Need DVD Player help

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

OK, DVD players confuse me. I'm not sure how to tell a good one from a bad one.

My criteria are that it needs to have HDMI and be able to upconvert. Bonus points if it's a DVD/VCR combo but that's not required.

Now... with this in mind... what's the difference between a $100 player that meets these req's and a $250 player that also meets them? It it usually additional input/outputs? Or is the difference in sound/picture quality even if the same connection type is used? Is a lot of the price difference due to brand name only?

 

[lokiju]

I got the Philips DVP5960 that upconverts, outputs via HDMI and plays Divx as a bonus.

I've been very happy with it so far and what reviews I've read say it's a very good player also.


Heres a link to it.

EDIT:

Very hot Woot today with Upconversion w/ HDMI DVD Player $39

Not very good reviews on that Woot player though.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Most under-$100 players upconvert to 1080i while my $150 Samsung HD960 upconverts to 1080p to match the 1080p input and display of my DLP.

If you don't have a 2006 model HDTV with 1080p HDMI input then paying over $100 for a player is probably pointless unless you want other features like SACD or DVD-A support

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Most under-$100 players upconvert to 1080i while my $150 Samsung HD960 upconverts to 1080p to match the 1080p input and display of my DLP.

If you don't have a 2006 model HDTV with 1080p HDMI input then paying over $100 for a player is probably pointless unless you want other features like SACD or DVD-A support

Well the TV is a 42" Westinghouse LCD, which has the HDMI input and is also 1080p capable, and these are qualities I'd like to take advantage of in a DVD player. The TV should be arriving in a couple weeks so I have some time to work out the rest of the details (DVD, receiver, speakers, etc..) I'll give that Samsung a look, as well as the model lokiju suggested.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Just an example of some differences between players
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/...nufacturer=0&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0

Another place to look
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

Also, an upconverting DVD player is not always better than outputting 480p from a DVD player and having your TV do the conversion to its native res.

The vast majority of the better DVD players are going to be dedicated players and not be a combo of VCR too.

Due to a few reasons I ended up getting a Panasonic S77 for my player.

Honestly at this point I wouldn't spend a ton on a DVD player with HD-DVD players getting better and cheaper.

Another thing to consider is if you have a HTPC, using your computer to output has its advantages too.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Most under-$100 players upconvert to 1080i while my $150 Samsung HD960 upconverts to 1080p to match the 1080p input and display of my DLP.

If you don't have a 2006 model HDTV with 1080p HDMI input then paying over $100 for a player is probably pointless unless you want other features like SACD or DVD-A support

Well the TV is a 42" Westinghouse LCD, which has the HDMI input and is also 1080p capable, and these are qualities I'd like to take advantage of in a DVD player. The TV should be arriving in a couple weeks so I have some time to work out the rest of the details (DVD, receiver, speakers, etc..) I'll give that Samsung a look, as well as the model lokiju suggested.

Depending on the budget you have for sound, you might have a better overall movie experience if you skimp on the player and put extra money into the sound system.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Most under-$100 players upconvert to 1080i while my $150 Samsung HD960 upconverts to 1080p to match the 1080p input and display of my DLP.

If you don't have a 2006 model HDTV with 1080p HDMI input then paying over $100 for a player is probably pointless unless you want other features like SACD or DVD-A support

Well the TV is a 42" Westinghouse LCD, which has the HDMI input and is also 1080p capable, and these are qualities I'd like to take advantage of in a DVD player. The TV should be arriving in a couple weeks so I have some time to work out the rest of the details (DVD, receiver, speakers, etc..) I'll give that Samsung a look, as well as the model lokiju suggested.

Depending on the budget you have for sound, you might have a better overall movie experience if you skimp on the player and put extra money into the sound system.

I'm looking at $1500-$2000 for the sound side of things. Good audio suppliers are very scarce in Alaska but one store has a real nice set of B&W 5.1's that I'm eyeing. I forget the model #'s but anyway... that's $1200 for those. I still need to find a good receiver and, of course, the DVD player. Now... would a cheap DVD player put out poorer sound quality, thus invalidating the purchase of good speakers?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Most under-$100 players upconvert to 1080i while my $150 Samsung HD960 upconverts to 1080p to match the 1080p input and display of my DLP.

If you don't have a 2006 model HDTV with 1080p HDMI input then paying over $100 for a player is probably pointless unless you want other features like SACD or DVD-A support

Well the TV is a 42" Westinghouse LCD, which has the HDMI input and is also 1080p capable, and these are qualities I'd like to take advantage of in a DVD player. The TV should be arriving in a couple weeks so I have some time to work out the rest of the details (DVD, receiver, speakers, etc..) I'll give that Samsung a look, as well as the model lokiju suggested.

Depending on the budget you have for sound, you might have a better overall movie experience if you skimp on the player and put extra money into the sound system.

I'm looking at $1500-$2000 for the sound side of things. Good audio suppliers are very scarce in Alaska but one store has a real nice set of B&W 5.1's that I'm eyeing. I forget the model #'s but anyway... that's $1200 for those. I still need to find a good receiver and, of course, the DVD player. Now... would a cheap DVD player put out poorer sound quality, thus invalidating the purchase of good speakers?

You should be in pretty good shape for audio across the board since all they have to do is pass a digital stream to the receiver for decoding. If you had the player output analog, then there could be a vast quality difference.

I was afraid you were going to have the standard $300-$400 budget for sound where an extra $100 could go a long way

B&W 600 series for what you're looking at maybe?

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
You should be in pretty good shape for audio across the board since all they have to do is pass a digital stream to the receiver for decoding. If you had the player output analog, then there could be a vast quality difference.

I was afraid you were going to have the standard $300-$400 budget for sound where an extra $100 could go a long way

B&W 600 series for what you're looking at maybe?

That sounds familiar. They're bookshelf speakers... maybe 10" wide, 14" high? Then there's the sub and center, I dunno if they're part of the same series or not. But in any case... they sounded so damn good that I quickly abandoned my $600 speaker choice. I'll hop back in later today and see what model they were specifially.

They also have a $450 Yamaha receiver, but I don't know how it compares to other receivers... I know less about those than DVD players. Lots of research to do yet. The one they have... I believe it's got 2 component ins, 4 composite ins, and numerous digital and S-video ins which I don't really use. Any suggestions there?

 

[Hyperlite]

I have the Oppo DV971H (you know, the one at the top of that benchmark =D ) and i love it, amazing for $200. Upconverting to 720p over HDMI to a toshiba 42HP95, amazing picture. my setup is in my sig, but the whole thing was $5k. Panasonic Xr55s receiver, a 5.1 setup from Ascend Acoustics, which i also love.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
You should be in pretty good shape for audio across the board since all they have to do is pass a digital stream to the receiver for decoding. If you had the player output analog, then there could be a vast quality difference.

I was afraid you were going to have the standard $300-$400 budget for sound where an extra $100 could go a long way

B&W 600 series for what you're looking at maybe?

That sounds familiar. They're bookshelf speakers... maybe 10" wide, 14" high? Then there's the sub and center, I dunno if they're part of the same series or not. But in any case... they sounded so damn good that I quickly abandoned my $600 speaker choice. I'll hop back in later today and see what model they were specifially.

They also have a $450 Yamaha receiver, but I don't know how it compares to other receivers... I know less about those than DVD players. Lots of research to do yet. The one they have... I believe it's got 2 component ins, 4 composite ins, and numerous digital and S-video ins which I don't really use. Any suggestions there?

You're probably not going to be using composite or s-video much anymore... even gaming systems are going towards better video connections now. 3 component inputs is becoming more standard now.

How many HDMI / DVI inputs does your TV have itself?

On some of your sources that have digital video output, you're going to want to go straight to the TV with those.

Upconversion to Component from Composite / S-video would be a good feature to have if you have some composite / s-vid sources.

What kind of sources are you going to have hooked up?

Nothing wrong with Yamaha. If you have a store where you can try stuff out ( which it seems you do :thumbsup: ) see if they can hook up some different receivers for you to see how each sounds. You should be able to find some options from HK, Onkyo, Denon, etc. in that range too.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Hyperlite
I have the Oppo DV971H (you know, the one at the top of that benchmark =D ) and i love it, amazing for $200. Upconverting to 720p over HDMI to a toshiba 42HP95, amazing picture. my setup is in my sig, but the whole thing was $5k. Panasonic Xr55s receiver, a 5.1 setup from Ascend Acoustics, which i also love.

I would have gone Oppo, but at the time when I was buying my player, I had an Infocus 4805 and the cable I was using was component so I chose the S77 which had better component output than the oppo player.

Even though I have an HDMI option on my new projector, the macroblocking issue was bothering me and I'm still running component from it.

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Hyperlite
I have the Oppo DV971H (you know, the one at the top of that benchmark =D ) and i love it, amazing for $200. Upconverting to 720p over HDMI to a toshiba 42HP95, amazing picture. my setup is in my sig, but the whole thing was $5k. Panasonic Xr55s receiver, a 5.1 setup from Ascend Acoustics, which i also love.

I would have gone Oppo, but at the time when I was buying my player, I had an Infocus 4805 and the cable I was using was component so I chose the S77 which had better component output than the oppo player.

Even though I have an HDMI option on my new projector, the macroblocking issue was bothering me and I'm still running component from it.

yeah i can't blame you for that. isn't the new oppo supposed to upscale over component? is it out yet? i was really worried about the MB enhance thing, with the Tosh using panny glass and all, but thankfully everthing worked out well.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Hyperlite

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Hyperlite
I have the Oppo DV971H (you know, the one at the top of that benchmark =D ) and i love it, amazing for $200. Upconverting to 720p over HDMI to a toshiba 42HP95, amazing picture. my setup is in my sig, but the whole thing was $5k. Panasonic Xr55s receiver, a 5.1 setup from Ascend Acoustics, which i also love.

I would have gone Oppo, but at the time when I was buying my player, I had an Infocus 4805 and the cable I was using was component so I chose the S77 which had better component output than the oppo player.

Even though I have an HDMI option on my new projector, the macroblocking issue was bothering me and I'm still running component from it.

yeah i can't blame you for that. isn't the new oppo supposed to upscale over component? is it out yet? i was really worried about the MB enhance thing, with the Tosh using panny glass and all, but thankfully everthing worked out well.

The 970 is out I think, I haven't looked at it really though since I'm not really looking for one anymore. I didn't think there were going to be new players that could upconvert over component though.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

From oppo's site:
"Component output for CSS-encrypted DVD discs (almost all commercially pressed DVD discs) is limited to 480i/480p only"

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
You should be in pretty good shape for audio across the board since all they have to do is pass a digital stream to the receiver for decoding. If you had the player output analog, then there could be a vast quality difference.

I was afraid you were going to have the standard $300-$400 budget for sound where an extra $100 could go a long way

B&W 600 series for what you're looking at maybe?

That sounds familiar. They're bookshelf speakers... maybe 10" wide, 14" high? Then there's the sub and center, I dunno if they're part of the same series or not. But in any case... they sounded so damn good that I quickly abandoned my $600 speaker choice. I'll hop back in later today and see what model they were specifially.

They also have a $450 Yamaha receiver, but I don't know how it compares to other receivers... I know less about those than DVD players. Lots of research to do yet. The one they have... I believe it's got 2 component ins, 4 composite ins, and numerous digital and S-video ins which I don't really use. Any suggestions there?

You're probably not going to be using composite or s-video much anymore... even gaming systems are going towards better video connections now. 3 component inputs is becoming more standard now.

How many HDMI / DVI inputs does your TV have itself?

On some of your sources that have digital video output, you're going to want to go straight to the TV with those.

Upconversion to Component from Composite / S-video would be a good feature to have if you have some composite / s-vid sources.

What kind of sources are you going to have hooked up?

Nothing wrong with Yamaha. If you have a store where you can try stuff out ( which it seems you do :thumbsup: ) see if they can hook up some different receivers for you to see how each sounds. You should be able to find some options from HK, Onkyo, Denon, etc. in that range too.

The TV has 1 HDMI in and 2 DVI ins. I do have several composite sources... I have among other things, an 8-bit NES and SNES. Also, my cable TV box seems to only have composite out so that would be a factor, however I may upgrade to an HD box and I have no idea which output that has. I also have a PS2 and Game Cube, the PS2 has component out on it but the GC is still stuck on composite. I have nothing that uses S-video.

So in short...

NES, composite
SNES, composite
Cable, composite
PS2, component
DVD, will be HDMI
VCR, if separate from DVD player, unknown type.
Sega Saturn, composite
My PC on occasion, DVI.
Atari 7800, have no clue how to hook THAT one up.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

VCR will probably be composite as well then.

EDIT: A lot of modern receivers will have a front input for AV sources which will usually include at least composite video and analog audio (Red and White RCA).

One option for hooking up all those gaming systems could be just to hook up the one you want to that front input.

This is assuming you're not going to find one with the 5+ composite inputs you'll probably end up using.

EDIT2: oh, and totally go for HD service for your cable. This will be component or a digital output for video.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
VCR will probably be composite as well then.

EDIT: A lot of modern receivers will have a front input for AV sources which will usually include at least composite video and analog audio (Red and White RCA).

One option for hooking up all those gaming systems could be just to hook up the one you want to that front input.

This is assuming you're not going to find one with the 5+ composite inputs you'll probably end up using.

EDIT2: oh, and totally go for HD service for your cable. This will be component or a digital output for video.

Hmm, the HD cable service then, would free up one composite slot. Also, I think I can find a component or S-vid connection for that GC, freeing another. And a Wii is probably going to end up in this mix as well... but I dont know what output that has yet.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
VCR will probably be composite as well then.

EDIT: A lot of modern receivers will have a front input for AV sources which will usually include at least composite video and analog audio (Red and White RCA).

One option for hooking up all those gaming systems could be just to hook up the one you want to that front input.

This is assuming you're not going to find one with the 5+ composite inputs you'll probably end up using.

EDIT2: oh, and totally go for HD service for your cable. This will be component or a digital output for video.

Hmm, the HD cable service then, would free up one composite slot. Also, I think I can find a component or S-vid connection for that GC, freeing another. And a Wii is probably going to end up in this mix as well... but I dont know what output that has yet.

On the Wii, CNET says "Composite video output, S-Video output"
I'm thinking they may have a cable you can buy to get component out though (PS2 style)

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Worst case, you can either use a front panel connection for the game consoles, or you can get an AV switcher.

random example

 

[lokiju]

Very hot Woot today with Upconversion w/ HDMI DVD Player $39

Not very good reviews on this player, but still a good deal.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

OK...

Change in plans here. Starting to wonder if I should get an HD-DVD player. I know it's a risky move, but if I spend several hundred on a standard DVD player and then within the next year the format war settles out, I'll be looking at buying another player. So, waiting for the HD's to come down in price will cost me the price of a standard DVD player now.

Any thoughts?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Like I said originally, I don't think I'd spend a lot on a DVD player now if you're thinking of getting an HD-DVD player in the near future.

Maybe get a cheap DVD player for now and be on the lookout for a good HD-DVD deal?

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Hmm... after looking around, I've yet to find an HD-DVD player that cranks out 1080p. THey also only upconvert to 1080i/720p or spit out the HD DVD itself at 1080i. I thought for sure the HDDVD players would be 1080p capable?

 

[mrrman]

there was a deal posted on HotDeals re the Toshiba HD player for $363 shipped plus 100 miles ....thats what i am getting and my friend has it and its awesome