Calling all Mits wd52525 owners...need dvd advice

[guittarzzan]

Ok, I finally plunged into an hd tv at 'bout the same time my dvd player crapped out on me. Now, I'm trying to find the best dvd player for my Mits 52" dlp tv.
I'm looking for one with great picture and sound, but without all the extra bells and whistles. At this point, I can't afford the top 'o line models and I'd rather have great pq and sound than a 180 gig drive etc.
I also very much want one with no issues with the mits tv.

I've done a bunch of searches and read what looks relevant, but the more I read the more ambiguous the answer seems.
Can anyone out there with my same tv tell me what sub $400 dvd player out there will deliver great pq, sound, upscaling, progressive scan etc,but doesn't have a bunch of unnecessary extras and/or issues with the wd52525 tv?

Thank you very much,
Steve

[UMD_Terp]

I own a WD52725 so I think I can help you out :) I have the Pioneer 59avi as my DVD player hooked up over HDMI. To me, this is a great combination and I have been very happy with it so far. The 59avi is probably a bit more than you want to spend as you state your budget is < $400.

With that said, you need to decide if you want an uspcaling player or not. I can tell you that the Mits. DLP is very likely to be susceptible to macroblocking as many other displays are. So if you do go the upscaling route, you need to watch out for that. From what I have read here, the Panasonic S97 has gotten macroblocking down quite a bit and is a solid player for less than $400. If you choose not to go the upscaling route, I don't think you would be missing out on a whole lot as the internal scaler in the TV is quite good. I am certain you will be able to get a very good picture with a good 480p player over component as well.

I did a lot of experimentation with the 59avi and my TV. 480p over component looked very good to me. The connection over HDMI is slightly more detailed so I stuck with that. Over HDMI, I tried all the resolutions and found that 720p did indeed look the cleanest. However given the very good scaler in the TV, the differences between 480p, 720p, and 1080i were subtle. Given that the 59avi is not susceptible to macroblocking, the picture over at 720p over HDMI is great. Well mastered DVDs look very close to HD quality. On the flipside, you will be able to easily see all the flaws in a poor DVD transfer.

Given all this, you need to decide if you want to go with upscaling over HDMI or a 480p player over component. You will not be disappointed with a good 480p player over component and if you can avoid the macroblocking issue, a scaling player over HDMI will be great as well.

[Cayenne]

UMD,

In your opinion is it worth getting an HDMI upscaling DVD player since the Mits does an D/A/D conversion over HDMI?

I mean, on a display that is purely digital through the entire path, an unconverting HDMI player may be a better way to go, and on the Mits a high quality 480p might be the best option.

Just looking for your opinion.

[UMD_Terp]

After looking at both component and HDMI extensively, I still tend to think that the HDMI is more detailed for whatever reason. Internally I think it does follow a slightly different signal path than the component input. Whether less filtering is used over HDMI or whatever, to my eyes, it looks cleaner.

With that said, a high quality 480p source over component will still look very good. In fact the differences between the two inputs are fairly subtle. IMO, if you have a good quality 480p source, you will not miss out on much and the gains to be had going with an upscaling HDMI source are not as great. This is mainly due to the good scaler in the TV. The extra conversion internally is probably of no consequence as I, or any of the other Mits. owners can't really find any faults or anything with it...