Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

If you set the player to native output of 720p, then the player will be doing all of the conversion, NOT your projector. That should eliminate your video noise problem, since it seems to stem from your projector not being good at upconversion. Also, I'd watch 720p over 1080i anyday. progressive scan will always give a smoother/cleaner picture when in motion compared to interlaced. Even if the interlaced image has more lines of resolution.

I'd highly reccomend upgrading to bluray. My tv is only 720p, but it's a 42 inch so it isn't quite big enough to really see the benefit of going to 1080p. And yes, good dvds do look better (though I wouldn't go so far as to say they look as good, or almost as good as a well done bluray). But I doubt you'll have the urge to upgrade your whole collection. I'm a nut about video quality & I don't have that urge. Sure, there are certain titles that I have, or plan on upgrading b/c I think the difference is worth it. but it's really only a small fraction of movies. The Gamera Trilogy is actually a really good example of something I upgraded. The blus look SO much better than the dvds (although we're still waiting for the release of GIII) and the price was just too good not to upgrade!.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is another GREAT example of a title totally worth upgrading. The transfer is just phenominal AND it comes with all three versions of the film for the first time (the original theatrical, the special edition theatrical re-release, and the final directors cut, which was the only version previously released on dvd). It also has tons of bonus features that are actually interesting and can be found for pretty darn cheap to boot.

Oh, and HDMI isn't the end all be all of video connections. I've read arguments from videophiles that component cables (the red/green/blue ones) are actually better for some reasons, but the industry has set HDMI as the standard b/c they have more control or make more profit or some such. All I know is I've watched HD video from the same source piped through component cables & then HDMI & couldn't see any difference in quality. The biggest difference is HDMI is digital (which means spending extra money for a fancier cable is a total waste b/c it can't pick up interference while sending 1's and 0's. It either works or doesn't) while component cables are analogue (which means getting a better, more expensive cable CAN make a difference in signal quality with regards to interference). I guess the one caveat is you'd need to get a player that still has component output, which i guess might be a little more difficult since HDMI is becoming the standard from what I've seen.

Forgot to mention that I've never personally heard of downconverting to 480p over component cables... That sounds kind of fishy & a bit ludicrous to me...

EDIT:
I did a little searching and on avsforum that discusses the difference between HDMI & Component with regards to the PS3 (my bluray player of choice). It sounds like the issues you mentioned regarding component cables & upconverting might be true, though I'd never heard of (or noticed) them...

But it sounds like that only has to do with upconverting DVDs. Which, if true, would mean in your case DVDs would stay at 480p instead of geting upconverted, but you could still watch blurays at 720p (or 1080i, if you wanted I guess). So I'd still say it's worth it.

You know what the real answer to your situation is... Get a new 1080p projector!!

Here's a link to the "downscaling" issue on BD's that I spoke of...

http://forum.blu-ray.com/blu-ray-techno ... video.html

About halfway down the page is where most of the pertinent information lies. Apparently, right now studios aren't using it but may begin to do so in the near future. And as for updating my projector, with the economy being what it is right now, that's not gonna happen. Besides, I'm currently very happy with the one I have. For the price I paid and what it does, it can't be beat! Oh, and thanks for all the info guys !

Just buy a PS3 for $250 and buy the BDs for $15.

I bought the R2 "Gamera: The Box" off of Tom R VanSlambrouck back in 2004 (hasn't it really been 7 years?! ). I was amazed, too, at the increase in quality over the ADV discs. If you love these films though, it really is worth picking up the blu-rays. As good as the R2 DVDs are, they're still standard def, and just can't compete with HD.

I came pretty close to offering you my box set, but don't particularly need the $$ right now, and decided I wanted to hold onto it. I completely understand if you'd rather not say, but could I ask how much you paid for it? (I gave Tom R $100 back in 2004 for it... and worth every penny!)