Denon DVD player

jflail2

With some very sound advice from you CP members, I was able to invest in the beginnings of a nice new HT setup yesterday. I still have a free Valentines Day gift of my choice between 100-200$, so I was curious which Denon DVD player I should pick up to fill the void.

I think I'd like one of these 2 models as I don't want to spend a ton with HD formats finally getting into the realm of reason.......:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KOgsaAC0dBh/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=54400&I=033DV1730B

or:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KOgsaAC0dBh/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=54400&I=033DV1930C

Not sure if I see that much of a difference here, so I wanted to see if any of you had good input either way.

Thanks!

jakelm

The 1930 plays SACD and DVD-A.

I would also look at the Oppo 981hd. Probably the best "bang for the buck" out there. If you have DVI or HDMI.

But Denon is no sloutch either. If set on Denon I would go with the 1930. IMO

izafar

What type of display are you using. Between these two I would go with the 1930 as it has Faroudja DCDi de-interlacer. The oppo player 981 HD is also a very good player and is well under your budget.

jflail2

I've got a sony xbr 910 34" CRT. I haven't looked into the Oppo yet, but this might be the opportune time. I was going to keep my components Denon for the time being, but if this Oppo is the real deal then I might just save some $$....

edit: The sony has a DVI input, but no HDMI (which sux.)

izafar

You can easily convert between DVI and HDMI using a simple adaptor so DVI input on your sony will work fine.

louthewiz

Get the oppo 970-HD which is what I have ,the denon has the Faroudja DCDi de-interlacer which is notorius for mackroblocking on plasma and crt tvs ,as for dvi you can get the adapter for it to go to hdmi at the link below.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&style=

jflail2

Wow, that 970 definitely looks like the best buy at $149. All the reviews sound great; looks like another solid recommendation.

I guess I can convert to DVI and then run my audio via optical?

Thanks for the help, this has turned into a nice upgrade.

snow

jflail2 wrote:

Wow, that 970 definitely looks like the best buy at $149. All the reviews sound great; looks like another solid recommendation.

I guess I can convert to DVI and then run my audio via optical?

Thanks for the help, this has turned into a nice upgrade.

Yes you can convert to DVI and run the optical or digital coxial out for dvds cds it also has analog outputs for SACD/DVDA I own the 970HD myself and love it. It may not have the same sleek looks that the denon has, but it performs very well. There has been several of us here at CP that have got one of the various oppos. Do a search here if you want to get a few more oppinions. Denon has always made quality players but its hard to beat the oppos at this price range. REGARDS SNOW

Sherardp

oppo 981, and youre golden, plus its future proof

TennesseeOutlaw

Oppo..

jakelm

Sherardp wrote:

oppo 981, and youre golden, plus its future proof

I second that...

shack

Denon 1930

louthewiz

shack wrote:

Denon 1930

Party pooper.:D

jflail2

I was looking at the 981 last night, but I was worried about this:

DCDi by Faroudja


which Lou had mentioned earlier as being notorious for macroblocking on CRT's.......Any other CRT owners have any feedback regarding this dcdi??

shack

Denon generally "gets it right" when it comes to DVD players. They may not be the current "be all...end all" player, but chances are they will be around for a while.

mulveling

jflail2 wrote:

which Lou had mentioned earlier as being notorious for macroblocking on CRT's.......Any other CRT owners have any feedback regarding this dcdi??

I have the Sony 34" XS955 HD CRT, which uses the very same tube as your set. I've used the Denon 2910 and 3910 - macroblocking hasn't been an issue for me (and I'm really picky). Furthermore, I've noticed that this TV looks best with a good 480p digital output from DVD players. I didn't like the effect of 1080i/720p upscaling - looks too soft on this set - so I wouldn't make that a deciding factor in player selection.

You could look for a Denon 2910 used on audiogon - sometimes they go for $350 or less. HDMI video from the 2910 into your set will be as good as it gets, period. Audio quality is also excellent.

For cheap, the Panasonic RP-91 can sometimes be found for a song used. It's component video outputs are still great, and audio quality is super. Its deinterlacer is weak and won't work well with poorly mastered stuff like anime, though.

jakelm

I went from a Denon 1910, to the Oppo981. The Oppo beat the Denon hands down. And if your worried about the Faroudja chip, I believe both players have the same chip, but IMO, Oppo does a better job with it.

Sherardp

I say just go for the oppo, that thing does everything minus blu-ray/HD DVD playback. Save ya self the coin also, put it on something else you want, a few movies, a good quality cable, and be done.

jflail2

After much debate, I pulled the trigger on an Oppo 970HD today. I would like to have had the 981 1080p version, but I figure I'll pick up one of those when I get a display that has 1080p capabilities as well. That, and the 970 gave me the option of using HDMI or component, whereas the 981 only offered HDMI out.

Anyone know much about the usb and card reader? Any caveats I should know about?

I'm stoked; this is the last piece of the puzzle for the time being. And as Sherard said, I definitely saved some coin. $149 was a steal in my book.