DO I REALLY NEED A HD DVD PLAYER?

[admin_exported]

I am currently upgrading all of my old equipment...tv, receiver, dvd etc. I'm going for the Samsung PS50Q97HDX plasma and probably either an Onkyo receiver or the new Yammy DSP-AX861SE. However I'm not sure on the dvd with all the talk of upscale-ing etc.

I keep up with the reviews and the Tosh HD EX1 has had a good "big up" but do I really need it? Would say, the Denon DVD 1930/1940 suffice, given that the good old std dvd market still outways the HD versions??

Also, as Sky Hd, in my opinion is too expensive for the little it currently offers, what would be the best connection route for best results with the above mentioned for my Sky SD? And, as I've only viewed tv via sky at my current house, the Samsung has built in freeview...will the existing aerial be ok or should I upgrade that too?

Any comments/suggestions and advice is greatly welcomed.

Regards.

 

[D.J.KRIME]

I have thSamsung PS50Q97HDX and there is a important question for you, do you require your dvd player to be multi-region? The Tosh HD-DVD player is a nice machine and does a good job with DVD and also has the bonus of being a HD player to show off your Samsung perfectly but to my knowledge can not be made multi-region for DVD playback, you are ok with HD-DVD as they are region free. The Tosh would also do a better job than the Denon 1930/1940 you mentioned, I have a Denon 3930 which looks fantastic on the Samsung and in my opinion if you go the non HD route you should spend a bit more money and go for something like the Denon 2930.
Now on to your Sky box. I too like you think that Sky HD is overpriced at the moment considering the limited True HD content on offer so I have stuck with my standard Sky+ box which looks good on this Samsung considering its size. To get the best results either invest in a quality RGB scart say the QED SQUART which will do a very good job or go for something like the KEENE RGB SCART TO PC cable at around £80 the results from this are better than that of the scart option but at about £50 more so it may be better to stick the £50 towards your DVD/HD player.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello again D.J.Krime, I knew I could count on you for a reply, you have been most helpful on all my queries so far.

I must bow to your superior knowledge and thus show myself up but you're going to have to run the "multi-region" you mentioned, by me in some more depth if poss.

Thanks also on the info re best way to connect the old sky box.

Re: your plasma, have you connected to your existing aerial for freeview? If so, how's it receiving or have you upgraded on an aerial?

I look forward to hearing from you again.

Cheers.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="maverick68"]
I must bow to your superior knowledge and thus show myself up but you're going to have to run the "multi-region" you mentioned, by me in some more depth if poss.

Cheers.
[/quote]

If you have SD DVDs which are not from UK/Europe you will not be able to play them back on the Tosh. SD DVDs are region specific so as to 'reduce piracy' (*cough*and to ensure europe pays a higher price for EVERYTHING! *cough*). That is to say, DVDs bought in North America will only playback in players purchased within 'Region 1.' If all your DVDs are from UK/Europe ('Region 2'), however, you need not worry.

 

[D.J.KRIME]

The world of DVD is split into 6 differnt regions, region 1 being USA, region 2 being Europe and so forth. Each disc you buy carries a region code on it so all discs bought here in good old blighty have a Region 2 codeing so when you pop it into your UK purchased DVD player the player and disc talk to each other to make sure the code one the disc and that of the DVD player match other wise the player will not allow you to play the disc, so if you were to buy some American Region 1 dvds over the internet and pop them into a standard region 2 dvd player thay would not play. So what you do is make sure that your choice of dvd player can be made MULTI-REGION (normally by entering a simple code via the remote control) thus enableing you to play dvds from anywhere in the world allowing you to have far greater choice in the films you view and often being able to legally buy a American dvd of a film not yet out here, this also enables you to get the best version of you chosen films minus any CUTS made by the BBFC like the headbut in the MATRIX. In making your dvd player MULTI-REGION it opens up a whole extra dimension into your movies.

As for the Freeview on the Plasma I upgraded my External Aerial a while ago to a fully digital compatible one which I got a local aerial specialist to install as I'm not too clever on a ladder! As I found my old aerial missed a few channels but now I recieve all avalible channels with very good results.

If you are not sure as to which dvd players are ok for multi-region playback or where to get the codes you need I can point you in the right direction.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks again for your input DJK and also to Wemyss. I am pretty sure that my future purchases of SD DVDs will be from the UK so I guess that multi-region then will not be an issue and as I'm sure there are going to be more and more HD DVDs flooding the market, which in that case if I want to build up a collection the Tosh will be the DVD for me. In any case the SD DVDs I currently already have are UK born, so these will be ok on the Tosh anyway. Thanks also for the advice on the aerial, I'll try what I have but reckon I will need an upgrade. Do you mind me asking how much you paid so I can guage a ball-park figure?

Also, can you recommend a 20-26inch LCD or Plasma for my bedroom? Don't want to spend more than £300.

Many thanks again.

 

[Anonymous]

One more thing, I did mention initially that I will be upgrading also my receiver to either a Onkyo or Yammy but have read that the Sony STR-DA1200ES performs well for the money. I recently went into a well known dealer (no names) and asked about the Sony, to which I was told "don't touch it" and preceeded to show me something else. Now, could it be that they don't deal with Sony equipment ( suprise suprise), or was there something in what I was being advised???

Cheers

 

[D.J.KRIME]

My aerial cost me £250 all in and it also doubles as a fm arieal, As for the amp its all down to personal taste. I have a older Yamaha RXV2500 which has and still serves me well, but given the chocies you have listed I would go for the Onkyo if you must buy now over the Sony but if you can sit tight for a while I would have a look at the new Denon range and I am sure a new Yamaha range will be hot on Denon's heals.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks once again. I'm presuming that I will need a new aerial so your mentioned figure will provide a good bench mark.

As far as the receiver goes, I am swaying towards the Yam as mentioned at the top of this page but if the new Denons are just around the corner, I'll check them out too. In the meantime I'll get the flexible friend out again and get the Tosh HD DVD. According to WhatHiFi, there's a 24fps upgrade version due this month!

Regards.

 

[D.J.KRIME]

Dont forget to invest in a decent HDMI cable.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello friend. Cheers, trust me I will.