Anchor Bay chip? Is it really called that?
There are several very good Upscaling chips on the market, Oppos is one of them (although they buy their chips in from elsewhere). Another is the Reon HQV Upscaling chip, that gets rave reports too.
Obviously the Oppo isn't just a decent DVD Player because of it's Upscaler though. It has several configuration quality tweaks you can set other players do not. Some are found on other players though.
One thing to appreciate about Oppo Players is there Quality vs. Price is very good indeed. This means other Players which are as good but more expensive don't get talked about online so it's hard to find out if they're actually better. Most wouldn't touch a DVD Player that is over £250, that doesn't mean those that are over that are inferior or the same as Oppos.
and Brad you have said what equipment you own many times in the past, some of us remember what you and others own.
Well you'll know then that the Pioneer DV-868AVi DVD Player I own is a very good DVD Player then. Whether it's Upscaler beats an Oppo Player (which model do you have btw? There are several of differing quality) I do not know. I am willing to bet it's comes close to an Oppo if not better though.
To keep the cost down Oppo do cut corners. They buy in their chipsets and remote controls from elsewhere, which is why their menus and remotes are identical to others. I'm not saying buying in chips makes your product inferior just that at a £170 price point something always ends up giving.
The Pioneer DV-868Avi has dedicated Pioneer chips in it, unlike their cheaper models which tend to use bought in chips. At the end of the day for me anyway Oppo, Pioneer and Toshiba all make decent Upscaling DVD Players. I'm no Videophile so don't really care.
As long as it's not a shit Supermarket Upscaling DVD Player I'll be happy. My Pioneer DVD Player does definitely upscale better than my Samsung LCD TVs Upscaler though. I do know that much.
I plan to upgrade my Pioneer DVD Recorder to a Sony one which does Upscale later in the year. DVD Recorders aren't known for their great Upscalers. It will be interesting to see how it compares.
