What you should know about progressive scan DVD players

Progressive scan DVD players have the ability to generate a picture in one pass, much like a computer monitor does. The benefits of a progressive scan are it displays no flicker, and scan lines are much less visible. A good progressive scan DVD player will offer sharp, detailed images with good color.

HD DVD players do a good job upconverting standard DVDs to near HD DVD quality, so they can be used as a replacement for your older, standard, or progressive scan or upconverting DVD player. HD DVD players are much less expensive currently than Blu-ray players, and the manufacturing costs for the discs are lower. The resolution of the war will probably depend on what happens with Hollywood studio support and in the retail channels.

There are several brands of new models and existing models that are worth looking into.

Phillips HTS6500 500W
Denon DVD-3800BDCI,
DIAMOND VISION PROGRESSIVE SCAN DVD player Model DVDV238-03
BenQ W100
Samsung DVD-VR357
Toshiba SH-4000

Philips DivX-Certified Progressive-Scan DVD player, Model: Philips DVP-642;
This DVD player is an excellent value with excellent video quality. This ultra slim DVD player offers great images on high-definition and HD-ready TV's. This player can spin your MP3 and JPEG-encoded recordable CD's and CD's loaded with MPEG-4 and DivX video, which is an ideal way of viewing internet-sourced content.

This progressive scan DVD player is priced at around $65.00, making it a number 1seller in Europe because it plays on the list. This progressive scan DVD player will display Region 1/All Region PAL-formatted discs, which are the video standard in Europe, for viewing on standard NTSC televisions.

Yamaha DVD-S1500
This model sells for $ 449.00 on a couple web sites. It includes DVD-Audio and SACD playback, NTSC/PAL Progressive Scan, NTSC/PAL conversion, Faroudja DCDi processing, CD upsampling,108MHz/12-bit video DAC, Audio Direct, MP3 easy usage, MP3 fast forward/rewind/special playback, and it has optical and coaxial digital outputs,remote control, removable power cord.

Denon
The DVD-1940 universal DVD player offers upscaling to 1080p, and uses the Faroudja FLi2301 DCDi chipset. It comes with five Image Mode memories allowing the user to fine tune picture quality to their own preferences.
The player also features additional enhancements, offering video digital-audio converters, high performance PCM-1738 Burr Brown Audio. Priced at about $550.00.

TOSHIBA SD-4000 Progressive Scan DVD Player. Video Upconversion displays a digital signal at 720p or 1080i, matching the resolution of the HD display. This feature eliminates signal deterioration. Multiformat playback capability includes DVD minus/ plus R, DVDminus/plus RW, VCD, SVCD, DivX, CD R, CD RW, MP3 and WMA playback for a wide range of playback options. HD JPEG provides the ability to view images in enhanced resolution when using HDMI and an HD display device.

This Toshiba model includes affordable ColorStream Component Video for up to 480p Progressive-scan DVD playback.

There are differences between the players' basic quality, but mostly, you're going to notice very minor video differences if the DVD player is are working well. When the player is playing an inferior DVD, this is when viewers get upset. Some consumers are debating whether the LCD viewing screens are superior for progressive player DVDs. Many are finding that the brand of the LCD is a major performance factor. Some users of notebook computers using an external player are reporting good results.

Too many people assumed when they got their new progressive player home and plugged it in, the great new viewing experience would be like watching a new film. This is not so.

The best DVD players today are nearly all progressive, and excellent progressive players can be had for around $200, there's not much reason to live without a progressive DVD.