Hi.

I am currently using a 1999 made Samsung DVD907 model and would like to upgrade to a newer model.

My budget is around $500~$600 and would like to get the most recent Sony model.

Could any Sony buffs give some good recommendations?

I am asking here as members here are the most trustable people on the scene.

Thank you in advance.

Why limit yourself to Sony?

For $500-$600 I would recommend:
Denon DVD1600 ($500 MSRP) or
Pioneer Elite DVD45A ($500 MSRP)

Both are good players, nice features (45A has SACD and DVD-A options, Denon has only DVD-A), but the picture quality is a hair better on the Denon than the Pioneer Elite.

Some help on it could be found here

Oh... thanx.

BTW, the reason I'm looking into Sony brand is because over the years, watching DVD on many systems (at friend's house and such)... I thought/think Sony has the best DVDP out there.

I might be wrong... but, that's how I saw and felt.

Sony DVP-CX875P
It holds 301 DVD's

I disagree with Sony having the best pic. Also, access speed is a consideration (for me anyway!), and Sonys I've used have a bit more delay in responding to and activating menus than some other models (e.g. panasonic, Denon). But it's your choice!

I agree that Sony has the best picture that is why I mostly buy Sony.

Any more current models you can recommend?

I might be tempted to go with Pioneer's A45 with it being at around $370~$400.

More recommendation please.

This is how Sony keeps their sales up.

Unfortunately, Sony dvd players are outclassed by other brands. They have the chroma bug and have inferior de-interlacing chips. Check out the latest DVD Player Shootout:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...rch&articles=5

Be sure to read up on the Pioneer 45. It has the chroma bug and de-interlacing problems.

For $200 you could pick up a Panasonic XP30, it will beat the pants off the Sony and Pioneer and leave a nice chunk of change in your wallet.

A search in this forum for "xp30" will yield some nice info. Also head over to the www.avsforum.com dvd hardware section and search for "xp30".

Thanx for a great link.

WOW!

Maybe I'll opt to the Panasonic RP-82. Pretty good spec and nice price range.

The RP-82 is pretty non-existent right now, it is sold out everywhere. However, today's buy.com price mistake of the day is the xp-50 with receiver, this uses the same faroudja chipset as the rp-82, if you hurry you can still get it.

Does this offer end May 20th or May 21st, 11:59PM?

BTW, what this CHROMA bug?

i still have yet to understand this "chroma" bug thing...

i agree panasonics look great for the money, but i own a pioneer elite 45a, and it looks great (i sell this stuff for a living, so i know what looks good and what doesnt), and it sounds amazing. i wouldnt even touch a panasonic.

Hmmm... the buy.com deal is over. Could not make up my mind.

As for the DV45A, alot of people are complaining about the Chroma bug (of which I have no idea what it is). One friend, looking at the spec was saying other than the weak video, everything looked fine.

Should I just go with the DV-45A?

Here is info on the chroma bug.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...ug-4-2001.html

And why would you not touch a panasonic, they make some of the most highly rated players on the market although some of these have been discontinued.

Thanks for the information. The Chroma would be really something that would catch my eye if I have a large display panel.

Hmmm... now for me to look for non-chroma existing players...

The Panasonics in that roundup do not have the chroma bug.

But seems it is VERY hard to find XP50 models as they have been discontinued.

If you have DVI on your TV, the Bravo D1 is excellent.

I have to throw a vote in for the Denon 1600. I had a $150 Sony DVD player for Circuit $hity for about 2 years, but needed a progessive scan dvd player (that doesn't have the Chroma bug) for my-soon-to-be Projection system. Comparing the Sony to the Denon just on a direct-view Sony 27" FD tube TV, the picture quality is already noticably better on the Denon. Just my $0.02... just remember the Denon is $500 from an authorized Denon dealer. For a cheaper (

The XP30 can be found at Sharper Image it seems for $199.

Sorry, but many people feel differently. If you "sell this stuff for a living" and don't know about the chroma bug and other dvd player issues, I would suggest hitting some of the links posted in this thread and doing some research. You would be a doing a service to both yourself and your customers.

It's not. The Pioneer has problems with de-interlacing video or interlaced sources. It also doesn't handle poorly flagged discs well. There are obvious problems which don't appear with the Panasonics using the Faroudja chip. Even if you don't know what the chroma bug is, you'll notice the de-interlacing performance. I tried the 45a and the Panasonic gives a far better picture.

As Fandango said, the XP30 is available at the Sharper Image for $199. They use the item number PA500, but it is in fact the XP30.

The XP30 has the same mpeg decoder and Faroudja de-interlacing chip as the Denon 1600 and the video quality is virtually the same. While the XP30 lacks DVD-A, it does have features the 1600 lacks, such as time remaining/time search and it has a better menu interface. The 1600 is based on a tweaked version of the older Panasonic RP-56, which also lacked these features.

How about the XP50? I think buy.com still have em bundled with the receiver at $379 or something.

I'd rather go with XP50 than XP30 with it's builtin DTS/DD decoders and DVD-A compatibility.

Do they use the same chipset as XP30 and RP82? The F-something chip?

Yes, they all use the Faroudja chip, the XP50 is the XP30 with dvd audio basically.

The Panasonic XP30, XP50, RP82 and CP72 all have same the Faroudja de-interlacing chip and mpeg decoder. You can't go wrong with any of them.