Looking to buy upconversion DVD player. I have Sony KP-46WT500 TV. Not looking to spend big $$. Any ideas?

Question

I thought buying a SONY upconversion player would be the best route. I had my eye on the DVPNS77HB. Do you guys think this is a smart route?

Answer 1

It depends how fussy you are and whether a simple dedicated upconverting player is the best way to go. Read on for some options.

On one site (see 1st link) the Sony you are considering was rated 3.82/5 based on 30 consumer reviews. It's a good budget upconverter.

But the best upconverting player, according to the review sites I've read (and based on personal experience with Oppo products), is the Oppo DV-981HD. Ii was rated 4.8/5 at the site referenced above.

It is, however, more expensive ($229). Although for the extra $$ you get a lot more than just a DVD player. The player plays a host of additional formats including DVD-Audio, Super Audio CS (SACD), Audio CDs, HDCD, WMA, Kodak Picture CDs, all version of DivX. In addition it comes with all necessary cables. The Oppo is based on Genesis/Faroudja video processing -- considered one of the top 2-3 the available. See 2nd link.

If you want top performance (and DVD-A and SACD playback as a bonus) you could consider a used Oppo DV-971HD (DVI output @ 1080i .. which matches your HDTV) -- it has essentially the same performance and is often available for about $100.

If you read the reviews at the 3nd link of the Sony DVPNS75HB it rated a 7.0, while an Oppo 970 rated a 7.7 and the Oppo 981 a 8.3. The DVPNS77HB wasn't rated but is essentially unchanged, so should rate about the same. (See links to similar players at the bottom of each review to move among the different models)

Finally, a third, and probably a more sensible option today (unless you want SACD and DVD-A capability) is to consider a Toshiba HD-A3 (currently $180 at Amazon with 10 free HD Disks - 4th link). At that price it would give you an upconverting DVD player only slightly inferior to the Oppo 971/981, but a player capable of playing HD DVDs. No, it doesn't play Blu-ray disks, but Blu-ray players are significantly more expensive still (~$280).

I can attest to this option since I have both an Oppo 971 and an HD-A2 and, since I can only conveniently connect one of them, I currently use the latter as my main DVD player since it allows me to occasionally play HD DVDs. The picture on my 110" screen from my 720p projector is good enough that I reserve HD DVD disks for something really deserving (e.g. Planet Earth)

Ok .. you have the info. You decide.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

LG DVX9900H-cheap (can be had for $90-£40) and a bloody good upconverter (to 1080i) to boot. to frills no fuss and does the job admirably.