Is it worth getting an XD-E500 DVD Player?

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BitFaced
Posts: 347
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:31 pm

Is it worth getting an XD-E500 DVD Player?

Post by BitFaced »

It's not like I'd be unable to get a decent solution for playing DVDs on a HDTV (Xbox 360, Laptop, etc.), and I've heard Toshiba's XD-E500 player gives special sharpening enhancement to the image to bring new levels of detail to it (plus 360 can't play region games, Laptop is too "external" and the built-in DVD player is upscaled by the TV).
But comparing them to normally upscaled DVD they look pretty similar, perhaps to the point of it being not worth it:
PS3: http://cdn.avsforum.com/c/c4/c4b65df7_v ... 20553.jpeg
XD-E500: http://cdn.avsforum.com/9/9e/9e83a55c_v ... 20554.jpeg
PS3: http://cdn.avsforum.com/0/06/06efc4d7_v ... 20555.jpeg
XD-E500: http://cdn.avsforum.com/6/67/6741328c_v ... 20556.jpeg
This all comes down to personal choice, but I would like to know some opinions from general picture quality experts over this would be worthwile or not for around the price of £50.
Stealthlurker
Posts: 324
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:05 pm
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Re: Is it worth getting an XD-E500 DVD Player?

Post by Stealthlurker »

I have one of the original XDs that came out. It was really hyped up for it's time. Not worth it imho. The picture quality difference isn't very noticeable at all. The only real thing I find useful for it these days is that I use it as another region free player.

Due to my disappointed at the time, not too long after I picked up a high end OPPO upscaling DVD player. Ridiculous being around 400 bucks for a DVD player at the blu-ray era. Though at the time I was really crazy into HD and trying to get the best picture possible. The OPPO looked much better, however not really worth it imho. I eventually just gave up and went with dedicated video processors. Much better solution overall.

By the way, these XDs may have issues. My first one was faulty, but Amazon was quick to ship a replacement.

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ZellSF
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Re: Is it worth getting an XD-E500 DVD Player?

Post by ZellSF »

I personally can't tell good DVD scalers apart. Something about the Xbox 360's scaler looks ugly to me, but I don't really care what I choose for DVD playback between my HTPC/Oppo BDP-83/PS3.

Definitely not something I would pay 50£ for, not that I see why anyone concerned with picture quality would buy a DVD only player.
BitFaced
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Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:31 pm

Re: Is it worth getting an XD-E500 DVD Player?

Post by BitFaced »

ZellSF wrote:I personally can't tell good DVD scalers apart. Something about the Xbox 360's scaler looks ugly to me, but I don't really care what I choose for DVD playback between my HTPC/Oppo BDP-83/PS3.

Definitely not something I would pay 50£ for, not that I see why anyone concerned with picture quality would buy a DVD only player.
Speaking of, I think I could be getting a Blu-ray player soon, so should I just use one of those instead, especially since it has the whole "backwards-compatibility" option to it?
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drauch
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Re: Is it worth getting an XD-E500 DVD Player?

Post by drauch »

Yeah, at this point you're way better off with a BD player. Makes older DVDs look fantastic. I could never go back.
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BitFaced
Posts: 347
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:31 pm

Re: Is it worth getting an XD-E500 DVD Player?

Post by BitFaced »

drauch wrote:Yeah, at this point you're way better off with a BD player. Makes older DVDs look fantastic. I could never go back.
Sounds promising.
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