Best sub £100 upscaling DVD player with optical audio?

KeanosMagicHat

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Good Afternoon All,

I have a PS3 and according to two senior Sony execs DVD upscaling will be added via a firmware upgrade this year.

I'm looking to enjoy this feature now, however, hence the sub £100 budget.

What's the forum's view on the best sub £100 upscaling DVD player with optical audio out please?

Any assistance appreciated.
 
The Sony DVP-NS76V is around £90 and will upscale to 1080i. It also has optical and coaxial audio outputs.

Jez
 
Good Afternoon All,

I have a PS3 and according to two senior Sony execs DVD upscaling will be added via a firmware upgrade this year.

I'm looking to enjoy this feature now, however, hence the sub £100 budget.

What's the forum's view on the best sub £100 upscaling DVD player with optical audio out please?

Any assistance appreciated.

I like my panny S52 this is within budget
 
I've a Panny s52 as well, well worth the money and once you put in the hacked firmware and region free it. then the zoom function can even fix overscan :thumbsup:
 
To Dazza and Tricky, thanks both for your suggestion of the Panasonic.

I've read the specs and it's not totally clear whether the player can output Dolby 5.1 and DTS over the optical connection.

Could either of you confirm this please?

I plan to connect it through my Sony Cinema Amp.

Thank you.
 
Yeah,its does both through optical output :thumbsup: only downside to the player is no eject button on the remote (I'm lazy):D
 
Hi ,the replacement model for the s52 is the s53 and unlike the s52 has only digital coax not optical .

Regards Martin
 
if you can get the Denon 1730 for around 99 pounds then do it, very nice machine and suberb sound if you have a high fi system. Picture and sound is good. I am only using it via component and it is very good. Has Hdmi upscaling to 1080i. Real bargain if you can get it at a good price.:hiya:
 
if you can get the Denon 1730 for around 99 pounds then do it, very nice machine and suberb sound if you have a high fi system. Picture and sound is good. I am only using it via component and it is very good. Has Hdmi upscaling to 1080i. Real bargain if you can get it at a good price.:hiya:

I'm leaning toward the Panasonic at the moment, but the Denon 1730 also seems a good shout.

Optical out with DD and DTS. I noted some comments about Lip Sync issues when connecting through an AV amp on the 1930 though.

Are there any such problems with this model?

Also is it easy to hack for multiregion? Had a look at the list on AVForums but it wasn't there.
 
the lyp sync issues are with the 1930 model and i guess this is for some people not all. The 1930 is around double the price of the 1730, and has the faroudja chipset while the 1730 has the panasonic. I watched casino royale on the denon and it was really stunning picture.

Mine came multiregion. that is version 1.08 is multiregion. so there is firmware to make it but should come multiregion. plays anything i throw at it.

The good things: build quality looks good; picture sound good.

the bad things: remote a bit cheap but works okay; manual is crap; also at start up it is noisy if you have sound switch off.
 
the lyp sync issues are with the 1930 model and i guess this is for some people not all. The 1930 is around double the price of the 1730, and has the faroudja chipset while the 1730 has the panasonic. I watched casino royale on the denon and it was really stunning picture.

Mine came multiregion. that is version 1.08 is multiregion. so there is firmware to make it but should come multiregion. plays anything i throw at it.

The good things: build quality looks good; picture sound good.

the bad things: remote a bit cheap but works okay; manual is crap; also at start up it is noisy if you have sound switch off.

Thank you for the honest comments, seems I should add this one to the list too then.

Just need to find the best prices and I'm good to go.

Cheers.
 
Keono let me know how you get on here - I'm in the market for a similar thing. Dont want to go as high as an oppo981 with HDD round the corner in terms of decent prices (got my PS3 for BD). Thanks.
 
To all that made recommendations, thank you very much.

I went for the Panasonic DVD-S52 in the end.

Arrived this morning and with a read through the DVD hack forum on this board (and some support from fellow forum member tricky1974) I was able to quickly make it multi-region ..... which was nice.

One thing I should mention, for others considering this player, is the width of the unit. It seems very wide and if, like me, you are purchasing it in advance of your new LCD and stand, then you might struggle to fit it in your current CRT cabinet.

It only just fits in mine with millimetres to spare either side and mine's a Panasonic cabinet.

Still ...... won't be a problem on the LCD stand.


_________



@ManGina - Unfortunately I'm waiting for my new 40" 1080p LCD to come back into stock at my local retailer. Looking like some time after 15th May.

This means I've not yet been able to test the upscaling capabilities through HDMI, but I did research this somewhat before I bought and I'm assured it's a good player.

For example, see this group test:

http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/836/v/3/sp/

Connected to my current 100Hz CRT it seems every bit as good as my previous Sony player.

I'm sure it will be a more than adequate solution until such time that the PS3 firmware upgrade for upscaling is released and a multi-region hack discovered, which I'm sure will happen at some point.



EDIT:

@Tricky - just noticed you were on this thread as well as helping me with the multi-region hack ...... thanks again, much obliged.
 
@Tricky - just noticed you were on this thread as well as helping me with the multi-region hack ...... thanks again, much obliged.[/QUOTE]

No worry's mate glad it worked out ok, the s52 when hacked is (in my opinion) a great wee dvd player :smashin:
 
would the denon 1730 be a better upscaler than the xbox 360?. Am i right in thinking they will both output 5.1 surround through optical?
 
The xbox 360 only upscales through VGA (and when the elite comes out HDMI) i don't know about the denon but i don't like the 360 as a dvd player but the next update (7th may i think) is gonna improve VGA output(give more options for colour and rez) so why not wait and see before buying a stand alone dvd player?
 
The xbox 360 only upscales through VGA (and when the elite comes out HDMI) i don't know about the denon but i don't like the 360 as a dvd player but the next update (7th may i think) is gonna improve VGA output(give more options for colour and rez) so why not wait and see before buying a stand alone dvd player?


Can I ask where you read this because I have read the update spec didnt notice anything about this?

cheers
 
Can I ask where you read this because I have read the update spec didnt notice anything about this?

cheers

I heard through the avsforums a Guy called "Amir" xbox 360 insider(think he works for MS) was talking about it,there's a thread all about that stuff.
 
I have tested the xbox 360 against the sony 576h £100 jobby and apart from the sony being slightly clearer due to hdmi cable, I couldn't tell the dif in terms of piccy quality, 360 through component btw......sammy 40" lcd was doign the upscaling......
 
so whats the best price for the S52 then, anyone got any suggestions?

thanks

I bought mine new from an EBay seller for £60 delivered.

Price is being kept artificially high (£100-£130) by any retailers that have stock as the DVD-S52 has now been replaced by the S53.

Trouble is some of the connections and features of the S52 are not available in the new unit (I guess Panasonic realised it ate into profit margins too much at this price bracket).
 
I think the panny s52 i bought today from argos is heading back by the end of the week, the picture quality is hardly any different from my 360. The 360 is through component and the s52 i have through HDMI and i have tried component as well. This could all be down to my tv which is only an AOC L32w551t 32"

I have played with every setting i can find and barely see any difference, some very slight when i switch the AV enhancer off on the s52 but even then it is minimal.

At some point this week i will be running them side by side with the same film in both so i can switch between the two to see if i can see a difference; but i think i'm grasping at straws.
 

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