DVD players $99 versus $499

[Joe Schmoe]

No offense, but that is absolutely ridiculous. How many internet direct speaker brands are there on this site that come HIGHLY recommended? Do you trust none of them because you can't buy them in a store? To be honest, I usually get BETTER customer service and support from the smaller companies vs the big names.

Why order something online (and wait for it to be shipped) based on reviews when I can test out a similar product in a store and take it home immediately if I like it?

 

[j_garcia]

Well maybe because you get more for your money with many of the internet direct companies? Because I have found that to be the case with every one I've tried so far. How do you know if you don't like it if you haven't tried it? I wouldn't buy a car with out driving it, so I know where you are coming from, but with the THOUSANDS of happy customers of the better known ID companies, I would hardly consider it a "risk". Yes you have to wait for shipping, but you have to account for that as part of the purchase.

Oppo happens to be local for me, so I can literally walk in and pick one up (though it is their office, not a retail store), so in that respect it is a little different. That doesn't make me feel any more or less safe about them.

So are you saying you wouldn't try a sub from SVS or HSU simply because you can't listen to them somewhere? And then be stuck with the offerings from most local stores that offer less performance for the same or more money?

 

[Tom Andry]

I had a very long winded response here before I realized that it was the OP that said:

If Panasonic, Sony, et al don't make a player that will make me happy, then nobody does.

Okey dokey. You should definitely buy one of those. But on an Internet forum, you should probably expect more than a few Internet Direct brands to be mentioned. Now that people know that you're not interested in ID at all, than they can stop recommending them.

To answer the initial question, if you are using a digital connection to your receiver, you will hear NO difference between brand A and brand B because you are using the DACs in your receiver, if you are using analogue (for SACD or DVD-A for example), there may very well be an appreciable difference in SQ. Video Quality relies heavily on deinterlacing. You'll pay more for good deinterlacing, even more for upconversion. Those features will make a difference in your PQ on a HD set.

 

[jonnythan]

Why order something online (and wait for it to be shipped) based on reviews when I can test out a similar product in a store and take it home immediately if I like it?

Because...

1) A professional review (or six professional reviews) will be able to tell you way, way more about a product and its performance than playing with it in a store
2) Most stores won't even let you turn on a DVD player, much less test it out at all
3) Most stores certainly won't let you do a comprehensive, in depth comparison between two or three or five DVD players.
4) Most salesmen at stores will know less about the product than you do, especially about its technical features such as deinterlacing, upscaling, etc, and the product packaging is worthless

In short, by "trying out" $100 DVD players at a store, if you can at all, you're going to get an infinitely poorer view of the product's actual capabilities and the company's customer service than you would by reading a number of professional reviews and the comments of hundreds of actual owners.

 

[billy p]

Yea

those are the same stores that recommend you buy cables of superior quality to ensure the highest PQ return on your investment!!

 

[Geno]

I own a couple of the higher-end Denons (GRRR) and am impressed with the comments and reviews of the Oppos (where were they when I was shopping?)
I wonder how the folks who spend multi-thousands on the really snobby brands (Esoteric, Classe, Cary, McIntosh, etc.) feel when they see the actual performance figures of these Oppos?

 

[mikeyj92]

Why order something online (and wait for it to be shipped) based on reviews when I can test out a similar product in a store and take it home immediately if I like it?

I highly doubt any in-store tinkering you are allowed to do will even slightly compare with some trusted internet reviews.

Like this little gem of a review:

Oppo dv971h

Or this...

Oppo dv971h-update

Or this...

Oppo dv970hd

I was particularly interested in this tidbit from the "update 971" review...

It’s rare that we run into an almost universal consensus among users with respect to the quality of a company’s customer service. Certainly there have been some companies in the past, Axiom Audio for example, that have excelled in this category; but Oppo Digital may perhaps take the cake. Since the introduction of their OPDV971H DVD player last year they have consistently provided excellent quality of service and attention to their customers.

I know I'm not at the level where I can perform better testing than the guys at this website just by walking into a brick&mortar and fiddling around as much as they'll let me.

 

[highfihoney]

I wonder how the folks who spend multi-thousands on the really snobby brands (Esoteric, Classe, Cary, McIntosh, etc.) feel when they see the actual performance figures of these Oppos?

No need to wonder,i'll talk.

I feel pretty darned good about both my Mcintosh dvd players considering both of them(different models)are now worth about 30% more than what i paid for them

We're not all a bunch of boobs with more cash than sense.

 

[j_garcia]

I own/owned a couple of higher Denons too, and I have no complaints. I actually bought them for their audio capabilities, not their video capabilities.

 

[dave1490]

I own a couple of the higher-end Denons (GRRR) and am impressed with the comments and reviews of the Oppos (where were they when I was shopping?)
I wonder how the folks who spend multi-thousands on the really snobby brands (Esoteric, Classe, Cary, McIntosh, etc.) feel when they see the actual performance figures of these Oppos?

i agree with hifihoney,i,v done the latest and greatest for many years and find that it,s always worth s**t when it,s time to upgrade.it,s time my hobby paid me,not me pay it.

 

[The Rang]

I own/owned a couple of higher Denons too, and I have no complaints. I actually bought them for their audio capabilities, not their video capabilities.

This is the main reason, IMHO, for spending a lot extra on a DVD player.

I wanted something to play hi-Rez music and DVD so I bought a Denon.

For DVD only I probably would have gone Oppo.

My nephew has an Oppo. Nice picture but the sound can't touch the better Denons

 

[Geno]

No need to wonder,i'll talk.

I feel pretty darned good about both my Mcintosh dvd players considering both of them(different models)are now worth about 30% more than what i paid for them

We're not all a bunch of boobs with more cash than sense.

Hey, I totally understand and appreciate the McIntosh mystique. If I had that kind of money to spend on AV stuff, that's what I'd be collecting. I also like my Denon 3910 and 2910 - I got them both at really good prices, and they perform flawlessly. I'd be interested in seeing how Denon and the other mass market companies with $500 - $3000 level machines react when a $200 machine outperforms them in video.

 

[jcPanny]

HDMI audio output

FYI,
My $150 Oppo DV-970HD will output both DVD-A and SACD via HDMI 1.2. This makes the DVD player's analog connections in their D/A converters a non issue if you have a good receiver with HDMI 1.2.

 

[j-p]

Hi everyone, I'm sorry if I'm not in the right place to ask these questions but
I'm so confused about all the jargon with HDTV.
My 20" CRT RCA just bit the dust and I think I'd like to purchase a
Samsung ln-s3251d and the oppo dv-970hd to go with it. I'm tight on
money and don't plan on subscribing to h/d cable or satillite just yet.
My main question is is this a decent combo for watching DVD's? I don't
need the biggest or the best, just something with good PQ. Since the
Sammy can be found for 1K, I thought I'd jump before the new models arrive.
Thanks for any help if possible, and again sorry if this is in the wrong place. Thanks-jp

 

[jonnythan]

For $1000 you can get a much larger TV than a 32".

 

[Bassman2]

This is the main reason, IMHO, for spending a lot extra on a DVD player.

I wanted something to play hi-Rez music and DVD so I bought a Denon.

For DVD only I probably would have gone Oppo.

My nephew has an Oppo. Nice picture but the sound can't touch the better Denons

Which DAC's are you using with that Denon, the one in the player or the ones in the receiver/preamp? Analog out or digital? And what Receiver are you using? I'm asking because I have been wondering about the sound quality between various DVD and CD players lately.