I've been looking around for a cheap multi region DVD player and noticed several which up scale so deside the Philips DVP 5980 is the one for me. It then struck me "WHY". I have a Samsumg series 6 which accepts my current player with no problem which makes me think this TV must already have an up scaler so why do I need another one. Answers please

You don't. The only advantage is if the upscaler in the DVD player is better than the one in your TV which in a cheap DVD player it probably isn't.

Because it makes buyers think that it's giving them HD from normal DVD's, it's the latest scam to fool customers.

But pretty well all DVD players are going HDMI now, it's main advantage is that it gives you an extra option if you're running short of sockets on your TV. So it's worth it for that alone.

Unless your TV has only one HDMI (in use by either Sky HD, Freesat HD or PS3) and multiple scarts. In which case, stick with scart connection or component for your DVD player.

Like I said, it gives you an extra option.

The ps3 has settings for upscaling as off, double scale, normal and full

Upscaling sends a 576p signal to the tv and looks a little worse than a normal dvd on a crt, the others change the signal to 1080p (for my tv anyway) and it looks quite a bit clearer...better than a dvd via component or s-video in my opinion...why would the ps3 need to do this is the tv has an upscaler built in?

It has a scaler so you can feed it via HDMI if you wish, which is the new standard for connections. It HAS to have HDMI because it plays BluRay, so in order for it to play normal DVD's it has to have a scaler as well.

The PS3 is supposed to have a fairly decent scaler, but if you're comparing it to the TV's scaler you need an RGB SCART connection to the TV, does the PS3 even have RGB out?. Component is almost as good as RGB (for almost stick various zero's after the decimal point), but also provides already upscaled pictures to the TV.

Basically if it's HD, or has HDMI, it needs a scaler - it's an essential part of a TV, or HDMI equiped source. Again, it's all down to giving you choice.

I was just about to go and buy a new DVD player for our new 32" LCD but I'm not sure what I need to do now.

Should I buy a standard DVD player and connect it via scart or do I need one with HDMI out to get the TV to do the upscaling? Would component give the same result?

Am I right in thinking that there is no point spending extra on an upscaling DVD player? The LCD is a Sony Bravia and the main TV is an Hitachi plasma.

The TV will upscale from any source.
The HDMI option may provide a cleaner source to work and allows for 576p (576i on RGB scart) which may also benefit the final image. If audio was routed via an amp then I would recommend using Component over RGB scart as the former allows a Progressive signal to be sent which on certain content removes any issues with the TV de-interlacing content.

I think these days you would be hard pressed to find a reasonable DVD player that didn't support HDMI output and as you understand you would only really benefit if the scaler in the DVD player was better than in the TV and that may only be case if you bought a mid-range player and especially a high end. At the lower end it's pretty much marketing as already mentioned and even HDMI over Scart (digital versus analogue) is still an individuals choice.

Cheers. £30 job it is then.