Ianscloset

hey everyone,
i am looking on buying a new dvd player thats in the $200-$250 price range and is very reliable and is high in quality, and has alot of features such as progressive scan, optical input,etc.Can anyone recomend anything along these lines?
Thanks in advance,
Iansloset

chipmac

I think the Denon 910 would fit that description.

hoyalawya

What kind of TV will the new DVD player be connected to?

shelland

The Pioneer 563 has served me well. It is progressive scan, and also plays both SACD and DVD-A if you want to get into the realm of multi-channel audio (if you aren't already). I paid about $180 for it several months ago at Best Buy, so you might be able to get it even cheaper these days.

djones6746

If you are able to take advantage of upconverting dvd players, I would highly recommend Zenith's DVB318. I love it and it can be had for $160-$200.00 depending on where you buy it from. Not too many places have it yet. Wild West Electronics and some other place have been taking regular orders. Take a look over at avsforum.com under the dvd player forum and you will see a couple of threads on this player. This player not only upconverts via the DVI interface but also over component. Yes...it does upconvert over component even though this is supposedly not allowed. I believe Zenith grew a set of you know what and ignored Hollywood. They are providing a player the consumer is looking for especially for those who do not have the DVI connection on the back of their sets. The picture is awesome over component.


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=400480

Dah-Dee

Are things like the "chroma bug" still a concern? Just not sure whether it's a good time to consider upgrading my Panasonic RP-56. Sounds like if I were it might be in the same price range as Ianscloset.

djones6746

Regarding the chroma bug concern......read the post listed below from the avsforum from one of our members.

"After 2 more days of viewing DVDs and more calibration of my projector, I got even better images over the 1080i component. I have to say this is one heck of a DVD player that many of us had dreamed for for so long:

- upscales DVD to 1080i over component with sharp stunning HD-like images;
- Faroudja FLI2301 Digital Video Format Converter chip built in;
- no chroma bug, ringing, EE on the rhs etc;
- X-Y scaling for stretching in H/V or both direction;
- reads DVD +/- R/RW and CDR/RW discs;
- skips FBI Warning screen/Previews and goes directly to the movie;
- region free thru CD hack;
- plays both PAL and NTSC discs in proper aspect ratio;
- blacker than black ouput;
- universal remote;
- and most important: gorgeous PQ;
- and a lot more for $160 shipped!

Man, this is the player of the DVD age."

Dah-Dee

Thanks, but I was talking about 'in general,' not with regard specifically to the Zenith model you recommended (which does look like a great bang-for-the-buck deal).

cajun_junky

I have been very impressed with my Pioneer 563A. It has gotten some nice reviews and the picture on my big screen is incredible.

chipmac

To answer your question directly; yes the chroma bug is still an issue as some manufacturers continue to use MPEG decoders that suffer ffrom this problem. This is regardless if it's an upconverting player or not. Although this is only one of many issues that effects PQ alog with gamma, white or black crush, high frequency roll off, EE and so on.

Dah-Dee

Yikes! Thanks for the scary info! Maybe I should just stick with my *knocks on wood* trusty RP-56 for now....

BladeZ

I also suggest the DVB318, I learned about this player at AVSForum and immediately hunted one down. Reliability has yet to be seen, as many people just go the player. But, the build quality is great! I chose to use this player with my Samsung DLP since I have only one DVI input being occupied by Cable TV right now. Otherwise, DVI switches are not cheap and just complicate things. Have been watching some bits of DVD's over the past few days to check upconversion quality and it's definitely worth the money.

Bottom line is, I think that if you are in the market for a new DVD player today, you should definitely get an upconverting one. A year ago, there were maybe 2 models, now there's like a dozen either available or on the horizon. I chose the DVB318 over the Vinc player and the new Samsung, mostly because of the upconvert over component issue. But having DCDi and the other features are a great bonus!

Jim

I tried the Denon 910 and wouldn't recommend it. It doesn't pass below black and crushed whites on my display. In your price range I'd look first at the Zenith that others have mentioned, if you will be able to use its 1080i output. Check the 125+ page thread at AVSForum for everything you ever wanted to know about the Zenith, including where to order one.

Mr. Cinema

Which brand of player plays the best movies that have scratches on them? I ask because I have a Panasonic S25S and a couple of movies I have rented have skipped and they haven't been that scratched. I used to have a Toshiba 1200 that played everything, but no longer have it. So, do I go with Sony? Philips? JVC?