My old and trusty Panasonic RP-56 DVD player has apparently died. Given repair costs I am guessing it probably makes sense to get a new player, so I am looking for advice.

My current HD-TV is an analog based Toshiba rear crt projector. While it has a dvi input (but not HDMI), my brief experimentation with my cable box has shown that dvi input is not any better than component driven input and may actually be something worse. The RP-56 with its Faroudja chip had an outstanding picture over component.

I have no problems forking out the money for a new Panasonc BD50 but it doesn't seem to be available yet. I also would consider an Oppo player but I have heard that their component output is limited to 480i.

My experience with cable boxes and DVI/HDMI output matches yours - the issue has less to do with the TV's inputs and more to do with the cable box. Since you have DVI input (and it presumably supports HDCP, based on the fact that the cable box worked with it and I don't know of any DVI cable boxes that lacked HDCP), I'd consider using it for the DVD input.

The BD50 looks to be a promising player, but it will not be cheap and the DVD upscaling (based on what I've seen with my BD30 using the same video scaling/deinterlacing chipset) isn't going to be stellar. It'd probably be close to what you were seeing with the RP56, and of course Blu-ray discs are very impressive looking, so it's not a bad option to consider if you are thinking about starting into Blu-ray.

The OPPO 983H and 980H can both to 480p over component with copy-protected discs and can scale to HD resolutions with non-copy-protected discs, although the 983H doesn't use its expensive ABT chips with the component output - the original 971H was the only OPPO that couldn't do above 480i with its component output. My OPPO 98x player comparison might be of interest to you - I tried to summarize my experience with all three current OPPO players, since I was part of the beta test team for each of them. As my comparison says, none are bad choices. The 983H is certainly their best player, but it comes with a hefty price tag (for a DVD player) and is backordered right now - not a great fit for someone with a dead player in their rack. If you liked what Panasonic did with the Faroudja chip on the RP56, you will likely be amazed at what the 981HD can do (prior to getting my 971H, I had a Yamaha with the Faroudja chip in it, and the 971H was clearly a better player). The 981HD also lacks a component output entirely, so we'd need to be certain that you have a DVI-HDCP input on your Toshiba.

Hello 73 Bruin.
Just throwing in my two cents.
Your are right about cost repair on that RP-56. I assume it has served you well. Time to move on to bigger and better things.The BD 50 from Panasonic should be available by June/July at the latest. That is what I was told here in my area which is out on the east coast.
I have an Infocus 7205 projector with one DVI input and one HDMI input. I also have the 990 processor which only has DVI input/outputs. They do make adapters for DVI to HDMI.
I do not have a Blu-Ray player as of yet but I am considering the Panasonic BD50 as you have mentioned. Sony is coming out with a second generation Blu-Ray in the short-term future which I will wait for and compare before I pull the trigger on either model.
The Oppo Dv-983H is a looker and I like the universal dvd.
I have seen Blu-Ray pictures before and I am really impressed and excited. However I have never been able to compare a blu-ray along side the Oppo up-converting DVD player. How much better can the picture be in comparison? The DVD quality is what matters just as much as the player.
That is what holding me back besides comparing the latter two DVD players. Opppo has a pretty sound reputatuon. Even the Oppo DV-980H has received good reviews.

Maybe Gonk can give some input as well.

Gonk & Rubbersoul: Thank you both for the quick reply.

Gonk: I was going throught your comparison (and still am) and popped back here to check on updates. Its very comprehensive.

I was hoping the BD50 would have excellent DVD upscaling. If it doesn't I would prefer to go with an OPPO player because of the DVD's I already own. However, I have one caveat.

I have a friend who has an Oppo player with the latest Sony XBR5 LCD and frankly I hate the picture. I believe it is the 980 (I am checking). The picture, while more detailed, seems to have a paint by the numbers quality to it with slotches of the same color especially when looking a close-ups of faces. I don't know if this is Macroblocking or not.

Time is not necessarily of the essence, we have other DVD players that I can reposition on a temporary basis. Right now, I am inclined to wait for the Oppo 983. However, if someone can recommend another player I am open to it as well.

If anyone has experience with a Sony PS3 as a SD player, I would be interested in that as well.

The 983H is a remarkable player - a great solution for getting the absolute most you can out of an existing DVD library. If you are running a large CRT display, I'd feel good about either the 981HD or the 983H for you. The 980H does product a different picture from those two, and it is "sharper." Particularly with larger screens, that isn't necessarily the optimal approach.

A number of Sony's newer TV's include quite good scaling on-board. Your friend might want to compare 480i output to 1080 just to see how it compares.

How does DVD (particularly with the 983H) compare to Blu-ray? Well, it's not a very fair comparison - there's a lot less resolution to work with. It can get remarkably close (the example I use in my comparison article is the DVD and HD-DVD sides of Bourne Ultimatum, when differences between the two were almost negligable), but it can't match it when HD is done right (as in the case of the Blu-ray of Man on Fire). A player like the 983H isn't a substitute for Blu-ray, but it is a great way to preserve existing (and often large) DVD libraries.

Just found out that my friend (who is very happy with his picture) has a Oppo 981 connected via HDMI to his Dennon 2708 receiver and from there out the Sony 52XBR5 via HDMI. He is using the optical output on the Oppo to connect the audio. I also assume its possible that what I am seeing and don't like is the LCD side of the equation and has nothing to do with the DVD player.

My rational for considering the 983 is based upon the scarcity of Blu-ray DVD's available for rent relative to the number of DVD's that we own and are likely to rent in the future. My guess is that this is at least 3 years out. At that time, if I do upgrade, I can always relocate the 983 to another room. At this point I would not consider a PS3 unless it was almost equivalent with to the 983 for standard DVDS.

If you are interested, I have a spare Panasonic RP-56 I can sell you.

Slbenz

DENON!