DVD player adice needed

[freejack2k]

Hi guys

Right finally took the plunge and bought a 37" flatscreen lcd with 1080 res.

My question is what type of movie player should i buy?

Not sure if i should go for blue ray or hdmi dvd player, I do now and again get hold of the odd "ahem" backup of an original HD dvd so think this would be the best to go for, did a quick search and there seem to be a lot of players with "upscaling" which i presume is not true HD

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good player that is true HD at a reasonable price?

Thanks

fj

[C0UGAR UK]

firstly HDMI DVD players upscale, they do not play HD DVD's, and the upscaling can be very impressive
HD DVD players play HD DVD and upscale regular DVD

My my Pioneer BDPLX70A was £800 and is an upscaling DVD player as well, it is so good I would have paid twice the price,


HD players employ special processing that upscales regular 480i DVD video to HD format (720p or 1080i) and uses the HDMI connector. The goal is to get the best possible picture quaity.
HDTV's also converts analog component video to digital. If your set does this well and has good upscaling, you probably won’t see much difference between component and HDMI, On TVs with less than perfect processing, you might see a cleaner image using HDMI.
Another determining factor in picture quality is how players handle the initial conversion from 480i to progressive scan 480p, which occurs before upscaling to an HDTV format and affects images carried by both the component-video and HDMI outputs.

Some DVD players upscale to 720p or 1080i and are effective when using a HDMI cable.
Is it be better for a DVD player to upscale and transfer the digital signal via HDMI, or would it be better to use component cable to transer the signal to the TV and have the TV upscale. The choice seems to be yours, and can make no difference, depending upon the TV and the player

My Panasonic 50" Viera upscales so good There can be no noticeable difference when the BDPLX70A was connected via component or HDMI, some regular anime dvd movies are simply stunning, such as Dinosaur and Final Fantassy

HDMI source is a different matter, but I have watched HD dvd's that are poorly made and no better than some well made upscaled regular dvd's

The subject can be quite conplicated and is subject to opinions, and how it works best for each individual.

So in short, if you are not interested in the above information.

read reviews on HD players within your budget, and decide how you want to upscale regular dvd's, to let your player do it, or the TV

As for the blu Ray HDMI war, I have read conflicting stories about MGM, Univeral, etc, I do not know what to believe, and do not really care at the moment, because in the end it all depends upon what the consumer dives head first into, and the most cost effective solution, and not necessarily the best.
With each side saying they should avoid the other side's format. HD with their "you want it, and we're here now" strategy, and Blu Rays' "we won't be first, but we'll be better". Well I am a blu ray fan, but there is a lot of rock throwing, and the likes of Toshiba have large rocks to throw at blu ray. If the war ends up like the beta v vhs fiasco then HDMI will emerge victorious as best bang for the buck, Well I am for best bang, and for me it is blu ray. the way technolgy is heading, consumers may be wishing for more than the 15GB layer MO


What is a reasonable price

As I said earlier Tosh are a big player in the HD/BR battle

If it is just over £200 then the Tosh HD-E1 is great for the money, this HD player also upscales exceptionaly good.
If you have twice that to spend. The Tosh HD-XE1 is just over £400 upscales the same, and worth every penny, and more in MO, a friend has one of these, with a 42" viera, and sometimes I cannot tell if the movie is upscaled or HD

These are about the best HD players on the market for the price