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#1
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DVD Player Recommendation: Sony ES, Yamaha, Denon, or other?
Hi,
We have been using the Sony DVP S7700 which we bought in 1999 as the DVD player for our system. This fall we plan on upgrading to a Panasonic 50' plasma screen. When we bought the S7700, it was one of the reference players out there - indeed it was very good, much better compared to the consumer-grade DVD panasonic player we first owned. However, as S7700 does not have progressive output, and with plasma HDTV-ready TV, I understanding we need progressive scan to get the better picture quality. Thus, we are ready to upgrade when we buy the TV. Looking a bit on the net, we found a couple of models that would suit our needs and budget. More specifically, the budget it around 500 USD, maybe a little more. In this price range, I first looked at the Sony ES line, more specifically the follow up reference to what we currently own: Sony DVP-NS999ES. In the similar price range I saw the Yamaha DVD-S2500, and the Denon DVD-2910B. The Denon DVD-2910 also hasa HDMI output, which I am not sure if it makes any difference over composite video, but it also claims to offer 720p and 1080i output. I know that the plasma screen does offer this mode. Given the price range and the choices, which DVD player would you recommend? Our main concern is the picture quality, and secondly audio quality (2-channel). In addition, it would be nice if there was a modification for these players to play PAL/region free discs as we have quiet a few DVDs from Europe that we currently play on an cheap region-free divx/dvd player from philips. Kind regards, george |
#2
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"Pred02" wrote:
(snip) In the similar price range I saw the Yamaha DVD-S2500, and the Denon DVD-2910B. The Denon DVD-2910 also hasa HDMI output, which I am not sure if it makes any difference over composite video, but it also claims to offer 720p and 1080i output. I know that the plasma screen does offer this mode. I have the Denon 3910 which is the next model up from the 2910. IMO, it's the best player for the money. You can output both NTSC as well as PAL video without an external decoder, the picture and audio is reference quality and the player is easily region-free hackable with a software flash upgrade. It has a *lot* of features for tweaking and storing several different video settings for various kinds of dvds. I have A/B'd the 2910, 3910 and the 5910 and there's a minor but noticeable difference in the video and audio quality (especially on SACDs) between the 2910 and 3910 but the 2910 is still an excellent player that stands far above most other players in the same price range. The top of the line 5910 is almost double the price of the 3910 and I honestly didn't see any difference between it and the 3910. The only complaint I could say is that the player is slow to load and start discs, but the reason is so it buffers a bigger then most players amount of data which means layer changes are far more smooth then just about any other player I've seen. IMO, the 3910 should be the last dvd player I'll ever buy until whatever HiDef format has supplanted traditional dvds. T.B. |
#3
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I have seen the 3910, and it is a great DVD player, but unfortunantely
it cannot be found for less than 1000. I will also look into the Pioneer Elite Avi49 player, it can be found for about 700 USD, which should fit the bill between the 3910 and 3910. I realized that the Sony just came out with a new flagship player in the ES line that has DVI and upscaling, but it cannot be found under 1000. No wonder the former champ, NS999ES is only 500-600 USD. If there are any other player recommendations that are 500-700 that fir the bill I appreciate it. |
#4
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"Pred02" wrote:
I have seen the 3910, and it is a great DVD player, but unfortunantely it cannot be found for less than 1000. I will also look into the Pioneer Elite Avi49 player, it can be found for about 700 USD, which should fit the bill between the 3910 and 3910. I suggest doing some serious shopping if you are on the fence about that player due to the price. I bought mine for just over $750.00 about a year ago and it was brand new, not B stock or any sort of open box or demo. I realized that the Sony just came out with a new flagship player in the ES line that has DVI and upscaling, but it cannot be found under 1000. No wonder the former champ, NS999ES is only 500-600 USD. If there are any other player recommendations that are 500-700 that fir the bill I appreciate it. T.B. |
#5
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On 10/12/2005 12:24 AM, TB wrote:
"Pred02" wrote: I have seen the 3910, and it is a great DVD player, but unfortunantely it cannot be found for less than 1000. I will also look into the Pioneer Elite Avi49 player, it can be found for about 700 USD, which should fit the bill between the 3910 and 3910. I suggest doing some serious shopping if you are on the fence about that player due to the price. I bought mine for just over $750.00 about a year ago and it was brand new, not B stock or any sort of open box or demo. I realized that the Sony just came out with a new flagship player in the ES line that has DVI and upscaling, but it cannot be found under 1000. No wonder the former champ, NS999ES is only 500-600 USD. If there are any other player recommendations that are 500-700 that fir the bill I appreciate it. T.B. Why pay a lot when HDVD and Blue Ray are around the corner? |
#6
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"Dan" wrote in message ... Why pay a lot when HDVD and Blue Ray are around the corner? Around teh corner is a pretty loose term. It in all likelihood will be several years b4 you can walk into a Blockbuster for a Hi-Def rental, or BB/CC to buy one. Thats a long time to wait when you could be enjoying one of the many great players available today |
#7
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Biz wrote:
"Dan" wrote in message ... Why pay a lot when HDVD and Blue Ray are around the corner? Around teh corner is a pretty loose term. It in all likelihood will be several years b4 you can walk into a Blockbuster for a Hi-Def rental, or BB/CC to buy one. Thats a long time to wait when you could be enjoying one of the many great players available today Years? As bad as this two format situation is, I think years is excessively pessemistic. -- Matthew mlmartin@ .com (fill in the blank with user name) "All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people" -- Alexander Bullock ("My Man Godfrey" 1936) |
#8
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"Matthew L. Martin" wrote:
Biz wrote: "Dan" wrote in message ... Why pay a lot when HDVD and Blue Ray are around the corner? Around teh corner is a pretty loose term. It in all likelihood will be several years b4 you can walk into a Blockbuster for a Hi-Def rental, or BB/CC to buy one. Thats a long time to wait when you could be enjoying one of the many great players available today Years? As bad as this two format situation is, I think years is excessively pessemistic. Well, it's already been over a year since I bought what I figure should be my last traditional dvd player with no HiDef content or player in sight. T.B. |
#9
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"TB" wrote in message ... "Matthew L. Martin" wrote: Biz wrote: "Dan" wrote in message ... Why pay a lot when HDVD and Blue Ray are around the corner? Around teh corner is a pretty loose term. It in all likelihood will be several years b4 you can walk into a Blockbuster for a Hi-Def rental, or BB/CC to buy one. Thats a long time to wait when you could be enjoying one of the many great players available today Years? As bad as this two format situation is, I think years is excessively pessemistic. Well, it's already been over a year since I bought what I figure should be my last traditional dvd player with no HiDef content or player in sight. T.B. Exactly, we're already a year or so into this waiting for HD/Blu-Ray right around the corner BS already. I notice MLM didnt try to put any alternative time frame in place outside of disagreeing with mine...I think 2-3 years is just about right, meaning we now have 1-2 years b4 you'll see the tiels at Blockbuster/Hollywood/etc.. or for sale in any semblence at big retailers... |
#10
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Biz wrote:
"TB" wrote in message ... "Matthew L. Martin" wrote: Biz wrote: "Dan" wrote in message ... Why pay a lot when HDVD and Blue Ray are around the corner? Around teh corner is a pretty loose term. It in all likelihood will be several years b4 you can walk into a Blockbuster for a Hi-Def rental, or BB/CC to buy one. Thats a long time to wait when you could be enjoying one of the many great players available today Years? As bad as this two format situation is, I think years is excessively pessemistic. Well, it's already been over a year since I bought what I figure should be my last traditional dvd player with no HiDef content or player in sight. T.B. Exactly, we're already a year or so into this waiting for HD/Blu-Ray right around the corner BS already. I notice MLM didnt try to put any alternative time frame in place outside of disagreeing with mine...I think 2-3 years is just about right, meaning we now have 1-2 years b4 you'll see the tiels at Blockbuster/Hollywood/etc.. or for sale in any semblence at big retailers... I didn't try to name a time frame as I have no insider information. I do disagree that "years" is likely. The electronics makers want the next generation very badly since there is little or no money to be made in the commodity DVD player market. The studios have also observed that DVD is their goose, laying golden eggs all over the planet. They want the next generation because they think they will make even _more_ when they start releasing everything all over again. If you insist that I guess: they have all been down this road before (1995-1997, the original DVD delay) I see no reason that it will take any longer this time than last. Check back in a year. -- Matthew mlmartin@ .com (fill in the blank with user name) "All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people" -- Alexander Bullock ("My Man Godfrey" 1936) |
#11
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Matthew L. Martin wrote:
I didn't try to name a time frame as I have no insider information. I do disagree that "years" is likely. The electronics makers want the next generation very badly since there is little or no money to be made in the commodity DVD player market. The studios have also observed that DVD is their goose, laying golden eggs all over the planet. They want the next generation because they think they will make even _more_ when they start releasing everything all over again. If you insist that I guess: they have all been down this road before (1995-1997, the original DVD delay) I see no reason that it will take any longer this time than last. Check back in a year. I think years is definitely an accurate timeframe. Nobody is going to buy into HD DVD's until the format war is settled. That confusion leads to consumers having a "wait and see" attitude. With few players in the marketplace (other than in computers and gaming consoles) the studios have little incentive to release content. Just look at the extremely limited catalog of SACD and DVD-A titles available and those formats have been available in "commodity" players for years. I'd be pretty shocked if more than a sprinkling of HD titles were available in a place like Blockbuster before 2008/2009. And even then, the number of available titles will continue to be dwarfed by the "plain old DVD" for a long time to come. That said... On the cheap end, I like the Samsung HD841/950/971. On the expensive end, it's tough to beat the Denon 2910/3910/5910. Cheers, |
#12
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In article ,
"Matthew L. Martin" wrote: Years? As bad as this two format situation is, I think years is excessively pessemistic. *laughs* He's being optimistic! If you want an idea of how much this format war could slow down acceptance, consider in part that due to the Betamax vs. VHS format war, it took VHS over 15 years(!) to achieve the same penetration rate that DVD did in just 5 years! And then of course you've got the whole HDTV issue. A good 90% of consumers using DVD right now will have to purchase an HDTV of some sort before "HD DVD" is even a viable option. BTW, it took Blockbuster a little over 3 years to introduce DVDs into their stores. Best Buy was faster, but even they took some time with it. Circuit City had that Divx **** all over their stores until it died. And don't even get me started on Wal-Mart's ULTRA SLOW ASS acceptance of DVD. So with a looming format war, indeed it will be years before you see any HD format get even close to where DVD is RIGHT NOW. -- "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George Dumbya Bush |
#13
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DVD Player Recommendation: Sony ES, Yamaha, Denon, or other?
Hello.
I just burned a video onto a Memorex DVD+R double layer DVD and unfortunately it wouldn't load on my Denon 2910. It did work on my cheap sony. I am no expert here so I am hoping you might have an answer. Any thoughts? Thanks Ken TB wrote: "Pred02" wrote: (snip) In the similar price range I saw the Yamaha DVD-S2500, and the Denon DVD-2910B. The Denon DVD-2910 also hasa HDMI output, which I am not sure if it makes any difference over composite video, but it also claims to offer 720p and 1080i output. I know that the plasma screen does offer this mode. I have the Denon 3910 which is the next model up from the 2910. IMO, it's the best player for the money. You can output both NTSC as well as PAL video without an external decoder, the picture and audio is reference quality and the player is easily region-free hackable with a software flash upgrade. It has a *lot* of features for tweaking and storing several different video settings for various kinds of dvds. I have A/B'd the 2910, 3910 and the 5910 and there's a minor but noticeable difference in the video and audio quality (especially on SACDs) between the 2910 and 3910 but the 2910 is still an excellent player that stands far above most other players in the same price range. The top of the line 5910 is almost double the price of the 3910 and I honestly didn't see any difference between it and the 3910. The only complaint I could say is that the player is slow to load and start discs, but the reason is so it buffers a bigger then most players amount of data which means layer changes are far more smooth then just about any other player I've seen. IMO, the 3910 should be the last dvd player I'll ever buy until whatever HiDef format has supplanted traditional dvds. T.B. |
#14
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DVD Player Recommendation: Sony ES, Yamaha, Denon, or other?
Ken wrote:
I just burned a video onto a Memorex DVD+R double layer DVD and unfortunately it wouldn't load on my Denon 2910. It did work on my cheap sony. I am no expert here so I am hoping you might have an answer. Any thoughts? If you have no way to measure error rate or eye pattern S/N, just try different blanks and different speeds until you get the best compatibility you can. Without instrumentation it is a matter of shooting in the dark. But, blanks are cheap. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#15
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DVD Player Recommendation: Sony ES, Yamaha, Denon, or other?
Thanks Scott. Unfortunately at $20 for a 3 pack of double layer disks
I think I'm going to make it the problem of the place I bought this from. Thanks Ken Scott Dorsey wrote: Ken wrote: I just burned a video onto a Memorex DVD+R double layer DVD and unfortunately it wouldn't load on my Denon 2910. It did work on my cheap sony. I am no expert here so I am hoping you might have an answer. Any thoughts? If you have no way to measure error rate or eye pattern S/N, just try different blanks and different speeds until you get the best compatibility you can. Without instrumentation it is a matter of shooting in the dark. But, blanks are cheap. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#16
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DVD Player Recommendation: Sony ES, Yamaha, Denon, or other?
Ken wrote:
Thanks Scott. Unfortunately at $20 for a 3 pack of double layer disks I think I'm going to make it the problem of the place I bought this from. According to Denon, it should support that media type. I'm not sure what program you used to create your DVD, but you might want to try that disc in another "known good" player and see if it plays there before howling at your dealer. Cheers, |
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