[Telly]

I have a good quality 36" progressive scan CRT. Has anyone found that upgrading to a progressive scan DVD player really improves the picture, or is it just another marginal gimmick to extract cash before we all buy HD DVD players for our giant LCD's in the next few years?

[Binternet]

It does hugely improve the picture quality.

[monkeysoup]

What I would say is that a progressive scan signal is a huge improvement over an interlaced one (the bigger the screen the more you notice nasty interlace flickering). I assume we're talking about the progressive scan improvements, not just getting a better player with component connections. Either you get a progressive picture by your display de-interlacing, or by a prog-scan player de-interlacing, or a native progressive signal from the disc straight to screen (many R2 companies still insist on delivering an interlaced picture signal). If you can't tune the de-interlacer with some kind of video-mode selection you might not see the difference. A good demo would be comparing an interlaced vs a progressive transfer of the same movie. The only one I can think of is Gladiator - bog-standard Dreamworks version is progressive, superbit version is interlaced(!), both look the same on an interlaced display (excluding the higher superbit bitrate), on a progressive display/player without perfect de-interlacing (a PC using windows media player will prove this) flickering (especially the high-contrast whites in the titles) is very obvious on the superbit transfer.

[Telly]

I am focused on the "progressive scan" dvd players as I thought they could improve picture quality for a progressive scan TV. What is an R2 company? How do you get a "native progressive signal"?

Can a progressive signal only be sent through component or will a scart do?

Is it realistic to expect a material improvment from a "progressive scan" dvd player?

Do i need to consider certain technical factors to get the benefit (i.e. connections, the progressive technology in my tv set etc)?

[Binternet]

R2 company simply means a company that produces a region 2 DVD. Progressive scan can only be delivered via component cables, not scart. You should expect a material improvment from a progressive scan DVD player. Quality of connections will affect the quality of the picture, as will the resolution of your TV.

[thejabba]

If you want a great DVD player with progressive scanning get the Philips DVP720SA.

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-...?reviewid=4589

I was a few months ago on exactly the same quest as you, originally using standard scart w/o RGB, now running on component with Progressive the picture quality improvement is massive, its superb, the only thing that has made my plasma panel worth the money.

This DVD is very affordable (only £91 on PixMania.com) and has 12bit D/A Video (basically as good as it gets unless you wanna pay big money for a 14bit D/A one. It's got the progressive via component, however it can be connected to S Video, Scart RGB and Composite however without progressive.

The quality is great, the firmware allows it to play DivX files, not that its really worth it to be honest, however, on the philips website you can download firmware updates for this DVD player which i though was extremely handy and have already used.

It also is multiregion, not on the box but its got a lovely hack, 99990 on the remote once you start up the DVD player and open the empty drive makes it Region 0 (multiregion) forever.

The sound on this unit is also fantastic, got the Dolby Digital, DTS, 24bit all up to date stuff. It's affordable and does a great job, highly recommend.

[Telly]

thanks for help guys. looks like I will have to wait for my new LCD in late 2005 as my Progressive scan tv does not have component inputs!!! (by then i suppose we will all be buying HD DVD!)

ANybody know ifthere is gizmo to get round this problem?

Do you get an improvment using a plasma with sky?

[thejabba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telly

Do you get an improvment using a plasma with sky?

quote of the year lol. watching freeview or sky on a plasma screen is an absolute joke, awful picture quality, simply due to the poor bitrate provided by most channels, artifacts and interpolation so obvious on a large screen. its the not the plasmas fault therefore to do with its technology, just simply poor reception quality.

[hornydragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Binternet

It does hugely improve the picture quality.

only if the De-interlacer in the player is better than the De-interlacer in the Display
also the quality of the digital to analogue conversion has a big impact on PQ of any DVD player

[Binternet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hornydragon

only if the De-interlacer in the player is better than the De-interlacer in the Display
also the quality of the digital to analogue conversion has a big impact on PQ of any DVD player

Yea, if you buy crap you have to expect a crap picture

[John Currie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thejabba

its the not the plasmas fault therefore to do with its technology, just simply poor reception quality.

I think you mean Transmission (what they're putting out)

[Jay23Sx]

Just remember, you don't need to buy an expensive DVD Player (expensive these days for a DVD Player is £100+) to get Progressive Scan.

I've got a few mainly as kids christmas presents, but the picture quality is superb for the price, not only that but it's got component outputs, integrated Dolby Digital decoder (6 phono out .. ) and is worth a look if you want a good DVD Player to last you a little while before you get a brand new big screen.

http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/CatalogueItem_23164.html

[Davester]

So how do you go about feeding 'Progressive Scan' Pictures to Televisions without Component Inputs? It doesn't make sense....