Worth Upgrading from a Pioneer 626D?

[GarethH]

I'm fed up, my parents Toshiba 100E kicks my Pioneer 626D for picture quality. I think its that 540 Line res thing or something.

I can get a Pioneer 646A for £400 from HomeCinemaheaven, but i'm just not sure if its worth upgrading!

What do you think?

Is there anyone that has previously owned a Pioneer 626D, what did you upgrade to and was it worth it?

Thanks

Gareth H

[pjweston]

I'm slightly suprised that the SD100E 'kicks' your Pioneer for picture quality. Whilst all of the reviews I've seen indicate that the Toshiba has the better picture quality, none of them seem to indicate that it's that much better. Are you using the same TV? Are you using the same type of connection (RGB/ s-video)?

It may be worth double-checking the Pioneer's picture control settings. The 626D review over at www.homecinemachoice.com makes some strong suggestions for setting the sharpness and detail controls (and the gamma control can have an even greater effect).

[GarethH]

Yep, i'm using the same TV. ok so i went over the top to say that it kicks it. I've had my Pioneer for 2 years now and know the video controls very well. Even if i turn the controls off for titles like Toy Story or Shrek, the picture is just better on the Toshiba.

There are two picture differences that i really noticed.

1) I can easily see the scan lines on the Pioneer, but with the Tosh i could'nt see them as much, the toshiba just looks sharper and seems to have more detail.

2) On Toy Story 2 i get a bit of MPEG artifacts on the opening scene, where as the toshiba just looks plain smooth.

Its obvious that the Toshiba 540 Line Super Anti Alias filter makes a difference. Basically i just want to know if the Pioneer's new 540 line res spec is as good as the toshiba's!

I would have swapped the players, but the Tosh is crap compared to my Pioneer in the sound department!

[zorro]

I have the 626D and have to say that the picture quality is fantastic - in every movie.

It is especially good in, for example;

Toy Story
Final Fantasy
Castaway

No artifacts.lines or anything.

I have compared it with a few other players and would not swap it for the picture quality.

I am using a scart lead - £50 , to output the picture and am very happy with it