Upscaling DVD Players

[Siji]

Opinions please..

I'm debating getting a new DVD player (Sony DVP-NS90V or the Sony DVP-NC85H/B 5 disc) that upscales and is progressive to replace my older Sony non-progressive non-upscaling player. Right now the DVD player is connected to a receiver via component cables and the receiver to the 61" HDTV via component cables also.

My question is whether I'd see much of an improvement if I got an upscaling progressive dvd player over the one I currently have or not. My receiver doesn't have HDMI in or out so I'd probably run an HDMI cable directly from the new DVD player to the TV for what I'd guess would be better video over the component cables (yes?) and run the DVD audio through the receiver.

Would it be worth spending $150 or so or would the video really not be that noticable?

Thanks!

[Syenye]

i bought a $90 toshiba upconverting dvd player and i didn't really see a difference. i returned it, and now i run all my dvds through my mac mini home theater pc. i have friends who swear that theirs make a huge difference, so it probably depends a lot on the model. if you want one, you should get it from somewhere like best buy or something that will let you return it opened without too much hassle so you can try out a few different ones until you find something you like.

also, check out avs forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=18

[Winnow]

The best picture you can get from a DVD source is playing them through your HTPC using FDDSHOW along with the NVIDIA PureVideo Decoder, using TheaterTek or Zoomplayer, output via DVI to your HDTV.

That's only for the hardcore peeps that want the best possible pic using all the snazzy filters, etc.

An upconverting DVD player would be worth it to me if I didn't use the HTPC method though.