I mentioned Philips’ DVD player that can output high-res video on its component outs the other day. I was surprised that a mainstream company like Philips wasn’t constrained to just put out HD on the HDMI/DVI output. Most players do just that, and Sound & Vision has a review of three of them: the Toshiba SD-5980, Samsung DVD-HD950, and the Panasonic DVD-S77. Looks like they thought the Panasonic had the best picture quality.

As with the other players, the Panasonic’s HDMI and progressive-scan outputs yielded identical-looking images from my front projector. Yet both produced better-looking video than the Toshiba or the Samsung players. The DVD-S77’s video prowess came through vividly in the Monsters, Inc. DVD. Sulley’s fuzzy hair had the kind of lifelike detail (both horizontally and vertically) that’s supposed to be the hallmark of progressive-scan reproduction, but is all too rare.

Sound & Vision - DVD+HDMI: Three players that know how to keep it digital