Best HDMI upscaling player for £100 (ish)

[nufc_fan]

??

 

[sloth]

Sony Dvp-ns76h

 

[rhino2k]

i would stick to a good component player mate, alough i have heard good things about the new panasonic

 

[Crustyloafer]

Why on earth would you want upscaling on a £100 player?

"Because the magazines said I should"

Honestly, just concentrate on getting a decent player with a good set of component outputs. Scaling is best left to dedicated scalers, most of which cost many times more than your DVD player budget on their own.

 

[RunDMC]

Seconded the Sony NS76. Fantastic PQ from component, and the upscaling does make a difference.

 

[Scylla]

Ignore anyone who looks down their nose at you and your budget and buy the Sony as mentioned above. You'll love it

 

[nufc_fan]

thanks

is the sony one better than the samsung 660 and 950??

 

[Sharpfish]

Sony Dvp-ns76h - better is subjective, less (no) reported dodgy issues is why it is "better" than those 2 in my opinion. Check out the MASSIVE Sony Dvp-ns76h thread just a few down from this for proper info on it (or see some screenshots in my tosh+sony76 review in my sig below)

 

[nufc_fan]

using a player like the sony am i likely to notice any significant improvement in picture on my hd tv.

I currently have a £40 aiwa standard dvd player.

i.e. is it worth buying a new player for the hdtv

 

[Sharpfish]

using a player like the sony am i likely to notice any significant improvement in picture on my hd tv.

I currently have a £40 aiwa standard dvd player.

i.e. is it worth buying a new player for the hdtv

Forgetting about the upscaling for a minute (which may or may not work out as a bonus depending on your TV/Cables/eyesight) examine what your current player has.

Is it progressive scan? (if not then the price of the Sony is worth it)
Does it have at least component output? (if not and uses rgb/scart then the PQ will be a lot better with this "upgrade" on it's own)
What quality of electronics does it use (converters / bit etc).

If it is older and has only scart output (composite or rgb) then you will get a much cleaner signal (esp with HDMi) and the "upscaling" is just a bonus that you can try out, if you like it leave it turned on (I have mine set to 1080i upscaling).

 

[nufc_fan]

it is a dead basic scart connection with a dead basic scart cable

 

[Jammyb]

Why on earth would you want upscaling on a £100 player?

"Because the magazines said I should"

Honestly, just concentrate on getting a decent player with a good set of component outputs. Scaling is best left to dedicated scalers, most of which cost many times more than your DVD player budget on their own.

Best advice on this thread imo.

You don't mention what TV you have, this will have some bearing on what the best player will be.

 

[nufc_fan]

i have just got a medion 32" 20090( i think thats the model no. of the top of my head)

Its hd ready.

A bargin really at only £399 was £599

 

[Jammyb]

Then you might well get a better picture with an upsampling DVD player via HDMI, because the picture processing on your medion is probably a bit pants.

 

[Turrican]

i have just got a medion 32" 20090( i think thats the model no. of the top of my head)

Its hd ready.

A bargin really at only £399 was £599

Where did you get it for that price?

 

[nufc_fan]

tj hughes in newcastle

they had four in at that price, i no it doesnt compare with some on the expensive 322 lcds but for that price it was an absolute bargin

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Why on earth would you want upscaling on a £100 player?

"Because the magazines said I should"

Honestly, just concentrate on getting a decent player with a good set of component outputs. Scaling is best left to dedicated scalers, most of which cost many times more than your DVD player budget on their own.

This is the advice you should follow, most £100 upscalers are really compromised devices like the Samsung 950 and many many others.

 

[gingerone]

This is the advice you should follow, most £100 upscalers are really compromised devices like the Samsung 950 and many many others.

That being a given you can't deny he is going to see a major hike in performance from his current dvd player which is using a scart connection when he switches to the sony via HDMI?
Upscaling aside HDMI is going to be much better than scart as will component.

 

[Sharpfish]

Upscaling aside HDMI is going to be much better than scart as will component.

Agreed. And actually I DO notice a better picture with my Sony76 upscaling at 1080i over normal output, and that is on a TOSHwlt66 which has decent scaling built in. Again it's not just about the scaling it's all the other stuff. Definite improvement over an old aiwa via scart!

 

[Jammyb]

RGB Scart?

 

[nufc_fan]

yes rgb scart.


So it seems that the general opinion is that a dvd with hdmi would be a good bet.

I have seen the sony dvd player, i also liked the look of the samsung 950 for £79.99 on play but it seems they have sold out

 

[Nic Rhodes]

The increase in performance is not because of the strength of HDMI but becasue of the weakness of the current player with RGB SCART. What Crustyloaf has correctly pointed out if you get a £100 player that has good output (say a good analogue component) then this will give you the best quality for the money. I have many players including the Samsung 950, and although it has strengths, it's picture quality is really well below what is possible for this money, even at the now tempting price.

The Sony I had a quick look at and initial thoughts are it is much better. In general I would operate these at 480p / 576p and let the scaler in the tv do the work. I would NOT operate at 1080i.

 

[rhino2k]

as said with that tv the scaler in the dvd player will most likely be better than the one in the actual tv hence a better picture. generally the scaler in the tv does a better job than a budget upscaling deck

 

[RABG]

Hi All

Just bought Philips DVP 5960 yesterday for £79.99 used it
last night, was using 720p into my plasma playing a disc
recorded on my Philips dv recorder. My wife asked why did
the picture on screen look crisper & seemed to have more
depth so i am happy


Rab.

 

[nufc_fan]

can these hdmi players be connected upto a 5.1 sound system!

If not what sort of price would buy a good quality home cinema system and do these have hdmi connections?