There is no simpler a solution than a DVD player that outputs the 480i signal decoded from the DVD to an HDMI output. There’s no processing, no deinterlacing, no scaling. Just decode it and output it. Bam! Done!

My current home theater is based around a Denon AVR-2308CI Receiver which handles all my video processing thanks to it’s magical voodoo (and a DCDi video processor ). When searching for a DVD player to solve my previously mentioned DVD watching dilemma, I wanted just a simple DVD player that can output 480i over HDMI. Why should I waste my money on an upconverting DVD player when my receiver can do the same function (and probably better). Seemed simple, right?

WRONG!

It seems the internet defacto DVD player that does 480i is the Oppo Digital DV-980H which weighs in at $169 MSRP! There are a couple other options as well, including the previous Oppo Digital DVD player model, DV-970HD which was specifically marketed as a ‘cheap’ player that supports 480i over HDMI. The problem you ask? It’s no longer offered directly from Oppo and it still sells for > $100 in the secondary used market.

An hour or so of Google-Fu later I landed on the Pioneer DV-400V-K DVD Player! Pioneers own website lists its MSRP as $99 and with some luck I found it refurbished through an Amazon reseller for $49! EURIKA! At last the lords of the Internet blessed me with a little devine intervention on my search results

I got to wondering after my pilgrimage to find this DVD player, why does it have to be so hard? I mean, if manufacturers like Denon offer Receivers with video upscaling and deinterlacing already included, why do they also sell DVD players with the SAME functionality? You’d think they’d try to offer a family of products that not only work well with one another but don’t waste your money on duplicate hardware that you won’t be utilizing. Denon is a prime example of this because even their ‘low end’ DVD player still carries an MSRP of $169 (and even then, it uses the built in DVD hardware deinterlacer without offering pure 480i output).

So as I said, there HAS to be a good quality family of products out there that are symbiotic and AFFORDABLE because they’re saving money on not having to waste it on unused hardware.

I was looking through the features and was somewhat interested. It seemed like a media extender for iTunes, which was fine if that was what you were in the market for. Built in WiFi was a big plus as was the built in hard drive. It had HDMI output and was setup on an HD LCD TV, so I decided to poke around the UI looking for some video content. The Apple store had pre-loaded it with a couple TV shows, movie clips and trailers. The content looked very pixelated and low quality. I assumed it was due to the Apple store not loading any HD content onto the Apple TV but after asking the ‘Genius’ at the Apple store what was up, I was informed that there was no HD content available for Apple TV or iTunes.

Say what? Apple built a media extender with HDMI and video playback capability rated at 720p and then decided not to release any HD content for it? Are they retarded?

I then let Apple TV slip into the back of my head as another hardware endeavor destined to fail, along with WebTV and the Apple Interactive Television Box.

This brings us to last week while watching Steve Jobs’ keynote speech at MacWorld 2008. Apple has completely revamped the UI and transformed the Apple TV into a media playing, HD streaming, video renting machine! Is this a good thing? I think it depends on how you handle your media.

Over the last couple years I was a big purchaser of DVD movies. Not only as a fan of cinema but also as a collector. I don’t want to think about how much money I’ve spent on movies as I’m sure it’d be both depressing and staggering. But as I sit here and look at the monolith that is my DVD collection, I look through the titles and think how often I actually watch them. The most I’ve ever watched a title is about once or twice a year, if it’s a movie I really enjoy. Some movies, I’m ashamed to say, are still in their original shrink wrap packaging.

So while watching Mr. Jobs’ speech, I began to wonder, is electronic delivery and rental the next step in my movie watching? At first I rebuffed the idea of buying an Apple TV for $229 because it seemed silly. I mean, $229 for a device that lets me rent movies? That’s like buying a golf cart you only drive to your local Blockbuster Video. But then I started crunching the numbers in my head comparing the upgrade of my home theater to a new HD format, say, Blu-Ray vs. getting an Apple TV.

Let’s assume I’m purchasing a player and movies that I’ll watch once a year. The numbers add up like this for an average of 20 new movies per year for the first year:

Blu-Ray:

• Player: $399
• New Releases (such as Superbad, or Simpsons Movie): $28.99
• Library Release (such as Blazing Saddles): $14.99

Apple TV:

• Player: $229
• New Releases: $4.99
• Library Releases: $3.99

Now if we assume that of those twenty HD movies I’m going to watch are only 75% new releases, our numbers add up to (for the first year):

• Blu-Ray: $908.80
• Apple TV: $332.80

The cost of Apple TV for the first year of ownership is almost ONE THIRD OF THE PRICE of Blu-Ray and most likely HDDVD, which probably won’t be around much longer with the departure of Warner Brothers to the Blu-Ray camp.

The reason I’m comparing PURCHASING Blu-Ray titles vs. RENTING iTunes titles is because there isn’t a Blockbuster or other video rental store within 15 minutes of my home (as they seem to be disappearing), so in order for Blu-Ray to have the same accessibility, it’ll need to be on hand. Unfair? Perhaps, but as I said before, this is MY interpretation of the matter at hand and how it’ll hit MY pocket book

“BUT ERIC,” you say, “BLU-RAY IS 1080P AND APPLE TV ONLY SUPPORTS 720P! YOU n00b!” – Probably You

Alas, I can’t deny the truth. But then, what does science have to say about the relevance of that argument? I point you over to this very good article at Audioholics.com titled “1080p and the Acuity of Human Vision“. If you have some time I do suggest you go read the entire article, but for those not in the mood for some math and reading I’ll quote directly from the article:

“Put bluntly, from 8 feet away while watching a 50 inch plasma TV, the human eye is generally incapable of reliably distinguishing any detail finer than that shown on a true 720p display!”

I’m not an Apple fan boy, far from it. I have just as many PC’s in my house as I do Apple computers. But personally, for MY own reasons and number crunching, it seems that Apple TV is a pretty sweet deal and is in a position to give Sony a run in the upcoming format DELIVERY wars, which will be streaming vs. physical media