Panasonic or Oppo upscaling DVD?

[interbear]

Delighted with my new Panasonic 42PX70 plasma so far, a week of running in and it's superb. I'm looking at a new DVD player to accompany it. However, I'm not sure whether to go for an 1080p upscaling DVD in which case I'd go for either the Oppo 981(£189 via CRT Projectors) or new Panasonic S53 player (around £99 from DABS, MRM etc).

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/dvd-playe...eb-k/index.htm

I've seen plenty of good reviews for the Oppo player, has anyone tried the Panasonic?

Of course I could hang on and wait for the HD-DVD / Blu-Ray format war to end, but that could be a while......

[jkirk]

I got the Panny S53 on Monday. Set up was easy and scales to 1010p etc. I got this because I cancelled an order for a Denon 1930 that was taking too long. Saved meself £90 and great pic to boot. Am running it with a panny 37px70. Lurvelly !!!

[ozzzy189]

Was going to recommend the 1080i oppo to a mate, but then i read this---
'Since the 970HD does not have 2:2 pull down for PAL film, we do not recommend it for PAL playback, other than via a scaler or into a display that accepts interlaced HDMI input (480i / 576i) '
Anyone shed any light on this ? I was thinking of getting this too. (oppo 970HD) Prob wont need the more expensive 1080p one.

[Anthony1uk]

I say go for the Oppo. It is a fabulous DVD player, and not just due to its amazing PQ.

Everything about it says attention to detail with care and thought into making an excellent system.

Finally one other thing about the PQ, it is not just that it upscales. But it also makes the image seem more vibrant and colourful.

[Anthony1uk]

Originally Posted by ozzzy189

Was going to recommend the 1080i oppo to a mate, but then i read this---
'Since the 970HD does not have 2:2 pull down for PAL film, we do not recommend it for PAL playback, other than via a scaler or into a display that accepts interlaced HDMI input (480i / 576i) '
Anyone shed any light on this ? I was thinking of getting this too. (oppo 970HD) Prob wont need the more expensive 1080p one.

I have the Oppo 981HD and it plays both PAL and NTSC DVDs perfect on my UK 32LXD70 Panasonic LCD.

The 981HD also has a setup menu allowing you to set if your TV is PAL or NTSC.

I have it set as Auto select and it plays everything perfect.

[gctwnl]

Originally Posted by interbear

Delighted with my new Panasonic 42PX70 plasma so far, a week of running in and it's superb. I'm looking at a new DVD player to accompany it. However, I'm not sure whether to go for an 1080p upscaling DVD in which case I'd go for either the Oppo 981(£189 via CRT Projectors) or new Panasonic S53 player (around £99 from DABS, MRM etc).

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/dvd-playe...eb-k/index.htm

I've seen plenty of good reviews for the Oppo player, has anyone tried the Panasonic?

Of course I could hang on and wait for the HD-DVD / Blu-Ray format war to end, but that could be a while......

A PS3 will play Blu-Ray and DVD, so that is probably what we'll be doing.

Anyway, we are using a Panasonic S325 (new model probably the S33), which is a rather cheap DVD-player (€80), but which has component out and does progressive scan (576p). This player is connected to our new Panasonic 37PV70F.

For normal DVD's this produces a very good result. I have been wondering what the use is of buying an expensive upscaling DVD-player if the upscaling done by the Plasma panel itself is already good.

What did make a *big* difference for the quality of the picture was 576i vs 576p. When still in interlaced mode, the panel had difficulties producing a nice picture, but as soon as this cheap player sent out the progressive signal, the result was stunning (especially considering the price).

So, if you have a 42PX70, why do you need an upscaling player at all for normal DVD's? After all, letting the DVD-player upscale 576p to 1080p and then the plasma downscale 1080p to 1024x768 must be less preferable than letting the plasma upscale from 576p to 1024x768, depending on how good the various upscalers are of course.

[interbear]

Originally Posted by gctwnl

.
So, if you have a 42PX70, why do you need an upscaling player at all for normal DVD's? After all, letting the DVD-player upscale 576p to 1080p and then the plasma downscale 1080p to 1024x768 must be less preferable than letting the plasma upscale from 576p to 1024x768, depending on how good the various upscalers are of course.

Thanks for everyone's input.

That's a good point, hadn't thought of that..........

[jerry]

Originally Posted by jkirk

I got the Panny S53 on Monday. Set up was easy and scales to 1010p etc. I got this because I cancelled an order for a Denon 1930 that was taking too long. Saved meself £90 and great pic to boot. Am running it with a panny 37px70. Lurvelly !!!

JKIRK your the first person I,ve seen on these forums with an S53. I,ve 37px70 as well, can you say a bit more about it. Formats it will play, ease of use with the px70, how much did you pay etc.

[yetanotherbob]

I considered the S53 to partner my 42PX70 but opted for the Oppo 981HD purely because of the proven PQ and the fact that it will play everything you can throw at it straight from the box. It cost £189 compared to c.£99 for the S53 but it is a lovely piece of kit

Bob

[jkirk]

jerry

I got it from multiregion magic for £109 incl postage. Arrived after 2 days - great service.

At the mo, only used it on DVD videos and very pleased with it. For full formats etc see the panny web site. There are some restrictions on some formats but to be honest its a DVD player and most of my use will be with dvd vids only.

Dead easy to use with the panny - plug it in via HDMI and 2 mins to set up.