native Resolution?  If it's CRT based, Direct View or Rear Projection, it's 1080i like Mine.  If it's LDC, Plasma, and the others, it's more then likely 720P or close to that if it's Plasma because they are Progressive type Displays.  So set it accordantly.

Upscaling DVD players I think is just a scam.  If your HDTV Upscaled your DVD, it's the same thing.  You Can't add to the picture that's not even there.  480P is it.  HD DVD and Blu-Ray are 1080P which scaling down is a different matter.  The Data is already there.  Upscaling DVD players is a way to get you to spend more money to buy a new DVD player when the one you have works perfectly fine and yet your not ready to make the jump to a HD player.  I have a few DVD players of my own laying around not being used and yet still to this day work.  I've never had a DVD player fail on me.  I've gotten newer DVD players because of added features.  That's the ONLY Reason.  For example, when I got my HDTV, my older DVD player would only do 480i,  I wanted 480P for my HDTV, so I got a new DVD player that did 480P.  A 480P DVD looks pretty good on my HDTV, but not nearly as good as a HD DVD does.  I don't plan to replace all my DVD's, hell I'm still buying DVD's when I can't get the movie on HD DVD.

I also don't want a COMBO HD player.  They are overpriced, it just keeps the format war going on and on, and really only one should LIVE.  They are just two completely different formats.  It's not like DVD + and DVD -.  It's more like DVD Audio and SACD.  Not Compatible, fighting against each other and both pretty much failing over to MP3's.  I'm afraid that may just end up happening with HD DVD and Blu-Ray.  You'll instead just download or VOD your HD Movies which is happening now, and DVD will stick around so you have it on a Disc you can bring places.  Myself, I'll continue to buy HD DVD's when I can.  Just got another new one today.  The Movies look and sound great, and I like all the cool Next gen Features.