[banjo21]

I've recently got a 42" Panny (720p) and want to get more from it and a collection of SD DVDs. I curreny have a £25 DVD player (no upscaling).

Money is not a major issue but (a) I dont want to spend £130 on a DVD player when I can get a BR player for £180ish and 'futue-proof' (b) I dont want to spend £180ish if for 99% of my viewing i.e. SD DVDs the PQ would be just as good or better on a £60 upscaling DVD.

I'm thinking of the Sony 708.

So the question is what SD upscaling DVD player gives as good as SD DVD performance as e.g. the Panny BD35?
Many thanks for any thoughts.

[kbarnes70]

Originally Posted by banjo21

I've recently got a 42" Panny (720p) and want to get more from it and a collection of SD DVDs. I curreny have a £25 DVD player (no upscaling).

Money is not a major issue but (a) I dont want to spend £130 on a DVD player when I can get a BR player for £180ish and 'futue-proof' (b) I dont want to spend £180ish if for 99% of my viewing i.e. SD DVDs the PQ would be just as good or better on a £60 upscaling DVD.

I'm thinking of the Sony 708.

So the question is what SD upscaling DVD player gives as good as SD DVD performance as e.g. the Panny BD35?
Many thanks for any thoughts.

What a minefield

First off, the Panny BD35 (I own one) is a truly excellent BD player. But it's a rubbish SD player. You can see the jaggies and artefacts with your eyes closed. Same with most BD players in fact.

Next, your screen, of course, upscales anyway. If it didn't, your SD picture would sit in the middle of it surrounded by black bars. So the question is, will a 60 quid upscaling DVD player upscale better than your screen. Answer is: probably not. Especially as you have a decent screen. So a cheap upscaling DVD player would be a waste of money in these circumstances.

If you truly want to see your SD DVDs like you wouldn't believe it was possible to see them - making you question sometimes the value of BD - then you need the Oppo 983H (Google it). But that costs 300+ quid and has just become obsolete because Oppo are just about to introduce their own BD player, using the same upscaling and deinterlacing as the 983H. Price not yet confirmed but likely to be 400 to 500 quid it seems. Yes, expensive - but the best. I've had a 983H for a year and still can't believe how good it is with SD.

This is all very interesting but not very helpful. So here's what I'd suggest: the Toshiba XDE. Read about it here: Upscaling DVD Player; XDE Technology - Toshiba Upscaling DVD Player - I think they are about £130 BICBW.

HTH

keith

[banjo21]

thx - tempted to wait for the oppo then. no point going BD if 99% of what i watch is poorer PQ than my £25 player

And no point going u/s DVD player by the sound of it.