Samsung does DVD upscaling for a hundie

It's not like DVD players with HD upscaling are anything new, and we've seen our fair share of cheapo models, but Samsung is hitting new highs (rather, new lows) with their DVD-HD860 which does 720p/1080i upscaling for a mere $100. Not a lot more to say about it, there's HDMI output along with the usual component and RCA outs, but no HDMI cable is included. Usually we'd recommend just saving your pennies for a Blu-ray or HD DVD player, but with the types of delays we've been seeing with those formats, and cheap-as-free prices like this, it's hard to say no.

[Via HD Beat]

[.ed @ Mar 27th 2006 3:20PM]

I'm not a wiz with DVD info, but i did just get a 1080p(/i) HDTV and have a question regarding upscaling:

Will a device like this make my existing DVD collection look/display at [or simulated] 1080i?

Currently i have a standard 480p DVD changer and for $100 i am willing to get this for a far clearer picture out of my existing collection.

Can anyone help?

[Jim F @ Mar 27th 2006 3:31PM]

I have the previous version of this -- the 850 -- and am very happy with its picture quality. The difference is noticeable given the right display, which it sounds like you have -- I've got mine connected to a 50" Samsung DLP.

I've got mine set to 720p as my eye prefers that to the 1080i connection.

Also, you probably know this, but in order to take advantage of the upconversion you have to connect the player via HDMI.

The 850 is also very easily hackable to be region free.

I was actually trying to find an 850 in stores the other week for a friend who bought the same display I have -- we were unable to track it down, and got a Toshiba that does upconverting instead. Watched a movie that night and there was about a 3 second pause for a layer change -- ridiculous. I'm recommending that he exchange that Toshiba and pick up the Samsung 860.

My only complaint about the 850 is that there is no way to see how much time is left in a movie -- you can see how much is elapsed and do the math, but sometimes you want to quickly know how much time is left.

[Ben @ Mar 27th 2006 3:31PM]

l wouldn't buy any piece of crap dvd upscaler unless it was a oppo

www.oppodigital.com


l forget the name of the chip it uses but the performance that this thing puts out is comparable to a upscaler 4x its price.

[nemi @ Mar 27th 2006 3:35PM]

Yep, get the oppo model. It has many awards for it's digital output upscalign and was a huge improvement over my Samsung 841 upscaller.

[Matt Burns @ Mar 27th 2006 3:36PM]

.ed - This type of DVD player will take your standard 480i discs and scale them up to a higher resolution. Now if you will get a "far clearer picture" from them is between you and your TV.

Most digital TVs cannot display anything but their native resolution and therefore have a scaler built into them. So again in english: your TV already may have a better scaler built into it then what this $100 DVD up-scaler does. If that new 1080i TV of yours has a good scaler built into it then this might not do you any good at all but then again, it can be hard to say.

Best advice? Try one. Find a good return policy at a local electronic store and give it a whirl. Make sure to use an HDMI cable of course.

[.ed @ Mar 27th 2006 3:45PM]

Thanks, Jim

To be specific, i have the 50" $ony Grand Wega SXRD DLP FP-LCD 1080P HDTV, it's still got two HDMI ports unused, and from the looks of it, it would be a while before i drop money on a Blu-Ray player, but since i need to get HDMI cables for the future anyway, I may as well put them to use with something inexpensive like this and get some early paly time out of my display. I agree a 720p picture does look 'better' than 1080i, but my tv does some thing where it 'de-interlaces' an "i" signal, making things remakably sharper, but since the best test would be a DVD i can watch over and over, i first need a peice of hardware capable of putting out 1080i and 720P, upscaled or not.

thanks for your help, i forgot to ask about region locking, so i appreciate you throwing that in.

does anyone else have suggestions for cheap hardware similar to this?

[Rich @ Mar 27th 2006 3:54PM]

Does anyone know of an affordable 5-disc DVD player with HDMI output?

[Dave @ Mar 27th 2006 4:05PM]

So if I've got DVI inputs, am I out of luck with this whole HDMI revolution?

[BeenThere2 @ Mar 27th 2006 4:09PM]

For my money, the NeoDigits Helios HDV2085 offers way more for your money. Even tho it lists for $199, they often have promo deals if you sign up at their website. http://neodigits.com/

Some of the features include: � Region Free Playback

� Up to 1080p support via Component (A huge benefit for those that have no DVI, or HDMI inputs)

��VGA output, which is great if you have a computer monitor that you want to watch DVD's on.

� Playback format options: DVD/ SVCD/ VCD/ CD/ HDCD/ MP3/ WMA/ Photo-CD

��HDMI 1080p support.

� High-definition output options via Component interface in 720p, 1080i and 1080p

� High-definition output options via HDMI interface in 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1024

� 480i/576i output options via HDMI. Ideal for using with an external scaler.

� High-definition output options via VGA interface in 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1024

� High-definition output options via DVI(via HDMI to DVI cable) interfaces

This is a very handy player if you have lots of different monitors that you work with.

[Ric @ Mar 27th 2006 4:25PM]

does enyone know if this will work with anynet through the HDMI connection?

[Andy Wirtanen @ Mar 27th 2006 4:27PM]

Dave--No, you're not out of luck.

DVI is fine for HD, and will work just great with these upscaling players. You'll just have to get an HDMI -> DVI cable, which are readily available. You will also want to make sure you get a digital audio cable (either optical or coax). HDMI carries both digital video and audio. DVI carries digital video. Optical and coax cables carry digital audio (for Dolby 5.1 surround sound, etc.).

So, the only real thing you have to be concerned with is getting the digital audio from the upscaling player to your receiver or TV.

[Pip @ Mar 27th 2006 4:39PM]

So does this have a hack to output 1080i through Component yet? I wont be buying any of these unless its via component. I know they all have backdoors for this, but I just want to know if someone has found the trick for this model yet.

[iDZ @ Mar 27th 2006 4:40PM]

What's going to make the next gen of video look so much better isn't just more pixels... it's that they won't need to use so much compression on the image.
it's the compression artifacts that bug me worse than dvd's lower resolution.

[yuppicide @ Mar 27th 2006 4:41PM]

The original Samsung 850 was superb. I didn't see it on the market for that long, though, atleast at the places I went. Most likely due to it's higher price.

I might consider getting this one if I could unload my Toshiba for $20 or $30 to offset the prices as my Toshiba is only maybe 2 months old or so.

Whoever had the Samsung DLP.. do you see the "rainbow effect"?! It bothers me a lot and I have trouble watching a DLP. The picture is fantastic except for that rainbow. I had never noticed it in all my time working at Circuit City and one day a customer told me about it, I saw it right then and there. You move your head and you can sometimes see a rainbow on the screen because the color wheel inside might not spin fast enough. So let's say I am watching a movie or television and my friend asks me a question and I turn my head to talk to him I'll see the blurry rainbow on screen as I move my head.

[Jim F @ Mar 27th 2006 4:47PM]

Re: Rainbow on DLP

I generally only notice it if I'm watching something in black and white, and not even that often then. I watched "A Night to Remember" the other day and didn't notice any rainbows at all.

It is something that varies greatly from person to person, however... so your mileage may vary.

[Ted @ Mar 27th 2006 4:51PM]

Rich, you asked:

"Does anyone know of an affordable 5-disc DVD player with HDMI output?"

Sony has a 5 disc model coming very soon with HDMI output that I have been waiting for:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-NjtlWH9KnWJ/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=54400&I=158DVPC85B

They were supposed to be instock on the 23rd (last week) but have been pushed back. Black or silver, looks like a pretty good deal.

[Joe @ Mar 27th 2006 5:02PM]

Oh goodie - a scaling chip that Samsung bought on the OEM market for a nickel. No thanks. I'd rather keep the signal in the original 480i format and give it over to a real scaler, www.dvdo.com, to do the job.

[BSTalker @ Mar 27th 2006 5:11PM]

I'lljust wait for the VMD :)

http://displays.engadget.com/2006/03/06/higher-capacity-50gb-evd-vmd-at-cebit/

How come you guys didn't get any pics form CeBit of them?

[Jeff Jerabek @ Mar 27th 2006 5:59PM]

I bought a Zenith 318 about 2 years ago,getting it just before the 1080i output thru component was turned off.My 65" Mitsubishi only has component inputs,no DVI or HDMI inputs.
But the main reason I bought it is the ability to incramentaly expand the height and width of the picture when watching movies that are not normally full screen to help reduce burn in.
It displays a great picture but the remote needs a totall redesign.

[E @ Mar 27th 2006 6:21PM]

I have a Samsung DLP and an older Samsung DVD player that upscales.

It looks better, no doubt about it.

It uses the same chip that a $1000 Denon did at the time I bought mine 2 years ago.

[Rich @ Mar 27th 2006 8:22PM]

Ted, thanks! That's exactly what I've been looking for.

[tundraboy @ Mar 27th 2006 9:36PM]

I bought a Toshiba SD-4980 720P/1080i up-converting DVD player with HDMI output this December. Hooked up to the Sony KDF-E50A10 LCD projection, I can see the improvement over 480P but I don't know if it's any good compared to the Samsung being reviewed.

But for 80 bucks (at Best Buy), I'm not about to complain. Or should I?

[Wesley Hester @ Mar 28th 2006 7:13PM]

The Samsung DVD-HD1080 is to be released May 2006 for about $250US.

Some features:
1080p up conversion
DCDi by Faroudja
DVD audio/SACD v2.0
5.1 channel vitual surround
NOTE: Early specs; subject to change

[DL @ Apr 6th 2006 1:43AM]

So what upscalling chip does this HD860 have in it??
Sounds like some one thought the 850 had a DCDi by Faroudja. Is that correct? I would doubt it.
Also I thought I could do 1080i with component, if not can I do 720p with component? The HDMI cables cost more than the machine.