is there a difference in picture between a standard dvd player and an upconverted dvd player?

Answer 1

Personally, I think it is all hype. The only benefit that you will get between a standard vs. upconverted dvd player is the digital connection. Most upconverted dvd players will come with an HDMI port. All standard dvd players only come with analog ports, composite, s-video, component.

DVD's are recorded in 480p. Doubling or tripling the resolution to 720p or 1080i on paper sounds great, but in reality, it doesn't work unless you have a very expensive scaler processor. Most upconverted dvd players that we see $200 or less have cheap processors and it's just not worth it.

Save your money!!! Wait until the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray wars cease and buy one of those. Those output in high def because the original movies are recorded in high def. No marketing hype.

Answer 2

techrage has hit the nail on the head. Anytime you upconvert a signal, you are creating distortion. You are making something out of nothing, thus it cannot be an original signal.