Up-Scaling v Progressive Scan ??

DVDs are natively made for 480p Progressive Scan so in theory the best pic you will get from this generation of discs. An upscaling machine reprocesses this picture and puts it out in a 720p or 1080i format. From what ive seen this doesnt improve things greatly and I would go for a good prog scan player over a cheap upscaling machine.

I was under the impression some screens did some upscaling too but i could be wrong. I would maybe take this back save yourself some cash and get the Toshiba 350 which with somponent gives a superb picture it has hdmi but all the reviews point towards using the component. Its 69 at Richer sounds

Most players that upscale,upscale to 720p ( progressive ) and 1080i (interlaced ).
Its' a fair bet that if it upscales then its a progressive player. No benefit to you if you only have a standard crt t.v. which will be interlaced.

I went into Richer Sounds today to buy a new DVD player to go with the 436RXE Plasma. I was planning on buying an up-scaling DVD player (I had seen one in action in RS last week and was very impressed).

However, I walked out of the shop with a cambridge Audio DVD59 which according to the acting manager was better than a ?00 up-scaling DVD player. (I paid ?50 for the 59)

I have searched for reviews on the 59, only found one, which was average (but improved when hack was discovered for playing SVCD's etc).

My advice would be to take it back for a full refund. Then spend ?0 more online and get the Oppo Digital OPDV971H (http://www.oppodigital.com/) delivered to your door and never look back. :smashin: You want either www.crtprojectors.co.uk (http://www.crtprojectors.co.uk) or www.itsupplies.net (http://www.itsupplies.net) to get it from. Upconverts from 480i to 720p/1080i and uses a Faroudja chip.

I'll be connecting whatever DVD player i use to the TV via componant, my Plasma only has one HDMI input which will be used for Sky HD. Does this change your opinion on the Oppo ?

Much confusion and mis-information here, I think. This is a copy/paste of a post I did elsewhere on this subject. This is relevant to "digital" displays of any type - Plasma, LCD, DLP, LCOS etc.

In the case in point, the TV was a 1280x720 device. If yours is (say) 1366x768, replace 720p with 768p (etc):

Fact 1: The signal encoded on all PAL DVD discs is 576i. That means 576 lines, interlaced. NTSC discs are 480i.

Fact 2: The image displayed on your TV screen is ALWAYS 720p. That's 720 lines, progressive. This is the only image structure your TV can display.

To get from the one to the other, your equipment somehow has to

a) de-interlace. That means, convert from i to p (from interlaced to progressive).

b) re-scale. That means, (in this case) convert from 576 lines to 720.

Depending on your equipment, these two things may happen either in the DVD player or in the TV.

For example, if you feed your TV with a simple video signal (576i) then the TV will both de-interlace and scale it (i.e. convert to 720p).

Conversely, if you feed your TV with an already converted 720p signal, then it doesn't have to do this job, even though it can.

The only thing that might be gained by de-interlacing and/or rescaling in the DVD player (if it could) would be if it did a better job than the TV.

I'll be connecting whatever DVD player i use to the TV via componant, my Plasma only has one HDMI input which will be used for Sky HD. Does this change your opinion on the Oppo ?

Yes, now don't get the Oppo :(

Yes, now don't get the Oppo :(
then what should he get ? lol

I'm thinking Samsung DH950 or Toshiba 350.
There was a thread I read on here that said that the Tosh 350 is the dogs. the thread was about 1 year old though !!

I'm comfortable with a ?50 budget, but because I cannot find any +ve reviews of the DVD59 I am taking it back tomorrow. Ideally, to exchange for something else that Richer Sounds have in stock.

RS are happy to exchange. They recon the Samsung 950 is, without question, better than the Tosh 350.

I grow more confused !!

If you are going for component try the Pioneer 585 (or the older 575 if they have it).

IMHO, if you are going to component then Toshiba 350E is far superior to Pioneer DV575 (as I own both), at least in my panny SD plasma.

Now, be aware that Samsung 950 is a universal player, and that if you are not interested in SACD/DVD-A then problably model 850 should be the one to get.

HTH