Good Progressive Scan Players with DVD Audio?
 

Any opinions/experiences/reviews out there?

I have the Panasonic cp72 (basically the rp82 but a 5 disc changer) and I love it. The DVD quality is incredible and the DVD-A is really impressive (from what I've heard so far, I've only listened to two of them - Trey Anastasio 5.1 and The Grateful Dead).

I have the Toshiba SD-4800 and it's fanstastic in both its progressive scan and DVD-A capabilities thus far... Can be had for about $200 most anywhere.

The best progressive PQ for under $250 without a doubt is the Panasonic RP82/CP72/XP50 because of their top notch MPEG Decoder and the Sage FLI2200 DCDI deinterlacer. The RP82 is almost impossible to find, but the CP72(5 disc version of RP82) is all over the place and comes with a $30 mailin rebate to boot. I feel the second best progressive DVD-A player overall is the JVC XV-SA600 followed by the Toshiba SD-4800.

hurtz777 - have you actually had your hands on a JVC XV-S600BK? We've already established (elsewhere) that you've never actually used the Toshiba, yet somehow you rank it behind the JVC and the Panny. I'm just curious if the same goes for the JVC? Let's try to be up front about your "reviews" on this site shall we?!?

TonyS,

I have had the JVC XV-S500 which has the exact same hardware as the XV-SA600 minus DVD-A. Please note I said "overall" I ranked the Toshiba SD-4800 meaning for valuable features and implementation of them. The JVC does have a soft progressive scan picture, but you know what it doesn't suffer from the chroma bug like the SD-4800 and it can play back multi-format discs much more reliably. I have never seen the Toshiba SD-4800 in person, and because it has been proven to have the chroma bug that is very visible on a 50" or larger screen and has a couple of other problems with playback of multi-format discs I don't care to. Everyone please keep in mind this is my opinion...

All of the mags have been reviewing the Pioneer Elite DV-45A (and 47A) in the last two months. They both do DVD-A and SACD. But they are in the higher price points so may not be deal if you do not need SACD.

Come on guys what about the RP91K? I have had it for over a year and for the price its the best on the market. Sure you can spend $1000.00 on the Pioneer DV-45A but if you only looking for DVD-A and a GREAT Progressive Scan Player just take a look its only $374.00.

https://www.usavegelt.com/detail.asp?itemid=1668

milpool - The Kobra makes a great point - there are plenty of other players out there for you to consider. Since I have no experience with the RP91, I won't comment on it. However, what is your budget? That would definitely help us to help you.

hurtz - again, don't take this personally, but why bring up the Toshiba at all if you haven't even used it? It may be a good player for some - myself and uteotw included! I for one, have no interest in multi-format disc playback so that wasn't even a consideration for me. As I stated elsewhere, for me, the SD-4800 is a better fit from a "complete package" standpoint than the RP82 is. I've also said that I feel the RP82 provides a slightly better picture - just not a better "package" IMHO. For me, on my 47" TV from a 9' viewing distance, the chroma bug is practically non-existent on the SD-4800 - but then again, I'm trying to enjoy the film, not dissect it. Since you've used the CP72, RP82, XP50 and the JVC XV-S500BK, why not just post your thoughts on those? You'll notice that I do not comment on the JVCs since I've actually never used one. Actually, I find it a little humourous that you rank the CP72/RP82/XP50 even when (elsewhere) you state that the XP50 has a slightly inferior picture to the RP82 - which is why you're keeping your RP82 and returning the XP50. Since you haven't used the JVC XV-S600BK, how can you be sure that its performance will be the same as the XV-S500BK? Or will the same thing happen as did with the RP82 versus XP50? We need to help each other out in these forums, and we need to do it based on hands-on experiences, not what we assume is correct or incorrect or on hearsay.

Just to let you guys know that is NO CHROMA BUG on the RP91K. Best way to tell if your player has the chroma bug or not is put in Toy Story and look at the title screen. If you see any lines in the red part of the tltle that says Toy Story you have the chroma bug. Now agian some people can't tell if they have the chroma bug or not. If you are color blind you can tell for sure.

Once agian I say go for the RP91K. When I purchased last year it was the best on the market and still will stand strong agains any other 480P player out there. Read some of the reviews out there like this one:

http://www.audioreview.com/PRD_125744_1587crx.aspx.

or this one

http://www.epinions.com/content_63795400324

One other thing to keep in mind the RP91K will play DVD-RW and DVD+R/+RW I know because I have played all in my player.

TonyS,

I can be sure the JVC XV-SA600 has the same performance as the XV-S500 because it shares the exact same Mediametics Pantera II chipset as my XV-S500 has except it also has DVD-A DACs. I rank the XP50 so close to the RP82 in PQ that I will recommend them side to side since most the PQ difference between doesn't jump out if you haven't been disecting the RP82's PQ as much as I have. The XP50 is a good alternative to the RP82 if you can get a good price on it, and its even better because it is in stock and is definitely built better. I also feel a player shoudln't be recommended if it has the chroma bug because people will notice the problem down the road and it is annoying and degrades PQ in some films. Again this is my opinion and that is what I state here so if you don't like hearing the fact that your Toshiba SD-4800 has the chroma bug and in my opinion is inferior to my RP82 in all the aspects I need my RP82 for then don't read my posts.

Not any more, the RP-91 is getting very long in tooth. -wink-

The RP-82/CP-72 is a better player than the 91, especially for the half the price. It has the same mpeg decoder, but also has the far superior Sage/Faroudja FLI 2200 deinterlacing chip . The 91 uses the Genesis deinterlacing chip. The only advantage the 91 has is that it will do scaling, while the 82 does not.

I've had both players and I'm not the only one who has gone from the 91 to the 82. I also tried a 4800, but was put off by the chroma bug and inferior deinterlacing chipset.

.

Thanks for all the replies!

I am leaning towards the JVC XV-SA75GD. I found it for under $140. I am aware of a possible "subtitle bug" with this model, but I will deal with that.

I do have a question, about a certain feature I have seen on some other brands called a "4:3 Zoom". This apparently zooms out the black bars on a 4:3 set (which I have) when used with widescreen material. Anyone heard of this feature or have seen it used? Is it similar to a 16:9 TV's "stretch" of 4:3 material?

milpool - glad you made a decision!

hurtz - like I've said before, I know my SD-4800 has the chroma bug and it is NO BIG DEAL TO ME! And by the way, if I don't read your posts, how can I point out all the flaws in your "reviews"?!? rotfl UDA rotfl

Wow--you've had a lot of players. All I know is that I own the SD-4800, see NO evidence of any "chroma bug" on my 47" HDTV and the "inferior deinterlacing chipset" does not keep me up at night. It handles progressive scan AND DVD-A perfectly for me, and that is all I need.

Also interesting to note: one of the reviewers from the "Secrets" website has noted that the Zoran chip (which is in the SD-4800) has better deinterlacing capabilties than the National Semiconductor Pantera chip (which is in the JVC). Now, I'm not saying this is true or not since I've never used a JVC, but interesting none the less.

I go through players the way my wife goes through shoes. -wink- -smile-

Glad it works for you, the ultimate judge is always the person buying the gear. -smile-

If you don't see the chroma bug, consider yourself lucky-it drives me nuts. Some people don't know what it is when they see it. For example, my brother saw the chroma bug and thought "that's just the way dvds are". I brought over my old RP-56 and explained to him that what he was seeing was the chroma bug. Shortly afterwards he ditched his player for a Panasonic.

He also thought that combing was also "normal part of dvds". If you watch mainly discs that are flagged properly and not much interlaced material, deinterlacing performance my not matter to you. I have rather large interlaced dvd collection and there are quite a number of poorly flagged mainstream discs, so I place a very high priority on deinterlacing performance. Combing annoys the hell out of me, so I refuse to put up with it.

But then again, I don't need scaling which some people want, so it's nice that there are choices out there. My recommendation is to always test drive players with your specific setup and buy what works for you and makes you happy--it's all about this is hobby is all about. -smile-