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Xbox360 vs. Upconverting DVD Player

AbsoluteZeroAbsoluteZero The new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered User regular
I'm considering buying a fancy upconverting DVD Player, as my current player is a cheapo Wal-Mart special. This is the one I am looking at, the OPPO DV-980H.

But for nearly $200, the thought occurred to me that I might as well just invest in an Xbox 360 instead.

The thing is... I don't feel I'm getting my money's worth out of my HDTV with my current DVD player, as the upconversion is rather.. meh. I don't want to purchase an HD disc player until the format war is over, so that option is out the window. I want my DVD movies to look as good as they possibly can. But I also know that I am going to buy an Xbox 360 eventually... But I do own a fuckton of DVD movies and I'd like them to hold up against HD content, as I don't plan on ever rebuying all of those movies in HD anyways.

How does the 360 stack up as a DVD player? Do the newer models with HDMI upconvert?

Any suggestions?

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AbsoluteZero on

Posts

  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    I've only played a DVD on a 360 once, but the interface is pretty decent (better than DVDs on PS2). The projector I saw it on was only SD, but it looked nice.

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • DekuStickDekuStick Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    edit- I certainly take that back.

    DekuStick on
  • corcorigancorcorigan Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    There was an article about how horrible a DVD player the 360 is somewhere. Admittedly it was compared with a $800 dedicated player, but still. Dedicated one sounds better, or just get a PS3 instead as then you get Blu-Ray too...

    corcorigan on
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  • Dark ShroudDark Shroud Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Yes, the 360 gets a 40 out of 130 on the HQV test. It used to be 20 but a recent update fixed a few things.

    http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2088531,00.asp

    Dark Shroud on
  • AbsoluteZeroAbsoluteZero The new film by Quentin Koopantino Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Yes, the 360 gets a 40 out of 130 on the HQV test. It used to be 20 but a recent update fixed a few things.

    http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2088531,00.asp

    Wooooahhh hooo... That doesn't look so good. I wonder how the OPPO player scores...

    Edit: That OPPO player I am looking at scores 113 out of 130 on HQV. I guess that just about wraps it up, I suppose if I want a super good DVD player I'll have to get it separate from the 360... oh well.

    AbsoluteZero on
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  • Dark ShroudDark Shroud Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Yeah I was saddened to see how bad it was. I linked to the original article about the DVD playback test. The site has the follow up where they say it's now up to 40. And frankly a $40 DVD player could score higher at this point.

    If you're willing to spend the money the PS3 ranks high on the HQV test for both DVDs & Blu-ray. The 360 HD-DVD attachment gets a 0 on the HQV test.

    Edit: Ok, after a bit more research it appears that Oppo players are better than a PS3 (1.80 firmware tested).

    http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9722853-1.html

    Dark Shroud on
  • deadonthestreetdeadonthestreet Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    You can get a HD-DVD player for less than the Oppo, and they are still coming with a bunch of free movies. No reason not to do that instead of the Oppo, really.

    deadonthestreet on
  • Dark ShroudDark Shroud Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    He's looking for a quality upconverting player for his DVDs. That means you go by the HQV Test for the player.

    As of the 2.10 firmware the PS3 scores are:
    DVD - 120 of 130
    Blu-ray 100 or 100

    Dark Shroud on
  • AbsoluteZeroAbsoluteZero The new film by Quentin Koopantino Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    The fact that the PS3 scores so high on the HQV makes it mighty tempting... but there aren't a whole lot of PS3 games I can think of that I want, so that's a whole nother can o' worms.

    I'd buy an HD-DVD player (almost did when Wal-Mart had em for $100) but I don't want to invest in a format that might not have support a year from now.

    AbsoluteZero on
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  • PheezerPheezer Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2008
    He's looking for a quality upconverting player for his DVDs. That means you go by the HQV Test for the player.

    As of the 2.10 firmware the PS3 scores are:
    DVD - 120 of 130
    Blu-ray 100 or 100

    Are you serious?

    Fuck.
    If it's only a couple hundred more that makes me kind of want one.

    Pheezer on
    IT'S GOT ME REACHING IN MY POCKET IT'S GOT ME FORKING OVER CASH
    CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Wow, that further steels my steely resolve to purchase a PS3.

    This, plus the heir apparent HD format, plus low fan noise, plus Little Big Planet.

    The only things still separating me now from a PS3 are my general distrust for Sony and a lack of willingness to part with $400. And I guess the fact that it would be nice to play Halo with my friends on the east coast.

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • Dark ShroudDark Shroud Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    I wish I got paid for promoting the PS3. Anyway you can get them from SonyStyle.com and you'll get $100.00 off your 1st purchase. Basically 40gig for $299.00 or 80gig for $399.00.
    Sony Card Benefits:
    12 months no interest on purchases of $299 or more at SonyStyle2
    Full Platinum Visa® benefits
    5 Sony Rewards Points per $1 spent at Sonystyle.com, and Sony Style® stores3
    Exclusive members-only deals on Sony products

    http://tinyurl.com/2mjwql

    Dark Shroud on
  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2008
    I'd suggest looking into an HD-DVD or BluRay player instead. I know you said you don't want to pick sides, but for what you're looking to pay, you'll get upscaling, as well as the ability to play another format should you choose.

    Bionic Monkey on
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  • PheezerPheezer Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2008
    I'd suggest looking into an HD-DVD or BluRay player instead. I know you said you don't want to pick sides, but for what you're looking to pay, you'll get upscaling, as well as the ability to play another format should you choose.
    A lot of those don't upscale near so well as DVD players designed around their upscaling capability.

    Pheezer on
    IT'S GOT ME REACHING IN MY POCKET IT'S GOT ME FORKING OVER CASH
    CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
  • zilozilo Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    I used to have a fancy Onkyo DVD player. Actually, I still have it, but it's on the floor in my closet. The 360 is my primary DVD player now and honestly, I can't tell the difference between the two on a 55" HDTV.

    If you're dead-set on a 360, get one. It works fine as a DVD player. It may not be videophile fine, but it's definitely an upgrade over what you've got now. Plus, games! I'd be wary of spending $200 on a DVD player these days. Upconverting DVD players in general don't look -that- much better, especially if you have a good TV.

    Or you could get a PS3, but for that price you could almost get a 360 and the OPPO. ;-)

    zilo on
  • CrayonCrayon Sleeps in the wrong bed. TejasRegistered User regular
    edited January 2008
    zilo wrote: »

    Or you could get a PS3, but for that price you could almost get a 360 and the OPPO. ;-)

    You mean you could get a barebones 360 with no hard drive and the OPPO.

    Even though the PS3 is more expensive for its entry-I find it to be a better buy overall. That's what swayed me to get a ps3 instead of an xbox. The fact that not only do I get a game console that roughly has all the same games, a nice upconvert, and a future proof blu ray player sways me far over the 360 having Mass Effect and Halo. Now knowing Alan Wake was 360 exclusive was hard to part with...but I think that game is vaporware anyways.

    Crayon on
  • AbsoluteZeroAbsoluteZero The new film by Quentin Koopantino Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    I've gone ahead and bought the OPPO. The format compatibility suckered me over... I own a few DVD-Audio discs and just bought a couple more along with it (Led Zeppelin How the West Was Won & The Beatles Love).

    AbsoluteZero on
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  • FaceballMcDougalFaceballMcDougal Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    the scores for the 360 version are via VGA cable... FYI... and over a year old

    a lot of displays handle VGA very poorly... a relative of mine has a 46 inch XBR-2 and the VGA is pretty sucky... most notable is the horribly gimped options for image adjustment

    FaceballMcDougal on
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  • BasticleBasticle Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    I use a 360 over HDMI as my primary DVD player and have never seen picture quality as shitty as the ones in that review.

    Basticle on
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  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Yeah... I don't get that review. My 360 DVD player makes DVDs look a lot better than any of the stand alone DVD players in my house.

    urahonky on
  • AbsoluteZeroAbsoluteZero The new film by Quentin Koopantino Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    My Oppo just arrived today. Wow, this thing blows my old player out of the water. If you've got an HDTV and want your DVDs to look their best, I recommend it.

    AbsoluteZero on
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  • squirlysquirly Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    urahonky wrote: »
    Yeah... I don't get that review. My 360 DVD player makes DVDs look a lot better than any of the stand alone DVD players in my house.
    Yup, that review seems like bollocks.

    Random thing, I love how the 360 saves where your DVD is at if you take it out, play a game and put the DVD back in.

    squirly on
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  • BinaryBinary Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I own both a 360 (HDMI connection) and a Sharp Aquos Blu-Ray Player (also with HDMI connection) and I use the 360 for watching standard-def DVDs. The picture quality on the Sharp player isn't noticeably better and the thing takes FOREVER to boot (seriously a good 30-45 seconds just to turn on, then another 15-20 secs before the disc starts playing).

    Binary on
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  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    squirly wrote: »
    urahonky wrote: »
    Yeah... I don't get that review. My 360 DVD player makes DVDs look a lot better than any of the stand alone DVD players in my house.
    Yup, that review seems like bollocks.

    Random thing, I love how the 360 saves where your DVD is at if you take it out, play a game and put the DVD back in.

    You know what? It looks like, for one reason or another, the 360 in that comparison is not doing any deinterlacing, one of the fundamental parts of upconverting a DVD. Which is to say, since no other 360 owners here are reporting artifacting like that, that it must have somehow become disabled on the test unit.

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    urahonky wrote: »
    Yeah... I don't get that review. My 360 DVD player makes DVDs look a lot better than any of the stand alone DVD players in my house.

    me too. I recently got a 360, and due to space constratints in my TV area, have no more room for a standalone DVD player, so my 360 is a DVD player for me, and it is a lot nicer than my old DVD player. A lot better quality than what is in that review.

    wunderbar on
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  • Mace1370Mace1370 Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    If you play a DVD in a standard computer DVD drive (like a generic Lite-On and LG DVD-DL burner) will it be upconverted?

    Mace1370 on
  • FaceballMcDougalFaceballMcDougal Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    yes computers will scale DVDs to whatever res you want

    FaceballMcDougal on
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  • DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Speaking of HDMI cables, do I need to get the specific one made by Sony for the PS3, or can I just use any 1.3 HDMI cable like this one at monoprice?

    DoctorArch on
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  • zilozilo Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Any HDMI cable will do. Gotta love Monoprice.

    zilo on
  • BasticleBasticle Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    it might be the software I'm using but playing DVDs on my computer always makes them look like ass

    Basticle on
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  • DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Basticle wrote: »
    it might be the software I'm using but playing DVDs on my computer always makes them look like ass

    I am certainly not knowledgeable in this subject, but I've never thought that computers upscaled DVD's without extra hardware. That's probably why, because I've always felt the same thing about watching movies on my computer.

    DoctorArch on
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  • FaceballMcDougalFaceballMcDougal Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Archgarth wrote: »
    Basticle wrote: »
    it might be the software I'm using but playing DVDs on my computer always makes them look like ass

    I am certainly not knowledgeable in this subject, but I've never thought that computers upscaled DVD's without extra hardware. That's probably why, because I've always felt the same thing about watching movies on my computer.

    They don't need extra hardware... it's done with software

    and chances are they look like ass because of other reasons... like the software you are using to play them

    Media Center makes them look pretty good

    FaceballMcDougal on
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  • DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Archgarth wrote: »
    Basticle wrote: »
    it might be the software I'm using but playing DVDs on my computer always makes them look like ass

    I am certainly not knowledgeable in this subject, but I've never thought that computers upscaled DVD's without extra hardware. That's probably why, because I've always felt the same thing about watching movies on my computer.

    They don't need extra hardware... it's done with software

    and chances are they look like ass because of other reasons... like the software you are using to play them

    Media Center makes them look pretty good

    I've used both Windows Media Player 10 and Nero Showtime, they never seem to look better. If media center is the ticket, I'll just have to wait until I eventually upgrade to vista.

    DoctorArch on
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  • Dark ShroudDark Shroud Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Nero Showtime is useless. Media Player 11 is availible on XP. You can also use Media Player Classic that comes with CCCP.

    www.cccp-project.net

    Dark Shroud on
  • HarshLanguageHarshLanguage Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Posting my impressions, since I have a new HDTV HT setup. Regular DVDs through the 360, connected via HDMI to a 1080p plasma TV, look very nice. No obvious artifacts, no problems. The same DVDs through the 360 HD-DVD attachment looked identical to my eyes, not sure if I should be seeing a difference or not.

    Comparing the 360 to the same DVDs in my Panasonic DMR-EZ47V DVD recorder (also upconverting to 1080p via HDMI), I'd say the Panasonic's upconverted picture is a little nicer. A little crisper, with clearer delineations between colors in detailed scenes.

    HOWEVER, if I wasn't A-B comparing them, I don't think I'd notice a difference. I'm going to be using the Panasonic as my main DVD player, but not not because of the picture quality difference. The difference is nothing to be concerned about unless you are a real videophile, in which case you're not going to be playing DVDs from your 360 anyway. And I'm not sure many non-videophile people would even notice a difference. It seems to me that TV settings, quality and type will make a much bigger difference in how your DVDs appear than the quality of upconversion.

    HarshLanguage on
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  • AbsoluteZeroAbsoluteZero The new film by Quentin Koopantino Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Oh believe me I am the videophile type. I spent HOURS just calibrating my new HDTV and I still am tinkering with it constantly, trying to tease the best picture possible out of it.

    AbsoluteZero on
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  • FatmanGamesFatmanGames Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Upscaling of DVDs aside, a lot of people are streaming content from their computers. Are there any tests which will show a similar / different score in upscaled content via files (heck, either on a disc or on a computer, whatever)?

    In particular, it would be interesting to compare codecs 1:1 with PlayStation 3. WMV-WMV, DIVX-DIVX, XVID-XVID, and for those with Vista or Media Center, MPEG-MPEG...

    FatmanGames on
  • FaceballMcDougalFaceballMcDougal Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I do a ton of streaming... the 360 is our MCE with my office PC as the source. It's how we watch TV.

    I can tell you that watching SD television via MCE is much better looking than just running it through the TV's tuner. It basically uses MPEG2 for TV and recorded TV inside a wmv container.

    As far as other codecs go... it really doesn't matter. That all depends on what settings were used and what kind of quality the final product is.

    For example I have several DVDs ripped and converted into WMV9 advanced... they are frame by frame perfect with 5.1 sound.

    Then it's down to the drawbacks for each format... like I find DIVX to be sorta too soft but if you spend the resources the encode (file size) it can look pretty nice.

    FaceballMcDougal on
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  • FatmanGamesFatmanGames Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Right, you just described my setup (to be upgraded soon, adding a full-on Media Center PC).

    Basically, I was just wondering if you could actually pick up an advantage by upscaling through the 360 or PS3 versus straight through a computer to the TV. Some effects could be different based on the upscaling chip, etc. There are just no metrics that I've seen for 1:1 comparisons. I want same movie, same TV, different device. Just like they do for DVD player comparisons.

    But again, it's not just your encoder's settings. It's playback.

    PS3 doesn't stream Surround Sound yet, so there's that (and that's a big reason I don't use PS3 for streaming much)

    FatmanGames on
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