Denon DVD-1930ci vs Pioneer Elite DV-46AV (upconverting DVD player faceoff)...
I bought a Pioneer Elite DV-46AV DVD player, since I have a lot of Standard Definition DVDs. I played a few and let me tell you, most of them looked amazing! They were clear, crisp, and had a good saturation of colors. The only exception would be any older DVDs, where they did a poor/quick job in converting the video (Batman 1,2; these were re-released , which remedied the grainy video and improved the sound). Any CG movie (Final Fantasy, Finding Nemo, Cars, Dinosaur, Robots, Ice Age, etc.) looks fantastic (even sharper than regular movies)!
I'm into lots of animation. If you have newer DVD releases of Disney favorites, you'll love the detail, beauty, and colors. As for Anime, newer Anime (late 90's and beyond) will look fantastic!
The Pioneer setup menus are great! And the remote is designed well (well placed buttons and glow in the dark).
Unfortunately, I had an intermittent problem with the Pioneer Elite. Sometimes, when I would play a DVD, it would split the picture in half (top half of the picture would appear on the bottom half and vice-versa). Other times, it would display a thin green line on the left side/edge of the TV. This would be resolved by simply powering off and back on. But after a few times, especially for a Pioneer Elite product, I figured it was time to return it.
I could have gotten another Pioneer (same model), but I decided to try the Denon DVD-1930ci. I definitely liked the Setup menus of the Pioneer Elite better, compared to the Denon.
As far as features, both of these DVD players have similar features. They both play:
DVD-R
DVD-RW
DVD+R
Audio CD
DVD Video
DVD Audio
Super Audio
WMA & MP3s
Jpeg files
Kodak Picture CD (Jpegs)
Both offer the following video outputs: Composite video, S-Video, Component, HDMI (version 1.1).
Both offer Dolby Digital and DTS output via optical and coaxial, along with 5.1 analog output. If you plan to use DVD-Audio or SuperAudio discs, you will need to connect 5.1 analog (RCA) cables, because
SuperAudio is only transmitted via the analog connection (not the optical/coaxial or HDMI). The exception is DVD-Audio which will send a downsampled signal via HDMI (this could vary depending on the DVD-Audio disc you use, because depending on the publisher, you might not get any audio via HDMI). So if you want to use DVD-A or SACDs, your safe bet is the 5.1 analog connection (here, use good quality cables; you don't have to buy Monster cables, which and good, but tend to be quite expensive; I tried the GE/RCA Pro cables from Home Depot and had good luck!).
You definitely want to use HDMI to get the best picture. Composite, S-Video and Component are all analog signals, while HDMI is transmitted digitally. The other benefit of HDMI is that it not only broadcasts high quality video, but also sound (up to 5.1 surround sound), all on one cable! Again, check out the the RCA/GE Pro cables from Home Depot.
The one thing that differentiates the Denon from the Pioneer Elite is that the Denon can upconvert standard DVDs to
1080P (480P, 720P, 1080i, 1080P). The pioneer only upconverts to
1080i (480i, 480P, 720P, 1080i). This would matter if your TV can display 1080p natively (i.e., 1920x1080). If your TV can display 1080p signals natively, the Denon would be beneficial because your HDTV won't have to upconvert or line double the incoming signal, because it is already sending the TV a 1080P signal (which is what a 1080P HDTV wants to display; any lower resolution signal, like 480P, 720P, 1080i, the TV has to convert the signal; more processing
could mean some added noise or deterioration of the original video signal). If your TV can only natively display 720p or 480P, then you should consider the Pioneer Elite upconverting DVD player (or any other upconverting DVD player;
most upconverting DVD players only upconvert to 1080i).
The manual on the Pioneer is also better (it's well written). The Denon manual is fine (formatted well) for the first couple of pages; then it seems to cram as much instructions on one page as they can. So its a little harder to read or skim through; and on some options, they don't explain how to use/adjust an option; but almost all the info you need is there.
The Denon has a Pure Direct mode (which the Pioneer doesn't have) which turns off all video functions and the front display, so you can have a higher quality audio listening experience with only the necessary audio circuits running (especially helpful when using DVD-Audio and Super Audio discs).
The Denon has two video processing circuits (one for interlaced video and one for progressive video). The Pioneer uses only one circuit for all video processing.
For audio processing, they both use a dual 96 Khz/24 bit Digital to Analog (D/A) converter.
They both use the Faroudja DCDi™ de-interlacer with 3-2 pulldown processing to minimize motion artifacts and reduce the flicker in the picture.
They both have a Zoom mode (2x and 4x). The Pioneer smoothly zooms to 2x or 4x. The Denon jumps straight to 2x or 4x. The smoothness makes the pioneer seem to handle it more elegantly.
To change upconverting resolutions (480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080P), you have to go to the front of the Denon DVD player and push the HDMI button, whereas on the Pioneer Elite, its built into the remote. This is also true for the Pure Direct Mode. I'm not sure why Denon decided not to have these buttons built into the remote?! Also, I liked the remote control's button layout of the Pioneer better because of the size and location of the frequently used PLAY, FF, REW, STOP, PAUSE. Check out pictures on the web to see the difference.
The Denon player is light out of the box. Where as the Pioneer is heavier and sturdier. The Denon disc tray feels flimsy, compared to the Pioneer.
But ultimately, one should care about the picture and sound that comes out of an upconverting DVD player. And Denon does deliver on these critical requirements.
I highly recommend the following web site:
http://www.crutchfield.com. They have THE BEST web site for product descriptions, technicals details, and large pictures of their products. They also have an excellent technical support staff!
