Denon DVDA1UDCI Blu-ray/DVD/CD Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had very high hopes for this machine when I purchased it from a local Denon dealer with cash I had been given as a gift. I have some SACD's and DVD audio discs, a huge collection of DVD's and CD's, and was ready to begin a collection of Blu-ray discs. I am running the player connected to a Denon AVR 4310CI receiver with which I am greatly pleased. When the player works, the sound and picture are outstanding.
I have been tremendously disappointed from the onset.
The machine has been thoroughly updated in its firmware and is still picky about playing and not playing certain Blu-rays as well as even CD's. It was suggested that maybe this was because its firmware was not properly updated.
To update the player, one is supposed to be able to easily access online through its ethernet connection the Denon site that downloads these things. However, the player will not stay connected to the internet long enough to complete the downloads. I have Cat 7 cables, and the fastest "business" speed internet connection that Comcast provides. It has been tested and has been shown to be reliable and steady. To assist me in this, the local dealer from which I purchased the player actually made a couple of discs to use to load the firmware updates into the machine. Their tech came to my home and accomplished this procedure. The player indicates that it is up to date now, indicating "latest" when firmware update is checked. It still will not connect and play "Blu-ray Live" options that are available on many discs. It still will not consistently play the Ironman Blu-ray disc. At least one audio CD I own will not play in the machine. I have checked these discs by taking them to try on various other players and even back to the dealer's shop to try on their players. All but one music Blu-ray disc (defective) have played flawlessly elsewhere.
As has been noted in another review, the player is very slow starting up even if it is set in "quick start" mode.
The owner's manual is hopelessly useless in assisting in use of the player. The GUI is "pretty," but very difficult to understand- even for the tech from the local dealer!
Finally, since hooking the new receiver and this Blu-ray player into my system, I have encountered a repeated problem with my Dell plasma TV (5 years old) flashing pink or having a constant pink background on it when starting up or changing from cable to Blu-ray, or from cable to the Rhapsody music source online through the receiver's ethernet connection. No one has been able to tell me how to fix that problem! I can't say that the Blu-ray player has caused this, but it never happened before I installed the new player into my system. Denon has been no help and the local dealer has no idea how to fix this TV problem. Dell's customer service suggested that I buy a new TV to fix it!
Over all, the decision to purchase this Blu-ray player has been a very expensive mistake. I would recommend that anyone considering it try a cheaper Samsung with the ability to connect wirelessly to the internet to access Netflix, Pandora, and other online services.


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For the ultimate disc playback accuracy, Denon's DVD-A1UDCI sets the standard in state-of-the-art audio and video reproduction. Denon's exclusive design allows playback of popular high resolution audio formats such as SACD and DVD-Audio, and is BD-Live Ready (Firmware update available approx. July/09). Your CD collection will never sound better, thanks to Denon's new AL32 advanced digital audio processing, which upconverts conventional 16-bit CDs to full 32-bit digital format, virtually eliminating low-level harmonic distortion in the process. For pristine video quality, the Silicon Optix Realta HQV processor provides superb DVD deinterlacing and upconversion to HD, along with sophisticated picture improvement algorithms. Featuring balanced stereo analog outputs, the DVD-A1UDCI is equipped with true 32-bit dual differential D/A converters for each channel, along with a full set of conventional analog 7.1 outputs. The dual parallel HDMI outputs can also be assigned with HDMI Pure Direct Mode, with one HDMI output for audio and the other HDMI output for video with higher digital clocking accuracy and improved jitter control. For installation and configuration flexibility, the DVD-A1UDCI features RS-232C serial control, and BD-Live functionality via Ethernet connection.

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Yamaha DVDS1700 DVD-A/SACD Progressive Scan Universal DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I've had this unit about a month, and have played commercial (personal and Netflix) DVD's all day long with no problems, i.e., playing warm or cold, pristine or slightly used, through an HDMI connection. It has a very sharp "upconverted" picture, displays deep color, presents no motion problems (blurring), I've noticed absolutely no layer-change pauses through several disks, and have noticed no CUE or macroblocking issues, either. It also has a myriad of picture controls to fine tune the picture, although I've used my Sony XBR LCD to do most of that. And, in what Yamaha calls NL Stretch mode, 4:3 aspect ratio DVD's look pretty darn good when filling the screen; it basically stretches mostly the edges, so something like 80% of the center is relatively intact - that is, people don't look like blobs. So far it's played everything I've thrown at it, although I have yet to try every format. Also, it seems to be very well made and is very quiet. Some minor complaints: menu response times are slow (although DVD menu's seem to be okay), in that it takes a couple of clicks to get the menu to move; also, when you change DVD picture settings the player pauses the DVD to make the changes, then resumes where it left off, so you can't see it on screen as you're making them; and, the dimmer seems to have only two settings - bright (although it's not very) and dim - with no "auto" setting, as advertised. Overall, unless you're ready to camp with HD DVD or BlueRay, I recommend this pretty impressive DVD player.

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Yamaha RX-V3900BL 7.1-Channel Network Home Theater Receiver (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this unit a week after it went on sale. I had been investigating the device for some time prior to the actual release. I used this to replace a Yamahe DSP-A1 purchased about 10 years ago. I wanted to simplify my cabling by switching to an HDMI capable receiver. The availability of 4 HDMI inputs was a big selling point for me.
After initial setup I put the unit through it's paces with SACD recordings of Elton John's Madman Across the Water and the Alman Brothers Eat a Peach. The SACD 5.1 sound from my PS/3 over the HMDI was exceptional, wonderful depth to the soundfield. The video upscaling in this unit is far superior to that included in my 50" LG Flat Panel and has made watching non-HD signals much more palatable. Using blu-ray DTS HD and DD Pure HD both sound amazing. I also purchased a Rhapsody subscription account to use with the unit and love the virtual library of hundreds of thousands of CDs at my fingertips through the remote. I have found several albums on Rhapsody that result in a "unable to play" error, I am not sure if they are encoded in a format other than MP3 or if this error also occurs when using Rhapsody on a PC, these were usually extremely obscure recordings.
The onscreen Ipod controls are great and the album cover display is a great addition, now if they could only get the album, flip view from the iPhone or iPod touch working for scanning through and selecting albums/songs that would be truly fabulous.
The lack of inclusion of wireless networking is a big mistake in my view, how many people would have their ISP drop right next to their stereo system? I overcame this easily with the purchase of a "Wireless Gaming Adapter" which attaches to the Ethernet port on the receiver and connects it to my wireless network, this solution has worked well and runs about 50-100 dollars.
My biggest concern with the unit has been the adaptive sound leveling. This is a great feature to make sure you don't get blasted out of the room when commercials come on at twice the volume of your show. Usually this feature mutes the sound and makes the adjustment very quickly but every now and then it has difficulty setting the volume accordingly and drops the audio for as much as 10-20 seconds, very annoying when using DVR functions to skip commercials then having to go back 2-3 times to get the audio enabled again at the end of the commercials. Once the unit could not seem to set the audio at all and it required selecting a different source before sound was enabled again.
Overall I am quite happy with the unit and hope that a software/firmware upgrade may alleviate the audio level drop issues at some point in the future, while sometimes annoying this issue comes nowhere close to outweighing the great benefits of this receiver.
Pros:
Exceptional sound quality
Great video upscaling
Extensive features listing
Amazing array of device connections
Cons:
Not in everyones pricing range
Initial configuration not for the inexperienced
No built-in wireless networking (could have been a design decision to reduce potential degration of the audio signal)
Infrequent extended audio drop outs when relevelling the audio between programing and commercials or when changing stations
Some CDs visible through Rhapdosy cannot be played

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Yamaha's next generation 7.1-channel Network AV receiver offers unsurpassed versatility, access to today's most popular music sources including Internet Radio, Rhapsody online music service, music streaming from PC, HD Radio with iTunes tagging, XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio ready, USB, iPod and Bluetooth compatibility, as well as extensive multi-zone custom installation and convenience features, plus a Web Browser Control.

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OPPO BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)Oppo has created quite a name for itself with their Blu-ray players for home theater devotees. Priced between extraordinarily high end equipment and players that you can buy at warehouse clubs, the Oppo units have wowed users by truly being worth the extra dollars while providing a high-end experience. So here we have Oppo's brand new BDP-93. There were some minor glitches that were solved with the first firmware upgrade, already included on the release units. Firmware upgrades take place wirelessly using the included wifi dongle, assuming, of course, that you have a wifi network at home. You can alternatively plug into your network using an ethernet cable.
First thoughts: This is a well packaged machine with subdued highlights on the front panel, clearly labeled inputs and outputs on the back panel, and an informative and useful display. Drop in a DVD-A disc, for instance, such as the one within the Lord Of The Rings complete soundtrack sets, and the front panel informs you that you're listening to a DVD-A. There's no confusion, as there can be with other components, as to whether you might be mistakenly listening to the standard stereo track and creating surround from that. The intuitive setup panels, accessed via the well designed and internally lit remote, quickly allow you to adjust your playback desires - you can listen to the multi-speaker output from the DVD-A or the mixed-down stereo version at the touch of a button.
And I've started out with audio discussion for a reason. Many of us with high end CD players still have an extra box in our audio stack; finding a DVD player, Bluray or otherwise, that can play back a standard CD with sufficient quality to allow removal of the CD player has been a difficult task. Most reviewers of DVD players seem to ignore the stereo audio component entirely. Here, you not only have the ability to listen to DVD-A versions of audio sources when available, but you have a real reason to disconnect your CD player for good. I have one of Sony's wonderful ES models from years ago which until now has been unparalleled by any reasonably priced component. The staging of the audio, though, is really improved on the Oppo over other DVD players and is at least on a par with the Sony ES CD player, if not somewhat better. Taking, for example, "Blackbirds" from the new remastered Beatles White Album, Paul is clearly staged just to the left of my right speaker. His vocals are pure and clear to an exquisite extent (sometimes to a fault as you can now clearly hear a sibilant s in the lyric - a fault of the microphones of the era - that is somewhat muffled on other equipment). Orchestral and pop music alike are impressive and clear. Of course, now you can listen not only to standard commercial CD's, but also to CD's containing .mp3 or .flac libraries (among other alternatives). In those latter situations, your TV will function as a display, showing the titles of the entire disc's content and allowing you to easily pick your desired track.
The Oppo's front drawer operates smoothly, quickly, and quietly, and the entire unit itself is inaudible in operation unless you're hovering a few inches above the component. Playback of DVD-A's and CD's are quick and straightforward. No delays in loading were apparent. Unlike many alternative models, the Oppo responds quickly. Turn it on by pushing the eject button and the unit will immediately come alive and open the drawer. There's been no time when I found myself standing next to the component and waiting for a response - as I have with many earlier Bluray players.
After testing audio, I moved to streaming. Getting my Netflix account set up to stream to my BDP-93 took all of one minute. Seriously, this was far faster than I thought possible. Click the Home key on the remote, then move the cursor to select Netflix, click Select, and you're given a code. Type the code in at the Netflix website and in a few seconds you'll see your Netflix Instant Viewing menu loading. I quickly and easily watched the first few minutes of a movie and a TV series, both in HD. Mind you, Netflix doesn't stream 5.1 or 7.1 audio nor is their HD of the same quality that you're used to from Bluray. Streaming is NOT a replacement for Bluray discs (and isn't really a replacement for DVD's if it's quality that you're after), BUT it's a great way to quickly watch a movie with the family that you don't have available in your home library.
I didn't test Blockbuster on Demand, but that's available as well.
As we move to video, I should point out that I utilized a direct HDMI 1.4 connection between my Oppo and a 53" Sony XBR6 (last year's model, not 3D). 1080p Video was selected for my first test disc - the JJ Abrams Bluray of Star Trek. This disc was one of the tougher discs for my previous player (a Sony BDPS550) to handle, and I would wait and watch the Enterprise spin for quite some time while the player loaded the disc. No more. By the time I walked back to the couch to get comfortable, the first preview was starting. I quickly skipped to the main attraction - no delays in doing so, by the way - and was floored by the audio difference between the Oppo and my earlier Sony player. Now I should point out that I haven't tested the 7.1 capabilities, as my system is set up as a 5.1; I took the time to set up the 5.1 downmix in the setup menu (again, an intuitive and straightforward few steps). I felt enveloped in the soundstage and drawn in to the picture, which looked remarkably film-like and free of artifact. Just before the movie presents the "Star Trek" title, there's a fadeout which glowed as it would on a movie screen. The title card is presented in black, gray, and silver, a tricky combination of "color" that is difficult to see on many systems without at least some banding. None here that I saw, however. And any problems with bright red that you've seen on older DVD players are entirely absent as well.
The Oppo has a secondary HDMI output that can be routed to your processor. For those with, say, the newest Anthem processor, that's a reasonable way to go. I have an older Sunfire TGP-V, however, so ran the 6 analog cables into my direct inputs and utilized the Oppo's internal decoding. This is perhaps the greatest advance over my older Sony which has the same decoding capabilities but with far less resulting quality. With the Oppo, dialog remains pure and pristine, easily understood over the sound effects bouncing from speaker to speaker, with the low bass routed appropriately to the Sub. The two HDMI outputs allow you to utilize a direct connection to a new 3D TV while using the other connection to go to an HDMI 1.1-1.3 processor without losing the 1.4 capabilities in the interconnect over to the TV. What does that mean? It means you don't have to upgrade your processor! You get everything you could possibly want with a 3D-capable TV and your old processor. Let the Oppo handle the sound decoding and the TV handle the video with a direct HDMI feed. (And those with a non-3D TV shouldn't feel badly at all. The picture quality is so perfect, you won't notice 3D's absence).
I have lots left to try: the Oppo has two USB ports and an eSATA drive port. Bring on your FLAC files, your AVCHD files, your Kodak Picture CDs, your SACD's, and multiple other formats. Connect to your network and access your music files from your networked computers. The Oppo will handle it all. And yes, I ran a few non-Blu DVD's just to see how those work. There's up-conversion, of course, and you'll find the quality to be far better than you've seen before. I'd still get the Blu-ray when available, but it's nice to know that my DVD library won't go unused.
One tiny nit has been raised by folks on the web: the eject button on the face of the unit is difficult to find in a darkened home theater. True. However, there is an open/close button on the remote, which has an internal light, so I'm not going to nit-pick there. I'll raise one of my own: push a button on the remote and the internal light comes on. It stays on for a couple of seconds, then turns off. That's annoying in a dark room and I'd rather see the light stay off unless I ask for it by pushing the button for the light. I'd also like to be able to turn the light off as well as on but the remote light button works only to turn the light on; you then have to wait a few seconds for the light to automatically extinguish. That's about the toughest criticism I can offer on a splendid follow-up to the BDP-83.
As I mentioned earlier, Oppo distributes firmware updates online directly to the BDP-93, so that, plus the very sound pre-release firmware leads to my strong recommendation for this Bluray player as a worthy addition to your home theater - now, as opposed to waiting several months (my usual recommendation for a new product like this). Finally, the manual. Clearly written by those familiar with the language, the manual is both entertaining and informative. There are numerous technical points made with the reader clearly informed as to which choice and which selection is likely to be the most useful. We're at an incredibly complicated stage of home theater development. There are numerous potential sound outputs, video outputs, and connector possibilities, and everything has to talk together just right...the TV, the remotes, the processor, the player...Oppo makes this very easy, even to the point of having a "wizard" guide you through the basics on initial start-up. I was up and running in a few minutes, and it was a while before I returned to the Setup menu for a full and final set of adjustments. No gripes at all and kudos to those at Oppo for a well designed and implemented component.
Those like me who are using the BDP-93's internal digital to analog converter may wish to consider the more expensive BDP-95, due...Read more›

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(November 2010) Oppo's BDP-93 gives you universal playback of Blu-ray, DVD, CD, SACD, DVD-Audio, and a wealth of digital files, with solid picture and sound quality no matter the format. With access to streaming content from Netflix or Blockbuster on Demand, USB and eSATA ports for your external drives, and wide connectivity including dual HDMI 1.4, this player defines versatility.
A universal player with stylish design, ample connectivity, and serious versatility. Click here for a larger image

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Onkyo DV-SP506 1080p Upscaling Super Audio CD/DVD Audio/Video Player - Silver Review

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(More customer reviews)I was on the fence with this player, I narrowed my choices down to this Onkyo and a Pioneer Elite DV-58AV and ended up going with the Onkyo since it was lower cost and new (I could only find refurbished DV-58AV's at the time for $100 more). I'm happy to say I was not disappointed with this player. It passes DSD bitstream over HDMI straight to my Onkyo Receiver (TX-SR706) and the sound is as good as my old Sony DVP-S9000ES for SACD's, passing DSD to a my receiver was key to this though as I found that using it's internal DAC's for SACD wasn't as good as Sony ES SACD player. DVD-Audio also sounds very good when using this unit's internal DAC's using the Analog 5.1 channel out, in this case it did sound better than having it pass over HDMI like the SACD's. I actually bought this to only play SACD's & DVD-Audio primarily, which it does very well (especially at this price) so I was pleasantly surprised when I played a DVD in it, the up-conversion is done very well, it even does a better job of up-converting than my BluRay player (Sony BDP-S500) with standard DVD's. If you're looking for a great up-converting DVD player you can't go wrong, If you want to use this as a SACD player I have to say I was impressed when sending the DSD steam to the receiver, as for DVD-Audio I really don't have another player to compare it to, it sound good, not as good as it does with SACD's but much better than the CD versions of the albums. To sum up, this is a great multi-format player for the price, I think the majority of listeners & movie goers would be impressed with the quality and performance.

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Pioneer DV 610AV-K - DVD player - upscaling - black Review

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(More customer reviews)DVD was invented in 1995 & it's taken more than 10yrs to perfect the DVD player. The early DVD players all suffered from the same problems that plague Bluray players of today. They were plagued with slow loading times & they came locked - region coded. Even today, there are a lot of DVD players out there that are region coded & they need to be hacked, if U intend to play international DVDs.
The Pioneer DV-610AV is a true universal DVD player because of the following reasons:
1) Out of the box, this player comes unlocked. It plays DVDs from all 6 DVD regions.
2) Universal power supply, it works on both 110V - 220V. It comes with two power chords, one with the N. American flat pin & the other one has the Asian (Chinese) round pin. It can be plugged anywhere in the world with the help of the right pin / plug adaptor.
3) It plays almost all formats other than High Definition formats such as Bluray. It even plays DVDA & SACD.
4) Available in both black & silver. This sure adds up to the universal appeal that many other DVD players lack.
5) All the video / audio connections U'd ever want - HDMI, Component video, Composite video, S-Video, Coaxial audio, Optical audio & 5.1 channel analogue outs.
Design, features & performance:
I bought a Pioneer DV-610AV('S' - Silver) from B&H, NYC in Jan 2009 for USD120. After using it for over an year, I'm truly impressed with its capabilities. I have the Pioneer DV-610AV connected to an Onkyo TX-SR604 AVR Onkyo TX-SR604 7.1 Channel A/V Receiver (Black) with Mediabridge HDMI Mediabridge Ultra Series - High Speed HDMI Cable With Ethernet - Category 2 Certified - Supports 3D & Audio Return Channel - (3 Feet). The DVD upconversion to 1080p over HDMI to a Panasonic 42in G10 plasma Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P42G10 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV is as good as anything I've ever seen on an upconverting DVD player. The video upconversion of the Pioneer DV-610AV is much better than that of the Panasonic G10 plasma TV. I found that a lil' hard to digest, especially when the DVD player cost just 1/8th the price of the HDTV. It's a very simple test. U'll output the DVD player at both 480i & 1080p. If 480i looks better than 1080p, then the video upscaling of the HDTV is better than that of the DVD player, if 1080p is better than 480i, then it's the other way around.
A unique selling point of the Pioneer DV-610AV is its capability of playing home made / burned DVDs without a hiccup. This function is important to me as I make a lot of Windows Media Videos (WMV). This DVD player is especially very good at playing WMVs & DVDs that contain it. There are far & few DVD players that can boast this capability.
The Pioneer DV-610AV has a 24bit/192khz DAC due to its ability to playback DVDA & SACD. The budget DAC in the Pioneer DV-610AV sounds a lil' warmer than the budget DAC used in Onkyo TX-SR604 receiver. Most budget / cheap DACs sound almost the same, but I did enjoy listening to 2 channel music in my Zone 2 setup consisting of Mordaunt Short 902i bookshelf speakers. I had the analogue out of the Pioneer DV-610AV connected to Zone 2 in the Onkyo TX-SR604 receiver. I was happy with this 2 channel setup till I upgraded to a Musical Fidelity V-DAC Musical Fidelity V-DAC Upsampling Digital to Analog Audio Converter. Of course, the MF V-DAC sounds richer, warmer, wider & deeper than the budget DAC used in the Pioneer DV-610AV. It gets more evident when used / tested with better amplifiers & speakers.
This DVD player comes with the 'auto turn off' function, it's especially good if this player is ever to be used as a CD player / source for Zone 2. When activated, this function turns off the DVD player, 30mins after the CD has stopped playback. This is surely an option to have when U do not have a 12V external trigger. The 12V trigger is an impressive function & one that I really like a lot. It may be used in sync with other devices, such as an a/v receiver that has a 12V external trigger and a sleep timer, to auto turn on / off all devices that are connected to the 12V trigger. It is not to be expected in devices at this price point.
These days, almost all manufacturers are turning to 'Black' as their choice of color, possibly due to cost cutting. Not that silver color costs more, it's just that making a product in multiple color options adds cost. Gone are the good old days when most equipment was available in Silver, Gold & even Champaign. As much as black looks cool, it's sad to see that customers are now being forced with no color choice. Brushed Aluminium (Silver) used by Onkyo remains my all time favorite finish for an audio equipment. It's got a vintage & nostalgic feel to it. I'm glad that Pioneer at least gave a choice of both black & silver colors for this DVD player. Sadly, even Pioneer has taken the 'Black' route & now offers all its Bluray players only in black. As of this writing, the only budget Bluray available in silver color is the Onkyo BD-SP807 & that too in Europe. Europe is the only market that still demands & has a taste for silver colored audio / video equipment. It really looks classy & that's what sells there. Only the very high end brands like Lexicon, Mcintosh, Krell etc still sell silver colored gear in the U.S.
Before buying this player, I had considered the following players:
1) Onkyo DV-SP506: This player came region locked & at the time, there were no known hacks for this machine. This player had the best build quality of all the budget DVD players I had considered. Brushed Aluminium (Silver) looks stunning. Onkyo DV-SP506 1080p Upscaling Super Audio CD/DVD Audio/Video Player - Silver.
2) Oppo DV-980H: This player is easy to hack. It was available only in black color & I wanted it in silver color. It had lots of issues with home made / burned DVDs, especially the one consisting of WMVs. It also lacks auto off which is found even in the most basic DVD players. They don't have this function even in the Bluray players they are selling currently. C'mon Oppo, wake up. OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio.
3) Cambridge Audio Azur 540D V2: Very identical to the Oppo DV-980H, except that it is available in black & silver colors. The silver here looks more like raw aluminium. All other short comings of the Oppo DV-980H is applicable here. Cambridge - 540D v2 - HDMI DVD Player - Silver.
4) Denon DVD 1940CI: It looked like a product with great potential but there were lots of issues with home made / burned DVDs. Denon DVD 1940CI - DVD player - upscaling.
5) Marantz DV6001: Very identical to the Denon DVD 1940CI & it had the same short comings too.
6) I w'd never consider any of Sony's products that are almost always plagued with company made proprietary hiccups. So why buy from a brand that's always so non flexible?
7) LG, Samsung etc were never up to my taste for a DVD player.
I finally settled for the Pioneer DV-610AV which was cheaper than the above mentioned DVD players, & yet it had all the functions, features & performance that I was looking for in a budget DVD player.
The Pioneer DV-610 c'd have improved on the following:
1) The build quality of this DVD player is nothing to boast about. I really wish the build quality of this DVD player was at least close to Pioneer's own Elite DVD players. And may be a lil' more quiet operation w'd have made this a hell of a DVD player.
2) Random play is good but shuffle play w'd have been better for CD playback. Almost all universal Bluray / DVD players suffer from this. This is where a dedicated CD player still has an advantage.
3) It w'd have been great if we c'd change the player menu settings without stopping the DVD / CD, a la (in the style of) Oppo.
4) I don't have SACDs or DVDAs but I do have HDCDs. If this format w'd have been included, this w'd have been the universal DVD player to beat.
5) Auto turn off is good, but a 12V external trigger w'd have been a dream come true.
Conclusion:
I know I'm expecting too much from a USD120 budget DVD player, but that's just me. With the DV-610AV Pioneer has managed to make a superb universal DVD player at a decent price point & goes on to prove that it does not have to be expensive to really perform well. This is a great DVD player regardless of price. Unfortunately Pioneer c'd not perform a similar trick with their Bluray players which severely lags behind in the competition. Anyone who is not ready for a Bluray player yet & is still looking for a truly capable universal DVD player, sh'd put this player right on top of their list.
This DVD player was especially made for the Asian & European markets. The ones sold in the U.S. come without a warranty. Now that's a risk U'll have to consider before buying the Pioneer DV-610AV universal DVD player. And it's almost the same risk U'll be facing, when U plan to buy an unlocked universal Bluray player.
Just my $0.02.
Brgds.

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Denon DVD-3930CI A/V Combination DVD/DVDA/SACD/CD Player with Realta T2 HQV Review

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(More customer reviews)I had high-end 60lb $2500 Sony SCD-777ES SACD player and Oppo 971 DVD player. Due to upgrade to a new Blu-ray player, I need an extra space so decision is to consolidate the SCD-777ES SACD and Oppo 971 DVD into one high-end SACD/DVD player.
I tried out the value Oppo 980 & 981, but its SACD performance is not the same level as Sony SCD-777ES. I tried $1200 Sony DVP-NS9100ES; good DVD but the SACD sound quality is not Audiophile grade yet. I heard a lot of good thing about the Denon 5910 (discontinued) so I ordered Denon top of line DVD-3930Ci.
I am so glad to report that its SACD performance is superb. It has the nuance and details as my current Sony SCD-777ES. Plus, its DVD performance is slightly better than the Oppo. It also plays DVD-A.
Now, I am really enjoying my B&W Nautilus 801 speakers.


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Sony BDV-T57 Blu-Ray 5.1 Home Theater System Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this from Costco a few months ago mainly for the Live Streaming and Netflix features but immediately started noticing little details that eventually led me to despise this system.
I've devised a Pro/Con list to break it down:
PROS -
- The system looks great.
- When volume is maxed out it's a LOUD system with great BASS.
- Upgraded from the previous 5.1 System Sony had without the Broadband connection, Netflix and other online features are great to have.
- Piss off your neighbors.

CONS -
- Asinine boot up time - 20 seconds minimum to get sound to come on! And if you accidentally power off and power on again it will take about a minute for sound to come on (you better have a DVR to pause your show/movie while this thing limps itself to work).
- You have to select the function almost every time upon starting up and adds an unnecessary step. The system seems to arbitrarily select the mode after starting up, while other systems usually have memory that will remember what mode you were in the last time before you turned it off, so if you were watching tv and decide to watch tv again the correct mode would have already beeen selected.
- Background sounds seem to take priority over speech in shows and movies at times making dialogue difficult to hear clearly at certain volume levels (I'm 27 years old with no hearing issues).
- Can't view and select Netflix movies from the system, you have to use your computer. This seems like one of those issues that could have been solved had they thought about it for an additional day before putting into production.
- One of the speakers are now crackling, awaiting the pop any day now (we never have the system maxed out above 30, usually at 22-24 volume range).
I don't recommend this system and I'm disappointed in Sony for not putting more thought/research into this before releasing. It really seems as if they added internet connectivity to the previous system without really dialing in the little details that make this system not worth purchasing.


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Marantz UD8004 Universal Disc Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am not familiar with anything comparable to this dream machine: my two previous CD/DVD players were the Toshiba's HD-A2KU and the Onkyo's DV-CP701.
The Marantz UD8004 is one notch below their flagship, the UD9004, at more than twice the price. Is the sound/picture quality of the 9004 worth an additional $3,0000? I will probably never know.
I walked into a high-end stereo store, and this is the machine they had hooked up. Even though they carried other brands (some more expensive than the UD 8004), this is the one the tech swore by.
The UD 8004 is a hefty, serious and stylish machine. This a Universal Disk Player, which means you have it all in one machine. It plays everything, expect HD DVDs (apparently this is a dead technology, so don't worry about it).
If you are reading this review, you must be serious about the quality of sound & video. Press the "pure" direct button on the remote control, or on the deck, to turn off the video signal and enjoy the audio signal only. The image resolution, color saturation and sharp, detailed definition in Blu-ray are simply amazing (test it with the Planet Earth series). You will be amazed at how this machine "improves" the quality of the picture and sound of your "regular" DVDs. There are a myriad of choices and options to fine-tune your machine in an easy to follow menu in your TV. I have mine set to "normal", so that it adjusts automatically to the kind of movie format we are watching.
There are 3 minor annoying points: 1)the disk tray slams shut, 2)it takes longer to load music cd or a dvd than in my other players, and 3)it makes a scrapping sound when loading music. NOTE: Under the guarantee, I took my unit to a Marantz authorized repair shop. After 10 days of tests, they could not find anything wrong with the unit. The scrapping sound has just about disappeared. It never interfered with the quality of the audio or video. My wife says I am too picky, and maybe she's right.
If these inconveniences do not bother you, then I strongly recommend you get this machine.


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UD8004 is a universal player. Plays SA-CD(Stereo/Multi), BD-Video/-ROM/-RE/BD-R, DVD-Audio/-Video/-R/-R DL/-RW/+R/+R DL/+RW, CD-R/RW and MP3/WMA/DivX(ver.6)/AVCHD/JPEG/Kodak Picture CD discs, BD-Profile2.0(BD-Live), BD-Java, BONUS VIEW support, Double Layered Top Cover & Bottom Plate EI Transformer for Audio Circuits, Total 3 boards, Marantz HDAM-SA2 current feedback analog audio circuits w/ Custom audio parts, Machine milled Stereo analog audio outputs (RCA) and 7.1ch outputs, 192 kHz/24-bit audio D/A converters for all channels, Analog Devices SHARC 32bit DSP for HD audio DecodingDolby True HD, dts-HD MA decoder, Anchor Bay VRS I/P Converter and Scaler, Support 24fps, 36-bit Deep Color, 297MHz/12-bit Analog devices video DAC, Vertical Stretch function for 2.35:1 aspect movie, 1080p, 1080i, 720p 480p scaled output, SD Card slot for playback MP-3/WMA/JPEG etc., Firmware update capability via Internet, Display Dimmer, Source Direct, Pure Direct Mode, Audio Delay, Component, S-Video and Composite Analog Video outputs, Digital audio outputs (Optical/Coaxial), RS-232C for System control, Marantz D-Bus(RC-5) In/Out Control Terminals, Flasher In/Out, Discrete power on/off commands, Detachable Power Cord, Luminus Key Remote, Region Codes: BD-Video: A, DVD: 1

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Cambridge Audio Azur 650BD Blu-ray Universal Player, Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My Denon 2910 player had an untimely and rather painful death. The guy at the audio shop said they were getting some of the Cambridge Universal players in and it would do every format including SACD and Blu-ray. "Sure", said I, "I'll give it a rip" and I'm very glad I did. This player does everything well and it does it quickly to boot.
The upconversion from standard DVDs to 1080p is the best I've seen. I will not be replacing my DVDs with Blu-ray disks - why would I when they look this good? It does a phenomenal job with Blu-rays and my Super Audio disks sound cleaner and clearer than they ever had before.
This unit was a few bucks more than the competition but in this case I truly got what I paid for and a bit more.


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OPPO DV-983H 1080p Universal Up-Converting DVD Player with SACD and DVD-Audio Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Pros: Excellent picture quality, quick operation response, and great audio.
Cons: Costs more than other DVD players, but well worth it if you have a good collection of DVD.
Summary: The ultimate DVD player for DVD collectors.
My trusted Panasonic RP-82 with SDI modification stopped working. In searching for the best DVD player to replace it for my theater room and a new one for the bedroom, I read many reviews and compared a lot of products. I even bought and returned several players, some several times more expensive than the OPPO DV-983H. In the end, I settled for not one, but two DV-983H and are very happy.
During my research, I read reviews on CNet, Stereophile, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, and several other places. The reviewers all have nothing but positive words for the OPPO DV-983H. Real user experience from discussions on avsforum.com also appears to be very positive. There is a shoot-out article on the online magazine Playback, in which the DV-983H scored the highest among Cambridge Audio, Marantz, Denon and Yamaha.
My surprise came when I called OPPO to order the players. They were out of stock. I was put on their waitlist for two weeks and then received an email to place my order. At that time the player was not available on amazon.com. By the way, the guys answering the phone at OPPO seem to know what they are doing. They answered my questions about matching with my other devices and explained what would be the best setup to me.
Once the players arrived, one went into the theater room. There it was matched to a Panasonic PT-AE2000U 1080p projector and a Yamaha RX-V3800BL A/V receiver. The audio and video connection was over a single HDMI cable. Everything worked beautifully. The image on my 103-inch screen was stunning. I could see details that I've not seen before. The surround sound was also amazingly clear and enveloping. As a DVD collector, I apprecaite it most that older movies discs from my collection worked really well in the OPPO player. The black and white films were shown with proper level of black, white and gray. With some other players I tried, I could see a green or purple outline around the B/W figures and it was very annoying.
The other unit went to my bedroom setup with a new Sony Bravia Z-Series KDL-40Z4100/B 40-Inch 1080p TV. Again this was the perfect match. The picture is first class. My bedroom set also has a pair of NuForce S-1 speakers driven by their unique Icon amplifier. When I'm not watching a movie, CD played through this player and the NuForce set sounds like from a really high-end system. Next I need to buy some SACD discs to try. The DV-983H can play SACD and I've read good reviews about that.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the two OPPO players. Considering how much money I've spent on buying my collection of DVD discs, the cost of the players is totally justified. With these players in my setup, I can wait a year or so until the Blu-ray players are mature and stable enough and the cost of Blu-ray discs comes down before I start buying movies in Blu-ray.

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