Upconverting player, Samsung or Sony?

[Bear80]

Should I buy the samsung hd860 or sony ns75h? I'll be hooking it up to my projection Mitsubishi ws55313 with a HDMI to DVI cable since my tv only has a dvi input.

Both can be found here at amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Faudio-video-portable-accessories%2Fb%3Fie%3DUTF8%26node%3D1065836&tag=dvdhd-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325)

[mgonzo2u]

I really like Sony electronics but I went with the upconverting Panasonic S52 model.

Good luck with your search.

[abeas]

Honestly, I wouldn't buy either. If you really want to see a PQ difference in upconversion a lot of people recommend the Oppo players. I had a Samsung upconverting DVD player and I thought it looked identical to the Sony PS DVD player I had. Of course, you could always look for a Toshiba HD DVD player. The upconversion on them to my eyes is superb. I am not familiar with either model you suggest but if you don't see a huge difference, don't be surprised, or think you hooked it up wrong. Just my opinion though.

[truss64130]

I own a samsung HD-950 and I like the upconversion. I can tell a difference from a standard RCA progressive scan player I used to have, but it is by far not a true HD picture. I would second the Toshiba A2 if you have the cash. Then you would get the added benefit of an HD disc format.

[Aquarianperry]

I have just recently purchased the Samsung HD860 to compliment my Mitsubishi WS55315 HDTV. The picture is great using an HDMI -> DVI cable with the DVD player set at 4:4:4 and I have had no issues playing movie DVD's, MP3's or DVD-r's on it.

I paid $39 refurbished for it at Tigerdirect.com, player look brand spanking new with nothing wrong with it, quite a deal compared to the brick and mortar stores selling it for $90+.

[Bear80]

Honestly I like the PQ of HD DVD or Blue Ray but at 1k I just cannot justify it for the TV that I have now. My tv will have to be used for a few more yrs befor I upgrade to a full 1080p tv and hd dvd player. I know myself to well and I'm having to force myself to be happy with what I bought---for now :D . With the price of upconverting player so low, I just want a player with PQ that looks good and I'll stick to TV for HD pictures. Thanks for the input though.

A-perry, thanks for the response, makes me feel better someone else was happy with the combo. I do like Sony stuff but to me Samsung is just as good if not better, not to mention cheaper.

[truss64130]

HD-DVD actually is much cheaper than $1k. Right now, amazon has it at $409, and other stores are around that price. I'm not pushing you into HD-DVD, I don't even own one yet... just clarifying prices. Also, you don't "need" full 1080p to enjoy the benefits of HD. 1080i or 720p is still miles away from upconverted standard dvds. I'm still waiting for the BDR HD-DVD war to settle before I jump in tho.

On topic, if the newer 860 is anything like my 950, you should be happy.

[Bear80]

I'm with you on waiting for the waves of Blue-ray and HD dvd to calm, then I'll take a dive.

However, I looked into the OPPO units and liked what I found, so I will be purchasing one over the sony/samsung unit.

[willw]

The OPPO has gotten very good reviews for its upconversion from CNET.COM. If you have a 1080P TV get the 981 otherwise get the 970. The OPPO 970HD is $149.00 from either OPPO or Amazon.

[Bear80]

I went with the OPPO opdv971h and cannot say enough good about this player. I would however recommend the 981 with 1080p for others. I stuck with the 971h because my tv cannot do 1080p and I'm not planning for an upgrade till 1080p is more commonly used and the BR/HD dvd wars settle down. Given I didn't want to spend as much with other brands running under $100 but I'm very very happy. I bought my sister the sony unit I mentioned above for use with her Samsung 720p DLP and even though the tv is only 720p the sony didn't seem quite what the Oppo can output.

I have noticed the Oppo is very good upconverting with light colors but the with dark colors and blacks the upconversion is almost non apparent. I think this is mostly on older dvd's. I noticed it on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon but not with the new release of The Prestige

[wifeB8]

The main reason why I decided to go with an OPPO 970hd was for the ability to make this region free and be able to play PAL discs without the need to have any type of external converters. Something that my Panny 97s could not due. In addition, I believe you can find firmware floating around that will make this player upconvert via its component outputs. No faroudja processing on this model, however the upconversion quality is not bad at all. The 970hd has analog outs for SACD, DVD-Video/Audio, plus it includes an HDMI cable. All this for one heck of a great price. I would highly recommend this player.

[Bear80]

Woops, after reading wifeB8 posts, I realized I wrote the wrong OPPO model number. I got it corrected in my above post. I looked at the 970hd but chose the 917h because of the faroudja processing and my TV only has one DVI input. The 971h can play PAL but not through the DVI only through the component.