DVD Player Upgrade

[Twinpeaksr]

So I bet on the wrong horse and my 2 HD DVD players will not have much use for future movies (good thing I did not pay much for them!), but I need to get a Blu-ray player.

I am looking for a replacement for my Denon DVD-2930CI that I broke (got a credit to spend though!) and am looking at my options. I have a few requirements:

- Must provide exceptional DVD playback, this kills most of the Bluray players on the market right now, I have yet to see one that plays regular DVD's well.
- Must have Digital Audio Output (no HDMI reciever, just HDMI switch)

I have eliminated Samsung (I have never had anything worthwhile from that company and will never purchase from them again) and Sony is not very high on my list (just don't trust their stuff, and DVD playback is not too great on the Bluray players.

Right now I am considering the Denon DVD-2500BTCI, but it has no audio output, only HDMI (seems like a dumb move). I am not willing to spend $2K for a player to get the DVD-3800BDCI.

Any other DVD Players/Blu Ray that have good DVD Playback? I have over 200DVD and I want something that will do well for those.

Thanks!

EDIT:

To stem confusion that seems to be rising:
- I am looking for a Blu-ray/Up-converting DVD player
- I am looking for high quality DVD playback because I am not replacing my whole DVD collection
- Up-converting is reffering to additional processing for improved image quality, not just changing the output resolution.
- current HD DVD and Blu-ray players do not have exceptional DVD playback, and most that are called up converting are referring to only resolution change.

Sorry for the confusion.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Twinpeaksr
So I bet on the wrong horse and my 2 HD DVD players will not have much use for future movies (good thing I did not pay much for them!), but I need to get a Blu-ray player.

I am looking for a replacement for my Denon DVD-2930CI that I broke (got a credit to spend though!) and am looking at my options. I have a few requirements:

- Must provide exceptional DVD playback, this kills most of the Bluray players on the market right now, I have yet to see one that plays regular DVD's well.
- Must have Digital Audio Output (no HDMI reciever, just HDMI switch)

I have eliminated Samsung (I have never had anything worthwhile from that company and will never purchase from them again) and Sony is not very high on my list (just don't trust their stuff, and DVD playback is not too great on the Bluray players.

Right now I am considering the Denon DVD-2500BTCI, but it has no audio output, only HDMI (seems like a dumb move). I am not willing to spend $2K for a player to get the DVD-3800BDCI.

Any other DVD Players/Blu Ray that have good DVD Playback? I have over 200DVD and I want something that will do well for those.

Thanks!

Since when do BD players not playback DVD well?

 

[Twinpeaksr]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: Twinpeaksr
So I bet on the wrong horse and my 2 HD DVD players will not have much use for future movies (good thing I did not pay much for them!), but I need to get a Blu-ray player.

I am looking for a replacement for my Denon DVD-2930CI that I broke (got a credit to spend though!) and am looking at my options. I have a few requirements:

- Must provide exceptional DVD playback, this kills most of the Bluray players on the market right now, I have yet to see one that plays regular DVD's well.
- Must have Digital Audio Output (no HDMI reciever, just HDMI switch)

I have eliminated Samsung (I have never had anything worthwhile from that company and will never purchase from them again) and Sony is not very high on my list (just don't trust their stuff, and DVD playback is not too great on the Bluray players.

Right now I am considering the Denon DVD-2500BTCI, but it has no audio output, only HDMI (seems like a dumb move). I am not willing to spend $2K for a player to get the DVD-3800BDCI.

Any other DVD Players/Blu Ray that have good DVD Playback? I have over 200DVD and I want something that will do well for those.

Thanks!

Since when do BD players not playback DVD well?

Clarification: The Quality of the playback is not very good in comparison to a good up converting DVD player.

They all play back DVD, but the picture quality is less than stellar, and at 92", very apparent.

Thanks!

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Twinpeaksr

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: Twinpeaksr
So I bet on the wrong horse and my 2 HD DVD players will not have much use for future movies (good thing I did not pay much for them!), but I need to get a Blu-ray player.

I am looking for a replacement for my Denon DVD-2930CI that I broke (got a credit to spend though!) and am looking at my options. I have a few requirements:

- Must provide exceptional DVD playback, this kills most of the Bluray players on the market right now, I have yet to see one that plays regular DVD's well.
- Must have Digital Audio Output (no HDMI reciever, just HDMI switch)

I have eliminated Samsung (I have never had anything worthwhile from that company and will never purchase from them again) and Sony is not very high on my list (just don't trust their stuff, and DVD playback is not too great on the Bluray players.

Right now I am considering the Denon DVD-2500BTCI, but it has no audio output, only HDMI (seems like a dumb move). I am not willing to spend $2K for a player to get the DVD-3800BDCI.

Any other DVD Players/Blu Ray that have good DVD Playback? I have over 200DVD and I want something that will do well for those.

Thanks!

Since when do BD players not playback DVD well?

Clarification: The Quality of the playback is not very good in comparison to a good up converting DVD player.

They all play back DVD, but the picture quality is less than stellar, and at 92", very apparent.

Thanks!

Why are you spending more money on a DVD player? I could understand spending money on a BD player but you have a HDDVD player which upconverts nicely. I really don't remember a Denon DVD player ever being the best for upconversion.

 

[Twinpeaksr]

The HDDVD Does not up convert (it is the cheap one) and the quality of DVD playback is poor. HDDVD Playback is great though and it was $100 so I am happy with that.

The DVD-2930CI was to be one of the best at up converting, and for the short period that it worked, it worked well, color depth was improved, shadowing and detail were cleaner, and the audio was more precise. I did several comparisons to the HDDVD, my Denon 1920, Denon 1730, and Marantz DVD4300, the 2930 was clearly superior in playback.

I have not seen any of the current HDDVD or Bluray plays perform very well with DVD, that is why when they are demoed they are playing high def disks. Similar to the first HDTV, you never saw them playing standard def signals, they performed poorly much of the time.

To be fair, I have not seen the top end Sony BluRay players for DVD playback, just the players in the 400-800 range.

I am sure there are other good up converting players, but the 2930 is the one I am most familiar with.

Thanks!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I do not have a good DVD player right now since the 2930 went away, hence why I am looking for a new DVD/BluRay Player. I need both, would be nice to have them in one machine.

Thanks!

 

[sdifox]

What about a HTPC? That fits the bill.

 

[Twinpeaksr]

I am not sold on the idea of a HTPC yet. I play some DVD on my computer currently, and the stand along equipment performs better than the PC. Thanks for the idea though, something I will look into more, may be useful since I built my 1.5TB server!

thanks!

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Twinpeaksr
The HDDVD Does not up convert (it is the cheap one) and the quality of DVD playback is poor. HDDVD Playback is great though and it was $100 so I am happy with that.

The DVD-2930CI was to be one of the best at up converting, and for the short period that it worked, it worked well, color depth was improved, shadowing and detail were cleaner, and the audio was more precise. I did several comparisons to the HDDVD, my Denon 1920, Denon 1730, and Marantz DVD4300, the 2930 was clearly superior in playback.

I have not seen any of the current HDDVD or Bluray plays perform very well with DVD, that is why when they are demoed they are playing high def disks. Similar to the first HDTV, you never saw them playing standard def signals, they performed poorly much of the time.

To be fair, I have not seen the top end Sony BluRay players for DVD playback, just the players in the 400-800 range.

I am sure there are other good up converting players, but the 2930 is the one I am most familiar with.

Thanks!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I do not have a good DVD player right now since the 2930 went away, hence why I am looking for a new DVD/BluRay Player. I need both, would be nice to have them in one machine.

Thanks!

Well if you are dead set on a DVD player and not a BD player have you checked out OPPO's offerings?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Most people say the $399 PS3 40GB is a good upscaling DVD player as well as an excellent blu-ray player that will support "Profile 2.0" once Sony releases it in a firmware update. It has standard HDMI and optical digital ports that take standard cables.

Otherwise, there will be several new blu-ray players released between Summer and xmas in the $250-300 range, as well has higher-priced models. One of them is likely to meet your needs.

 

[Muadib]

What model HDDVD players do you have? I thought they all did upconversion of dvds?

 

[Shawn]

All of the HD DVD players upconvert and they all look pretty damn good. You aren't going to get much better than that. I think your expectations of DVD are too high.

 

[Twinpeaksr]

Based on what I have seen, the PS3 is a good Blu-ray player, but not a good upscaling player. Like all of the blu-ray players, it does great with BR disks, but just adequate with DVD.

I have the HD-A2, which is the lowest model. great for HDDVD, but I don't see it as an up converting player.

Perhaps my understanding of an upconverting player is different from others. An up-converting player has additional processing on board that seeks to improve playback quality by reducing noise, improving color depth, etc... using specially designed algorithms. It is not purley changing the output signal from one resolution to another, but more improving the quality of the information that is sent.

I have noticed with mine that color gradients are improved, shadow detail is noticeably cleaner (not just dark and muddy, but detailed) and sometimes the audio is more crisp (can hear detail that was not previously noticed).

Sorry if I caused any confusion.

Thanks!

 

[Twinpeaksr]

Originally posted by: Shawn
All of the HD DVD players upconvert and they all look pretty damn good. You aren't going to get much better than that. I think your expectations of DVD are too high.

There is a very large difference between a DVD played back on the HDDVD player I have and the 2930 up-converting player. My expectations are set by what I have seen on the 2930, I know there are players that are above that, so I feel that my expectations are in line with the capabilities of current technology.

 

[Shawn]

How do you have it hooked up? Upconversion is disabled via component.

 

[Twinpeaksr]

Hooked up through HDMI, audio is through digital coax. the 2930 up-converts on all outputs, but the signal resolution is only up-converted on HDMI. It is currently at 720p.

 

[DaveSimmons]

and sometimes the audio is more crisp (can hear detail that was not previously noticed).

You may be suffering from the placebo effect, which can only be cured by buying Monster brand interconnects and power cords.

Upscaling DVD players attempt to improve the video signal as you say, but none that I know of do any processing at all to the pre-recorded digital audio track. All players should send the same set of 1's and 0's unless one is malfunctioning (which should be very audible as clicks, pops, silence, static not "lowered bass presence" or similar).

 

[Rio Rebel]

The reason you keep getting posts which seem confusing is because your opinions on dvd upconversion are opposite the conventional wisdom.

HD-DVD players are among the VERY best upconverting dvd players - yes, even the HD-A2. If the A2 is not good enough for you, then you either need to go to the HD-XA2 or a very high end dvd player - either of which is a bad move, since both dvd and hd-dvd are not the way of the future.

Most people consider most of the Blu-Ray players very good upconverting dvd players, just a shade under the HD-DVD players. My Panasonic BD10 does a nice job, though by your standards, it may not measure up.

I think if I were you I would suck it up and enjoy the A2 as your upconverting player, until it's time to jump into Blu-Ray. Do you really want to spend hundreds for a pristine dvd player at this point, when at its very best it is still well short of the average HD-DVD or BD movie?

 

[Twinpeaksr]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

and sometimes the audio is more crisp (can hear detail that was not previously noticed).

You may be suffering from the placebo effect, which can only be cured by buying Monster brand interconnects and power cords.

Upscaling DVD players attempt to improve the video signal as you say, but none that I know of do any processing at all to the pre-recorded digital audio track. All players should send the same set of 1's and 0's unless one is malfunctioning (which should be very audible as clicks, pops, silence, static not "lowered bass presence" or similar).

You are correct, I was thinking about that and it was the same time I added a second AMP, which would be attributed to the improved sound. I knew that didn't look right when I typed it!

All of my interconnects are either Tara Labs or AudioQuest. Changes to the power cord will do little to improve sound or video, cable routing will do more.

Thanks!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Most people say the $399 PS3 40GB is a good upscaling DVD player as well as an excellent blu-ray player that will support "Profile 2.0" once Sony releases it in a firmware update. It has standard HDMI and optical digital ports that take standard cables.

Otherwise, there will be several new blu-ray players released between Summer and xmas in the $250-300 range, as well has higher-priced models. One of them is likely to meet your needs.

Oppo has a Blu-Ray player in the works. Based on their SD-DVD player performance, their Blu-Ray player is probably going to be excellent.

 

[Twinpeaksr]

Originally posted by: Rio Rebel
The reason you keep getting posts which seem confusing is because your opinions on dvd upconversion are opposite the conventional wisdom.

HD-DVD players are among the VERY best upconverting dvd players - yes, even the HD-A2. If the A2 is not good enough for you, then you either need to go to the HD-XA2 or a very high end dvd player - either of which is a bad move, since both dvd and hd-dvd are not the way of the future.

Most people consider most of the Blu-Ray players very good up-converting dvd players, just a shade under the HD-DVD players. My Panasonic BD10 does a nice job, though by your standards, it may not measure up.

I think if I were you I would suck it up and enjoy the A2 as your upconverting player, until it's time to jump into Blu-Ray. Do you really want to spend hundreds for a pristine dvd player at this point, when at its very best it is still well short of the average HD-DVD or BD movie?

Not sure where the confusion is - I am looking for a Blu-ray/Upconverting DVD, not a replacement DVD. When I speak of up converting I am reffing to additional processing not just a resolution change. The HDDVD players do not have additional processing and there picture quality for DVD is not very good.

 

[Shawn]

The only Blu-ray player out right now with truly great DVD upconverting is the Samsung BD-P1200 which has a Reon video processor. It is a mediocre Blu-ray player at best though so I guess it depends on what is most important to you. You can probably pick up one pretty cheap though. I got mine for $150 used.

 

[Twinpeaksr]

If it was not a Samsung, I would say it sounds good (long story about my problem with Samsung, but lets say after 4 A/V items that failed, I am done with them)!

Has any one had a chance to see the Denon DVD-2500BTCI or 3800BDCI? These are the only other hi end DVD players/Blu-ray players that I know of.

Thanks!

 

[cubby1223]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=882495
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1004155
http://www.blu-ray.com/players...s.php?id=43&show=specs

 

[Twinpeaksr]

Thanks for the links, some good info there. Did not know about the Marantz player, but another good one to check out.

Thanks!

 

[dmw16]

I am going to just get a PS3 when the time comes for BluRay. It seems like it offers good DVD/BluRay playback and also offers limited web surfing and gaming as well (I love the GT series and Ratchet and Clank).