Upconversion DVD players gain popularity

For those consumers on the fence in high-def format war

By Ned Randolph -- Video Business, 8/31/2007

AUG. 31 | As the studios take sides and the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc camps lobby for consumer support, owners of high-definition TV players are looking more and more to upconversion DVD players, which offer better picture quality for much less money.

Upconversion provides a pure digital signal without converting it to analog during the transfer from player to TV. They’ve been around for several years but are gaining popularity as more people buy HDTVs. And the players cost less than $100.

“I can tell you that the interest in upconverting DVD players has been growing as people get high-def home theaters and given the fact that the format war is keeping people on the sideline of the next-generation format,” said Brian Lucas, Best Buy spokesman. “Also, there are a lot more upconverting DVD players on the market. The percentage of the mix of upconverter DVD players is growing.”

Best Buy doesn’t release sales numbers of merchandise, but Lucas said the chain has been promoting the players.

“If you look at our floor, there are a lot of options for upconverting DVD players,” Lucas said. “And prices have come down. It’s a pretty good option for people looking to maximize their experience short of jumping onto the next-generation formats. I have one. I think it looks great.”

NPD Group industry analyst Ross Rubin said upconverter sales are growing as part of the natural replacement cycle of people replacing their VCRs or aging DVD players with newer ones.

“It’s something you would have seen regardless,” he said. “Just as more consumers adopt HDTVs and have large DVD libraries, they want to optimize on their TV sets purely as the device replacement cycle,” he said. “Particularly for a segment of the population that has already purchased an HDTV, they’re probably willing to invest $150 for a DVD player as opposed to a $30 player at Target.”

But not everyone is keen on selling anything short of the real thing. Robert Zohn, president of Value Electronics, is admittedly catering to an upscale market, but he says upconverters are not that popular among his clientele.

“They were before a year and a half ago. Once HD came out, I’ve spent my time promoting that,” he said.

A technical enthusiast, Zohn says he doesn’t sell an HDTV without a high-def player.

“I don’t let them buy without it. The picture quality is so consistently better. I am positively sure they have an excellent experience with one single HDMI cable,” he said. “I say, ‘look, you’re not going to be happy and I’m not going to be happy.’”