I recently purchased an LG 42" 1080p television locally here in Hong Kong.

I have a cheap Samsung DVD player to go with it. I wasn't aware of upconverting so the DVD player I have doesn't have this feature, however it is working in 480p mode with component cables.

I'd like to know if the TV is able to upconvert the signal from this DVD player setup to its native 1080p resolution over the component cables or do I need to buy a DVD player which has HDMI and upconversion built in?

I am holding off on getting an HD player until the prices on blueray come down but I want to get the best quality out of my television in the mean time.

Yes, the set converts everything to its own native resolution if the source is a different standardized resolution that it can recognize. So your current DVD player will work fine as the set automatically takes care of the conversion, you do not need an upconverting player.

Not sure if you can get them over there, but here in the US you can pick up a Toshiba HD-A3 pretty regularly for $125 US. That is what I would use until BR comes done.

I had a cheap Panasonic progressive scan DVD player when I got my new TV (Samsung 46" 1080p flat panel TV). When I switched to the A3 I saw a noticeable improvement. They do a very good job of up converting.

The standard recommendation in the $200 range is the Oppo which is nice as it will handle any format you throw at it (region free, SDAC, etc).

For more then $200 the high end Denon is nice (don't know the number).

For cheap (under $100) I think there is a Phillips out there that everyone likes. Evidently it does a good job and can often be picked up for $60 or less. You would have to do a search, not sure of the details.

You may not see noticable improvement on everything. Anything that's been out in the last couple of years that's been a big name movie will look pretty freakin' sweet. Older stuff that's got a soft and grainy transfer, don't expect any miracles.

This is a good strategy and you should be fine simply using your current DVD player until then.

Thanks for the replies, I will wait.

I did notice a big difference between Terminator 2 and newer movies like Planet Terror / Shrek 3. Newer movies do look a lot better.

It doesn't seem to handle black very well, though. Oh well, bluerays should be cheaper soon.