DVD Player; To change or not to change, that is the question

[HDBoobToobNoob]

In the begining of Y2K I bought myself at the time, one of the best DVD players around, the Sony S7700. Its now 4 years later and I am thinking about a new one, but should I? In 2000 the S7700 retailed for $1,199.00, my friend working at Tweeter, then Brynmawr Stereo and Video hooked me up at $699.00, stil no bargain. The S7700 is not a progressive scan DVD player. Honestly, I haven't noticed. I've seen the websites that show you what interlaced and progressive scan look like, and I have not once gotten that pixelated effect as described. I consider myself very anal with picture quality and things of that nature. So is my DVD player that good? Or will a progressive scan DVD player really look better. We are talking a $1000.00 interlaced DVD from year 2000 vs. a 2004 $200-300.00 progressive scan DVD player. Will I really notice anything? Or should I just wait til something hits in HD. Just wondering if progressive will really make an impact on me or not. Thanks for the opinions :bow:

[57U]

The Hitachi does excellent upconversion from 480i. Find a dealer that will let you do a "test drive" where you can take it back if you're not satisfied. The results have been mixed, with some people getting better pictures and others seeing no difference with PS. Probably depends on the original player, the new player, the TV and perhaps the person...

[mech]

Todays 200.00 models are head and shoulders better then your 1000.00 4-5 year old model. Now upgrading is something that has different factors built into it. For instance do you have your old players hooked up with component cables or s-video? If you have it hooked up with s-video you would see a big improvement by using component cables if your current player can do so. What type of tv do you have? Some tv's like mine do an excellent job upconverting a DVD player hooked up via "component cables." My old Sony player did have component outs and I didn't notice a huge difference when I got a new Sony with progressive scan, but some of the new bells and whistles are pretty nice. I love how the new Sony I have has a memory and will pick up where you left off in a movie after switching it and playing other movies and going back to it.

[57U]

mech, interesting you should say that about features. I've found many of the new units to be "de-contented". No bit-rate meter, no screen saver, no auto-shutdown, less buffer for layer changes, slower searches for tracks, etc.

This certainly depends on the make/model...

PS, his TV model is in his signature.

[Ratman]

IMO... a $200 progressive scan DVD player will not provide a 'visibly justifiable' improvement over a 4 year old 'quality' interlaced DVD player. Even using S-video...

Been there...
The caveat being, the quality of the deinterlacer in the TV. (and I would suspect that the deinterlacer in the Hitachi is better than a $200 'brand x' DVD player.)

All one can do test drive and compare.

[LeeS]

I agree. The only issue I had with my 'old' DVD-A10 was that is didn't play certain DVDs and was a little tweaky with the DVD -Rs I record or it would still be in the rack.

It was interlaced only (component out), I let my projector do the de-interlacing.

It is tucked away safelyand can be placed back into service should the need arise.

Lee

[HDBoobToobNoob]

Thanks for the replys.
As 57U stated, my tv is in the sig. 2003 build date Hitachi 51UWX20b. Everything is hooked up via component video cables. I think for now I will save the money and keep what I have. If it ain't broke don't fix it I guess. I got the itch to buy a new one after moving into a new place, but my DVD player will do til some new technology comes out and I can spend another grand on the latest and greatest, heh. Thanks again for the input though.

[gparris]

My friends have the DVD players with the Faroudja processing in them and didn't believe me until they got theirs hooked up with decent cables to their HDTV sets and then they didn't believe their eyes on how 3-dimensional it looked vs their old Sony progressive player, first edition. My players by Kenwood still astonish friends and family alike. If I had another $300 or so, I would buy a the Denon model with the same Faroudja processor for my second HDTV, instead of the cheapo JVC I currently have.

[HDBoobToobNoob]

I wasn't aware some DVD players had Faroudja chips in them, this I will check out :cheers:

[gparris]

You will be glad you did, as I and my friends were by the processing of the Faroudja chip. Movies already viewed seem to be new once again.
The Denon DVD-910 model is a favourite of mine as it is easy to use, quick to set up and has a fantastic picture with a list price of $299! A neighbor had come in to drop something off and thought I had an HDTV show on, instead. I had to correct him...it was just the player with a movie on.

[Seared Steak]

I have been using my dinosaur Sony 530D and it does it's job. I'll continue to use it until I get one of the new wave DVI players to hit soon. Then I'll put it to the test to see what I'm missing. :cool:

[gparris]

The DVI players are nice, but expensive and they upconvert as DVDs still are native 480 not 720 or 1080. Most HDTVs in consumers homes until the past year had no DVI ports to begin with, so having a player will DVI would be useless unless you can connect to one. More DVD players are coming out with the Faroudja or "Sage" chips and these players are a more cost-effective way of getting the same great picture without upconverting with DVI ports. Comparing both I found no appreciable difference, anyway for all the extra expense of DVI upconversion to the Faroudja processing at all. So...happy shopping!

[HDBoobToobNoob]

Just ordered myself the Denon DVD-910. Its got the Faroudja chip and got a score of 90% on hometheaterhifi.com's website. The one better at 92% was the Denon DVD-5900 for retail of $2000.00 ($1500 on some websites). I like the $269.00 I paid including shipping a little bit better. My Sony S7700 reviewed in Dec. 2003 is now a rating of 37% :boo2: So as good as I thought my player was, the new Denon I am getting should hopefully make a world of difference. Thanks again for all your help :bow:

Brian

[spaceman_spiff]

If you are in the market, these players with Faroudja DCDi should be a good value for the money (Ecost is Denon authorized dealer),
5 Disk DVD changer by Denon
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/shop/detail.asp?dpno=313425
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/shop/detail.asp?dpno=400773
Single disk Denon DVD player
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/shop/detail.asp?dpno=400766

[Ratman]

Not breaking your chops... but I'm skeptical about the visual improvements to justify the $$.

Please let us know your truthful opinion(s) when you get a chance to watch a few DVD's. Thanks!

[mokojojo]

I had a Panasonic DVD-RV80 (Interlaced DVD Player) bought for $299, I laso had the DVD-A120 before that cause I wanted the video equalizer feature and my 120 didnt have it.

Used it for quite a while on my Sony KV-32HS500...it did the Job...Then DVD players became so cheap that I want to try a Progressive one...

I bought the Sony DVP-NS725P for $129 just last January...I can certainly vouch that having an actual progressive source is a bit better than letting your TV do all the upconversion work...

Now Im using a KF-42WE610 with my DVD player...

[mech]

IMO... a $200 progressive scan DVD player will not provide a 'visibly justifiable' improvement over a 4 year old 'quality' interlaced DVD player. Even using S-video...

Been there...
The caveat being, the quality of the deinterlacer in the TV. (and I would suspect that the deinterlacer in the Hitachi is better than a $200 'brand x' DVD player.)

All one can do test drive and compare.

Not busting your chops either but are trying to say that there isn't a 'visibly justifiable' difference between an interlaced DVD player hooked up with s-video as compared to a progressive scan player connected via DVI or component cables???? I do agree that the deinterlacer in your tv is key, but disagree 100% on your other comment. Example #1 my XBOX looked way better after adding the HD pack which has component cables. #2 thats like saying FOX's ED 480P broadcast is not 'visibly justifiable' as compared to their standard broadcast? Sure it's no 1080i but if that was all there was out there I would have an EDTV and feel pretty good about it.

[mokojojo]

From what Ive read future DVD player with DVI can also output 720p and 1080i on Component cables

[57U]

If you're sending a 480i signal from your DVD player to the TV and letting the TV do the upconversion from there, then there may not actually be much difference in switching to component video cables, since S-video is perfectly capable of handling a 480i signal.

Yes, every little bit helps, but not all DVD players do good deinterlacing (480P) and some "little bits" aren't even noticeable (diminishing returns).

[Ratman]

This is based on my observations...
The visual improvement between S-Video and component video is marginal.

The visual improvement between an interlaced and progressive scan DVD player may be marginal. (depending on the quality of the deinterlacer of either device).

Agreed that using DVI with a progressive scan DVD player (or any other DVI equipped device) will potentially provide a visual improvement with a digital display (LCD, DLP, plasma, et al). That 'improvement' would be hard to detect with a 'non-digital' display (e.g. CRT).

You cannot use FOX at 480p as an example. It's broadcasted at 480p and displayed at 480p. No deinterlacing is involved.

I'm saying that (assuming) if you have a quality, perfectly operational interlaced DVD player, connected to an HD monitor using component or S-Video, that spending over $200 for a DVD player just to let the DVD player perform the deinterlacing may not be worth the price for the visual improvement. There may not be a difference...

All situations are different. That's why I said earlier to 'test drive' first. I'm not saying anyone's wrong... I'm just cautioning that just because it's a progressive scan DVD player doesn't necessarily mean that one will get a "wow factor".

OTOH... if someone were buying a new DVD player for the first time or because the old one died... no brainer! Go progressive!

[Big A]

What difference would a progressive DVD player make if the TV just up-converts it to 1080i anywho?

[57U]

With the deinterlacing taking place in the "digital domain" in the DVD player, if the deinterlacing is done properly and well, you may see an improvement in the final picture, depending on the display type and whether it's displayed at 480P, 540P, 720P or 1080i.

I think we're all saying the same thing. It depends on the original DVD player, the new DVD payer and the display. And I think I also said that many posts ago (post 2).