Denon DVD-3800BDCI Blu-ray Reference DVD Player Unveiled

[admin]

We were invited to the 2007 Denon summer conference held in New Jersey yesterday, where they displayed their new DVD-3800BDCI reference BD/SD DVD player. This player is armed to the teeth with the latest in HDMI, audio decoding formats and interactive features standard to Blu-ray. Its shipping this fall with a hefty retail price of $1999.
http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/denon-dvd-3800bdci-blu-ray-dvd-player.html/image_thumb

Discuss "Denon DVD-3800BDCI Blu-ray Reference DVD Player Unveiled" here. Read the article (http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/denon-dvd-3800bdci-blu-ray-dvd-player.html).

[avaserfi]

Looks pretty solid and has some nice features, but I don't think the price warrants a lack of SACD and DVD-A playback. Sure is pretty though.

[tn001d]

Where is the info on the other denon blu-ray transport? I am quite suprised that denon didnt come out with a dual-format player. I was also hoping that they would bring the Silicon Optix Reon chip down to there more less expensive DVD players.

I highly doubt anyone will buy the 5910 now once this is out. Personally i think i would save $1K and get the new samsung dual-format with the Silicon Optix chip.

[westcott]

Looks pretty solid and has some nice features, but I don't think the price warrants a lack of SACD and DVD-A playback. Sure is pretty though.

I agree. For this price, it should have SACD, DVD Audio, HD DVD support, and Denon Link III. We waited all this time for this?

I could have done without all the bells and whistles that probably won't be supported for some time to come anyway.

P.S. No mention of why they went BR. Curious.

[Clint DeBoer]

They claimed neutrality and would only say that they happened to be "putting out a BD player" first - i.e. they would not say that they had closed the door on HD DVD, made a choice/policy change, etc...

[boe]

Was there any detailed press releases covering all their new products? I've seen a lot of very brief write ups and some people are claiming to have seen some things were discussed but I'm trying to find a write up that covers all of the devices being released and preferrably something with some specs. About the longest write up I've found so far is about a page long which only gives enough space to say this model is going to be a receiver and possibly this price. It is a shame their web page isn't up to date now that they've released the info and a lot of info has been out from other sources than denon for months now.

[boe]

Specfically, I was hoping for some info on the US version(s) of the new preamp(s) coming out.

[Clint DeBoer]

We've given about all of the key info unless you want the dimensions and weight of each product... which I'm sure I can rustle up at some point.

[mr-ben]

The lack of SACD/DVDA seems to be universal across all the new High-res DVD format players. The only exception seems to be the PS3, which is pretty much a software-based player. I wonder if there is some hardware component conflict reason that these new players have all dropped the formats, or if it's more political.

[avaserfi]

The lack of SACD/DVDA seems to be universal across all the new High-res DVD format players. The only exception seems to be the PS3, which is pretty much a software-based player. I wonder if there is some hardware component conflict reason that these new players have all dropped the formats, or if it's more political.

Its probably more along the lines of no one really knows what they are and most who do know already have a pretty good player so why bother? Its not like saying SACD and DVD-A playback is going to be a selling point to the average consumer. While Denon doesn't cater to the average consumer they probably fall in the first catagory or just want to sell some other gear ;).

[boe]

We've given about all of the key info unless you want the dimensions and weight of each product... which I'm sure I can rustle up at some point.

Thanks - so they didn't show either of the new prepros at this show?

[gene]

Thanks - so they didn't show either of the new prepros at this show?

no specs, just pics:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=288569&postcount=3

[no. 5]

The lack of SACD/DVDA seems to be universal across all the new High-res DVD format players. The only exception seems to be the PS3, which is pretty much a software-based player.

The Panasonic DMP-BD10A too; it plays DVD-A.

But, it is very surprising that the new Denon player will not play either format.

[boe]

Stoked
Denon is finally getting into newer optical technology
Looks pretty darn solid like the 2930 and 3930


Disappointed
Not dual format BR/HD DVD
No SACD
No DVD-A
No Ethernet
Price (not surprised but with the lack of SACD, DVD-A, Ethernet, no HD DVD, the $2000 list seems a bit much)


On the plus side Denon isn’t exactly forcing out any competition – their new receivers and prepro are giving companies like Onkyo a chance to take a serious chunk of Denon’s fanbase. Onkyo is using new (in some ways superior) parts at a lower price than comparable Denon’s. Although I would have been willing to swing the money for the Denon, the lack of SACD and other features will probably have me waiting for Pioneer, Oppo, or someone else to make a decent player with all the key features that this unit offers but with more features that I want or a significantly lower price.

Is SACD a big deal? – probably not to the average Joe that buys his players at Target or Walmart but for people buying an expensive Denon – I think that is the exact market that is likely to own some SACDs.

Considering it won't be out until November, they still have time to repent.

[Clint DeBoer]

Wow, I need to check with them on that Ethernet snafu...

[tn001d]

I think people are forgetting about the "other" denon blu-ray player at half the price!!

[gene]

Let's not forget one thing. Although the Denon us uber expensive, it is the FIRST Blu-ray player that will pass native TrueHD and DTS-HD bitstreams without converting them to multi channel PCM. To our knowledge, none of the prior Blu-ray and HD players can pass these native bitstreams via HDMI.

I am not certain if the new Samsung players will but we will try to find out....

[boe]

I keep hearing conflicting information about what it really can pass via HDMI - I'm not sure it has been finalized.

[dorokusai]

I'm hoping some things will change before it hits the street, namely SACD support. I would like to have it thru HDMI. It feels like this is intentional at the moment as Sony has not been very vocal about SACD since BR hit the street.

Mark

[boe]

Wow, I need to check with them on that Ethernet snafu...

Have you heard anything back from them by any chance?

I heard they'd be shipping in November but some guy claims to have preordered one on another forum.

[boe]

Rumor has it this unit has been delayed. A lot of conjecture that it might be so it will handle more formats.

[dorokusai]

I hate to say it but they would be silly not to make it Universal.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

[Clint DeBoer]

Rumor has it this unit has been delayed. A lot of conjecture that it might be so it will handle more formats.I would hope it would be because the prices are dropping so rapidly that it would need to have more features to justify it's place in the market.

[bigbangtheory]

Looks pretty solid and has some nice features, but I don't think the price warrants a lack of SACD and DVD-A playback. Sure is pretty though.

Agreed!

But.

Give it time. Denon will surely plug in DVD-A and SACD capability down the line.

[ddawatson]

Let's not forget one thing. Although the Denon us uber expensive, it is the FIRST Blu-ray player that will pass native TrueHD and DTS-HD bitstreams without converting them to multi channel PCM. To our knowledge, none of the prior Blu-ray and HD players can pass these native bitstreams via HDMI.

I am not certain if the new Samsung players will but we will try to find out....

PS3 passes True HD and DTS-HD with latest firmware updates?

[ddawatson]

Please refer to PC World article:

Burning Questions: PS3--The Blu-ray Movie Experience
How does the PlayStation 3 stack up as a movie player? We kicked back with the controller and popcorn to find out.
Melissa J. Perenson, PC World
Friday, November 17, 2006 1:00 AM PST

"The PS3's default is to convert recognized audio streams to Linear PCM, an uncompressed audio format, for output via HDMI or digital optical audio. This can be advantageous if, for example, you're outputting to an HDTV that has built-in speakers and decodes only Linear PCM. If you're using your own home theater receiver, though, you'll want to use the Bitstream setting: In this mode, the PS3 passes the audio "bitstream"--be it Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, or DTS-HD--through to your receiver via the HDMI or optical connector; from there, the receiver decodes the audio and outputs it to your speakers."