do I really need a new DVD player?

[Chaz]

I loaned/gave the cheap DVD player with only Svideo out to a friend of mine and I currently have my PS2 connected by component cable to my Panasonic 47WX42. I think DVDs look great on this setup (some better than others obivously). What am I really missing and how much would I have to spend to get a noticeable improvement? Because of the line doubler in my TV do I really need progressive scan? I currently have nothing to compare it to so is ignorance bliss?

Thanks, C

[allotta]

You might want to check out the Panasonic RP62, which is on sale right now at both BB and CC for only $129 ($50 off). It a good intro progressive scan player, and it should compliment your 47wx42 nicely.

But to your original question - you should definitely notice an improvement over your PS2.

[57U]

If you do buy a new player, let us know if it makes a difference. We've had feedback that there is a lot of difference and some that said no difference. The more feedback we get, the better.

[Chaz]

Thanks for the replies...
I am curious now. I may go to CC and pick one up. I can always return it. $129 is a great price but it appears from their website all they have is the silver version.
I was just wondering if the improvement in picture quality would be noticeable. Mostly It would be interesting to see the difference between progressive and interlaced output from the same device.
The biggest drawback to the PS2 that I could tell so far is the load time. Not a big deal to me for a couple hunderd bucks.

[kbm555866]

A Good progressive scan DVD player really make difference.
I have a Sampo 631CF DVD player with 160GB hard drive
and lots of movies / mp3s / photos in it. But the player has
only interlaced component output. I recently bought a
Toshiba 3800 prog scan player to go with my 42H82 and
I can easily see the difference. While watching Minority Report,
I use to get lots of grains. Also in other movies to some extent
in scenes with high contrast. Now every thing is perfect. I still
have the Sampo for all the goodies it has and i use Toshiba for
watching DVDs. Toshiba has a 10 Bit 54 MHz video DAC. I think
that band width really makes the difference.

[Chaz]

I went to CC yesterday and picked up the rp62.

I conneced the rp62 with monster component cables and compared it with my PS2 connected with the sony basic component cables.

The line scaler on my Panny is very good because there was not a huge difference. Picture clarity and detail look good on both.
I now know why I didn't think I was missing a lot.

However, the RP62 showed much better dark detail. Areas that looked almost completely black on the PS2 showed better detail on the rp62. Switching on the progressive output from the rp62 brightened the picture and softened the sharp edges compared to the interlaced output. My wife and I both perferred the interlaced output as progressive seemed to wash out the colors. (the difference was comparable to 480i/480p difference in Bounty Hunter for the PS2)
I would expect this would not be the case with a more expensive dvd player.
The rp62 loaded faster and search and scan performance was much better than the PS2 as expected.
I will probably continue to wait and get a dvd changer later after I get a nice a/v tuner and HD receiver

Over all I was very impressed with the PS2 considering the rp62 doesn't play games;)

btw. I tend to think the build quality of PS2 varies from unit to unit. (made on a monday or whatever). My nephew's unit wont play dvds at all. Make sure to get problems fixed while it is still under mfg warranty.

Thanks for the input everyone!