Upconverting HDMI DVD playersWe've been meaning to write this column for a while, but hadn't been able to pull the trigger until a couple of comments related to HD-DVD's demise--and the apparent rise of upconverting DVD players--raised our ire. Perhaps you've noticed that a lot of HD-DVD owners have been commenting on how they don't regret their purchases because once the studios soon stop releasing HD-DVDs, they'll be left with a good upconverting DVD player that didn't cost them too much. Also, in exiting the format war, Toshiba's chief executive Atsutoshi Nishida suggested that Toshiba would combat Blu-ray by selling upconverting DVD players that cost less than Blu-ray players and are just as good.
 The Oppo DV-983H To call Toshiba's entry-level HD-DVD players (the ones that could be bought for US$99 or less at the end of HD-DVD's run) "good" is an exaggeration. In our tests, we found them to be mostly average in terms of their upconverting capabilities (the high-end Toshiba HD-XE1, however, is very good). As far as Nishida's suggestion goes, while we've never been one to oversell the picture quality of Blu-ray or HD-DVD, we've also never seen an upconverting DVD player that could match the image quality of a high-definition disc player, particularly when you're outputting to a larger TV. Clearly, when it comes to upconverting DVD players, there's plenty of misinformation floating around. With that in mind, we thought it'd be a good idea to sort through some of frequently asked questions we've gotten over the last couple of years as these types of players have gone from being high-end enthusiast products to mainstream players. |
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