Which DVD player for HD TV

[Vardo]

Well, I finally purchased a Hi Def 42" Phillips TV. Model 42PFL74220/37.
Picked it up today at Costo. PQ and price can't be beat IMO, 1080p etc and so on.

I don't want to commit to HD/DVD or Blue Ray as of yet.
I think both formats will fail but that's just my opionion, as I've
talked to retailers etc. Could be I'm completely wrong.... who
knows.

My question is what DVD player (OPPO etc) that is not HD or Blue
Ray would be best suited for an HD tv?....I'm not a videophile,
(audio has always been my primary concern)......anyways if any
of you guys can jump in with some suggestions it would be
appreciated.....thanks....vardo

[canuckle]

The 2930CI is an outstanding machine for both video and audio. I can't recommend it too highly.

Of course, you might want to give us a price range as it doesn't come cheap

[Vardo]

Thanks for the reply canuckle.

The 2903CI does look outstanding...but it's not in my price range.

My price range is probably max $250-$300.
I've read a few articles on the AVS forum about how HDCD and Blue
Ray is not really catching on.....I don't mean to say that anyone that
has been going with either format is foolish or anything. Before DVD
cought on I bought a $800 Marantz Lazer disc player, and that was a mistake,(bigtime)
but I thought DVD wouldn't have the success it did (man was I wrong).

Oppo DV-970HP ($150) or Sony DVPNS75H (around $100) are some
of the players I'm interested in.........but like in my origonal post I'm
not by any means video knowlegeable when it comes to home theater.
Right now I have a $80 JVC up conversion 1080 DVD player. It's
pretty good with convential tv's, I just think I could do better with a
a nice (better) DVD player.....vardo

[pixelthis]

Samsung makes some great upconverting players, and they are pretty cheap, and they look like high end audio gear, mine plays sacd and dvd audio also, which is the main reason I got it
Sony makes some great optical drives, but the last player I got from them was a disapointment
Samsungs are around 130 BTW, and dvd recorders are becoming more common, will soon supplant just players, why not get record capability if it doesnt cost any extra?

[drseid]

Thanks for the reply canuckle.

The 2903CI does look outstanding...but it's not in my price range.

My price range is probably max $250-$300.
I've read a few articles on the AVS forum about how HDCD and Blue
Ray is not really catching on.....I don't mean to say that anyone that
has been going with either format is foolish or anything. Before DVD
cought on I bought a $800 Marantz Lazer disc player, and that was a mistake,(bigtime)
but I thought DVD wouldn't have the success it did (man was I wrong).

Oppo DV-970HP ($150) or Sony DVPNS75H (around $100) are some
of the players I'm interested in.........but like in my origonal post I'm
not by any means video knowlegeable when it comes to home theater.
Right now I have a $80 JVC up conversion 1080 DVD player. It's
pretty good with convential tv's, I just think I could do better with a
a nice (better) DVD player.....vardo

Oh they are catching on plenty... both of them (assuming you meant Blu-ray and HD DVD (not HDCD)).

Personally I would not spend $300 on a DVD player nowadays if I had an HDTV without one of the two new formats there as well. I know Toshiba has launched a new $100 instant rebate promotion through Best Buy and other major retailers on their HD-A2 HD DVD player effectively retailing it for $299 (the promotion started May 20th and goes through June 16th). As that player is also a very good DVD player, why settle for just DVD at that price? Blu-ray may win the war in the end, but at least you are future proofing yourself for an HD DVD potential win. If both formats fail as you predict (extremely unlikely IMO, but certanly possible) then you still have a good DVD player anyway, and stayed within budget to boot...

Just a thought.

---Dave

[AVMASTER]

your plasmas' native rez is 768p, so any "up-conversion" dvd player outputing 768p( or close to that) would be ideal. A blu-ray or HD-DVD player would make a world of difference that no "up-conversion" player can match; IMHO I would stick with my JVC player, save my money up for the soon to be released Sony BDPS300 (msrp $599.) If you just can't wait check out the Philips blu-ray player. I hear it's available at Wal-mart under $600 and first-gen Toshibas going for $350.

[Vardo]

Thanks very much for the replies.

I pulled the trigger on the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player.
It was in my buget range and was on sale.

Yesterday I boought a HD TV, and today the Toshiba HD DVD player.
I feel pretty broke (I'm not, but it's a pretty good amount of money
to spend).

The article over at the AVS forum was pretty discouraging about
HD DVD and BlueRay. In the article, about 4 or 5 retailers
(who were not identified) said that the players (HD, Blue Ray),
were just not selling...that most people already have DVD players,
and feel that's good enough.....I hope to hell they're wrong. If Blue
Ray catches on instead of HD DVD, then I will buy a Blue Ray
player.

Alot of people said DVD wouldn't catch on because people
were satisified with VHS, and VHS could record, etc. They were
dead wrong.....so who knows...

Now I just need to get an HDMI cable. They wanted $100 for 4 foot
of HDMI cable at Best Buy (by Monster, a company I dislike). I've seen it alot cheaper on the net so I'll probably order internet direct.

Thanks again for all the replies....vardo

[2chAlex]

Monster is good when you can get it at a good price. Check with accessories4less for that 4' HDMI cable. Parts Express is another good source. Cause I know what your saying, the retailers seem to carry only the high price HDMI cables when we both know good and well there are other choices. Welcome to HD, you won't be thinking about the money, instead why didn't I do this sooner.

[Vardo]

2chAlex, I've had good luck with Parts Express in the past, w/their
Dayton MKIII sub kits.

They sell HDMI cable 1 meter (39") at $15.14 and 2 meter at $17.95.
I can't believe the difference between the Monster price at BB and
Parts Express......thanks for the suggestion....vardo

[pixelthis]

They have a pretty good quality hdmi cable at sams for 25 bucks, phillips I beleive.
And it was completely different when dvd superseded vhs, the picture was fundamentally better, HD dvd is just an incremental improvement, like I said most of the great unwashed
just cant tell enough difference, and most figure if they wait they will save money (and they're right).
And why not wait? DVD isnt chopped liver, its an exelent way to look at movies.
If you buy a hddvd you'll already save 200$, if you buy anything the combi from
samsung is probably the best bet but the price is just too high.
And gas is shooting straight to 4 bucks a gallon, in an enviroment where everybody
lives outside town and drives gas guzzlers to work and a tank of gas is as much as 150 bucks, well, dvd looks just fine
Wouldnt surprize me if both formats tanked or their improvements were "incorporated"
into dvd like vhs improvements were..
And serves em right for starting an idiotic format war in the first place, toshiba already has
1080p, something they were saving to sell players down the line, I just wish someone would come out with an improved version of windows media hi-def discs, they really do look great, too bad you dont haveta buy a new player to enjoy them

[AVMASTER]

Vardo,
forgive my assumption that you purchased a plasma. Bravo on your HD-DVD player purchase; too many people want to wait for pricing to drop or formats to change/stabilize all the while missing the full capabilities of thier new HDTV. I like to save money as much as the next guy but tomorrow is not guarnteed and I would want the best I could afford now!
Having said that, get yourself some good cables. Don't go crazy but don't half-ass it now either!

[Vardo]

pixelthis, your are right about the gas prices going up.
And it will continue to climb. I live in the LA area, where a car
is almost a necessity. But people just shrug their shoulders,
cause what are you gonna do about it. They still buy large SUV's,
Hummer's etc. A friend of mine just traded in his class C moterhome
for a class A, with a 500 cu in engine...it will probably get 8 miles to
the gallon and cost between 3 to 4 hundred dollers to fill the tank with
gas. I'm beyond needing a vehicle to impress anyone. I'm putting
my to kids through college, and it's not cheap....but enough about
that, I'm hijacking my own thread.

AVMASTER, don't worry about assuming I purchased a plasma.
I made a mistake in my initial thread with the LCD model no.
It's a Phillips 42PFL7422D/37 not 220/37.

It's up and running, and the PQ is stunning. For $1.399 (at Costco)
a 42" w/1080p LCD I think it's a pretty good deal.

Once (again) thanks for the replies....vardo

[nightflier]

Vardo,

I've been considering the next model up, the 47PFL7432D/37, along with models from Sharp & Olevia. How do you like the Philips TV's image? How good is it with motion-blur, banding, response time, black-levels?

[Vardo]

nightflier, I'm pretty new (obviously) to HDTV. The picture quality
is excellent (just as good as more expensive models) IMO. Motion
blur is "very" slight (I'm sensitive about this as I watch alot of sports).
Last nights NBA playoff game on EPSN, motion blur was non-existent.
I'm not quite sure what you mean about responce time. If it means
how fast channel changes are, or switching sources, then I would
say it's very good. Black levels are excellent. I'm not sure what
you mean about banding.....have to look this up.

The 32D/37 as far as I know costs about $300-$400 more,
than the 22D/37,
and the only difference is the 32D has ambilight, a swivel base,
and a different color remote. (this according to a long thread
at AVS forum, under "display devices"). Ambilight is something
I don't need (some people really like this feature), and I don't need
a swivel base. Can't justify the extra cost for the 32D.

But everybody sees things a little differenty, so maybe go to BB or
Costo, Circuit City etc. because the Phillips is definately worth
checking out....vardo

[pixelthis]

nightflier, I'm pretty new (obviously) to HDTV. The picture quality
is excellent (just as good as more expensive models) IMO. Motion
blur is "very" slight (I'm sensitive about this as I watch alot of sports).
Last nights NBA playoff game on EPSN, motion blur was non-existent.
I'm not quite sure what you mean about responce time. If it means
how fast channel changes are, or switching sources, then I would
say it's very good. Black levels are excellent. I'm not sure what
you mean about banding.....have to look this up.

The 32D/37 as far as I know costs about $300-$400 more,
than the 22D/37,
and the only difference is the 32D has ambilight, a swivel base,
and a different color remote. (this according to a long thread
at AVS forum, under "display devices"). Ambilight is something
I don't need (some people really like this feature), and I don't need
a swivel base. Can't justify the extra cost for the 32D.

But everybody sees things a little differenty, so maybe go to BB or
Costo, Circuit City etc. because the Phillips is definately worth
checking out....vardo

"MOTION BLUR" refers to a lcd not being able to "keep up" with the action and is minor compared to plasma screen burn in, I've never noticed it on mine.
Black level is how black the black parts of your picture get, while still preserving picture
detail in those dark spaces. Turn your backlight control and brightness down and it will help.
LCD, DLP, ETC all have a black level problem, as does plasma, because the light is on all the time and "leaks" through the picture elements, but for some reason the anti-lcd crowd
that seem to dominate this board seem to think its solely a lcd problem
Banding is only pertinent with 120mhz sets, not a factor.
LCD is the choice of the masses, so obviously (according to AV snobs) there MUST be something wrong with it!
I love my LCD. Black level could be better but is still great , using it as a 37in computer monitor works fine, I set my cable box to 480i for nonhidef and it scales fine too.
LCDS last 20 years, hang on the wall, will soon be as big as you want, and yes, the all importany PQ is really great, better than all of the sets I have owned (and I have owned a lot).
But they're cheap, and you can watch one in a well lit room, so lets try some other ,
more expensive cumbersome veiwing system, if its as big as the chrysler building, then even better!
Dont worry about it, these types are still trying to find ways that record players
are superiour to that upstart, CD

[Vardo]

pixelthis, thanks for clearing up some of the terms. Motion-blur
is something I've always looked on various LCD, Plasma, and
LED projection. With the Phillips, it is "very" unnoticeable.

My black levels seem to be very good, but the picture is a little bright,
so if I turn down the brightness the black level should improve.

I think that LCD is currently outselling Plasma. Could be wrong, but
everytime I go to Costco (in LA area) you see alot of people going
with LCD. At Best Buy the same thing. I just didn't causally look at
HDTV. I spent alot of time looking and heard alot of potential customers complain about the glare from the plasmas, electrial
comsumption, etc. No offence to those who own plasmas, I've
see alot of nice one's with very good PQ.

I've only had my HDTV a couple of days, so
for right now I'm excited about it and probably a fanboy for Phillips
LCD's.

Threads are funny over at the AVS forums under display devices. Most of the guys are videophiles. They go buy a set,
watch it for a month, find something they dislike about the set,
and take it back and try another. The thread on the Phillips set
must be 6 pages long. The thread starts off buy saying what a great
set, etc. As it progresses people who have bought the set start
complaining about horizontal and vertical angels, TV making a buzzing
sound etc. The horizontal vertical angles on my set are as advertized.
The vertical angels degrade the PQ just a tiny bit. I not gonna elevate
the set above eye level....to me that's just not right.

Another question. I have Dish network, and the guys from Dish were
supposed to come out Monday (labor day) between I2 and 5pm.
I was going to buy a HDMI cable before the showed up. They showed
up a 9:30am 'cause they had alot of cancellations. So they hooked
up the set with component cables. Said HDMI cables were only
a little better (2 percent). I thought component cables were for analog
only. I intend to get HDMI cables, regardless, but was wondering
about the difference between the two cables. I know HDMI carries
digital video, and audio all in one cable. I've checked on the net,
and most sites say composite cable are for analog only....just
wondering if anyone could comment on that....thanks, vardo

[drseid]

Component cables can carry an HD signal too. I think you are making the right decision in buying an HDMI cable, but the component ones they setup will indeed work with HD content.

---Dave

[Rich-n-Texas]

...but for some reason the anti-lcd crowd
that seem to dominate this board seem to think its solely a lcd problem
Banding is only pertinent with 120mhz sets, not a factor.
LCD is the choice of the masses, so obviously (according to AV snobs) there MUST be something wrong with it!
I love my LCD. Black level could be better but is still great , using it as a 37in computer monitor works fine, I set my cable box to 480i for nonhidef and it scales fine too.
LCDS last 20 years, hang on the wall, will soon be as big as you want, and yes, the all importany PQ is really great, better than all of the sets I have owned (and I have owned a lot).
But they're cheap, and you can watch one in a well lit room, so lets try some other ,
more expensive cumbersome veiwing system, if its as big as the chrysler building, then even better!
Dont worry about it, these types are still trying to find ways that record players
are superiour to that upstart, CD

IT'S A CONSPIRACY I TELL YOU!!!

[pixelthis]

Thanks for agreeing, rich on paper!
As for people getting tired of their sets, thats gonna happen, any video display has a break-in phase.
Thats why "extended" warranties are such a rip, if any electronic device is gonna break it will probably be in the first 90 days or so.
This is especially true for lcd's, there is practically nothing to go wrong except the power
supply or maybe you will get a bad lamp, maybe a "bright pixel" but most bright pixels will show up in the first year.
So your display will probably change a little in the first year, so dont worry about calibration for at least that time.
NOT to mention that loking at a set for awhile people will notice things they didnt at first

[Hashpot]

Now I just need to get an HDMI cable. They wanted $100 for 4 foot
of HDMI cable at Best Buy (by Monster, a company I dislike). I've seen it alot cheaper on the net so I'll probably order internet direct.

Thanks again for all the replies....vardo[/QUOTE]


Try Blue Jeans Cable.com they have very good hdmi cables for a reasonable price I ordered a pair of cables from them and the picture and the sound is flawless on my $50 rca hdmi upconversion dvd player I also heard that its mainly the dvd player thats makes the difference not the cable so im sure within your budget your dvd will look and sound better

[fquintero]

Well, I finally purchased a Hi Def 42" Phillips TV. Model 42PFL74220/37.
Picked it up today at Costo. PQ and price can't be beat IMO, 1080p etc and so on.

I don't want to commit to HD/DVD or Blue Ray as of yet.
I think both formats will fail but that's just my opionion, as I've
talked to retailers etc. Could be I'm completely wrong.... who
knows.

My question is what DVD player (OPPO etc) that is not HD or Blue
Ray would be best suited for an HD tv?....I'm not a videophile,
(audio has always been my primary concern)......anyways if any
of you guys can jump in with some suggestions it would be
appreciated.....thanks....vardo

Vardo, my name is Francisco and I bought the same TV that u have at costco also. I've noticed a high acute beep all the time coming from inside of the TV, and I wanted to know if you have heard the same so I can be sure that is normal. Otherwise I think I'll return it to costco to have my money back. Thank you so much!

[Vardo]

Francisco, I haven't heard any bleeping noise at all.

A heard (read) over at the AVS forum that some people have
had issues about what they describe as a slight whining sound
coming from the Phillips.

I think it's a great HDTV for the price. I've only had the set for 2
weeks, and I hope none of the glitches that are posted on the
AVS thread (which now has over 600 posts) happen to my set.
Seems that 50% of the posts at AVS are positive about the Phillips.
Most of the guys that post over there a extreme videophiles. The
slighest thing goes wrong and there gonna complain.

If I were you, take the set back to Costco, and exchange it for
a new one. If you have any issues with the second set, take it
back and choose another brand such as Sony or Samsung etc.
Good luck....vardo
Link to AVS thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=842732