New advanced progressive scan DVD players worth extra $100

[dbiggs]

I was just out shopping and was wondering if the advanced por scan DVD are worth teh extra $100 or not. I would be watching then on a 50" Sony Grand Vaga lcd projection TV would I see a difference. And would these machines make my burned backups look better or worse

[lordsmurf]

My $30 Cyberhome is "progressive scan".

[adam]

Progressive scan DVD players are for playback on progressive scan tv's. If you have one then yes, DVDs will look noticably better. This will of course apply to your backups as well assuming they are encoded similarly to your original DVDs, (ie: Pal progressive frames or NTSCfilm.)

I doubt the progressive scan feature of the player is what makes it $100 more. I'm guessing there are some other features as well. As lordsmurf mentioned, progressive scan is available on even the lowest end dvd players and its actually a pretty trivial function to perform, though such players often also come with a 3:2 pulldown feature which isn't so trivial and can indeed inflate the price of the player. With the way things are going, I think all dvd players will be progressive scan in the near future.

[dbiggs]

the advanced pro scan is supose to up the out put signel from 720p to 1081p for my HI def TV

[EvilWizardGlick]

the advanced pro scan is supose to up the out put signel from 720p to 1081p for my HI def TV

High Definition Dvd player.
Any native output, from player or whatever unit, will look better than a upconverted signal.
If your tv does 720p or 1080i for the HD format, then the signal from the player should be set to that.
Of course the source material makes a difference, even with the HD signal a crappy looking dvd will still look crappy.
My cable co has a handfull of HD channels. Older films converted to, or broadcast in, HD do not look as good as new material does. They probably look better than they would if broadcast on a lower definition format.
So, yes the pq will be clearer but if the dvd isn't of good quality it won't make much of a difference.
In a few months low end dvd players will be doing HD resolutions, if you want to wait that long.
Plus at least one television has 1080p as a resolution. Others will soon follow, then dvd players as well.

[bugster]

dbiggs, you need to learn the difference between Hi-Def and progressive scan. They are completley differnt things. H-Def can support progressive scan, but so can normal def. Prog SCan simply means that the picture is output without interlacing (which is how normal CRT TV's display the picture). SO if you have a progressive display (Plasma, LCD, DLP etc) the a progressive scan DVD player will help improve the picture. In your case you are talking about a player that upscaless the standard DVD resolution (720 * 480) to a Hi def resolution (1280 * 720 for progressive I believe). As your HD TV will do this anyway, you have to ask yourself which device does it better, the TV, or the DVD player.

[djcc]

In your case you are talking about a player that upscaless the standard DVD resolution (720 * 480) to a Hi def resolution (1280 * 720 for progressive I believe). As your HD TV will do this anyway, you have to ask yourself which device does it better, the TV, or the DVD player.

So bugster - you saying that the upscaling players are redundant to functionality built into HD TV's? Could it be compared to line doublers in some way?

[EvilWizardGlick]

In your case you are talking about a player that upscaless the standard DVD resolution (720 * 480) to a Hi def resolution (1280 * 720 for progressive I believe). As your HD TV will do this anyway, you have to ask yourself which device does it better, the TV, or the DVD player.

So bugster - you saying that the upscaling players are redundant to functionality built into HD TV's? Could it be compared to line doublers in some way?

It is always better to have the player at the native resolution of the television. Most tv line doublers, in the television, are not the best.
Go to the AVS forum and ask the same question, see what they say.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php

[bugster]

In your case you are talking about a player that upscaless the standard DVD resolution (720 * 480) to a Hi def resolution (1280 * 720 for progressive I believe). As your HD TV will do this anyway, you have to ask yourself which device does it better, the TV, or the DVD player.

So bugster - you saying that the upscaling players are redundant to functionality built into HD TV's? Could it be compared to line doublers in some way?

Functionally yes, but which one does a better job quality wise?

As HD TV is not yet available here in the UK I can't make a personal judgement, but EvilWizardGlick seems to believe that the upscaling done by a DVD player is generally better quality thatn the line doubler in a HD TV. A DVD player has the opportunity of upscaling the digital image before converting to analogue, a TV cannot do this, so perhaps that is where the inprovemnt comes from?