Best upscaling budget player?

[rudy]

Anyone recommend a half decent upscaling dvd player? Also, does my TV have to have an HDMI socket(TV is Hitachi 32pd5200, the screen is HD compatible not HD ready)

[David Mackenzie]

Players that can upscale and send the scaled video over Component are very rare, so yes, the TV will need an HDMI (or DVI with HDCP) socket.

The Oppo 980H is a good affordable (about 150 pounds) choice.

[rudy]

I read a few players can be hacked to upscale through component, and some can run upscale through component without. Is this true, and if so which? I like the look of the Tosh 370, a bargain at 40-50 quid.

Thanks for the tip about the oppo

[David Mackenzie]

Beware of players costing that little - I wouldn't like to say for sure without saying it, but it almost certainly won't resolve motion from PAL DVDs correctly. So in other words, the quality won't necessarily be any better than your current setup with the TV doing the processing (in fact, it might be worse).

[tmcg]

Recommend the Oppo, and your hitachi will display 1080i through the DVI or component inputs. So it is HD ready. I have had the same model for 5 years.