Upconverting DVD player or HD-DVD player?

I guess this is the next step everyone gets to after they buy a new TV if they watch a lot of movies. lol I'm looking to get one but I'm not sure which one to go for. The HD-DVD player would be the one for my Xbox 360 which has good reviews but I don't know if I would be better off going for the upconverting DVD player.
[b11c663d77d]
Cons of going with the HD-DVD player[/b11c663d77d]
- Limited selection of DVD's
- Higher prices
- Less chance to get deals on eBay because they are new and "hot"
- None currently at Blockbuster
- No HDMI connection via the Xbox 360 one

[b11c663d77d]Pros of HD-DVD player[/b11c663d77d]
- Better picture, most likely?
- "State of the art" technology
- I will most likely have the upper hand in the future of the HD vs Blu-ray war

Cnet review http//reviews.cnet.com/Microsoft_Xbox_360_HD_DVD_player/4505-6463_7-32138037.html?tag=pop

Now, we have what I am leaning towards and that's the upconverting DVD player from Samsung. It offers the same HD qualities that the Xbox 360 player I believe only it upconverts so I have no idea which is better?

[b11c663d77d]Cons [/b11c663d77d]
- It's "upconverting" and not HD-DVD, I guess?

[b11c663d77d]Pros [/b11c663d77d]
- Sleek look
- $30 cheaper than above, which really isn't an issue
- Better selection of DVD's with better prices
- It basically capitalizes on all of the HD-DVD player's problem for me

Cnet review http//reviews.cnet.com/Samsung_DVD_HD960/4505-6463_7-31629429.html?tag=lst

Thanks for anyone who actually took the time to read and consider all this information. I hope I laid out some information for potential buyers who might be interested in these as well. +KMA for help.
D

Between the two, the 360 HD player is the best. It will upconvert SD DVD's as well as play HD-DVD's.

An upconverting player simply scales SD DVD up to HD resolutions, but does not playback HD DVD's. Some work better than others -- some have really crappy scalers.

Back when I built my new HT around an SXRD, I did my research and went with the Oppo Digital upconverting DVD player. They were (and still are) highly rated, and at the time beat just about all the big name players. I've been quite happy with mine. They release regular firmware updates that tweak/improve settings and even add features.

http//www.oppodigital.com

I've got the 971H. They have a new 981HD model that does 1080p (mine just does 1080i), but you need a TV with 1080p inputs to get any good out of it. The 981HD also does HDMI out, while the 971H does DVI out but mine came with a DVI-to-HDMI cable.

I saw the Oppo on Cnet actually and did consider it. I didn't know the brand so I decided to stay away but I'm going to look into it. Wow, I didn't know the 360 player automatically upgraded SD DVD's as well. You are completely sure of that, correct? The reason why I am asking for clarification is because it wasn't included in any of the articles I found which wasn't much but I guess they figure it's understood. lol If that's the case, then I will get the best of both worlds and go with the 360 player. +KMA for your help as always.

PS How is your upconverting DVD player anyways? Notice any difference? The only problem with the HD 360 player that is really major is that it doesn't offer HDMI connectivity but I guess that isn't [b6707c52b54]that[/b6707c52b54] much is it?

Well, I don't have the 360 drive so I'm going strictly by what I've heard. According to this Engadget article,[=http//www.engadgethd.com/2006/09/21/xbox-360-hd-dvd-playback-maximum-1080i-via-component-1080p-vga/]this Engadget article, after the fall update the 360 HD drive should upconvert to 1080i/p via the VGA cables. Due to CSS issues, analog upconversion via component cables is limited to 480p, which is just standard progressive DVD.

If the 360 ever supports HDMI, that should also handle upconversion. And BTW the Oppo or any other upconverting DVD player will also require a digital (DVI or HDMI) connection to upconvert to 720/1080, or the same reasons.

Some people are concerned that HD-DVD (and Blu-Ray) players are going to cripple analog connections in the future by not even playing HD titles in 720 or 1080 resolutions. They're trying to force you to digital connections for the highest quality, for the simple reason that they can enforce copy protection.

Ah, thanks for that article and insight. The VGA cords for the 360 are $40 I believe. So that's $240 all together plus shipping if I can even find either one for retail. I guess that's a better deal considering you are getting the absolute best of the HD-DVD world currently available for that price. But one thing I can't figure out, how the hell do I plug this in? That's such a noob question but I can't figure out how this cable works nor what the port would say

http//www.xbox.com/en-US/games/viewer.aspx?productId=994&assetTypeId=1&shotId=0

I know the red and white are the basic sound ones but can the big one plug into the port labeled for my PC or does it have to say VGA? ?

EDIT Nevermind, I searched on Google for once. lol It should work.

I thought you might be happy to know, Blockbuster online offers HD DVD rental at the same price as the SD DVD plans... last I heard.

Thanks for letting me know, looks good, I might bite on that. Anyhow, anyone get one of these for Christmas by chance?

You might know this, but you can just get the VGA cable and use the 360 as an upconverting DVD player without the HD-DVD drive. If you have a smaller screen under 42 inches, I bet it'll look pretty good. Why not give it a try first, before spending that $200?

You can get a Mad Catz VGA cable for $20.

What do you guys think of BR vs. HD-DVD? This is about who, if anyone will 'win', not really about which is technically better (i.e. no fanboys please). I once saw a site where they showed sales figures for units and HDDVD and BR titles but I don't know where it is anymore. I wish I could find it again...

I have a 42 inch plasma so I don't know how it will look. I might try that actually if I can find that cable for that price around here. My brother got a PS3 and I'm debating buying a HDMI so I can see the real BR look. It looked decent on an LCD with just the cables it came with.

to be honest, i think the better option would be to wait on buying a player until u see who wins the war. minidisc was all the rage and then pooped out. what a waste that was for people.

as for buying cables, always buy at monoprice.com. hdmi 15 ft cable for $25
http//www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024002&p_id=2282&seq=1&format=2&style=

i personally will have my ps3 as my blue ray hd player. i likely will not buy hd discs until they are cheaper though