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DVD PLayer recommendations


drick

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On 5/15/2005 9:58:36 PM Fish wrote:

Ovation legend,Les Paul Studio,Fender Strat w/factory Demarzio humbuckers,Fender Foto Flame Telecaster,thanks for noticing.

With the setup Indy has I do give weight to his opinion of the samsung model in question,it could'nt hurt to audition.

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especially for the price.. :)

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I also tried the Samsung (after my first Sony 975 crapped out) and I returned it and got a second 975, along with a years maintainance contract. It's worked fine so far, but I made some extra moneny and got a Denon 2910. It sounds better, mostly for cds (SACD playback is excellent on both the Denon and the Sony). Using HDMI, the Sony gives a sharper and more noise-free image, but the Denon gave far more natural colors (without any callibration!). Also the Denon has DVD-A playback, which I appreciate.

So, m experience:

Equally good movie sound quality, equally good SACD playback (or at least close enough so as to not bother about it)

Sony gives more pristine looking pictures, but with less accurate colors.

The Denon gives a more filmic image, with very natural colors, but a tad softer and a tad bit more noise (the Denon has extensive Noise reduction and sharpening controls, and perhaps time and fiddling will change this finding). And the Denon has faaaar better redbook CD playback.

Anyways, good luck!

Scott

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I second the Denon 2900 it is a better built unit that the newer 2910 and is more equal to the Denon 3910 actually. I bought one on Ubid last month for $459, a Manufacturer Refurbished unit. It was perfect with no cosmetic flaws and operates perfectly. It comes complete with everything a new unit was supplied with including the original carton and a 90 warranty from Denon. Hard to beat it at that price.

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On 5/16/2005 11:58:37 AM ottscay wrote:

I also tried the Samsung (after my first Sony 975 crapped out) and I returned it and got a second 975, along with a years maintainance contract. It's worked fine so far, but I made some extra moneny and got a Denon 2910. It sounds better, mostly for cds (SACD playback is excellent on both the Denon and the Sony). Using HDMI, the Sony gives a sharper and more noise-free image, but the Denon gave far more natural colors (without any callibration!). Also the Denon has DVD-A playback, which I appreciate.

So, m experience:

Equally good movie sound quality, equally good SACD playback (or at least close enough so as to not bother about it)

Sony gives more pristine looking pictures, but with less accurate colors.

The Denon gives a more filmic image, with very natural colors, but a tad softer and a tad bit more noise (the Denon has extensive Noise reduction and sharpening controls, and perhaps time and fiddling will change this finding). And the Denon has faaaar better redbook CD playback.

Anyways, good luck!

Scott

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which samsung, the 850 or 950?

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On 5/15/2005 8:39:42 PM dragonfyr wrote:

Again, just to reinforce the 1080p issue, unless the TV is capable of fully diplaying it (and VERY FEW ARE!!!!) it is a moot point. I can upconvert to 5000000p to my Sony 32 inch TV. It still desplays roughly 648 lines with the balance being vertical interval.(D-1 NTSC resolution = 720 x 486) & D-2 NTSC res. = 720 x 540.)

I am looking at a list of 38 plasma TVs with a price up to $13,000, and
none
of them support 1080p HDTV natively! Theory and practice are two different things. So buy what can be realized. To use a very poor analogy, it is rather like saying my DVD player provides SACD output and I use a composite RF feed to my analog TV for playback. My TV will not reproduce the capabilities of the DVD unit. And despite the DVI output of the player, if the TV doesn't support it, the point is moot.

Beyond that suggestion, I wouldn't begin to tell you which DVD player can playback the best picture of a standard I can't see!
9.gif

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dragon, actually looking at all these dvd players and tv's they support 1080i not 1080p, i assume that makes a difference?

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1080i not 1080p, i assume that makes a difference?

===========================================================

Without the technical jargon....

i= interlace... means 1/2 picture information is on, and 1/2 off flickering... It does this so fast, you can't see it. Some "claim" in sports fast action you can. So much so, some people say 720p is better than 1080i. I say look at both. In my situation the 1080i looks better on HD material and dvd's especially. I think a lot of it depends on the processor at this point.

p= all on. So all of the material is pushed through at the same time. More ideal I guess because it is all there. YMMV.

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I am very happy with my Denon 3910. Plays everything under the sun as far as discs go. Great picture and sound. Surely not the cheapest $$ in town, but if you only want to buy once and be done I would give it a look/listen. How much has the time and aggrevation been worth with the Sony. I would bet it is close to the 1K price tag of the 3910.

Hope you find a winner. Good Luck...report back with what you end up with.

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Just to be fair, I went back to the store and asked some questions about my unit the Samsung 931 vs the Samsung 941. He said, "No question, the 931 was the better of the two." I asked, "Why?" The 941 does appear to have some issues sometimes. In the salesmans words "When they add stuff to a new line it screws engineering to make it all work right." Sometimes buyers trends are seen and things get rushed. (Or better said, "It was a bad line as many have suggested..lol")

That said, he did see the 950 at the CES show in Jan I am pretty sure I saw it last year at CEDIA show. It looks great, especially in black. As the flagship model he said, "They will get it right, and not get egg on thier face again.)

Bottom line for most manufactuers is they have units with all the whistles and bangs that cost boo koo bucks, and a mid line and a entry level line too. We all would love them all to be of the same quality, but alas they are not. There USUALLY is a reason the expensive ones cost more money, and it is not just asthetics.

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On 5/17/2005 9:52:03 AM rplace wrote:

I am very happy with my Denon 3910. Plays everything under the sun as far as discs go. Great picture and sound. Surely not the cheapest $$ in town, but if you only want to buy once and be done I would give it a look/listen. How much has the time and aggrevation been worth with the Sony. I would bet it is close to the 1K price tag of the 3910.

Hope you find a winner. Good Luck...report back with what you end up with.

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if anything i would go with the 2910, unless there is some HUGE uplift in product features for the 3910? unless i'm mistaken, aren't we all going to have to replace these when the HD-DVD's come out again anyways? if so, it would seem to make sense to save a few $ now, wouldn't it?

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if we are talking about stepping up to $1k + units, what does everyone think about the following players recommended here/on other forums?

Pioneer DV59-AVi

Onkyo DV-SP1000

Denon 3910

I also found a Yamaha DVD-S2500 that looks close to the specs i want?

At the lower end, suggestions were:

Panasonic DVD-S97S, or it's replacement the DVD-S77S

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On 5/15/2005 8:19:30 PM IndyKlipschFan wrote:

I would humbly disagree... The Samsung model I have (the 931) is outstanding sound wise... Picture wise, I use the 1080 out setting on a DVI cable...it is flat out incredible in HDTV which my HDTV also a Samsung...also up converts to a OUTSTANDING pics..

Put it this way... The my DVD's look 99.99999% as good as the HDTV signals I get. As for the sound...

Sound quality is just as breathlessly incredible. I use an optical cable out of the DVD player directly to the Aragon Stage One for sound. Again I am very happy!

I always love people who do not own a particular piece of equipment and dog it... I DO own the 931 and could not be happier... Seriously. I was at the CEDIA show and saw it hooked up with RCA, S, component, and DVI side by side... DVI does look MUCH better...

As a side note.. Samsung has a new HD DVD player out this month (May) A Model 950. The dealers may be a little reluctant to carry it, if for nothing else, it comes WITH the 6 foot HDMI (the same as DVI plus sound) cable for free... I think it is a absurd value, but can't remember if it is 299 or 399 retail.. Most people charge 200 for a 6 ft DVI HDMI cable.. THAT is what is absurd!!

Do not get too sucked into negative biases by some who have never seen these units or do not sell them at your retailer. Compare stats like I did Samsung packs a LOT of machine for a great value with all the bells and whistles too.

My opinion... yes. But, I have it, and I KNOW how good it is too.

I have heard some issues with the 941, and not all models in the Samsung line may produce the above results. Shop carefully. If the 950 is an improvement somehow.. I will order it for the 2nd HT in a heartbeat.

Info below:

Specifications for the 950.

www.samsung.com

Video: Hi Def Conversion 480p/720p/768p/1080i HDMI/DVI Compatabile

DVD Audio SACD, 6ch output

Playback Formats R/RW/+R/+RW/CD-Audio and SVCD

Video DAC 54MHz/10BH

Audio: Audio DAC 192 KHz/24BH

Terminal Audio: Coaxial Digital out 1 set

Optical Digital out 1 set

L/R Stereo out 1 set

5.1 Channel Audio Out 1 set

Terminal Video: Composite Video out 1 set

Component Video out 1 set

S-Video out 1 set

Net Dimensions: 16.9"(W) x 2.3"(H) x 9.9"(D)

Net Weight: 4.6 Lbs.

UPC Code: 036725609501

Supplied Accessories: 2 Cables (HDMI/DVI)

Remote Control

1 AAA Battery

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Some key points about the Samsung HDTV too. FYI:

DLP™ (Digital Light Processing ) TV

New "Floating Screen" Compact Light-Weight Design - Fits Where Others Won't™

Digital Cable Ready (DCR) with CableCARD™

Built-In Analog/Digital Tuner (NTSC/ATSC)

Samsung Cinema Smooth™ 720p Light Engine

- Single Panel Design-Crystal-Clear Picture

Without any Possibility of Convergence Errors - Smooth, Film-Like Images

- Up to 2500:1 Contrast Ratio with Outstanding Colors and Deep Black Levels

- Whisper-Quiet Operation

TV Guide on Screen®

1280 x 720p Digital Format Converter for All

Inputs

Samsung's Latest Generation DNIe™ Video

Enhancer

Cinema Smooth Film-Mode 3:2 Pull Down

AnyNet™ System Control Solution

No Burn-In or Screen Aging

30-Watt Audio System with Built-In Speakers

HDMI, IEEE1394, Component Video, S-Video Inputs and more

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indy, 841/941 vs 950, what do you think?

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