most progressive scan dvd players are 480p. i saw some new ones that upcovert to 1080i, my question is if i have a HDTV that supports 1080i, would it be worth the purchase?
it IS a noticeable difference if your HDTV is CAPABLE of displaying the 1080i. personally, i saw a VERY BIG difference on a HDTV dvd, meaning, the dvd itself was HDTV quality, it was not a normal dvd purchased at the local store. but, if your question is do these "upconverting" dvd players really make a difference if they are simply upconverting a normal dvd that is 480p to HDTV quality 1080i...then i would say no. my denon dvd-5900 (old, discontinued model) upconverts dvds, but the difference in quality is not really THAT MUCH unless you pay VERY close attention to details. my suggestion to you, if you have some money you would like to spend, just get a good high quality dvd player, rather than spending money on these so called "upconverting" dvd players...i've seen a samsung that makes this "upconverting" claim and it even includes a dvi cable for like $150...i took a gamble on it and tried it out at home...it was horrible...picture was WORSE than my denon player using the same movie for comparison. i naturally took it back the next day...on the other hand, i have an LG LST-3510A that upconverts VERY well into HD quality...it does 480p, 720p and 1080i all very well, i bought it when it first came out but it was more than double the price of that cheapy samsung i returned... ok, so i have said nothing in my response, but it's really up to you whether you are willing to spend the money on a GOOD quality dvd player or not, from personal experience, the LG model i mentioned above is very good, but somewhat pricey, it DOES do what it claims. i also stand by Denon's build quality and even my old dvd-5900 still plays back dvds beautifully to this day (it does the upconverting automatically). anyways, i'll stop here before my rambling continues any further...good luck w/ your decision.
