It's been a while since I've been on this board, but I love the help here.
I'm going to be buying a plasma TV soon (probably Samsung HPR4262 in case any of you have any comments or personal experience), and I want to buy a new DVD player to upconvert to 720p.
So here are my questions:
1. I already own a progressive scan DVD player and am using component cables on my Samsung HDTV box. It looks great already. Is it worth buying an upconverting DVD player to use with the new 42" plasma TV? Will I really notice a difference? (I know it depends on the movie, but let's assume I'm comparing the same movie.)
2. If so, is the difference only noticeable through the HDMI feed, or will I even see a difference on just the component cables?
3. Finally, if it is worth it, which DVD player should I buy? I don't want to spend more than $100, so what's the best player out there under this price?
I have tried two(2) upconverting dvd players and both were Samsung. The first one was the DVD-HD755 that I bought from Fry's Electronics brand-new/sealed for $69.99, which I thought was a great deal for an upconverting dvd player. But the picture quality through component that was upconverted was not any better then my older Phillips progressive scan dvd player that was through component, also the sound through the coaxial was not great as it was only good/okay and had some distortions. The second was the DVD-HD850 that I bought from a friend at work that did not want it. Now the picture quality through component that was upconverted was great/perfect and is much better and has a noticeable difference then my older Phillips progressive scan dvd player that was through component, also the sound through either coaxial or optical was great/perfect and had no distortions at all. These two(2) upconverting dvd players were my first experience with dvd players that upconverted, so this may not be much to go on for you but I will say that I am really happy with the results on the Samsung DVD-HD850 upconversion dvd player.
Thanks for the response. That actually is very helpful. And it's funny you mention two Samsung's because I was looking at the HD850, HD860, and HD950. I haven't set up the audio with optical with my current player, but I will with the new one. Can't wait to see what it sounds like!
If your looking for a upconverting dvd player that will upconvert through component I am not sure if the HD-860 or the HD-950 will do that. I do know that not all older upconverting dvd players will convert through component, that is more true for the newer upconverting dvd players because companies are trying to get people to use the HDMI only if you want to unconvert. For instance the HD-850 does upconvert through component but not all of the HD-850's will, because you have to do a "hack" which a button sequence on the remote to make it upconvert through component and that only works on some(older units before a certain manufactures date) of the HD-850's.
Hey Joe, good point. I had no idea you'd have to do a "hack" to get it to work on component. I was pretty sure I was going to buy an HDMI cable anyway, but at least now I know I will. Funny how you don't always get all the details.