I have an HD+ in between my Sharp XV-Z10000U DLP PJ and my Esoteric DV-50. I have tried many players in my system [Integra, Denon, Simaudio, Krell, Lexicon, Meridian...] and my current picture betters them all, and with little calibration. Two channel audio is my first priority, but I did not want to compromise on video quality either.
The HD+'s scaler is better than the Sharp's as well as most DVD players'. The HD+'s de-interlacer also does a much better job than most players even though it uses a common SI technology. Moreover, I went through the expense of adding an SDI output to my player to feed the HD+. To me, the SDI was not worth the money. The interlaced component output from my player to the HD+ created an equally pleasing picture in spite of the extra D/A to A/D conversions.
I use an HD cable box too, but the HD content passes through the HD+ without any processing. This allows me to run only one 30' DVI cable to the PJ [a pre-HDMI PJ]. For the SD channels I can do some processing via component and scale it too. It is watchable, but with a 9' screen, it just doesn't really compare to DVD or HD.
With HD disks now on the immediate horizon, and already here in the case of HD-DVD, only you can sort out if it is worth the money for an external processor. The newer players will likely outperform the current crop on video. The audio side of things has yet to shake-out.
If you can, try to figure out a way to demo one, or buy one with a return policy. Much of the information you may get here is influenced by factors that dont relate to you or your particular set-up. This has been my experience anyway
Good Luck and have fun!
Dave
The HD+'s scaler is better than the Sharp's as well as most DVD players'. The HD+'s de-interlacer also does a much better job than most players even though it uses a common SI technology. Moreover, I went through the expense of adding an SDI output to my player to feed the HD+. To me, the SDI was not worth the money. The interlaced component output from my player to the HD+ created an equally pleasing picture in spite of the extra D/A to A/D conversions.
I use an HD cable box too, but the HD content passes through the HD+ without any processing. This allows me to run only one 30' DVI cable to the PJ [a pre-HDMI PJ]. For the SD channels I can do some processing via component and scale it too. It is watchable, but with a 9' screen, it just doesn't really compare to DVD or HD.
With HD disks now on the immediate horizon, and already here in the case of HD-DVD, only you can sort out if it is worth the money for an external processor. The newer players will likely outperform the current crop on video. The audio side of things has yet to shake-out.
If you can, try to figure out a way to demo one, or buy one with a return policy. Much of the information you may get here is influenced by factors that dont relate to you or your particular set-up. This has been my experience anyway
Good Luck and have fun!
Dave