Good HD Upconverting DVD player, Component and HDMI

[jmanlp]

I'm starting to think I need an HD upconverting DVD player that can do 720p or 1080i over component for now. I would also like it to be able to use HDMI when I upgrade my receiver eventually. Does any such DVD player exist at a decent price? I think this will be the last normal DVD player I will purchase.

[djoxygen]

I borrowed a NeoDigits HVD2085 (<$250 shipped) that I bought for the office to try out at home. I wouldn't say DVDs were exactly stunning in 1080i, but it seemed a bit sharper. Region-free and PAL-converting as a bonus! I've heard some good things about the Oppo units as well. With a friend's Samsung unit, there was a clear difference, but it didn't do 1080i over component, only DVI. Also, as I said in my HD-DVD tour post, the upconverting in the Toshiba HD-DVD players is amazing.

[GlocksRock]

The Oppo only does 480i over component. My roommate has an upconverting player that does 1080i over component, and also has HDMI output, but I can't think of the brand right now.

[jmanlp]

So I'm hearing there is no "good" HD upconverting players that will play over component with a noticably better picture quality?

[GlocksRock]

My roommates Momitsu player does a pretty good job of upconverting over component. It's also a network dvd player so you can stream media to it from your pc.

[djoxygen]

So I'm hearing there is no "good" HD upconverting players that will play over component with a noticably better picture quality?

As posted in another thread, you can blow up a 5x7 photo to 8x10, but it's still a 5x7 photo. To carry the metaphor over to Photoshop, you can interpolate and sharpen all you want, but you can't create something that isn't there to begin with. Different upscalers will do better or worse jobs than others.

To me, the NeoDigits made a difference, but it wasn't anything like watching true HD. If I had a DVD player I was happy with (I do), I wouldn't spend the money to upgrade. But if my DVD player up and dies, I wouldn't buy a new one that didn't upconvert.

[jcsprankle]

It's really tough to find the perfect device. In my case, I was a good up-converting DVD player (that upconverts over HDMI and component) as well as plays SACDs and DVD-A disks.

I've heard good things about the Oppo but it doesn't do SACD or DVD-A. I really like the Denon 2910 but the price is a little high. I'll keep looking...

[GlocksRock]

I thought the Oppo did do DVD-A, but not SACD.