Today I received a new DVD player. No, there was nothing wrong with my old DVD player/recorder. It's still working fine.
But ever since I got this new TV with a digital HDMI connection on it, I've been longing to get a reasonably priced DVD player that offered a pure digital connection using HDMI (or DVI) between the player and the TV. The player also upconverts standard definition DVDs to near high definition quality using an upconversion chip that calibrates the signal to the maximum resolution of one's HDTV. Since my TV's resolution is 720p, I set the player to upconvert DVDs to that quality level, and I put in DIE ANOTHER DAY, the most recent James Bond movie as my test DVD.
There is a discernable increase in sharpness and detail without adding artifacts and noise to the picture when using this player in this mode. I hooked up the component cables to the player as well and switched back and forth, and I could tell a slight difference in sharpness and the depth of richness in color is also noticeable.
The upconversion won't work unless you have one of those digital jacks (either DVI or HDMI) on your set, but I am well pleased with this latest toy.
Regulation high definition DVD players aren't scheduled to be unveiled until the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest and will carry a near $1,000 price tag. Knowing I won't be in the market for one of those any time soon, this new player is certainly a reasonable alternative.