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Let's say you only had $200. Entry level blu-ray or superb upscaling DVD?

11K views 62 replies 21 participants last post by  Jungle Jack 
#1 ·
My screen is a 110" using an Epson 6100 1080p. Onkyo 705 and SVS speakers. No light at all in theater.

Right now I have a normal cheapo DVD player. A friend loaned me his PS3 and some blu rays and I was able to switch back and forth from his unit to mine on the same Harry Potter scene. Obviously the difference was amazing. Then I popped my DVD into the PS3 and I was also pretty amazed at the upscaling. Not as great as the Blu Ray disc, obviously, but pretty amazing.

PS3 is out of my price range though. Sooooo...

Would you suggest an entry level but really good Blu Ray player like the Panasonic DMP-BD60 or a superb DVD player like the Oppo DV-980H that upscales to 1080p?

Both at the same price point.

"Save for the $500 Oppo" is what some will say but let's not go there. Might as well say, "Save for the Ferrari". Not gonna happen.

Thanks guys!
 
#2 ·
Well, saving $500 seems a lot more reasonable for a Ferrari, and you certainly have a significant investment into the Home Theater which would seem to warrant it, but...

...if you're having trouble justifying $500 for the player, will you be able able to justify the additional purchase/rental premium that blu-ray demands that will certainly add up to much more than $500 over the years? I think you are a much better candidate for the Oppo DVD player.
 
#3 ·
With the BR player, it is "all at once", whereas buying/renting the BR's is incremental. I'm not too worried about the additional cost of the BR's. But that is neither here nor there.

My MAIN reason for either is the upscaling. With a 110" PJ screen it matters.

So which would give better picture? Entry level Blu Ray upscaling a DVD, or a premium DVD player upscaling a DVD?

So we have one in the "Oppo DVD Player" camp.

I'd love to hear from as many as possible.

Does anyone actually own the Oppo upscaling DVD player?
 
#6 ·
51" 1080i RPTV at 6.5 feet vs. Philips 5690 (could be wrong on the philips model number) I did see a difference, but it's hard to quantify. Certainly, on the HQV tests, the Oppo scored higher, but in viewing, it was better color and edge detail that made the video seem more "3D" or lifelike...the images just popped off the screen more.

Was it noticable...yes. Was it worth the money vs a blu-ray? If you can stomach the additional cost of ownership of the Blu-ray, the improvement will be much more noticeable.
 
#7 ·
I'm kind of with Rancho on this situation. I have a 720p plasma and almost exclusively watch netflix movies, along with select owned dvd's. Among the netflix movies, many are older, non-blu ray so I really question the benefit to having one just yet. I do sometimes wonder if it would be worth getting a better dvd player if the picture would really improve (and also when it has trouble loading a disc)
 
#9 ·
I'm using a $50 sanyo player that has component out and digital coax sound. I have more expensive Liteon dvd recorder/player too, but it had trouble playing some discs that the sanyo surprisingly played, so it's used for cd's on another stereo.
 
#10 ·
I guess what I am looking for, and to get back to the original post, are upscaling numbers, or experience, for a budget Blu ray player vs. a renowned DVD player like the Oppo.

All they ever say in their stats are "up to 1080p". And I don't know what that really means: Every disc, every time, what?
 
#11 ·
Yes, every disc is scaled to 1080p, but that doesn't mean the quality is the same as Blu-ray. You can't magically make more pixels out of thin air, just interpolate to get better perceived detail on larger screens/shorter viewing distances.

The closest thing you'll get to numbers, which only tell half the story, is at Secrets of Home Theater: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi

In the end, Blu-ray vs. DVD Upscaling is really a little apples to oranges. No matter how good the scaling is, 1080p native will almost always trump 1080p upscaled from 480. The only time it won't is in the case of a bad transfer, or if your screen is too small/seating distance too great to see the difference.

In the end, I think other factors such as cost of ownership, screen/seating, availability of Blu-ray titles that you want to watch, etc. will play into your decision more.
 
#12 ·
The best BD player for real world DVD and BD video that I have seen is strangely an LG BD390. These are relatively inexpensive, fast and do a glorious job with both. I have seen all of the $$$ Denon, Oppo, Sony and Pioneer players and this is my current favorite.
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#13 ·
Get a BluRay player regardless of the fact that you may not buy Bluray movies. Netflix uses way to much compression and you loose the benefit of upconversion. The difference between even displaying BluRay on a 720p or 1080i/p display it looks MUCH better than upconverted DVDs. A good upconverting DVD player will run you around $200 the new Toshibas are very good at that. We use a inexpensive Philips DVD player that upconverts just fine on the kids 32" 720p LCD. The larger the display the more noticeable it will be.
 
#15 ·
Personally, I'd need a player with pre-outs along with netflix streaming capability, and the best I've seen are the aforementioned lg and a samsung; streaming/music is something to think about if you're looking at players.
 
#19 ·
You could also consider the new Sony players, I believe the S360 is excellent VFM and BD is so much better than DVD anyway, although I know a lot of people still have lots of DVD's but the Sony players are not too shabby with DVD playback either, I had the older S350 and it was excellent for the money, I prefered it over the Samsung 1400 that I had before it...also the Sony does have the same GUI as the PS3 which is one fo the best IMO...
 
#23 ·
any comments between the samsung 3600 and 2500? ie, is there any benefit of the 2500?

note on the ps3,
getting the ps3 to play well with existing universal remotes can be a pain in the tail, i'm not knocking the ps3's performance, only that if you buy one and plan on it 'just working' via your current universal remote your out of luck unless you get the add on ir device for the ps3
 
#24 ·
I really believe that both players are excellent (3600 & 2500), according to several reviews on both these two great players. I wouldn't worry for one bit. Besides, the 3600 is a newer model with more features, and still with an excellent picture quality. I don't think you'll be able to notice a difference between these two players. If I'll have to pick one, I'll be hard press at which one to choose. I guess money could influence my final decision, and also the set of features.

Cheers,
Bob
 
#26 ·
I have to second eugo's first question - are you going to be purchasing blue ray discs or dvds? Blue ray discs are priced ridiculously high in my opinion. Do you have a large dvd collection? Most any dvd player will be faster and more responsive playing dvds than a blue ray player, and you can probably pick up a good upscaling dvd player for less than $100.
 
#27 ·
I ended buying a Costco Panasonic 605 and the picture is awesome. Problem is that sometimes the sound works, sometimes not. Plugged in the old DVD player and I had sound via HDMI, so it is the BR.

With Costco's return policy, I will probably purchase either the LG 390 or the Samsung 2500 depending on what prices I see on Black Friday, and then return the Panny to Costco.
 
#28 ·
Hi Rancho,

You probably meant the Panasonic DMP-BD60, right?

I will simply exchange it for the same model (if yours is defective). The BD60 is a great player, perhaps you just got one that is defective, I'm surprised though. Did you make sure that your HDMI cables were properly connected?

Also, the Panasonic is a solid brand and reliable too (firmware, customer service, performance...).

* If you insist on changing brand, then the Samsung BD-P2500 would be my second choice.
And the LG 390 ain't to shabby either.

On Black Friday, any of these three players should be well below your original target price, and would satisfied you, I'm sure.

Happy trail,
Bob
 
#30 ·
No, it ain't new, but it's very good (has the HQV Reon video processor). :T Recommended for sure.

* The newest one I believe (goes so fast now), is the BD-P3600 & also the BD-P1600.

** But just for your info, the Panasonic DMP-BD60 can be had for only $130, and it is one of the very best blu-ray player on the market. I know you already had it, but I will exchange it for the same on Black Friday (you said you have an audio problem with it, right?).

That is my humble opinion.
 
#32 ·
Earlier today I saw a sony player with netflix playback ability which I was unaware of, I think it was $220 so it may be just what you're looking for, especially with a seasonal price drop...you might take a look
 
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