[rich m]

I've seen someone on the internet selling the Panasonic DVDRV60 at £59, new and fully guaranteed. This was a top of the range player, albeit 6 or 7 years ago, retailing between £400 and £500. My question is regarding improvements in technology over that time. Would this player be better than a modern player costing the same amount, ie a budget player such as the Panasonic DVDS33?

[rich m]

I'd be grateful for any opinions

[joshm]

Personally, I'd go for the more recent model. The number of compatible formats is likely to be better and the low price is largely a reflection of the drop in manufacturing costs rather than quality. The support for a new model is likely to be better, and the fact that the old model has been sitting in a box for years doesn't mean that faults can't develop during this time. For the money you're talking you can get an upscaling player which is bound to look better than most things produced several years ago. This is, of course, just my opinion...

[BrianPK]

This is something that has given me a lot of thought recently.I get a fabulous sd and hd picture from SKY on my Pana. 42PX60 tv but I have never been overly impressed with the dvd quality of my Pioneer 575A through component(or rgb) although it was good with my old 36" crt .
I wonder would I get a temporary improvement with hdmi from say a Samsung 870 until the blu-ray and hd -dvd boys sort out their differences.

[spooney]

Rich,

the big question for me would be: Are you looking for a good SD picture or for upscaling capabilities?
If it is the SD picture then you are safe with an older high-end. Nothing significant has changed over time IMHO except prices dropped. A good high-end player a few years old will give the same stunning SD picture as a recent player.

If it comes to upscaling und de-interlacing than I'd say there are miles between 4-5 years ago and recent players in all levels. In this particular area major improvements where made.

Just my 2cents

[rich m]

Originally Posted by spooney

Rich,

the big question for me would be: Are you looking for a good SD picture or for upscaling capabilities?

Yes, looking for a good SD picture. I Have a 28" CRT and can't imagine changing it in the near future, so things like hdmi and upscaling are not important to me. Just looking for the best picture possible using a scart lead.

[Dankeech]

I'd also be thinking the quality older player route in that case. Budget DVD Players often tend to hide the lack of quality by softening the picture quality or via other methods etc.

I'd personally be taking a closer look at the older player. A £400-£500 DVD player even from a few years ago should hopefully work pretty well as a CD Player too.

Dan.

[mjbtin]

If connecting to a crt an older high end player would be the way to go imo,I am currently using a sony 725 with my sony crt and also have one connected to my 50" screen via component both giving good picture results .Also an older high end machine is likely to be better in the audio department aswell.The only drawbacks with older players is format compatability and the older they are the less they will play,also making some of them multi region could be costly if not already modded this is only an issue if you have different region dvds.

Regards Martin

[Ianfromnotts]

Looking athe build and picture quality my mum got with a recent philips budget special I would go second hand - there are some great buys in the clasifieds and usually cheaper than ebay- for example:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showt...ighlight=onkyo

Remember to do some searching first though because the last one of these to sell on here only reached £165 from memory. but what a buy!!!

[rich m]

Thanks for all the input. I think a higher spec model from a few years ago would suit me very well. I'm sure in newer models a fair proportion of the money spent on production will be on features that are irrelevant to me, such as hdmi and upscaling. Although less versatile in playing new formats, an older model may well produce great quality on standard dvds (which are almost exclusively what i play).