Marantz BD7004 Universal Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)The mid to higher end Blu Ray Player landscape was dramatically changed by the $500 Oppo. It matched performance and value in a wonderful package. That said, there remain some players that offer higher quality audio (via analogues) and a bit more style and panache, namely the Denon DBP-2010CI and its Marantz cousin the BD7004.
The Marantz is a very stylish player with a curved fascia that stands out amongst many rectangular players with little focus on design. It is a heavy, solid player sits a bit taller than most. From a build perspective, height does provide a bit more room for spatial layout and possibly avoids heat accomodating a smaller area.
The player is responsive, but not outstandingly fast. Powered off eject times are roughly 13-15 seconds and non-java and java-light discs load in 20 to 40 seconds. Heavy Java discs around 1 minute.
The player is profile 2.0 for internet-based special features, which creates a spandrel in making firmware updates easy via the internet.
Although the player is nearly identical to the Denon DBP-2010CI, I have found the Marantz BD7004 to be devoid of any weird handshake issues that caused brief green flashes at power up.
DVD upscaling is top notch with the ABT VRS scaling chip. I would venture to say that it is 98% of the Oppo's performance for normal content. The Oppo's chip (ABT 2010) is a bit better at recognizing obscure film cadences used in animation and anime, but the ABT 1030 chip in the 7004 does an exceptional job at detail reproduction, color accuracy, and motion. The menus allow for detail PQ tweaking including NR, gamma, brightness and contrast (the menu gui is a bit dated). BD playback is excellent.
The player gains a competitive advantage in audio performance. The 7.1 CH analogue output is terrific and has speaker settings and distances, but does not allow one to set the crossover annoyingly. The DACs are tremendous and deliver very clean and warm sound.
This player is truly a worthy competitor to the Oppo when you factor in the three year warranty and RS 232, but push your local dealer for a more realistic price.

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Combining both disc and memory card capability, the Marantz BD7004 Universal Blu-ray Disc Player reads virtually every popular disc format available today: Blu-ray (both commercial releases and recordable discs), DVDs (movies and DVD-R/RWs), as well as standard and recordable CDs. It also includes Secure Digital (SD and SDHC) memory card reader, and the player can also handle DivX and AVCHD video files.

The BD7004 features an advanced Anchor Bay video processor--part of the company's Video Reference Series--which combines exclusive circuits like Progressive ReProcessing (PReP), Precision Video Scaling, Precision Deinterlacing, RightRate, AutoCUE-C, Precision AV LipSync, Fine Detail & Edge Enhancement, and Mosquito Noise Reduction. Audio capabilities include internal decoding for both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

With the embedded BD Live Profile 2.0 specification, you can access additional content from the Internet when connected via the Ethernet networking port.

The sleek 3.5-inch contoured front panel combines both aluminum and reinforced resin composite to dampen resonance and blend with virtually any decor. A second metal plate reinforces the player's top cover for increased vibration control, and the centrally located disc mechanism places the critical disc-laser interface in the middle of the chassis to minimize the kind of artifacts that could impact both audio and video quality.

Controlling the BD7004 is easy with the included handheld remote control and a rear panel RS-232 jack that can be used with optional advanced touch-screen control systems.

Key Features
Sophisticated new aluminum/reinforced resin front panel with Center Mount Drawer
New Chassis with heavy gauge top cover for reduced vibration
Profile 2.0 for BD-Live, Bonus View support
HDMI 1.3a supporting 36-bit Deep color and HD Audio bit stream outputs
Anchor Bay VRS Technology Video Scaler ABT1030
297MHz/12-bit Analog Devices NSV Technology Video DAC ADV7340
1920 x 1080 resolution with 24 FPS output capability
Supporting 480i resolution output
Built-in HD Audio Decoder for Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio
192kHz/24bit Burr-Brown Audio DAC PCM1782 for all channels
Stereo + 7.1 channel Analog outputs High Quality Audio Circuits, featuring Elna Capacitors for all channels
Pure Direct Audio Playback as "Audio Ex" (exclusive) mode
SD Card readers for WMA, MP3, JPEG files
Playback DivX HD files in disc
Playback AVCHD files in disc / SD card
Gold-plated audio and video outputs
RS-232C terminal for custom installation
Discrete commands
IR flasher input/output
Firmware update available via Ethernet (Internet) connection
Detachable power cord

Specifications

What's in the Box
Marantz BD7004 Blu-ray Disc Player, remote control (with batteries), power cord, RCA video cable, RCA audio cable, user guide

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LG AN-WF100 Wi-Fi USB Adaptor Review

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(More customer reviews)This USB Adapter is amazingly simple to install and has been operating flawlessly on my 2010 LG 42" LED HDTV (42LE5400) ever since I installed it 6 weeks ago. It simply plugs in like any other USB Adapter on the back of the TV. Please note that it is not supported by older LG HDTV models (I suggest to check the LG website for specifics).
To get it operational:
Once plugged into the USB port of the HDTV, I needed to first setup the wireless access point on the HDTV (LG's owner's manual says exactly what to do, following on-screen menu selections), then unlock my network via the router and follow the router's software instructions for adding a new network device (I run a 802.11n wireless network using Cisco's "WRT160N" router with WPA2 encryption and manage the network using Cisco's "Network Magic Pro" software). Once the router recognized the USB Adapter as a new device, simply using the remote control of the HDTV to select the correct Network SSID and enter the Network Passphrase (a.k.a. "Security Key") was all that it took to get it running (after locking the network again on the router side).
All in all, it took less than 15 min to get this working on the first try. I have been streaming Netflix videos flawlessly with this wireless connection using the LG HDTV "NETCAST" connection to Netflix.
One thing I didn't realize at the time of the purchase is that this adapter will NOT give you full internet access as one might easily assume or expect. I believe this is really a limitation of the HDTV's, not this USB Adapter, as the HDTV's don't come with full internet browser capabilities yet. It 'only' allows for wireless use of LG's select (and few) "NETCAST" features, such as Netflix, Vudu, etc. (which it does excellently). Instead, I use a wirelessly connected laptop to get on the internet and then route it from my laptop to the HDTV (by way of a regular VGA cable for the video portion and a 3.5mm-to-RCA cable for audio), but again, this is not using this LG USB Adapter.
Apart from the shipping cost of $12.95 (which I found a bit steep for an adapter that weighs almost nothing), I'm very happy with the choice and can absolutely recommend it highly. It shipped quickly and arrived in perfect condition. I would buy it again in a heartbeat!

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Philips HTS3251B/F7 Home Theater Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this system for a Philips 46" LED-LCD TV. I've connected the TV to the unit with a digital audio cable.
A major flaw with the design of this system is that it forgets the source setting when you turn it off. When turned on, it defaults to the Blu-Ray player as the source for sound. In my case, when I want to hear the sound of my TV, I set the source to the TV's digital audio cable. When I turn the home theater system off, when turning it back on, the system "forgets" it was on the digital audio setting. So every time I want to watch TV with this unit, I have to turn the unit on and press "source" on the button 5 times before I can hear the sound.
This system was designed with the assumption that most consumers will use it primarily as a Blu-Ray player, and that's why the unit always defaults to the player as the source for sound. On 12/20/10, I spoke to Philips tech support and they confirmed the unit was designed this way. They don't have any software or firmware updates to resolve this problem. The only way I've worked around this problem is by purchasing a Philips universal remote (#SRU8112, about $35 on amazon.com) which has a macro feature. With the macro, the remote automatically sends the "source" signal 5 times for me.

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