I'm more from the audio side, and i have been looking at new DVD players, and I was looking at upconvert players. Are they even worth it or should I just wait and see which BlueRay or HD-DVD will survive.
The second question i had is i read a lot about people "unlocking" regions on their DVD players. What is this about and what is HDCP, the way i read it was that the quality of picture may decrease due to a player having this or not. Very confused, any advise would be great
Hi Chris: There are quite a few nice upconverting DVD players that in real world prices are value priced in the $120 or less area. These are HDMI connected 720P & 1080i upconverters they also do not upconvert if desired and will output 480P.
Frankly, these players are so inexpensive, that the HDMI cable is just slightly less expensive than the player. At present these players offer a wonderful viewing experience at a (IMHO) great price.
I am taking a sideline position on the BlueRay and HD-DVD players at present. Today there are media wars going on and the players are very (Blue Ray) expensive to rather expensive (HD-DVD)and complex units (they are actually video servers (PCs) with motherboard and internal hard drive. Their boot up times has been less that quick. So I will personally take a wait and see posture on these two new medias and their players.
Arty I do have the HDMI port in my TV, and i dont' really "need" a dvd player, but it would be nice to use the HDMI port as well as move the current dvd player to the other room.
IF the concensus was that they aren't worth buying, just to get HD or Bluray, than i would just wait, but for the price it seems like it might not be a bad deal to pick one up.
Chris: For example the Samsung DVD-HD850 and the Toshiba SD-350E as well as the Sony DVP-NS75H can be had for $100 or less at a brick and mortar shop and even less on the net. As I said, the HDMI cable is just about as expensive. All three of these upconvert from 480 to 720p or 1080i and are progressive scan units. That is the way I would go now until the BlueRay/HD DVD war settles out.
i see a significant difference in upconversion on my TV. but you have to decide if youre going to buy a new player anyway it may be worth the extra few hundred bucks to get a new Toshiba HD DVD player. the new ones will be out Nov or Dec. even if HD DVD doesnt win you still will have a quality upconversion DVD player. if not than it would be worth getting a lesser expensive upconversion player in the mean time.