DVD or Bluray? Help!

[fabpozzi]

I am a newbie, and I have got a new TV set (Panasonic Viera 37" plasma, serie 80); I am considering to buy also a new reader, because my old Philips is - indeed - very old. The TV is HDready, 720p with HDMI input. Should I buy a new and expensive Blu-Ray reader or a new DVD reader with upscaler? Anyway, I need something that can play also DVD and DVD/R with DivX files on it. A friend suggested me the Panasonic Blu-Ray DMP-BD30, that should play also DVD and DivX on DVD/R, but is that true? And what is the performance of a Blu-Ray (that is 1080p) on a 720p TV set?
On the other side, what is the expected quality from a DVD player with upscaler, such as the Panasonic DVD-S511, that is much less expensive than a Blu-Ray?
Thank you and excuse me for putting so many questions!

[jagabo]

I see no indication that the Panasonic DMP-BD30 plays Divx files.

Upscaled SD will not look as good as Blu-Ray on a 720p plasma. But at 37 inches you won't see much difference unless you set pretty close. At 1 meter the difference will be obvious. At 2 meters it will be visible but probably not striking. At 3 meters it may be hard to tell the difference. Whether the difference is worth the ~10x difference cost is up to you.

[samijubal]

I see no difference using an upconvert player or just letting my Panasonic plasma do the upconversion. The Tohsiba HD-DVD player did have a very slightly sharper picture when upconverting SD-DVDs, barely noticeable on my 42" TV.

[fabpozzi]

Well, the point is that my old DVD player has only an analogic output (a noisy and mechanically instable SCART), and I would get some new model with a digital HDMI output. Perhaps the upscaling is not so essential, but don't you think the digital signal should be better than the analogic one?

[samijubal]

We don't use scart here. Component is analog and I see no difference whatsoever using 480i or 480p over component or using an upconvert player set to 720p. Panasonic plasma TVs have excellent processor chips in them. If scart is like composite then there will be a difference.

[neomaine]

fabpozzi ,

For what you have now a 37", a BR player will be overkill. You should be able to find a progressive scan DVD player, which supports DIVX, with HDMI out at a pretty respectable price range..

Then you can test which does the better upscaling. Set the player to 720p output and watch video. Set the player to 480p (which is what most DVDs are anyway) and watch the video letting the TV do the upscaling. Choose whichever is best to your eyes.

Save your money until you get a TV that justifies getting BR. Because:

- You'll be able to buy the BR player for less (hopefully...)
- You'll be able to buy a TV that takes advantage of the additional resolution (no less than 52" and at least 60").

(NOTE: Take a look around for optimum viewing distances. You see the math - fairly simple - on what resolution, size and distance mean to the viewing experience. You'll see that a 37" is fine for 720p - good choice by you.)

I've got a 46" 1080p Sharp Aquos. Damn nice TV. I watched HD-DVD and BR, and though they were really nice, they were not remarkably enough better than upscaling a DVD. The improvement of using a progressive scan player and HDMI in my case an Xbox360, was substantial on its own. (Actually component was just as good for movies but games liked HDMI.)

I just couldn’t justify the cost of a BR player and the cost of BR movies as compared to DVD. Not enough bang for the buck.

(NOTE 2: Why did I go with a 1080 TV based on the above? I also have a PC hooked up where the difference between 1080 and 720 is substantial.)

[fabpozzi]

neomaine,
thank you for the really useful help. I think I'll buy a Panasonic DVD player, S5 series, that has progressive scan and HDMI output, and it's designed to match well with the Viera TV series. Blu-Ray can wait a little more!

[jagabo]

I have a 46" 1080p LCD HDTV that I watch from 6 to 12 feet away. At 6 feet the difference between SD and any HD is painfully obvious. At 12 feet it's still obvious but no longer painful!