[Scott_F]

My beloved Panasonic DVD recorder is on the blink so I'm in the process of looking for a replacement.

My main question is wether or not it's worth paying extra for one that will upscale images. There seem to be a few nice models around the £300 mark (definetly the top end of my budget) with fairly decent sized HDDs and HDMI outputs, but it seems a bit daft paying the extra £50 for HDMI if I won't be able to notice the difference. I've not got a massive TV only a 26" LCD.

Any advice from people in the know would be appreciated :grin:

[littlesheepy]

I'm not really in the know as such, but i have a Panasonic DMR-EZ25 DVD recorder with the upscaling function and only a 23" LCD tv, but have to say am really glad i went for that one as i do notice a difference from my last bog standard Philips DVD recorder, the picture does seem to be much clearer on my tv. Think the upgrade from a scart to HDMI was definitely worth it:) However, i'm sure others would disagree :P

[friartuck]

Little discussed fact. Your LCD tv already does upscaling. So to determine if it's worth the cost, you need to look at your existing set. If it does a soddy job at upscaling pictures, a good DVD upscaler might bring remarkable improvements. If not, then well... Anyway, it's mostly religion. I think HDMI (with the right set and player) can outperform component any day, but other enthusiasts (more qualified than myself) swear to component as being the only true way of watching a film. I would find a shop with a good return policy, buy an upscaling player, bring it home and test it out. If it doesn't live up to your expectations, you can always bring it back.

[smashed]

Wahoo.. you agree with me FT.

I have tried this disussion a few times, but most people seem convinced that an upscaler must be a remarkable machine, even if your TV does a good job anyway.

[Model Citizen]

Oppo
http://www.oppodigital.com/products.asp

Can be purchased in the UK : http://www.crtprojectors.co.uk/dvd_players.htm

One of the best players you can buy at one of the cheapest prices. Those who bought more expensive players kicked themselves when it outperformed them in the secret benchmark test. Here

[homerpovey]

Well Model Citizen, you've really put a spanner in the works for me. I was all set to buy a Denon 1930 DVD player but the Oppo DV-981HD is very very tempting. It loses out on component output but I'll no doubt be using the HDMI connection anyway. I've not heard a bad thing said about these yet. I have a Denon A/V reciever so the 1930 would match this but if the Oppo's better then I'd rather have that.

Decisions, decisions???

Does anyone own the Oppo DV-981HD or the Denon DVD-1930 Dvd players?

[friartuck]

The Denon 1930 has (as far as I recall) as little memory as it's kid sister (2 MB), the 1920. This would mean that you will experience a slight pause at layer shifts. It's STILL powered by the Faroudja chipset, which means you will get an effect called "macro blocking" on some movie sources (looks like poorly encoded divx). Also, it does not natively support HDMI 1.2/1.3, which means that if you want to output SACD, you can't do it over HDMI. Other than that, it's a good player that outperforms most of the competition. I couldn't accept the shortcomings of the player, though, so I sprang for a 2930, but you might be more inclined to just buy a HD player, if you are spending those kinds of money (I haven't regretted my purchase for an instant).

[homerpovey]

I've just ordered the Oppo DV-981HD, so I'll let you know what it's like when it arrives sometime in February.

Cheers for the heads up Model Citizen

[TheReverend]

Good man I'm thinking of getting this when my player gives out soon. Looks great all round

[homerpovey]

I've not seen a bad review for it yet and I'm looking forward to it with eager anticipation. I'm trying to get the other half to get it for my birthday present ...I won't tell you what her answer was :wink: