We just got a sharp aquos and none of us are very familiar with all of this HDTV talk. From what I know I can tell that we need a new DVD player because the current one is not progressive scan. Does anyone have any suggestions for one that is not too expensive but not cheaply made and prone to burn out? I was looking at the phillips 642 because it's region-free and cheap, but will it last? Is there a whole lot more that can be done with the PQ?

I already have a region free player so it's not a big deal, whatever we get will be used basically for just watching DVDs.

Another question-- is an HDMI cable necessary to get 720p and up? The highest I was able to get out of the TV was 480p (hooking up my own dvd player) and I didn't notice a huge difference from 480i. There's still quite a bit of noise and shiny edges. Thanks for any suggestions.

A lot of people with HD setups, like this brand. I've not seen one personally, but they get rave reviews. http://www.oppodigital.com/
Good luck!

You can get HD via component cables as well, so you aren't locked into HDMI.

I've heard mixed things about the Phillips 642 although the price is certainly right. One complaint I've heard that I have never been able to verify adequately is that when the machine powers off, the progressive scan setting shuts itself off automatically. When you power back up, you would need to go into the settings an reselect it (even though it appears that it is still correctly set) to get it to start progressively scanning. Read the threads in the international forum on this unit.

The OPPO gets great reviews, is region-free, upconverts and comes with the HDMI cable. It is around $200 shipped which may be more than you want to spend. I personally am using the Toshiba HD DVD player ($350ish) now for most of my DVD watching and using my Toshiba SD4900 (I paid

That is generally not correct above by chente. You CANNOT get HD resolution out of a DVD player with component video cables.

Samsung has never been high on the quality list, but the Philips mentioned above is even lower. A Pioneer, Panasonic, or Sony in this price range would probably give better picture quality.

If not $200, how about $150? The 970 Oppo model is fantastic. I've had it for a couple months now and it's easily the best player I've ever had.

Sony

I bought the above model at Best Buy because I had some reward certificates to use. Very well rated and solid unit.

Its the same price at BB and Amzon right now but you have to pay tax at BB, or at least most of us do.

That's right. What I thought he was asking is whether the component cables could pass the HD signal like say from an OTA HDTV box or a HD DVD player. My apologies for the confusion.

How much did you spend on the TV? A brief search tells me that the cheapest Sharp Aquos HDTV (the 42" model) is over $2000. So why cheap out on the DVD player?

I've got an Oppo, and it's great, but if I didn't already have it I would easily justify the Toshiba HD-DVD player.

What you're doing sounds kind of like powereing $2000 speakers with a $50 receiver...

OK, fair enough.

On the one hand, I'm not sure how noticeable the improvements will be on a 32" TV.

On the other hand, though, the OPPO is generally considered a great deal for the price. Plus it is easily made region free (as well as converting PAL to NTSC). To me the extra $100 or so would be worth it just so that I wouldn't be second-guessing myself, wondering if I was not getting the full quality out of my nice new TV. I guess that, even though the TV was only $1000 (instead of $2000), I can't understand why another $100 on the DVD player is that big of a deal.

Good luck, hope you're happy with whatever you get.

Again, or $50 more on the Oppo 970.

It does all that the 971 does, plus a few more extra features. Nearly every review I've read said the difference in picture quality would NOT be noticed the smaller the TV is, especially the one in question here.

In addition, the 971 is the outdated model. They're coming out with a replacement for it fairly shortly (which could also mean the 971 might go on clearance or show up cheap on eBay once that does happen).