Should I upgrade from my Denon DVD-2910?

[Phaze]

Hi all.

I am considering upgrading from my existing Denon DVD-2910 to a new universal player. I recently purchased a 46" Toshiba Regza Cinema Series 1080i flat screen. I'd like to purchase a 1080i upconversion DVD player but still needs something to play my extensive collection of multi-channel SACD's and DVD-A's. I'd prefer to purchase a universal player and spend less than $500. Any recommendations in that price range that would give me a better DVD picture and at least equivalent SACD & DVD-A sound? Thanks for you thoughts and suggestions!

 

[fmw]

I'll recommend what I use myself - the Oppo Digital 980. It is $169.95 plus shipping. It performs as well as anything I've seen. It is so inexpensive because a. it is made in China and b. It is sold direct without dealer markups.

 

[jcPanny]

HD player

I would recommend keeping the Denon as you universal player and adding HD-DVD or Bluray. The entry level Toshiba HD-A2 (or A3) would provide you with an HD source and do a good job of upscaling regular DVDs and you would get several free movies with the current promotions.

I think a PS3 is also in your $500 price range if you like games.

 

[j_garcia]

Again, I agree with jcPanny. The Oppo won't offer anything that the 2910 doesn't do already and even if it does have better picture quality, it won't be by a landslide.

A new PS3 will be $399 later this month. All Blu-ray players at the moment come with 5 free movies (mail in).

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hi all.

I am considering upgrading from my existing Denon DVD-2910 to a new universal player. I recently purchased a 46" Toshiba Regza Cinema Series 1080i flat screen. I'd like to purchase a 1080i upconversion DVD player but still needs something to play my extensive collection of multi-channel SACD's and DVD-A's. I'd prefer to purchase a universal player and spend less than $500. Any recommendations in that price range that would give me a better DVD picture and at least equivalent SACD & DVD-A sound? Thanks for you thoughts and suggestions!

While the hi defs are nice on a very large screen
I am not sure your TV and 1080i will do much for you with hi def movies.
An alternative is to wait for hi def until a much larger screen is in your purchase and 1080p.

 

[j_garcia]

While the hi defs are nice on a very large screen
I am not sure your TV and 1080i will do much for you with hi def movies.
An alternative is to wait for hi def until a much larger screen is in your purchase and 1080p.

Sorry, have to disagree completely with this one. You can still see the benefits even on nearly any screen. I have a 34" 1080i/720p set and the difference is very noticeable.

 

[enrique]

While the hi defs are nice on a very large screen
I am not sure your TV and 1080i will do much for you with hi def movies.
An alternative is to wait for hi def until a much larger screen is in your purchase and 1080p.

I completely disagree with this statement.I have a 40 lcd 1080i and it looks fantastic.Unless you go larger than 50 i doubt you'll notice much difference at 1080p anyways.

 

[Phaze]

Thanks for replies

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and replies. Until the format war is resolved I'll wait on a Blue Ray or HD-DVD player. In additon I really need a universal player due to space and the need to play SACD's and DVD-A's. The OPPO's don't look like much of a picture upgrade from your coments. It may be best for me to do nothing, always an option, at this time. Since my DVD-2910 is several years old I was hoping technology had moved forward enough to make an upgrade tempting. Any other universial player suggestions in the $500 or less price range would be appreciated.

 

[bigbangtheory]

I'll recommend what I use myself - the Oppo Digital 980. It is $169.95 plus shipping. It performs as well as anything I've seen. It is so inexpensive because a. it is made in China and b. It is sold direct without dealer markups.

Completely agree!!! You get so much for the money with Oppo. Heck, there would be leftover money to buy more SACDs or DVD-As if he goes with Oppo!

 

[jonnythan]

I completely disagree with this statement.I have a 40 lcd 1080i and it looks fantastic.Unless you go larger than 50 i doubt you'll notice much difference at 1080p anyways.

There's a big difference between the operation of a fixed-pixel HD LCD screen and a CRT that can natively operate at 480i, 480p, and 1080i.

I'm not sure if upscaling will give significant benefits to a screen that can natively display the DVD resolutions. It certainly can't hurt, though.

It *is* a different ballgame from an LCD, plasma, or DLP, though.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Sorry, have to disagree completely with this one. You can still see the benefits even on nearly any screen. I have a 34" 1080i/720p set and the difference is very noticeable.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/assets/download/0602_tech_talk2_large.jpg

Well, the seating distance is important to resolution detection with screen size.

 

[Haoleb]

I would recommend keeping the Denon as you universal player and adding HD-DVD or Bluray. The entry level Toshiba HD-A2 (or A3) would provide you with an HD source and do a good job of upscaling regular DVDs and you would get several free movies with the current promotions.

I think a PS3 is also in your $500 price range if you like games.

Agreed as well. The 2910 is no slouch of a player. If you want a better picture quality HD players are the way to go. Upconverting isint going to give you a HD picture off of a 480 dvd. I dont care what anyone says, The resolution isint there to begin with on a standard dvd. Upconverting it doesnt magically dig out details in the picture that never existed.

 

[jonnythan]

Upconverting it doesnt magically dig out details in the picture that never existed.

No, but it sure as hell looks better when you have custom upsampling hardware scaling the image to an HD resolution than the circuitry you get in a TV.

 

[jcPanny]

Oppo DVD player

Phaze,
You might take advantage of the Oppo return policy and demo it against your Denon. If there isn't a significant PQ upgrade or it doesn't perform as well for SACD playback then send it back. I wouldn't recommend spending $500 on a non-HD player, especially if you primary internest is a better picture.

I have had good results with the entry level Oppo on my modest 32" LCD.

 

[UFObuster]

You might consider getting the Denon 3910 used. There are usually a couple available on audiogon.com for less than $500. I doubt there is any better upscaling around and it's a fantastic CD/SACD/DVD-A player. I use one with my Rotel gear and Klipsch speakers. The build quality is so much better than the Oppos and I'm sure the audio fidelity will be much, much better.

 

[j_garcia]

You might consider getting the Denon 3910 used. There are usually a couple available on audiogon.com for less than $500. I doubt there is any better upscaling around and it's a fantastic CD/SACD/DVD-A player. I use one with my Rotel gear and Klipsch speakers. The build quality is so much better than the Oppos and I'm sure the audio fidelity will be much, much better.

You would be mistaken then. Yes the build quality is better of course (it better be for ~5x the price), but surprisingly, the audio section of the 980 is respectable. It isn't quite as good as my 2900, but it is good enough that I'd call it quite a bargain for what you get.

 

[Thunder18]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and replies. Until the format war is resolved I'll wait on a Blue Ray or HD-DVD player. In additon I really need a universal player due to space and the need to play SACD's and DVD-A's. The OPPO's don't look like much of a picture upgrade from your coments. It may be best for me to do nothing, always an option, at this time. Since my DVD-2910 is several years old I was hoping technology had moved forward enough to make an upgrade tempting. Any other universial player suggestions in the $500 or less price range would be appreciated.

Check out the Sherwood Newcastle SD-860 at:
http://www.sherwoodusa.com/prod_sd860.html
You should be able to find it for less than $400. It's a universal player that also plays Divx files, but it does not upconvert. Their SD-871 model upconverts and includes Faroudja processing, but it's MSRP is also $800.

 

[UFObuster]

You would be mistaken then. Yes the build quality is better of course (it better be for ~5x the price), but surprisingly, the audio section of the 980 is respectable. It isn't quite as good as my 2900, but it is good enough that I'd call it quite a bargain for what you get.

I refreshed my memory looking over the archived threads related to Denon DVD players regarding audio playback. FWIW, most users and reviewers consider the 2900 (which you rate better than the Oppo) as better than the 2910. Then the 3910 comes in as a significant improvement over the 2900. Audioholics considers it as good as the flagship 59xx of that year....the review is still on this site.

As I recall, the original poster was looking for better analog music playback for SACD/DVD-A and CD. 3910s are available in good condition (audiogon for example) well under $500. The build quality is not just the "box" but includes much higher quality power supply/transformers. For 2x the price of Oppo, not 5x..it becomes a worthwhile consideration for a real audiophile. As with most playback devices it becomes debatable where diminishing return begins......if you want a "bargain", then by all means go Oppo. I really like the Oppo, but if you're going to use the transport as your main audio source component for playback thru a high quality system in several different formats....you're eventually going to want better.

 

[j_garcia]

The 2900 is essentially the predecessor to the 3910....The 2200 is the predecessor to the 2910, so no it isn't "significantly" better. I've heard all of them and they all sound more similar than not. The 2900 is smoother and has better separation than the 2200 and 2910, but is pretty much indistinguishable from the 3910 to my ears. The 3910 will be an upgrade from the 2910, but it isn't going to be night and day from what he already has.

If he wants better PQ, a high def player would be the way to go, not another upscaling DVD player. (which was his actual question...video not audio) The problem with that is, there isn't a high def player that is universal audio wise.

 

[bigbangtheory]

The 2900 is essentially the predecessor to the 3910....The 2200 is the predecessor to the 2910, so no it isn't "significantly" better. I've heard all of them and they all sound more similar than not. The 2900 is smoother and has better separation than the 2200 and 2910, but is pretty much indistinguishable from the 3910 to my ears. The 3910 will be an upgrade from the 2910, but it isn't going to be night and day from what he already has.

If he wants better PQ, a high def player would be the way to go, not another upscaling DVD player. (which was his actual question...video not audio) The problem with that is, there isn't a high def player that is universal audio wise.

What he said...

I am in the same boat. SO tempting to get into Oppo for the value. BUT, knowing that the video upscaling cannot touch that of true HD would irk me to no end...and thus, I wait for the source that can handle HD material, ans serve as a nice sacd/dvd-a player (ref: Integra's DHS-8.8).