I currently have a 65" Mitsubishi HDTV, and am using a Sony DVP-NS715P progressive scan player ($199 two years ago) hooked up via componenet video. Both are a couple of years old, so yes, I realize I don't have the latest state-of-the-art stuff.
However, I've never really been happy with the picture quality of DVDs. With a display that large, I tend to notice alot of imperfections with the picture quality of store bought DVDs. Occasionally, I'll get one that looks fantastic. But more times than not, they just don't look as good as I think they should. The problems vary from extremely grainy black, to slight blurriness, to noticing slight pixelization movements if you look close enough.
So to my question...is there anything I can do to correct this, or am I just seeing the limitation of current DVD technology?? My television does not have an HDMI output, so that is not an option. Moreover, would getting a higher end progressive scan player, say..in the $300-$500 range, help improve the picture? Or would there not be enough of a difference to warrant spending the money?
With a display as big as yours, your more likely to see imperfections, but also more likely to see any improvements that a better player might render. I'd consider the Panasonic S97 ($260-$270) or the Denon 1920 ($330-$350, which adds SACD) as both of these units are highly rated and have 216MHz DACs, vs the 108MHz DAC in your Sony. These units do have 720p/1080i upconversion via their HDMI jack which you can't take advantage of, but if you can find one locally I'd give one a try, as you can always bring it back for a refund, if you don't see any improvement. My brother has a 65" Mits and the Panasonic S97, but he does have HDMI, and his picture is very good. I haven't seen it connected through his component cables though.
I'll take a look at the Denon 1920, as I've seen others say it's pretty good too. I recently ordered the NeuNeo Hi-Def player, which is one of the few on the market that actually upconverts through componenet as well as HDMI. So I'm going to take a look at the 1080i first.
Then if that player doesn't do it, I'll go pick up the 1920. I've invested quite a bit into my home theater room, so picking up a couple of different DVD Players to test out is worth it for me.