Which high-end DVD player?

M

magus

Audiophyte
Hey everyone, I am getting a home theater system and was looking for a high-end Dvd player to go along with it. I am looking at pioneer and denon. Thanks Ahead. :)
 
Z

Zarg

Junior Audioholic
High-end?

magus said:
Hey everyone, I am getting a home theater system and was looking for a high-end Dvd player to go along with it. I am looking at pioneer and denon. Thanks Ahead. :)
Not sure what you mean by high-end. Does a $1,000 DVD player qualify?

I recently purchased a Denon 3910, universal DVD player of the year, according to Audioholics. It's great ... but I can't help wondering if I bought more than I really needed. I don't listen to SACD or DVD-audio, so why did I care about the "Denon LINK" feature?

In retrospect, I might have purchased the 2910 and saved $300 or so. It seems kinda funny/weird that I paid more for my DVD player than I paid for the A/V receiver.....

Best of luck in your search!

Zarg
 
J

Jason Coleman

Banned
I've also got the Denon 3910 and I do use all of the features...DVD-A, SACD, etc and they are all fantastic. Unfortunately, Denon is still awaiting approval to transmit SACD over their proprietary DenonLink connection, but that's another story.

High end doesn't really mean anything unless you designate a pricetag. A few years ago, a $400 Pioneer Elite 45a was a high-end player for me. Now, the 3910 seems like a middle-of-the-road contender with all of the other flagship players that are surfacing.

Jason
 
C

Colonel_Tomb

Audioholic Intern
Last year I bought a Denon DVD-2900, and if I were to buy one today, I'd probably get a 3910. The 2900 is a fine player, but the 3910 has some very-real advantages -- DVI/HDMI video output, Denon Link and IEEE-1394 audio output, and distance compensation for all formats (previously not available for SACD).
 
Rex

Rex

Audioholic
Mega2000 said:
are these "high end" players region free?
From what Ive read today, they are region free and will play NTSC or Pal.
 
Rex

Rex

Audioholic
Colonel_Tomb said:
Last year I bought a Denon DVD-2900, and if I were to buy one today, I'd probably get a 3910. The 2900 is a fine player, but the 3910 has some very-real advantages -- DVI/HDMI video output, Denon Link and IEEE-1394 audio output, and distance compensation for all formats (previously not available for SACD).
I noticed that the 2910 has all these features.
 
P

perato

Audioholic Intern
I bought a 3910 a few weeks ago. The major difference between the 3910 and 2910 is that the 3910 has IEEE 1394 and the 2910 does not. There are a few other differences also, but that is the biggest difference IMHO. You can get info about these players from Denon's website. Neither of these players are region free. They will only play region-free discs and discs from the region you buy the player in. I am in the US, so the player will only play Region 1 and region free discs. I do not have discs from other regions so I cannot test this, but this is what the manual says. There are comapanies that modify players and can make a 3910 or 2910 into a region free player and add other connections as well. So far, I only use the multi-channel analog conections, but in the future whenever I buy a new receiver, I will get one with IEEE 1394. I chose the 3910 over the 2910 because I do not want to have to buy another player in the future. With the exception of one connection, SDI, which can be added later by modding the player, the 3910 has all the connections I would ever need in the future. I could not say if there are any audible differences between these players because the store I bought it from was not conducive to reasonable listening tests.
 
E

ebough

Junior Audioholic
You might want to consider what type of HDTV you'll be getting and whether or not you are interested in audio. An lcd or plasma TV usually displays in 768p format. So whether you input a 480p de-interlaced image or an up-converted 720p or 1080i image, your TV will re-convert to 768p. So the argument for buying an expensive up-converting DVD player makes little sense. On the other hand, a DVD player with a DVI or HDMI output allows the output to Your TV to remain in the digital domain without coversion to analog. Bottom line, if you are buying an lcd or plasma HDTV with a native format of 768p and a DVI or HDMI input, buy the cheapest DVD player with DVI or HDMI output. Up-converting is less important. Unfortunately, both DVI/HDMI and up-conversion are usually packaged together in relatively more expensive DVD players.
 
M

magus

Audiophyte
Thank You every one for the info. I am going to go research IEEE 1394.
 

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