OK guys...

I need your "guru" advise here.

I've been searching for a good affordable HDMI DVD Player in the market but seems like no electrical shop is willing to assist to test them. This include Harvey Norman.
Haiz...

I need a player that can play *ahem* DVDs, warped DVDs, not sensitive and also with great HDMI picture output quality. Sound as long as I can get DTS and 5.1 channel good enuff.

These are the choices... for low budget

1) Panasonic DVD-S52

2) Philips DVP5965K/98

3) Pioneer DV-490V-S

4) Sony DVP-NS76H

5) Samsung HD-860


Slightly Higher Budget

1) Sony DVP-NS92V

2) Samsung HD-950

For higher budget

1) Pioneer DV-989AVi-G

2) Denon DVD-1730

3) Denon DVD-1930

Tolong tolong....

This post has been edited by timothyy: May 12 2007, 11:57 PM

I'm using Sony DVP-NS76H, it plays ahem dvd flawlessly including those poorly mastered copies which are warped or scratched. Picture quality via HDMI is acceptable, the picture quality is overall pretty good, with no jaggies, progressive scan is pretty smooth. I'll recommend this player anytime. If you're fussy about picture quality, you'll need to consider Denon 2930 but it's an expensive player and might not be able to play all ahem dvds because it doesn't have the dynamic tilting feature like the Sony player so warped dvds will be a problem for this player but it upscales to 1080P and one of the best HDMI players from Denon.

Anyway, Sony DVP-NS76H is a good player, worth considering, I got it at RM590. Not expensive for such a player IMHO.

wowowo...

Thanks so much. I've been thinking of this player since many good reviews on international webpages. But all local shops say it is sensitive...

So, I hold back...

I dont know about HDMI DVD Player.. But Philips did very good job in reading various DVD Disc even in low end model DVP 3020..

yew chien lao spotted

soli ngao bong ng dao ngi, ngai mao yen kiu geh, tan heh yew siong bong ngi den gew chai loi lar

Kakaka... Ah Lek... no problem... I wait for yitbunchai...

panasonic one........
i think sony is sensitive with the pirated disc...
lasting one is panasonic

Sony DVP-NS92V I am using this player with my Sony bravia 40" inch too with the HDMI cable provided...can play most of the dvd's including self burned dvd (i.e mpg format or avi) also....no problems......very smooth.....

I've both Sony DVP-NS76H & Philips DVP5965K/98. Using HDMI on the same display, I found the DVP-NS76H produces more natural colours compared to the philips. Also on relatively fast motions, the sony player showed smoother pictures, compared to the philips which kinda judders a bit.

Sound wise, I prefer the sony player as well. Somehow its sound has more punch, especially on both the surround satellites.

Sensitivity wise, the philips player plays basically everything. Not fussy at all. I had a couple of DVDs which skips a little on the sony, but no problem playing the rest.

oppo DV-981HD?

i using pioneer 490v
very good player
but u need a decoder that can decode DTS for it

shaddap u i'm so jealous of people leaving in the US or canada. Hows that westinghouse .

Low Budget
Pioneer 490

Slightly higher budget
Sony Ns92

Big moola
Pioneer DV-989AVi-G

I've both the sony and the pio 490 and they certainly look a tad better than the Sony ns76 they replaced. But the pioneer 989 is still king even among more expensive models. Been reviewed many times. All reviews were positive.

Hmmm.. nice test.... I went to Sony shop in The Curve but they didn't even bother to test it out the difference for me between the 76 and 92... Wat a service...

But heck... ur review helps me rethink...

I wish... if only got agent in Malaysia. Anyone wants to do a bulk?

Have you tested with the HDMI? I just don't understand... seems like every review in the internet says its not good on the HDMI picture quality...

You have compared the NS92 and NS76 side by side before? I'll have to go to Best Denki to test it out again... haiz... I hate it that Malaysian's electrical shop never bothered about DVD players. They main reason... they are not making money...
But even for the Pioneer 490... in internet, ppl are selling below USD100, and Malaysia is selling RM6xx. And still complain not making money.

Anyway, found a place in Puchong sellin the 696 for RM780...

I'm tempted to get the 981 but the westinghouse has upconverter as well, and my htpc can only do 720p. My only real hope is the ps3's BD.

The westinhouse is not here yet ler...currently out of stock but I already ordered it and it should be here in 2 weeks time. The day after I ordered it, they raised the price by 100CAD

As long a I can get hold of Oppo... I'll just get the 971 is more than enuff...

well i dunno la but i wouldnt really suggest pioneer. i mean i have a Pioneer DV 505 (got it when DVD was first introduced la dunno how many years back ) and it very fussy when playing *ahem* discs so maybe there's thruth in it when ppl say that certain brands dont play *ahem* discs....do some research....

i actually like JVC though dont notice any improvement through DragonPic

This post has been edited by kobe8byrant: Dec 13 2006, 09:05 PM

i forgot if htkaki/siriuslycold knows where you can get it in singapore. You can still order the oppo from their site though, definitely will be more than the msrp

But the 917 is just for picture quality. the 981 doesnt cost alot more and have the best of both the 971/970. I really like Oppo, their techies are casual and polite, and they know what they are doing. Another plus is they will tell you what you ask them...not reading things from a script. The players are totally made dedicated to performance and the pricing is just perfect. I think Oppo is really giving their competitors a run for their money. I love "peng leng zheng" stuff, westinghouse, oppo

Singapore got Oppo ah?

I asked my friend in Singapore to look for it and seems like those AV shop never even heard of it... U got the contact?

nope I dun have it, ask htkaki/siriuslycold. good luck hunting for one...those are snatched like hot cakes afaik

hmmm... OK... Hope they will help.

Well, last time, most Sony dvd players are sensitive especially playing those low quality ahem dvds but ever since Sony developed their patented dynamic tilt mechanism for their pickup lens, it's a thing of the past and this technology is not only available for this high end HDMI player but also other models too, even the ones costing RM270 plus. I have played those poor quality ahem dvds from China and it plays them well, even my Pioneer 989 and Panasonic S49 had problems reading them.

Anyway, it's worth getting the HDMI player as it's using Mediatek's deinterlacer, used in some better models from Pioneer, Onkyo, Samsung and Denon dvd players. Only this model has Mediatek, the rest of the Sony models are using Sony's own deinterlacer, they're not bad but not comparable to the award winning Mediatek deinterlacer.

Don't just take my word for it, try to test one and see for yourself. For a budget player, it's definitely value for money, it might not beat Denon's 2930 flagship model but for a player this price, you shouldn't find any faults with it.

Hey sunauto, you are referring to the Sony NS76 right?

Everywhere is not keeping the unit. And everywhere when I asked... they say they don't test DVD players. Heck...!

Just called up SLT Technologies Ltd, reseller for Oppo Digital DVD player, according to them, their stock is coming end of the month or early next month. Wowo...

And the price is "just over 400..." meaning just over S$400.00

Wow... its cheaper than Sony NS92. Kekekeke...
Worth considering.

Yes, I'm referring to NS76, I'm using it right now even though I have a Pioneer 989 because the Pioneer sucks when it comes to playing ahem dvds, it usually gets stucked if the dvd is warped or poorly authored but for original dvds, it works flawlessly.

You can get it from Sony gallery or electrical shops, I ordered mine from an electrical shop, they only gave me a slight discount, RM580 because I bought two units, one for the living hall, one for my gf. Don't expect to get good discounts because they never give much discounts when it comes to Sony products. Sad but true.

They don't have ready stocks but Sony gallery, in Prangin Mall, Penang has a few units in stock, I'm sure you can get to see them in action especially in KL. At this price, it's a steal and if you're talking about Sony's flagship model, 9100ES (should be correct I guess), you gotta wait at least four months since it has to be specail ordered from Japan. It's around RM3100. Hahaha. I rather get a Denon at this price.

Yeah, some of them won't let you test the dvd player but after seeing good reviews from here and there and I was using a Sony dvd player before this one, so I took a gamble to order it and I didn't regret buying it. It's a darn good player. Very solid performance and ahem dvds (D9) looked great on my LCD in 1080i. Hehehe. If original dvds, no need to say lah, even better of course.

I am going to wait for Oppo 981. Gonna order from them or ask them to reserve... kekeke... If fail, then I go for this Sony.

Well, I don't think Oppo is that great and it might not play warped dvds if your collection consists mostly ahem dvds. It's up to you lah Bro.

Well, that's what I worry too. But I donno... seems like every American says its good.

Ha! HA! So...

Anyway, may be I'll buy it and at the same time have my JVC standby using component video.

I'll try and let u guys know.

Seeing as the motherboard of the Oppo is made by their parent company BBK in China, I would not worry so much about playing "friendly" D9s (the 970HD is BBK988 in HK - product page)

btw, sunauto which Oppo do you have and did it fail on you?

This post has been edited by SiriuslyCold: Dec 15 2006, 01:24 PM

I am targetting the 981. Nope. I don't have one yet.

was asking sunauto

btw timothyy - you know the 981 does not have component outputs right? just in case

its got composite, s-video and hdmi

This post has been edited by SiriuslyCold: Dec 15 2006, 04:48 PM

How about you? What DVD player are u using then? Issit good?

Thanks for the info. I didn't know until you told me. He! He! But I guess my main concern is HDMI...

This post has been edited by timothyy: Dec 16 2006, 09:02 AM

My cousin staying in Sydney is using Oppo, forgot which model though, had some problems playing L Word Season 3 (ahem dvds of course) but it played fine on a Sony and Philips dvd player. He was scratching his head and no doubt, those ahem dvds were of course, poor quality, he bought it from Chinatown area but if it works well on Sony and Philips, it shows that Oppo might have problems with poor media and to be frank, our ahem dvds in Malaysia are getting from bad to worst especially those cheap D5 movies, most of them are warped, sometimes with bubbles on the surface and many fine scratches too. So far no problems with my Sony but with Pioneer 989, 70% will get stucked unless it's a good quality ahem dvd or you feed it with original softwares, it will play them happily.

IME Philips has always been the most forgiving player - I haven't tried it but I bet you could throw a coaster in and it'll try to play it.

I haven't seen anyone on xtremeplace forum complaining about D9s on the Oppo though, so I think it should be friendly. I'd have bought one if it had a SCART output which I need

Bro,

If you really wanna get an Oppo, choose a poor quality authored dvd to give it a real stress test. No, don't use a RM12 ahem D9 dvd to test it, preferable those from China one or those cheap D5 titles. Get what I mean? That's what I did before ended up buying the Sony, I really wanted to make sure that it reads poor quality discs. Just my advice to you but if you're mostly buying originals, then no need to test lah, just go ahead and buy.

I agree with everything except the fact that the sony produces better sound....,i'd go for the philips....

Iguess the price of Oppo in Singapore is kinda reasonable for me to try it out. He!

If many have talk good about it.... there must be something good about the player.

SG$299, but you really got to reserve your set, it seems to sell like hotcakes

SG299? So cheap? Cannot be la... USD also selling 229...

I called ST up and they say its around S$400

sorry! i meant the 970HD is SG$299

dunno pricing for 981 - who is ST?

The sound is depending on your A/V amp, not the dvd player. When you output it via coaxial or optical output, the sound is processed with your A/V amp, very seldom people will use the sound decoded by their own dvd player unless if it is a high end player from Pioneer, Arcam, Marantz or even Denon using those Burr Brown sound processors, you might want use the internal sound decoder of the dvd player. So to be honest, whether it is a Philips or Sony, once it's fed through my Yamaha A/V amp, the decoding will be done by my amp. I never liked Philips dvd players, the picture quality is a bit off if you use the HQV disc to benchmark it, it doesn't have a very good motion when running in progressive scan or in upscaled resolution for fast action scenes. What I like best about Philips is their Pixel Plus HDTV panels, I have to give thumbs up for those.

ST is the reseller in singapore..

just curios with the heavy leaning of HDMI towards digital rights and all.. is there any HDMI capable players that can play both region 1 & 3 dvds?

almsot all the players can be hacked to region free. Google them.

Just in case... where to find Oppo hack site?

Don't worry Bro, all Oppo dvd players are region free and can even playback RCE titles as well. There's nothing to hack actually.

Oppo? Never heard of it. Someone mind giving the skinny on the hype surrounding it?

YOu can check www.oppodigital.com or search AVS forum or any other AV forum. It is the talk of the HDMI player other than the Denon and Pioner 989...

I dun blame you Bro, at first I thought it was a Cap Ayam brand but upon close inspection, it's a decent dvd player with HDMI but of course, it can't take on the big boys from Pioneer, Denon, Marantz, Arcam, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, etc but as a budget dvd player, it's certainly value for money.

lol thats exactly what I told others....people who doesnt know the player will likely think that it is just another chap ayam brand.

Unless if they do some marketing here, nobody will know that Oppo is not a Cap Ayam brand. The name sounds pretty much like those Made In China dvd players.

Kakaka... but it is a brand that does not build to impress on the outerlook but more on what is inside.

I am getting my friend to buy. If got, I will do some screen shots here.

these days there is less excuse for remaining ignorant, especially if you post on online forums such as this one. if you Google Oppo 970HD you will come across the huge amount of words and resources expended by people who know AV anywhere in the world

there is no excuse for the name, but if we hadn't been exposed to TOYOTA we'd think it was a silly name. Even they themselves spawned off LEXUS for a classier sounding name

True... very true..

All I did was Google Search "HDMI DVD Player Review" and sooooooooo many Oppo name came out...
It has more review than any other brand...

The only concern is spare parts unless there's an authorized dealer in Malaysia, otherwise, it will just be like Shinco dvd players, spare parts are totally impossible to find here even though they're sold everywhere.

Well, I've seen the reviews on Oppo from What Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi Choice magazines, the reviews are favourable but of course, there are better dvd players in the market but at this point of time, it's not worth spending thousands on a high end dvd player like Denon's 2930 or 3930 because with this price, you can get a Toshiba HD-DVD player offering the same performance as those high end players for playback of normal dvds and also future proof as it plays HD-DVDs.

From what I've found out, the Oppo Digital - OPDV971H shares the same Mediatek chip used in Sony's DVD-NS76H dvd player and also for Pioneer's DV-696AV-S. The Oppo plays dvd audio titles, whereas the Pioneer plays dvd audio and sacd titles, sadly, Sony doesn't support these two formats but that's not an issue my Pioneer DV-989AVi-S can handle them. I'm quite impressed with my Sony's DVD-NS76H as it is so far problem free and it plays warped and scratched discs with ease. Navigating the menus are smooth and the layer change for dual layered dvds is a tad faster and less noticeable than my Pioneer. I'm not sure about the Oppo but I guess I'm happy with my two babies, now I'm just waiting for Toshiba to officially launch their HD-DVD player here. Have been using my XBOX 360 to watch a couple HD-DVD titles I ordered online, I wouldn't say it's perfect, it looks better than normal dvds but being a gaming console, I can't expect much and the HD-DVD add on is only RM720 so it's not too pricey.

sunauto

"From what I've found out" where do you find out stuff?

970HD is using the MediaTek chip
971H and the new 981HD are using Faroudja

at just a little over SG$1.1K the Denon 2930 seems like a bargain with its new Teranex chip if you are looking for a midrange player.

This post has been edited by SiriuslyCold: Dec 20 2006, 06:42 PM

If I'm not mistaken, it is using Mediatek as the MPEG decoder chip and the Faroudja as the deinterlacer. Should be a dual solution chip based player. To find out, just open up the dvd player and look at the chips inside. Well, Faroudja has serious macroblocking issues, there's nothing great about it. Some people gets excited when they look at the DCDi logo on the dvd player but it doesn't mean anything, even most high end Samsung dvd players have Faroudja too but it didn't make it a better player. Denon is also starting to ditch the Faroudja deinterlacer chip.

did I mention the 2930 has a teranex chip?

anway- sunauto you already have a high end Pioneer 989AVi, of course the Oppo is going to be no comparison

Yeah, but 1930 is still using Faroudja solution but it's only RM1200 so shouldn't expect much for this price. Yeah, the 2930 has the new Teranex chip but 3930 is the main star, using Silicon Optix Realta chip, that chip is totally flawless and was highly rated by most Hi-Fi magazines but it costs about RM5K plus, I wouldn't mind buying it if it plays either Blu-Rays or HD-DVDs or even better, both. For a hefty price to play standard definition dvds, that's an overkill I guess.

Yeah, I have a Pioneer 989AVi but mostly using my Sony DVD-NS76H mostly to watch my poor quality ahem dvds, of course, picture quality wise, my Pioneer is but compatibility wise for ahem dvds, the award goes to Sony. So, I'm basically using both, Sony as a preview player, if I like the movie, I'll get the original dvd and watch it on my Pioneer.

Nah, don't get the wrong idea, I'm not against Oppo, I personally haven't seen one here, if it plays ahem dvds with no problems, I'll get it too but of course, it must be backed by an authorized distributer or importer, I'm not planning to throw it away after the pickup lens fails.

RM1200 for Denon 1930? Tell me where? I'll cancel my Oppo and go for Denon... pls pls...

I thought it is easily found in KL, I just know the Hi-Fi shops in Penang. Can you try asking CMY Audio since they do carry Denon products or maybe those Hi-Fi shops in Low Yat Plaza? Seriously, Denon 1930 is not suitable for playing back those DTS 9 ahem dvds. Don't say I didn't warn ya, it's a tad more sensitive than Pioneer dvd players and the Faroudja solution has some marcoblocking issues (no matter how much they have tweaked it, it is still present especially if you watch animes or movies like Monster Inc, Toy Story, etc). If you're playing mostly originals, then, just forget what I have said, just go ahead and buy it but if your collection consists more on those ahem ones, you better think twice, don't say I didn't warn ya. Just a friendly advice.

I guess this is the problem with Malaysia. We have only 1 choice... and that is ahem DVDs. Non-ahem DVDs will only be sold in places like Speedy Videos or Ezy Videos. The price is OK but HECK!!!! They censored it.!!!! What the fun of it? Quality wise... it is still bad. Unless we buy overseas DVDs... real original DVDs. Again... Custom Malaysia will be eyeing on your product.

Anyway, so, you mean you got your Denon in Penang? OK... I will try and shop around in KL/PJ. Get some really lousy DVDs and ask them to play.

Hey... sunauto... wht is macro block?

Nope, not me, my friend bought his Denon in Penang, I accompanied him, the price he paid was RM1190 actually but selling is around RM1200, we nego for more than half an hour for the 10 bucks.

Well, not all original dvds are censored, the latest Berjaya HVN, Warner, Sony Pictures dvds sold in Speedy Videos are not censored, I can personally assure you that and even the folks from Speedy Videos said it out loud, if they're censored, they'll refund my money or allow me to choose another title. The government has relaxed the censorship thingy these days, you can even watch The Passion Of Christ without a scene cut from the movie. Even Date Movie Unrated Version, V For Vandetta, Supernatural Season 1, etc are all uncut. They're only RM29.90 to RM139.90 for all region 3 titles, they're imported from Asian countries and are as good as region 1 titles, minus the special packaging only. I'm still buying those original region 3 titles as they're of good quality and slightly cheaper too so if you're mostly buying those, then don't worry about which dvd player to get but if you're also interested to watch ahem dvds which I think all of us do too, be careful as the quality of our ahem dvds are becoming from bad to worst, most discs are warped and have fine scratches on them, our ahem dvds were much better 5 years ago and ever since they have reduced the prices, the quality takes a hit and some new movies including serials are even burnt on poor quality dvd-rs which have compatibility problems with most dvd players, it's not because of your player, it's because that these dvd-rs are inferior, probably the surface is not that reflective, causing the picture to freeze or skip because some players are unable to read and play them properly.

With prices of original region 3 titles dropping fast, I guess it will be pointless to buy ahem dvds anymore. I'm happy with most of the imported region 3 titles sold in Speedy Videos, so far, so good, just wished that they could bring in Narnia and King Kong Extended Editions asap, I'm waiting for them impatiently.

If you're buying the Denon, bring along a few dvds of your own personal collection to test it, my advice will be using RCE protected region 1 titles like The Patriot, Charlie Angels, etc to test it and a few ahem dvds, local ones or those China made ones for compatibility tests. Never rely on those demo discs from the shop, most of them are using reference quality discs to demo it, imagine those THX and DTS demo dvds, of course the picture will look good especially on those professional authored dvds, don't be fooled by them. Bring along your own movies, the ones that you usually watch and you'll know how good the picture is on the player itself.

So, the Denon DVD-1930 has the same problem with 1920. Fussy with discs esp Unc Ho DVD. Then, it wld be a problem as how many ppl cld really afford to buy Ori DVD and not a single Unc Ho ver?

Ha! Ha! .. Like this, I need to do Christmas shopping for the Denon already.

Anyway, at the same time, I will go Speedy to check it out as well. Never go in for many years. HA! Ha!

Just remember to bring along your own dvds to test drive the player, don't rely on those demo dvds from the shop. Must be smart lor, last time I kena con before so it won't happen again. Don't forget these hi-fi shops are using expensive interconnects so I always insist that they use those cheapo interconnects that came with the hardware itself unless you're buying the player plus the interconnects, it's best to use normal interconnects if you want to buy something that looks exactly like what you have seen from the shop. Just my 2 cents.

Sure, go and check at any Speedy outlets, I'm sure you'll find some movies that you like.

Happy Christmas Shopping to u guys.

Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too.

Arrgghhh... All AV shops are closed. Guess I got to go shopping during office hour.... Ha! Ha!...

Wah, relax lah Bro, you can go shopping anytime. I bet you have got your bonus, that's why you're so excited, eh?

Nope!!! 100% no bonus. My boss follows financial year to give out bonus and usually its not more than 1 month.

I wanna get the player because my house is so messy. Just leaving everything everywhere and unless I finish this project... I know my house gonna look like this... total messy.

LH Electrical Shop in Purchong offers me RM1530 for the Denon 1930. Arrgghhh... crazy.

Ehhh ...... why so expensive pulak? Got any free gifts or things given, ar? No bonus, ar? I guess you're based on 13 month salary thingy, izzit? No lah, just a wild guess but not everyone got their bonus this year, mine is only one month to be frank, if two months good lah, can buy PS3. Just joking, if I have the money also I won't buy that lah. Waste of money, no good games yet.

Anyway, try asking other shops and see, shouldn't be that expensive ler. So weird. How do they derive to this figure.

just wondering if 1080p is nice for CRT:
http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/c...RESHQVHKFSEKI5P

By the way, is Shinco DVD good? I saw its RM699.

I wonder what is the best up-convert dvd now. is Samsung ok? its around rm400 rite?

I got a samsung HD860 and it freeze randomly whenever i play audio, this happen when HDMI is connected. May be Pioneer 490 is a better option.

CRT tv cannot support 1080P signals leh, even most Plasma or LCD (about 80%) can't support native 1080P, if you happen to have a CRT tv that accepts HDTV signals, like 1080i and 720P respectively, the picture is slightly better but not to say better than a true HDTV panel lah.

Shinco is good but at RM699, you better buy Sony's 76H lah, only RM580 wor and it's a Sony. If Shinco is RM500 or less than can consider lah. Just my 2 cents.

Oh I see. I guess I better take Pioneer.

I also read a lot of website saying CRT cannot support 1080p. But please click the link I give you. It'll show:
Supported Display Resolution
Video formats : 480p, 60Hz, 720p, 50, 60Hz, 1080i, 60Hz, 1080p, 60Hz

You notice the 1080p there? If cannot, why they put there?

Is HDMI and Component will have same quality? I would assume HDMI is digital and thus better quality. But I do hope that its the same coz my TV dont have HDMI. It only have component that support 1080p.

I think the reason Philips can support 1080p because it is Pixel Plus. It has more pixel than normal CRT. Better than Sony/Panasonic I think.

Even if it accepts 1080P signals, the panel or CRT TV doesn't necessarily have native 1080P resolution, we're more interested in native resolution than supported resolution. A CRT tv that accepts 1080P, probably have only 720X480 resolution if compared to say, Sony Bravia X that accepts 1080P in its native resolution, 1920x1080 (true HD resolution), panels can upscale or downscale the incoming video signals so it's important to see how many pixels do you panels have.

Pixel Plus is just a video processing term used by Philips, same as Bravia engine from Sony. They don't really mean anything to be honest. As for component video vs HDMI, the difference is HDMI carries more than 10 times the bandwidth of a component video and it can support up to 36-bit colour or maybe more in the future, as for component video, it's restricted to 10-bit colour but most sources like dvds are only up to 8-bit colour, upscaled dvd players from Denon 2930, Pioneer 989 can upscale to HDTV resolution with 13-bit colour support, quite noticeable but then, not comparable with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, when I compared my HD-DVD King Kong with my DVD version, the colour depth is pretty obvious, the HD-DVD wins in this aspect, colours are more lifelike and 3 dimensional as well. Of course, upscaled dvds look a tad better so it's best to get a proper dvd player with good upscaling capabilities if you have a lot of dvds in your collection which I think, most of us do.

i'm using the philips...

my opinion of the philips player:
plays anything...
plays anything...
plays anything...

more detail
plays DVDs (ahem stuff & ori)
plays DIVX/XVID burnt on DVDs/DVDrw/DVDr/CD/CDRW
plays DIVX/XVID from ANY USB device...(eg. thumbdrive/hd/card reader)
plays High res Photos bigger then 6mp
it also upconverts to 1080i on HDMI... (720p is the best IMHO)

my only problem with it is is a tad slow in booting up/starting discs... when its on... it runs swiftly...

i have a 200Gb hard disk (in FAT32) stuck to it... so it has become my media server...

in short... SUPER bang for BUCK!

did i mention... its only rm450!...

BANG FOR BUCK!

p/s:Sony cant play DIVX/XVID in its proper Wide Format...(go check AV forums)

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation. I guess I'll need to change to LCD in the future.

When they do upscaling, are they doing it with HDMI or component video? I keep on hearing upscaling through HDMI

... except hirez DVD-Audio

HAHA true... but u buy DVD player not really for its audio properties... good enough kua... for movies (DTS & DD5.1) and enough for easy listening...

but u can bunk tons of MP3/WMA on a DVD and the "philips" will play it... or for that matter... just leave it in your external drive. SUPER JUKEBOX

though a dedicated CD/SACD player is better in its audio properties/circuitry...

This post has been edited by edwin74: Dec 27 2006, 05:27 PM

Well, nothing is perfect, some players support DVD-Audio only, some just SACD, some both formats, some doesn't support both. There's a huge difference listerning to DVD-Audio or SACD and recently, I managed to buy Bon Jovi and Daniel Powter on dual disc format (yeah, DVD-Audio on one side, cd on the other side), the sound quality blows me away, I've played them on my Pioneer 989 and wasted that these high resolution audio formats failed to make an impact after so many years, they sure do sound better than ordinary cds. You don't have to get a seperate SACD or DVD-Audio player, high end dvd players use high end audio components like Burr-Brown, most commonly used in high end Pioneer and Denon dvd players so you're still getting audiophile quality sound from a dvd player. It's cheaper to get all in one than to buy them seperately.


The upscalling is only done via HDMI and not over component video. Yeah, I know it sucks for those who bought the first generation Plasma tv without DVI or HDMI. I guess only the XBOX 360 outputs games in HDTV resolution via component video, no such luxury from PS3, component video is restricted to 480P only including games and Blu-Ray movies.


This post has been edited by sunauto: Dec 27 2006, 05:35 PM

guys, there's something i don't understand.

currently i'm having a panasonic dvd player and a philips hd lcdtv. the highest video resolution the dvd player can go is 480p.

a dvd disc only can go up till 480p max, no? on the other hand, i'm thinkin does a hdmi dvd player that does 720 or 1080p can play or upscale the dvd at 720 or 1080p?

i'm getting confused. how bout upscaling that you guys are talkin about? does it really improve the quality? if that's it, how about mp3 and etc? a low bitrate sucky quality mp3 played is still poor even it's encoded at a a higher bitrate.

Well, dvds actual resolution is 480p, upscale resolution is to convert 480p to 720p, 1080i or 1080p to fill in the pixes of your hdtv panel because with 480p of resolution, the picture pales in comparison when you output it to a hdtv capable panel. On CRT tvs, 480p is perfect but less perfect on a hdtv panel so that's why we need an upscale dvd player for this purpose, to make the picture optimized for hdtv panels and yes, upscaled dvds look a tad nicer but not as nice as HD-DVD or Blu-Ray lah but by comparison, the picture quality is much improved and sharper, less noise too due to hdmi output. It's like a whole new experience to watch your old dvds on an upscaled dvd player.

OK... went shop around last few days.
Mideaplex selling it for RM2100 (Denon 1930). A shop in SS2 PJ selling it for RM16xx. and another selling it at RM1550. Anyway, brought 2 of my worst DVD collection to test it in the SS2 shop which were plugged onto a 50" Pioneer Plasma.

Donno whether they did not do the setting but it seems like the picture output was lousy. Then, when they tried my super warped Die Another Day DVD, the picture quality was good. But it stopped playing after few chapters.

I tried the disc again on a Philips (non HDMI) and it finished the whole disc until subtitle come out. So, I guess Philips does earns the King Of All Players title.

I also tried on Samsung 950 HDMI on a Samsung R7 40" LCD. I'd say... what a crap!!!Ha! Ha!...

But after trying on other LCDs using component... comparing frame by frame... This is my conclusion on playing HDMI output using demo DVD.

-->You will notice grainy pictures. Very obvious when it comes to shades of black. The Demo DVD was playing a clip from I,Robot and it was bad. When I switched to component video onto another LVD display, it seems like that particular shade is soften where as for the HDMI, it is sharpen.

But of course, you will notice that component output was more boxy...(notice the pirated VCD) but on the HDMI, u actually get cleaner picture.

Conclusion, overall HDMI does make the picture sharper and cleaner in term of frames, no jaggy edges but I just hate the noise...
I should have brought my camera to take some pics.



Anyway, so, I guess I'll still wait for my Oppo 981. Hopefully I will be able to get it by early next month. And I will do a thorough review here.

By the way, anyone of you using Xbox 360 to upscale DVDs? I mean it has HD-DVD built in and DVI output... how does it perform in upscaling to 720p or 1080i? May be... instead of getting a HDMI DVD, I can get the Xbox 360. 1 stone kills 2 birds...what u guys think?

I guess I can answer this question since I have a XBOX 360 and the HD-DVD add on, the answer is no, the XBOX 360 doesn't upscale standard dvds and that's the same goes for PS3 too. I know it sucks but it's true. The XBOX 360 seems to play warped dvds pretty well but just that it doesn't upscale them.

Regarding the Denon dvd player, you need to set it to Auto 1 and do some tweaking with the colours with a DVD Essentials dvd, straight from the box, the colour tones are slightly of but if compared with my Sony 76H, I prefer the upscale picture on my Sony, it's smoother and sharper. You gotta try to give Sony 76H a test drive before getting the Oppo. No lah, I'm not stopping you to get an Oppo, just wanna make sure you won't regret mah since you have already test Denon, Philips and Samsung, no harm giving Sony a test drive lor, right?

Seriously... I am thinking of the Sony 76H. The problem is... I have no place to test it. Arrrgghhh... All the sales staff so sucks when its time to test. They never bother you. Even Sony Wing.

I think this weekend I will go to Sony Wing in the Curve again. If OK, I'll buy it. Its seems like every shop also selling at RM590 and retail price is RM599.00. Why aren't there any shop throwing price for this model? Arrggh... I go KL test tomorrow. Ha! Ha!.

It's because Sony doesn't allow them to give any personal discounts, my friend could only sell it to me slightly cheaper but the receipt must show RM599.00 (like the actual retail price). It's crazy but that's what Sony is doing, they want to avoid their dealers from doing a price war.

You can try going to SenQ or HSL, they have a few units on display, in Penang of course but I'm pretty sure it's the same in Klang Valley area IMHO. Just give it a try, if you don't like it, then go for the Oppo as no two people agree on the same thing so it's perfectly alright with me if you felt that Sony's 76H is not your cup of coffee.

Actually, I have not tested Oppo as well. But I have tested Samsung 950 and Denon 1930.

I think any HDMI DVD Player might give my projector a good outcome as long as there is no problem with the player like conflicts and things like that. Yeah... I will go for a try.

TOMORROW....

From my personal experience, the 92V from Sony has a shifting issue when upscaled to 1080i via the projector and some HDTV panels, the problem has been corrected with the 76H model and picture quality wise, both models are comparable, the only difference is 92V plays SACD and 76H does not, it plays them but you won't get SACD sound quality, if you can live with that, 76H is a good choice but if you want all in one, then Denon 1930 is your best bet but Denon's 2930 is the main star as it pawns most high end dvd players costing twice its price but now worth buying that now, with the price, you can get a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player, why bother getting such an expensive dvd player, right?