BDP Upgrade For DVD Upscaling

[Sizzers]

I’m toying with the idea of possibly upgrading my current BDP (Sony BDP-S380) to one which – hopefully - may offer better DVD upscaling.

Budget is around the £250 mark and I’ve been heavily researching the usual two suspects - the Sony BDP-S790 and the Panasonic DMP-BDT500. I had been leaning slightly towards the Sony until I came across a review which was claiming that the PS3 offered better upscaling than the 790 which slightly threw a spanner in the works. Not that I’m now looking at a PS3, but it has put a little teaser in my mind as to how good the 790 might actually be with upscaling.

At some point I can probably get to demo the Sony but not the Panasonic, so any thoughts on these or indeed any other players in this price bracket? I’ve also looked at the Pioneer LX-55 but there seems to be a bit of baggage around the brand these days which has slightly put me off. Also to mention is that I’m only interested in a disc spinner, so “Smart” TV functions, wi-fi, etc is not a consideration.

Many thanks for your input.

 

[bigboss]

PS3 takes advantage of the powerful processor it possesses for games. In my opinion, Denon, Oppo, Marantz & Cambridge Audio are the best DVD upscalers (although I realise that they're out of your price range).

I haven't seen the Panasonic BDT500 or Sony S790 with regards to DVD upscaling, but online reviews seem to be good.

 

[fayeanddavid]

We have the Sony S790, cracking player with good DVD upscaling...........

Depends in reality what the OP wants (silk purse and sows ear comes to mind), I had a Denon 1611UD and that was good but was also £450 when bought ( fighting with Denon fpr my money back as returned 3 times with faults)

I'm thinking that the scale of return for the more expensive players tends to be focussed on SQ (for all formats as well as BD/DVD) and not necessarily a huge leap in PQ

Go look at the Sony and see what you think, for £200 and a bit I reckon it's every bit as good as my now defunct Denon!

 

[Sizzers]

Depends in reality what the OP wants (silk purse and sows ear comes to mind)

Thanks for the reply, and to BB as well.

My previous TV was a Sony 32V5500 and DVD quality was pretty amazing IMO. So much so that I hardly bothered to buy any Blu-ray’s, but since getting my 42” plasma earlier in the year I’ve noticed that some of my DVD’s can appear a little too soft in comparison (this didn’t come as a complete surprise, bearing in mind the extra screen size and different screen tech).

Since buying my plasma I’ve been buying more and more Blu-ray’s, but I do still like to buy £3-£4 DVD “throw aways” which is why I’m looking to see if I can improve PQ with this format. I agree that there may well not be huge improvements PQ wise with Blu-ray further up the chain, but there does seem to be more scope for improvement with DVD. I’m very happy with my 380 and generally it does a very good job of upscaling to my eyes, it’s just that I feel greater improvements can be found elsewhere with some of my DVD’s.

 

[bigboss]

My advice would be to save up for the Oppo or Cambridge Audio if you want to see a significant improvement. Oppo 103 has just been launched, so I suspect existing Oppo 93 stocks will be discounted soon.

 

[Sizzers]

Decided to put this on hold for the time being and just buy more Blu-ray’s instead, particularly with the bargains currently on offer at HMV.
I was aware of the Oppo before but never seriously looked in to it due to the price, but having done my research since your suggestion it certainly looks an exciting proposition. If it ever gets down to the sub-£300 level (which somehow I doubt) I will certainly have another look, but again thanks for the pointer

 

[richardw42]

I'm done with pricey BDPs.

My Denon has gone back, but I guess I'll have it back, even if I don't I doubt I'll get a refund after 3 months.

If I have to pick an equivalent, the new Oppo 103 would be in the running, but as Superfi don't do Oppo I doubt that'll happen.

ATM I'm using a Sony S570, whilst maybe a little behind my Denon on SQ and PQ, the wireless and other stuff makes it better for me.

Id maybe even consider a PS3.