HDMI DVD Player DivX Mpeg 4 £41.11 (+P&P)!!!

tightus_wad

HD tv's upscale! they have too!! Anyway - I spent 3 months checking this out - eventually plumped for a DENON1920 with farjouda upscaling (supposed to be the best) and...well, I think I'm a perfectionist and everything I have read said, for the price, the denon's are very good (if not the best)...I'm NOT impressed! I am fairly techy and understand all the techno bable and thought I'd have a punt - and to be honest - I wouldn't bother! My TESCO DVD recorder isn't as good as the denon - sure - but for the extra cash - I really wish I hadn't bothered!! Unless your current DVD payer is really pants - then I dont think they are worth it.
Yes mine is connected via HDMI
Yes it upscales to 1080
Yes I've tried every setting (until I was threatend with divorce).
But it aint that good! As for the cheaper models (less than £100) well...Buyer beware!

williamh1

The Woolworths one at £39.99 is the Technosonic 2088, a rebadged Tevion 8000, sold at Aldi late last year. I bought one last week and have been extremely impressed with the results. The bonus with the Technosonic is that it comes with both an HDMI and a SCART cable included. It can also play DVD-Audio discs and can be hacked for all regions. If you don't want to fork out for a true HD DVD player yet this does a good job of getting an improved image via HDMI with your standard DVDs. The other thing I've noticed with this player is that it plays DivX movies really clearly too.:cheesy:

blackrat62

As is usual the truth lies somewhere between the two extreme opinions on upscaling.

There are a few VERY good upscaling DVD players for under £100 - notably the Toshiba SD360E and Philips DVD5960 -the latter available for under £60 at Laskys. Check the reviews.

If you have a good quality DVD player already you may not see much of an improvement -its up to you.

FunkyMunkey

Anarchist wrote:

Sigh

No, they don't work, they are a gimmick.

Anarchist wrote:

Sigh. Of course the TV upscales. Think...

Are you feeling a bit fed up, Anarchist?

tightus_wad

Update -- Having dug around MORE - it would appear the DENON I have that won sooo many awards doesn't work well with TOSHIBA panels- guess which panel I have!!! LCD/Plasma TV's have their own built in upscalers - and if you get an incompatible one - then you are stuffed (techy language!) I just bought the WHARFEDALE HDMI from argos for £50 and it is sooo much better than the DENON!! Argos say this is only 2 channel - it isn't is has digital coax out - I am listening/watching Lord of The Rings 2 - and it looks GREAT and SOUNDs fab with my KEF speakers!
What I am saying I suppose is - buy one - if it works with your TV - it does look lots n lots cleaner and sharper then SCART. If it looks WORSE - then you have a possible incompatability issue! Take it back and try another!! I did - happy I did too!
Now, anyone without a TOSH. want to buy my denon 1910...

odowdchr

blackrat62 wrote:

There are a few VERY good upscaling DVD players for under £100 - notably the Toshiba SD360E and Philips DVD5960 -the latter available for under £60 at Laskys. Check the reviews.

The Philips also has a USB port so you can play from a flash drive...though google for compatible makes..Corsair's don't work apparently.
Also available for about £70 from instore Sainsbury's if that's easier than online ordering.

HexusOdy

The bottom line is that Upscaling or no upscaling you will still get a better image and sound over HDMI on your LCD TV than you will with Scart. Plus you get Divx/Xvid playback, card reader and USB input. Still looks like a good deal.

replicant69

I agree, Dvd upscalers DO WORK and they are fantastic!!
I purchased my one for £120 as awarded by 'What HiFi magazine', I also purchased the Qunex HDMI cable to ensure 100% performance and the difference is outstanding. 720P is my preffered setting although 1080i is also just as great.....

I tested Shrek on both my dvd players, one HDMI and one through scart, the HDMI showed clearly more crystal water levels in one scene, shimmering effects and detailed visual of the bottom of the lake, where as my scart dvd player was just a blurred effect in the same scene.

To say they do not work is RUBBISH, the moment I put a dvd in I noticed the difference. I agree that they can not make a normal dvd true HD but thats not what they do, it just makes what is available display a lot clearer by putting in the fake information, hence the 720p & 1080i.

I cant comment on this post of this dvd player for £40, my post is just to back up that upscalers do work and are great!

Stubbarama

£37 at Savastore

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10294713&pid=0&rstrat=7410

I have the non HDMI version at home, its a fairly standard DVD player, The USB can be temperamental.

RowaN

Outputs 1080i and plays MPEG4 & DIVX the specs say. So it will play a "hi-def" 1920x1080 MPEG4 or DIVX file then, similar to an actual HD-DVD / BluRay player?