Hello folks,
This is going to be kind of a long post, but please bear with me... I have been reading these forums for a few weeks now, getting some good ideas, and trying to learn as much as I can. I am looking to start setting up my home theater, and I wanted to be able to get some things that would last well, and sound nice and look nice too. The only part of my system that I already have that is not going to change anytime soon will be my old RCA tube TV (with s-video input). I just don't have permission from the boss (wife).
Anyway, I have been looking at DVD players, receivers, and speakers. My budget is not very high, however I have found that I can get what seem to be some fairly decent components for not that much. I feel that I am pretty much set on getting the Marantz SR-5600 for my receiver, since I like the way it sounds, it has some nice features, and looks like I would be able to expand it over time. I am still looking at speakers, I have only had a chance to hear some Paradigm Titans, but I want to hear some other ones before I buy. But this thread is mainly about the DVD player I want to get. I have looked and decided that I want something that will play all my regular DVD's, my DVD+R's, and my DVD+RW's, my music CD's, some MP3's periodically (would be neat to be able to do it on a DVD too) and some JPG's once in a while. We like to sit down as a family and watch family picture slideshows from time to time. I don't really care about DivX, since I have not used it and don't plan on it, but it could be nice to have as a feature just in case. I have heard a lot of good and bad about DVD-A, and SACD, but honestly, I've never had the opportunity to actually hear one, nor have I ever seen one being sold in a store. I think I would like to be able to have the ability to play them, since I will eventually be getting enough speakers to do surround sound. At first though, I will only be getting the front right and left though. I probably won't get a sub until the kids grow up enough to understand not to stuff their toys into it!
Anyway, coming to the point finally, I have found that there are three or four DVD players that look really nice, that may fit very nicely into the budget and to the HT system. I have been looking at the Pioneer DV-588a, the Onkyo DV-SP502, and the Denon 1920. I would have liked the $600 Marantz DV6600, but it is way out of budget for me.
So basically, according to hometheaterhifi.com, the Pioneer 588a, and the Onkyo DV-SP502 are pretty much the same machine, same parts etc. Though the Onkyo is more expensive by about $100. I admit, I like the black box look to it though over the silly silver look of the Pioneer. My Hi-Fi store locally only sells the Pioneer though, not the Onkyo. In fact, I can't find anywhere nearby that sells the Onkyo, so I haven't been able to go and look at it and try it out. I've tried the Pioneer out though, but only a little bit. It seems like a decent player. I've heard some good things from users of the Denon 1920, but the hometheaterhifi.com's review of the 1910, which I assume is the immediate predecessor of the 1920, was not really that positive on some points, and I don't know if the 1920 has changed much from that model or not. (anyone know?) I can get it locally here, and have looked at it, but not tried it out. Anyway, those are the three that I have been looking at. Each can play pretty much the same stuff, but each has their strengths and weaknesses.
The Pioneer is cheapest at $130, then the Onkyo at $250, then the Denon at $370. Truthfully the Denon is getting almost out of my price range, but if it worth it, I will seriously look into it.
I think that the Denon is the only one with an HDMI output, but since I don't currently have a TV that would work with this, I wouldn't be able to use it. Also my TV probably cannot use the Progressive Scan output on any of these, since I don't have component video inputs on it. Maybe someday. Is that even something I should consider? I have read that the component video output is as good as or better than the HDMI output... Of course once Blu-Ray and HD-DVD come around, apparently they won't be able to output as high of a resolution over the component as the HDMI, so I may just forgo those completely, I cannot say I am very impressed with it so far, just by the descriptions. I haven't seen it yet. Though, for computer backup, that may be really nice!
So now comes your part. What have I missed? Out of your experiences, which one would work better, for longer, with fewer problems and quirks. Thanks for your patience with the long post!
-capT
